Moving to Old Orchard Beach!

Submitted by CalligrapherNo7790 t3_125um1z in Maine

Hello everyone! 👋

I'm excited to announce that I'll be moving to Old Orchard Beach, Maine soon to start a four month residency at Maine Medical Center! 🏥

I'm reaching out to the community to learn more about what it's like living in Old Orchard Beach. I'm curious about the local culture, the people, the food, and the must-visit places. Safety! (I'm traveling with a large family).🤔

In particular, since I'll be working at Maine Medical Center, I would love to hear from anyone who has experience commuting from Old Orchard Beach to Portland. How long does the commute take? What's the best mode of transportation? 🚗🚌🚴‍♀️

Any insight or advice on what it's like living and working in Portland and living in OOB would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help! 🙏

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Big_Entertainer7604 t1_je63fxw wrote

OOB is pure tourism from May through September. The rest of the year it is a ghost town. Very seasonal.

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CalligrapherNo7790 OP t1_je63mzq wrote

Any thoughts on the safety? I found a home about 15 minutes from the beach.

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xHospitalHorsex t1_je6ch1n wrote

Very safe town, especially the farther from the beach you are. I recommend downtown Saco which is one town over for your local flavor. Lots of great food spots!

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iceflame1211 t1_je6jp0e wrote

15 minute... You must mean walk? I don't think you could mean drive and be that far away from the beach, and still in OOB. Not a large town at all area-wise.

It's safe, except in tourist season where you may occasionally deal with trashy drunks.

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hanjanss t1_je60wis wrote

Commute should be about 25-30 minutes depending on time of day and you're gonna need a car.

Local culture is basically just tourism

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TimSplunkin t1_jea2055 wrote

There is the Amtrak that runs into Portland also. Just need to rely on Amtrak to be in time

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smstattoo t1_je65748 wrote

Local culture. Drugs. Lots of ‘em.

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CalligrapherNo7790 OP t1_je6dn2m wrote

Big Drug Problem? Would I be better off in Portland?

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iceflame1211 t1_je6kck2 wrote

Portland has a bigger drug problem than OOB. Everything is bigger in cities.

IMO anywhere else in the greater Portland area is better than OOB and Portland in regards to open/noticeable drug use/abuse (and homelessness). Not to say it doesn't exist- in South Portland (separate town from Portland) I notice the unhoused daily, but not nearly to the same extent as the other two places mentioned.

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Miserable_Outcome t1_je6u4pe wrote

I work with the SUD population in York/Cumberland County. You’ll be fine. Especially during the timeframe you’ll be there.

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lorddragonstrike t1_je60zvn wrote

Well you can drive it in 20 mins on rt 1 if not during rush hour. Or pay the tolls and make it in 15 mins. If your a biker theres a pretty flat trail that takes an hour at moderate pace with barely any interaction with the roads. And finally, none of this matters since you are a resident at maine med you will not have time for any of that, or see sunlight for the first year or two.

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dr0wningggg t1_je60lr7 wrote

if you have a car it makes the most sense for you to drive your car to work, its like a 25 min drive give or take. oob is a lot busier in the summer than the winter, tourists. there’s gonna be traffic on your commute but traffic has a completely different definition in maine (meaning there isn’t really traffic lol).

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Seyword t1_je6e7tn wrote

OOB is known as somewhat of a white trash type of town. Bad schools, kinda rundown in many sections. With that said I love OOB and consider it to be the best beach in Maine.

I almost pulled the trigger on a 3 bedroom home within walking distance to the beach, was going for under $200K back in 2017/2018. We ended up buying in Portland so no regrets there.

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ecco-domenica t1_je6j9za wrote

It's safe. Don't worry. Drive to work. It should take about 20 minutes, half hour. Culture depends on when your four months there takes place. It's a working class tourist beach town that is crowded and busy with a bit of a carnival atmosphere adjacent to the beach in the summer, not bad in fall and spring, and deserted in the winter. BUT, if you're fifteen minutes from the beach, none of that should affect you. A lot of people from Quebec come down in the summer so you'll hear French spoken on the street. Pine Point in Scarborough on the north end of the beach is a nice place to pick up a lobster roll for supper and eat it on the beach on summer evenings, less crowded than OOB proper and quite pretty. Ocean Park is a quaint community on the south end of the beach. I lived in OOB for a year and enjoyed it.

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CalligrapherNo7790 OP t1_je6ln93 wrote

Thanks for the input. I'm planning on being there from September through Dec. I have small children, so I was hoping for a decent area. Would you recommend OOB over portland?

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IwoJim t1_je6vt2r wrote

September to December is going to be much quieter than proper summer and most things will be winding down/closing by the end of September. I’ve lived in OOB for several years now and had zero problems. Feel free to PM me if you want to get specific about the house/area you’re looking at.

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ecco-domenica t1_je6tdq9 wrote

It's all what you prefer, can afford, and can find. OOB is essentially a bedroom community for Portland. They're pretty close together. Portland has more resources for kid's activities like the Children's Museum, I guess, but the beach is ideal for a quick place to run kids around on. You'll be there the best months I think.

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DidDunMegasploded t1_je6hog8 wrote

Only takes 30 minutes to get from OOB to Portland, traffic pending. You could also get on 95 via 195 and save some time.

That being said, if you don't like crowds and busyness, OOB is not for you. You'd best be prepared because shit gets fucking packed there, from day to night.

The area near Ferry Beach is a little tamer because hardly anyone knows it exists, including the tourists.

Still better than downtown Portland, though!

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Subject_Meat5314 t1_je6moy4 wrote

I’d recommend living in Portland or South Portland and visiting OOB occasionally when the mood strikes. Portland is a wonderful city with lots going on year round. Your commute would be super easy. Unless you’re into the off-season boardwalk experience on the daily, not sure what OOB would offer you for a living experience that would be better than those towns.

That said, if you’re already locked into a lease, it’s not a big deal. The distance between them is not big and OOB will be a fine place for you and your family to spend a few months.

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philos34002 t1_je9kevb wrote

Grew up in OOB, after Memorial Day, add at least 20 minutes to your travel time each way. Try all the food places. Especially the ones away from the strip. Walk the Cascade And Eastern Trails. Pick blueberries under the CMP ROW off of Ross Road (late July/ early August). Pick raspberries behind the community gardens at the back of the ballpark.

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AlternativeWay4729 t1_jeaq9n1 wrote

Back in the day my students (criminal justice types heading for LE) would take the Academy's "100 hour" course so they could take OOB Police Dept seasonal jobs to patrol the beach for drunken Mass*** kids. And parents. And geezers. But no-one ever seemed to get very hurt.

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TitleExciting5397 t1_jeaxcfw wrote

you will need a car to get to Portland to get to grocery stories and the like. its 25~ minutes with no traffic and tolls on I-95. Maine is hard living without a car if you don't live on peninsula in Portland. We have a big lack of public transportation in the state.

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If you don't like the schools, try looking into something closer to Saco or Scarborough.

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