What is the Maine coast like in the winter?

[grasswire]

A friend is looking for a temporary spot, and the rents are pretty cheap for nine months on an island off the coast of Maine.

[cbayer]

1. Brrrrrr!

:scared:

It is hauntingly beautiful, in a very wild and rustic kind of way. They seas can be really rough, so access to land might be a problem. Frequent heavy snows, followed by icing of everything. Power outages not uncommon.

If they really, really want to rough it, then it might be ok for them.

Also, be aware that many Maine coastal homes are not winterized at all. That means that they could have lots of problems with water and heat. Many mainers with second homes just shut them down completely for the entire winter, which might explain the very low rents.

[XemaSab]

2. Very, very cold

Is there a grocery store nearby?

[Maine-ah]

8. not as bad on the coast

winters are relatively mild right on the coast in comparison to inland. The water temps are warmer than the air temps so we don't get as much snow, and it's just a tad warmer than if you go even 10 miles inland.

If one wants to be in Maine for the winter, the coast is where it's at.

[XemaSab]

12. I suppose cold is relative

I was in New Hampshire on the coast in January and it was brutal.

[Chan790]

3. Where is your friend from?

All of coastal NE is the same in winter. Cold, windy, blustery, rains a lot, snows a little less. Salt seems to coat everything. It gets better inland even a mile. If they're on an island far enough out, it's probably going to be impossible for get back to the mainland much between Nov. and Feb. A lot of those places are very isolated in the winter...like one boat a day in or out. Likewise, power can be spotty because ice takes down lines a lot and on the islands underground lines are not possible...most people have generators.

If your friend is youngish and in good physical health there is a lot of money to be made in New England in winter though. Last year in CT, people were being hired at $60+/hr. to shovel slush and wet-snow and ice off industrial roofs out of the line at the unemployment office. I never made less than $100/snowfall, school-day-off shoveling driveways growing up and that was 25 years ago. Then there's the assorted winter industries like fish-packing on the docks. It's all shitty work but the money is great and anybody can do it if you don't mind miserable or dirty work in the cold. There is less money to be made but available for day-labor or light "check-in" (ie. "Can you check on my mom once a day and make sure she's eating, do her grocery shopping, drive her to the doctor" sort of stuff.) work.

I've given some thought to saving up and doing something similar over a winter as a writing retreat. I'd stick to the mainland though.

[grasswire]

4. well, he may be looking for a housemate or so

It's a four bedroom house. Winterized, with good insulation and new furnace. Many ferries everyday year round to mainland, which is three miles away.

I'll remind him to ask about a generator in case of electricity failure. His work is computer based, so he depends on his connectivity and power.

[grasswire]

5. oh, you asked where he's from

He has spent previous ten years in New England, and went to high school in Montana. So although he doesn't luv extreme weather anymore, he is at least aware of what he's getting into. The location has more to do with proximity to visit his children than anything else.

[Maine-ah]

9. which island is he looking at?

[grasswire]

11. I'll PM you

[Gormy Cuss]

6. The coast is more temperate than inland.

It can still be pretty cold and snowy but not as much as the interior. Living on an island takes a special mindset -- planning your shopping and doctor/dentist appointments a bit more carefully, having your social life revolve around the ferry schedule or making sure you have a place to flop intown, keeping a car on the mainland and paying for parking or garaging of same.

The description you gave of the island sounds like one that I know well. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's pretty civilized, with city water and power.

[grasswire]

7. yep, you are probably guessing right.

It sounds like a great place to experience. And such reasonable rents.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. In that case, it's a good neighborhood.

If he chooses to rent there, he should engage in some community activity on the island as a way to get to know the neighbors and how they get stuff done.

My family has long ties to that island. I have had relatives living year round there for the last twenty years and you couldn't move them off for anything short of illness or old age. It's really the best of both worlds -- a quiet, safe community not far from everything else you need.

[applegrove]

13. I know in Nova Scotia the cold really gets to you because it is so damp.