I had a similar experience a couple years ago. I was renting a very nice, newly built, 600 sq ft apartment in Portland for $1800. Moving up to Bangor I was looking for something similar. Couldn’t find it. A comparable apartment within walking distance to work was $2,500/month and I couldn’t justify paying more for the Bangor apartment than I had been paying in Portland. I ended up in an 1,100 sq ft apartment in Orono for $1,200/month.

As someone who makes much more than the average Bangor salary I would have happily paid more for a place but I couldn’t justify paying that much more for no more space or amenities so I ended up competing with college kids. And who is going to rent to a college kid when the other option is a couple that works works full time and had previously been renting a place 50% more expensive?