This is the answer.

In Durham, Maine I'd say the answer is "somewhat." Maine had a major school consolidation about 15 years ago that put Durham and Pownal with Freeport which is a wealthy coastal town. This caused a housing boom for families that wanted "Freeport schools for less $$$". As a result, housing prices have increased dramatically and put us more in line with other Portland suburbs that are in good school districts. The end result is that you can drive down one of the main roads in town and see older houses/trailers/etc next to brand new subdivisions full of $500,000+ houses. Most of the latter are occupied by people that moved here from either other parts of Southern Maine or from other states. The former are mostly occupied by residents who have been here for a long time. There isn't really a "good part of town" or "bad part of town", but the difference between the neighborhood subdivisions and the houses that are sitting on the main roads is stark.

Property taxes in NH aren't that different from Southern Maine. For example, Brunswick has a mill rate of 21.69. Dover, NH, which is a similarly sized town, has a mill rate of 21.70. Property assessments also seem to be very similar. Other parts of Maine are obviously different, but there are rural parts of NH too.

Fiber is popping up over most of the population centers. FirstLight is doing FTTH in Oxford County and parts of Androscoggin County. GoNetSpeed is scattered throughout York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and Penobscot County. Fidium is all over the map, but seems to be focusing on areas that the others aren't. By 2025, the Internet landscape in Maine will be a whole different world from what it was in 2020.

We live in one of them as well and moved here from Portland. We bought just before the market exploded. Having other people around definitely helps to make friends and whatnot. Our neighborhood is all younger couples like us, ranging from late 20s to early 40s. We love it here now!

The larger (12+ lots) neighborhoods are where it's at in Durham. There are quite a few decent ones like Hunter Hill Road, Chickadee Lane, Patriot Way, Quake Ridge Road, Beaver Woods Drive, Sand Hill Drive, Rangdale Road, Collins Way, Cherry Blossom Lane, and Ruby Lane. I'm sure I'm missing some others. I grew up in an actual neighborhood in Auburn and that was one of our requirements when looking to move out of Portland. I would not want to live on 125/136/9 with my house > 100 ft removed from the road in the woods.

Edit: Yes, there are HOAs in the neighborhoods that are on private roads, but they exist purely because the town requires a road maintenance agreement to be on the books. These aren't golf course neighborhoods or anything like that.

One thing I've found interesting is the relationship between property assessments and school funding provided by the state. MSAD 51 (Cumberland / North Yarmouth) received a higher percentage of their school funding from the state than nearby towns that are both less affluent and more affluent. 46.23% of their school budget is paid by the state. Brunswick only gets 38% from the state and Freeport/Pownal/Durham only gets 26.57%. There are some other outliers, like Gorham, which has 58.38% covered.

I live in Durham and agree with what you're saying. This stretch of Maine (Durham-Pownal-North Yarmouth) has a population density of less than 120 people/sq mile, but no portion is more than 15 minutes away from a major shopping area or more than 30 minutes from Portland. A rural island that exists mostly because of minimum lot sizes and enormous swaths of undeveloped land.

What do you trust then? Personal anecdotes? Statistics may not tell the whole story, but they certainly tell the current ending.

There are two different rural Maines. On one end of the spectrum there are well off rural towns like North Yarmouth, Pownal, Durham, Arundel, South Berwick, etc. On the other end, there are places like Somerset County.

I suspect there's some deep rooted jealousy/resentment in anyone who makes that statement. Massachusetts, by almost every measurable statistic aside from CoL, is one of the best states in the US.

Brunswick has a high mill rate but, generally speaking, the average property tax burden of each resident increases every step south until you hit Falmouth. Even though mill rates vary, the assessed values keep climbing the closer one gets to Portland. Portland and South Portland are different because they are larger cities with more diverse housing options, not unlike Brunswick. Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth also have a very high property tax burden per resident.

The COL in Southern Maine seriously spiked in the last 10 years when the housing market was at the bottom. Property values, in many cases, have tripled which has really wreaked havoc for anyone who didn't personally realize those gains. If we didn't buy our house in Portland in 2014, we'd probably still be renting while watching the gap between our available down payment and the needed down payment continue to grow.

Aren't property taxes significantly lower in AZ? I'm sure it's dependent on the municipality, but my parents are paying 4x the property tax since moving back home. AZ also has much lower income tax, no excise tax on vehicles, etc. Sales tax is much higher though.

This guy is something else, that's for sure. Here's their most recent Facebook post:

Liberty Bell Moving & Storage of Maine15 hours ago

You will eat ZE BUGS 🫣 🤢 🤮You will eat ZE BUGS 🫣 🤢 🤮You will eat ZE BUGS 🫣 🤢 🤮#NewWorldOrder #COVID19 #fauciliedmillionsdied#Trump #AlexJones #WHO #BillGates#TrudeauForTreason#pandemic

I gave this person a bunch of one-word answers until I decided to block them.

We used them here in Durham and they were fantastic. ReVision couldn't even come out to give us an estimate for ~90 days.

They do have the best Chinese food in the state: Li's Place.

This is the best answer. You trade mountains for the coastline, but the vibe is similar and the food is better.

We used Maine Solar Solutions and highly recommend them. We chose them over Pine Tree Solar from the two quotes that we had. I've also heard good things about ReVision Energy and Assured Solar Energy but ReVision was too busy to even give me an estimate when we were in the planning phase and I learned about Assured Solar Energy after we were under contract.

Chotchkie’s is better if you can deal with the flair.

Maine Solar Solutions. Anything over $3/watt pre-credit is a ripoff. Don't be afraid to negotiate.

Average monthly bill would have been around $167/mo with recent rate increases that weren't in place during system design.

Yes.

There's a 25 year production warranty of 86%. Basically, a 2% drop during the first year and a 0.5% drop each subsequent year. I expect the system to last as long as the roof which was about 1.5 years old when the panels were installed. The shingles are 30 year warranty.