Bangor, Maine

Life in Bangor, Maine, explained by people who’ve lived in Bangor:

*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Bangor)

Bangor Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Bangor?

Convenient to things I want to do. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Isolated, yet accessible, from the rest of the world. (Jasminda, 20 years)
The small town feel with all the services of a city. (Thomas, 25 years)
Community. (Patty, 30+ years)
Bangor is a compact city that offers many amenities and services of a much larger city while maintaining a small town feel. Walk-ability to the downtown from a variety of neighborhoods. Friendly people. The positive energy of so many people who care about Bangor. (Anonymous)

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Bangor?

Lack of modern homes available. (Jennifer, 4 years)
School system dictated by test scores, versus active citizenship. (Jasminda, 20 years)
The people that come here to suck the system dry and cause problems. (Thomas, 25 years)
Bangor’s public transportation, the Community Connector, does not operate later into the evening or on Sundays. (Anonymous)

What are fun things to do in Bangor?

Block Parties, Friday Night Movies, Pool, Playground. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Folk Festival, pop into downtown shops, races, waterfront walks, farmer’s market. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Concerts, downtown galleries and museums, the Library, City Forest/Trails. (Thomas, 25 years)
Downtown, city forest, concerts, especially the American folk festival. (Patty, 30+ years)
Walking along the waterfront of the Penobscot River and Kenduskeag Stream. Bangor Greendrinks, Penobscot Theater, shopping downtown. Parks and trails for hiking and biking. (Anonymous)

What’s Bangor known for?

Paul Bunyan. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Being on the edge of civilization. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Stephen King, Paul Bunyan and Waterfront Concerts. (Thomas, 25 years)
Music. (Patty, 30+ years)
An amazing history including Lumber Barons. Author Stephen King is a resident, Waterfront Concerts, a historic, growing and vibrant downtown, proximity to so many other wonderful places to day trip, Acadia National Park, Blue Hill Peninsula, Schoodic Peninsula, Greenville on Moosehead Lake and so many more… (Anonymous)

What’s the crime like in Bangor? (hot spot areas, etc.)

Near the jail and Cedar Street. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Relatively minor and typically avoidable, unfortunately “hot spot” corresponds with socioeconomic housing. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Stay away from the edges of downtown and the parking garage and you’ll be fine. (Thomas, 25 years)
Low, safe community. (Patty, 30+ years)
Bangor like every other city and town has some crime, but I feel very safe walking around at all hours. Just be aware of your surroundings. (Anonymous)

Any advice for people moving to Bangor?

Connect with local people to learn about everything happening. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Get active in the community. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Take advantage of the great things going on downtown. The local shops, restaurants and arts. (Thomas, 25 years)
Get involved, there is something for everyone. (Patty, 30+ years)
It’s a great place to live particularly for people who like becoming involved in making their city an even better place to live. Get to know the different neighborhoods by walking and talking with residents. This compact city’s size makes everything so convenient. Just network, network! Become involved because Bangor is the type of place where you feel like you could make a difference and it shows. (Anonymous)

Share an experience you’ve had in Bangor (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

More than once, I’ve “followed” a moose down the road on my way to work. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Used to drive cab in town and drove some big name stars around. (Thomas, 25 years)
Since moving here, I have met so many wonderful people through the many fun civic organizations. I recently ran into a friend from Massachusetts who I have not seen since the 1990’s who now lives here. We both attended a landscape class at the U Maine Cooperative Extension in Penobscot County. We saw each other and I immediately said ‘I know you!’ (Anonymous)

How do you think Bangor will change over the next 10 years?

A lot is up in the air right now. Ask again after the election. (Jennifer, 4 years)
Hopefully continued resurgence of local restaurants and businesses. (Jasminda, 20 years)
Hopefully, the downtown area will continue to grow and the arts scene will lead the way. (Thomas, 25 years)
Greater focus on walkability, biking, close off its downtown to make a walkable center. (Patty, 30+ years)
I believe that the downtown will continue to become more vibrant. The Community Connector bus system will increase its hours of service including running on Sundays. More people will discover how great a city Bangor is to live in. Bangor will be included on more best places to live lists. (Anonymous)

Any other interesting facts about Bangor?

We used to have way more people. (Jennifer, 4 years)
The largest plane in the world can land at BGR (and was an alternate landing site for the shuttle missions!). (Jasminda, 20 years)
Don’t miss the miles and miles of maintained trails for walking, biking and skiing right in the city limits. (Thomas, 25 years)
Bangor has a growing International airport. Bangor has a beautiful and FABULOUS downtown library. Great variety of restaurants. Wonderful Art Museum. The two downtown landscaped malls/parkways are relaxing downtown parks embraced by the Kenduskeag Stream. Bangor has a downtown Adopt a Garden program through the Bangor Beautification Committee that involves anyone interested in making their downtown more beautiful. (Anonymous)