NYC to Portland

[yankee27]

Hi There,

I'm new and just looking around to find more information on Portland, ME. I'm currently living in Manhattan and considering a move to Portland. I'm just wondering if anyone knows anything about Portland and can offer advice. Is it a good city to move to if you're in your 20s and single? Are there other people in the same situation or is it an "older" city? I would be moving from NYC because I've been here a few years, and am looking to "slow down" a bit---would Portland be a good option? What's the professional job situation like? Any helpful advice would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

[pvenne]

Hi There,

I'm new and just looking around to find more information on Portland, ME.  I'm currently living in Manhattan and considering a move to Portland.  I'm just wondering if anyone knows anything about Portland and can offer advice.  Is it a good city to move to if you're in your 20s and single?  Are there other people in the same situation or is it an "older" city?  I would be moving from NYC because I've been here a few years, and am looking to "slow down" a bit---would Portland be a good option?  What's the professional job situation like?  Any helpful advice would be MUCH appreciated!  Thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well, it is definately not ny, but n terms of your questions: the prof job sector is good but small (except for health care and the legal sector). portland used to be a very blue-collar town although it has always been very artsy, and is now becoming very upscale with a lot of redevelopment and higher prices for living. there are not that many people percentage-wise in their early 20s as compared with towns like burlington and manchester (only 11 percent) but there is a thriving bar and night club scene which seems to draw youth from all over the state and even parts of new hampshire. the old port is where it is at in terms of night life, i dont think you would be disappointed, even coming from new york, it is a difference of scale, not quality with many venues.

portland has the most restaurants and lawyers per capita than any other city in the nation except for san francisco and washington, D.C. respectively. there is plenty of shopping one town over in south portland, which is really the same immediate area (you cant tell when youre in one city and when youre in the next if youre from out of town) and the old port has something like another 150-160 shops and boutigue sorts of things for tourists. it is very busy in the summer, and kinda calm in the winter. good place to "slow down" as you put it.

there are beaches in the city and better beaches a short drive away. there is a symphony orchestra, art museums, a couple major hospitals etc..most people fall in love with the area, though i must admit it is not for every one and you might get different feed back from others. basically you can get anything you can in a larger city but on a smaller scale. many people i know from the mass area, including both of my parents, refer to it as a "postage-stamp-size boston"...there are tours that drive through the city on those duck boats yada yada yada just like in bigger cities etc..and it is getting more diverse. at the last census, the city had only 10% minorities, and it may very well still be at that level, but it feels like a lot more culturally and ethnically speaking, though from new york it might not feel that way. for instance, though, i work at the mall and i work with a man from afghanistan, another from el salvador, a woman from nyc, a man from philly, another woman from detroit, one from africa, and one from china, and then there are plenty of "locals" kicking around too.

the only real way to get a feel for the city is to visit. since you are coming from nyc, you might think that boston is "slowed down" portland might be TOO slow. if you insist on northern new england, i might also suggest burlington vermont or manchester new hampshire, both of which have more young people but are similar to portland in other respects (burlington is very small and manchester is the biggest in NNE and closer to a real city). hope that helps

[yankee27]

Thank you so much for your insight! It really seems like a great place. I'm planning a visit this fall and can't wait to see it all for myself. Thanks again!

[Cotuit]

I lived in Portland for a little while in the early 90s. The city had just come into it's own then, the Old Port was hopping, and the city was full of promise. And that promise has paid off with things like the Portland Public Market and The State Theatre opening up. Lots of bands tour through the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, when I lived there I was surprised how many people came from Boston to see shows in Portland. I actually lived car-free in Portland, I was only able to do that because I lived on the pennisula, the city spreads out quite a ways off the pennisula and is very suburban in nature in the outer areas. I would suggest living on the pennisula, you'll probably want a car (I'm a little crazy in my car-free lifestyle sometimes), but if you live on the pennisula, you'll not need the car to often. The core oft he city is very walkable. I think coming from New York you'll enjoy the urban core and walkability of Portland, Manchester, though a bigger city doesn't have as large an urban core, and Burlington, while beautiful, only really has a few blocks that one would label as urban.

Since I left Portland, Amtrak service to Boston has also started up, it's the most successful Amtrak line in the system. You can easily get to places like Old Orchard Beach and Boston, and the New Hampshire Seacoast on the train.

I lived in New York for a while myself, and my boyfriend and I decided to return to New England (we're both from Mass. but met in New York) to slow down a bit, and live a little more cheaply. I tried to convince him to move to Portland, but he was scared off by the snow (same with Burlington), so we ended up in Providence. That's one thing about Portland, you have to not mind snow and cold, it is much snowier than New York or Boston. But the city does an amazing job with snow removal. There can be a foot of snow overnight, and by morning the streets are mostly passable, and the sidewalks are cleared as well.

The city's compact size means that you can be out in the wilds of Maine in no time. There are beautiful villages all up and down the Maine coast. I think if you're looking for a more laid back lifestyle, but still some of the excitement of the city, you can't go wrong with Portland.

[pvenne]

^totall agree^