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Retirement Living In Kennebec Valley Area - Maine


Jump to: Area, Characteristics, Cost, Amenities, Climate, Demographics, Housing, Assistance

Area Description

The Kennebec Valley spans 23 communities from Maine’s capital city, Augusta, to Gardiner to Windsor to Monmouth to Readfield and everywhere in between. An original 1629 Pilgrim settlement, Augusta is both the capital city of the Pine Tree State and the service center of a Micropolitan with 75,000 residents. Maine’s capital area is rich in history, culture, art, educational resources, dining, industry, and retail shopping. Historic downtowns are full of intricate architecture and art, offering a beautiful backdrop to the many shops, restaurants, and offices that line these streets. Dine in one of the many local restaurants using locally sourced ingredients and catch a show at one of several theaters in the region or, weather permitting, an outdoor concert along the riverfront. The mighty Kennebec River flows through the region to the ocean beyond. It’s no wonder why boating, fishing, and swimming are popular activities during warmer months. If running, walking, or biking are more favorable activities, the Kennebec River Rail Trail follows the river south from Augusta to Gardiner, offering 6.5 miles of scenic trails, which are also maintained throughout the winter months. Not only is there a lot to do during the warmer time of the year, winter brings a certain coziness to the region. Warm up in a local café, indulge in a shopping or spa trip, bring color to you world with a visit to an art gallery, or head outdoors for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. In the Kennebec Valley, you experience the kind of Maine we usually keep for ourselves.

Region Characteristics



Area Amenities

Things to Do, Recreation & Fitness


    The Capital Area offers a variety of year-round recreational activities for residents and visitors alike. Surrounded by more than 30 lakes, ponds, and the Kennebec River, the Capital Area is well suited for activities such as canoeing, kayaking, boating, swimming, water skiing, sailing, jet skiing, fishing, and ice skating.

Visitors can rent or buy canoes and kayaks as well as rent or buy a boat from area marinas. Public boat landings located on the Kennebec River can be found in Augusta, Hallowell, Gardiner, and Richmond as well as on larger lakes in the region. White water rafting along the upper Kennebec and other rivers is organized by rafting companies within the area.
The Capital Area Recreation Association complex in Augusta offers venues for soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, horseshoes, and walking, hiking, and jogging.

The City of Augusta maintains popular Bicentennial Park, a recreation and swimming area on a city pond for Augusta residents. Calumet Playground and Williams Playground in Augusta have public outdoor swimming pools that are popular destinations for locals during the summer months.

The Kennebec Valley YMCA, with its two facilities (Augusta and Manchester) offers two pools, fitness centers, indoor tracks, group exercise studios, racquetball, open gym, child watch services, and a variety of programs that serve all ages. Other indoor sports offered within the Capital Area include ice skating at the Maine Ice Vault, bowling at Sparetime Recreation, and tennis at A-Copi Tennis & Sports Center.

The Capital Area also hosts seven outdoor tennis courts, six public golf courses, one private golf course – Augusta Country Club – and numerous parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields.
The City of Augusta maintains the Bond Brook Recreation Area, a 270 acre urban wilderness area in the middle of the capital city. Within this area, there are roughly six miles of trails for mountain biking, walking, and snowshoeing as well as five miles of Nordic ski trails.
The Capital Area is full of locally owned restaurants, breweries, and bars, which often feature live music, trivia nights, fundraisers, and much more. You can walk along the streets of downtown areas of many of the 23 communities that make up the Kennebec Valley Chamber's region and discover great places to eat, enjoy live music, and immerse yourself in the community.

Cultural Activities


Throughout the summer, there are a number of ways to experience the arts and culture of the region. The Augusta Symphony and the Kennebec Performing Arts perform concerts, and Shakespearean plays are performed at the Theater at Monmouth. Free outdoor concerts are presented on the waterfronts of Augusta and Gardiner with a wide range in music genres. Many festivals also take place during the summer months throughout the region featuring activities for families, craft vendors, local food vendors, and much more.

