I presently live in ATL and my husband and I are planning on moving to Maine within the next year. We are presently researching the different areas and have found that we probably prefer the Portland area. We would appreciate any information about Maine from job market, housing, favorite places to stay, the quality of life, or even good hiking trails, etc. We visit often but still have a lot to learn. One last note...does anyone know anything about job opportunities at GE in Bangor? Thanks in advance!

Gorham is a small town just 9 miles from Portland. Gorham gives you access to the job opportunities available in Portland without living right in the city. Housing is still aforadable in Gorham and you are still able to get acreage if you are interested.

Try subscribing to several papers in the Portland area to get an idea of what's going on in the community. I think the quality of life is nicest in a small community with easy access to the city but only you can make the difference by taking part in community activities. The Portland area isn't that far from NH mtns, just a couple of hours, which would give you fantastic hiking opportunities. The job market in New England seems pretty good right now, it's probably a good time to make a move. It's nice to visit to tourist spots in ME but I wouldn't want to live there, the traffic is terrible during the summer. Good luck.

I agree, you defintely want to stay away from the tourist sites such as bar harbor, camden, boothbay harbor unless you work in the service industry. As for jobs, the market is good right now but there aren't a lot of large companies in ME. People sometime work different jobs throughout the year just to get to live here. Good Luck...Maine is definitely one of the nices places to live in the U.S.

Dear DCambron: I don't know if it's Mindspring that's doing this--but your query has turned up on the LOUISIANA STATE FORUM. You may want to move it. Good luck. Joan