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Home
Vol VI Issue 56
August 2, 2011
Previous Issues
Picturesque
Camden, Maine Boasts an Idyllic Setting, Jaw Dropping Water
Views, Historic Architecture, a Wonderful Harbor, Fun
Festivals and a High Quality of Life
Cost of Living: Above the National Average
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The small, picturesque seaport of Camden (population
4,900) is located along Maine's majestic mid-coast,
roughly half way between Bar Harbor ("Bah Habah")
and Brunswick, and it is part of the Rockport - Camden -
Lincolnville region. Settled in 1791 and originally
known as "Megunticook," Abenaki Indian for
"great swells of the sea," this delightful
town oozes quintessential New England, nautical charm and has as
pretty a harbor and waterfront setting as anywhere along
the Eastern shore. Camden retains much of its
19th-century flavor, and over the years, it has been a
mill town, a military encampment (the War of 1812) and a
thriving shipyard. It has also been a favorite
summer destination for prosperous Bostonians and New
Yorkers (and still is) and has grown in popularity as a
tourist spot (and today, 54% of residents are age 45+).
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With its protected harbor, two snug, towering mountains, restored Victorian architecture,
low crime rate
and tantalizing sea views, it is easy to see
why. Camden's lifestyle does not come cheaply, though. The cost of living
is 15% above the national average, and the median home price is
$395,000, well above the national median (and down about 3% in the
last year). Homes are comprised of cute
cottages, cozy Cape Cods, beautiful bungalows and elegant
Victorian painted ladies, some spectacularly perched along the
bluff overlooking Penobscot Bay and others snuggled up against each
other behind short iron gates along steep, narrow streets. Town homes and condos are not common.
Less expensive homes can be found in the nearby villages of Hope, Union
and cute Northport.
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Maine is not a particularly friendly state when it comes to taxes.
Property taxes are high (the annual taxes on a $395,000 home are approximately
$4,265). An almost automatic
homestead exemption of $10,000
helps a bit, however. Veterans receive an exemption of $6,000 if they
served during a recognized war period, are 62 years of age or better and
disabled. There is also a circuit breaker program in place.
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Social Security is exempt from state income tax, and up to $6,000 per person of
eligible pension income may be deducted. Residents with taxable
income in excess of $20,150, however, pay a 8.5% income tax rate. There is also a
5% sales tax
statewide on everything except food and prescription drugs.
One main road, Route 1, runs through Camden, and
in the summer, it becomes very congested. But savvy
residents know the back avenues in and around town, and most
residents live in quiet, woodsy neighborhoods where only the
occasional lost and confused summer tourist ventures.
Downtown Camden is full of wonderful, locally-owned shops, boutiques,
bookstores, galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, bed and
breakfasts and a grocery. Big box stores, including
Wal-Mart, do not have a presence here, though, and shopping beyond
the basics (and boutique items) requires a drive to Rockland (9
miles), Bangor (60 miles) or Portland (90 miles).
Dining consists of down home cafes, busy tourist eateries and
excellent seafood restaurants. Lobster, in one form or
another, is on nearly every menu.
The truly beautiful, award-winning Camden Public Library,
complete with an amphitheatre, well-known author
lectures, book fairs, concerts, poetry readings, movie presentations,
language classes and free Internet access, sits atop a hill and
adjoins lovely Harbor Park, which overlooks and abuts the waterfront.
Thoughtfully-placed park benches provide a perfect place to
while away the afternoon watching small recreational boats and
tall sailing ships come and go. Cruises, fishing charters,
windjammer tours, kayak rentals and more are temptingly close at
hand.
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This is an interactive map.
Click on the arrows in the upper left hand
corner to move the map to the East, West, North or South, and
click on the +/- signs (more than once if necessary) to zoom
in and out.
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Camden may be small, but it is
lively. Each Labor Day, colorful schooners from up and down the
coast congregate in the town's harbor just to show off, and it is a site to
see. Two Harbor Arts Festivals, the Camden International Film
Festival, the Maine Literary Festival, Christmas by the Sea (which creates a
truly magical storybook tableau), Winterfest and Maine Fare are just a few
of the fun festivals. The prestigious annual Camden Conference
brings in world leaders to discuss global issues, and summer concerts at the
amphitheatre occur regularly. Perhaps best of all is the
annual Toboggan Nationals, which attracts 400 teams and 1,300 racers, all of
whom take careening down an iced shoot at 50 m.p.h. very seriously.
Hollywood has noticed this idyllic hamlet, too. Carousel (1956), Peyton
Place (1957) and In the Bedroom (2001) were filmed here.
Wealthy patrons have contributed greatly to the town's
cultural milieu over the years. This was particularly true after The Great Fire of
1892, in which the entire village practically burned to the ground.
Camden's residents began constructing new cultural and recreational amenities almost
immediately, however, and soon the town was home to the Megunticook Golf Club, the Camden Opera, the
Bay Chamber Concert Company and the Camden Yacht Club, all of which are still
active today (particularly the yacht club). Four beaches
also beckon (but waters are chilly), and four nearby golf courses, including two
with delightfully distracting ocean views, call out to duffers. The Camden Snow Bowl
is a community-owned snow skiing venue. The Longstreet Society is a volunteer historic preservation
organization. The nearby Rockport YMCA has a good menu of activities,
with a few classes geared to the 55+ set.
The town is not growing, but it is not shrinking, either, and its unemployment
rate is less than the state average. Camden's affluence is unmistakable,
but corners of town are still working class, and residents are a friendly
bunch. Not everyone enjoys the influx of tourists each year, but most
people understand that they are an important economic underpinning. In
the 1990s, credit card giant MBNA opened a call center here, supplying 600
jobs, but the center closed in 2005. Camden has managed to carry on
quiet well, however, leaning on both its tourism base and the generosity of its well to do residents.
Just outside of town, popular Camden Hills State Park is a
gem, and quiet Moose Point, an oceanside park, is a wonderful spot for hiking,
seashell collecting and contemplation. Mt. Battie provides plenty
of hiking and camping opportunities and has a top-notch inn at the summit. Depending on the time
of year, blueberry
stands and apple cider stands dot surrounding roadsides, and antique stores and auctions are everywhere. Venture
into rural Maine, and motels with proprietors who keep reservations in a
spiral notebook and who are not fans of the Internet ("Heard of it.
Ain't got it.") are not uncommon.
Penobscot Bay Medical Center (Pen Bay) is located in Rockport, about
5 miles south,
and is a full-service community hospital offering inpatient and
outpatient care. It has 80 beds, is accredited by the Joint Commission
and meets or exceed national averages in most areas. Medicare and
Medicaid patients are accepted. For military retirees, a VA medical
center is in Augusta (45 miles).
A group called Aging Excellence provides a
number of services for a fee to people age 55+, including transportation to
appointments, handyman services, reminder assistance and telephone
reassurance. The nearest senior center is 9 miles down the coast in
Rockland and is managed by Spectrum Generations, the Central Maine Area Agency
on Aging. Programs include exercise classes,
health insurance counseling, congregate meals, home health care and more.
Summers are not too hot, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s, as breezes from the Atlantic
Ocean help keep the area cool. Winters are cold, with
temperatures in the teens, 20s and 30s, and they bring up to 18 inches of snow
each month There is no Spring, but autumns are breathtaking. The
sun shines 195 days of the year, and on the comfort index, a combination of
temperature and humidity, Camden comes in above the national
average. The water quality is above the national average but the
air quality is below the national average (due to wind patterns that blow in
pollution from Northeastern cities).
Of course, Camden has some drawbacks as a retirement spot. There is no public
transportation (when it comes to air travel, Rockland's Knox County Regional Airport has domestic flights
and Bangor has an international airport). There is no ethnic
diversity. Summer tourists can be a headache (they come in winter, too,
but not nearly as many). The air quality might be an issue for people
with asthma or other respiratory problems. Parts of town are
hilly. Winters are long and snowy. Taxes are high.
Despite the downsides, there is something magical about Camden,
Maine. Mainers like to say, "Ayuh, you can't get there
from here," but everyone should get to Maine at least once. And
Camden, this "Jewel of the Maine Coast," should be at the top of
many a retiree's list.
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