The Snow Pond Center for the Arts features year-round performances along with an arts education center. It’s performance venues include Alumni Hall, one of the finest performance halls in Central Maine, and the Bowl in the Pines, a unique outdoor venue that can accommodate a full orchestra and choir. Other venues for performing arts include Johnson Hall in Gardiner, the Gaslight Theater in Hallowell, and the University of Maine at Augusta. Cony High School and Winthrop High School both have state-of-the-art facilities for their students’ performances. The Colonial Theater in Augusta is currently undergoing restoration and will once again become a center for the arts for the capital city in the near future.

The Maine State Museum located in the Capitol Complex is one of the nation’s oldest state-funded museums and is the official Maine government's museum. The collections focus on the state's pre-history, history, and natural science. The Maine State Museum also offers tours of the State House and Blaine House.

Fort Western, built in 1754 during the French and Indian War, is America’s oldest surviving wooden fort. The Fort is a National Historic Landmark and a local historic site owned by the City of Augusta. The main building, which is the only original building of the fort to survive, depicts its original use as a trading post. Visitors can experience the past through public tours of the fort, store, and house guided by historic interpreters in period dress. The living museum is open from June to October each year.

Lithgow Public Library is the public library of Augusta, Maine. It was established in 1896 and expanded in both 1979 and 2016. The library possess a collection of approximately 65,000 books, periodicals, and audiovisual items, along with access to millions of others through Maine InfoNet. A cultural, educational, and recreational focal point for the community, the library offers programming, access to electronic resources, and reference services for all.

Public transportation


Kennebec Explorer provides local public bus transportation throughout Augusta. Taxis are an additional option for transportation around Augusta and surrounding towns and cities.
Cape Air provides scheduled flight service to Boston and beyond from the Augusta State Airport. Charter air service and flight instruction courses are available from Maine Instrument Flight.
Rental cars are available at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Concord Coach Lines bus company operates a major transportation hub in Augusta providing direct transport to Boston.
Interstate 95, the backbone of highway transportation in Maine, serves the Capital area. In addition, many other major highways converge in the Capital helping to make it a true center of commerce and travel. Portland and Bangor, the two biggest cities in Maine, are about an hour’s drive away, and Boston is less than a three-hour drive.

Medical Facilities


Alzheimer's Care Center
(207) 626-1770
152 Dresden Ave., Gardiner, Maine

Riverview Psychiatric Center
(207) 624-3900
Hospital St., Augusta, Maine

MaineGeneral Medical Center,
Alfond Center for Health*
(207) 626-1000
35 Medical Center Parkway
Augusta, Maine

Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care
(207) 621-6100
361 Old Belgrade Rd., Augusta, Maine

VA Maine Healthcare System
(207) 623-8411
Togus, Maine

* The region’s largest private employer, MaineGeneral operates major hospital campuses in Augusta and Waterville and community health centers in a number of area towns.


What Will The Climate And Weather Be Like If I Retire In Kennebec Valley Area, Maine?

The weather of the area is in four distinct seasons, but without the severe snowfalls and cold of the northern regions. Since Augusta is at the head of tide of the Kennebec River, it is considered coastal, but it lacks the heavy fogs of the seashore towns. The summer heat is comfortably tempered, but a few days occur with maximums reaching as high as 90 degrees. Mid-summer afternoon temperatures are in the ideal range from 75 to 80 degrees on an average day, with the nighttime minimum average in the upper 50's. Uncomfortably hot and humid nights are relatively few. Winters are moderately cold, with a mean temperature of 23 degrees for the three months of December, January and February. Readings of zero or lower are recorded on an average of 13 days per winter.

Monthly Temperature Ranges

 Month  Low  Avg  High
 Jan  9 F°  19 F°  28 F°
 Feb  13 F°  22 F°  32 F°
 Mar  22 F°  31 F°  41 F°
 Apr  34 F°  44 F°  53 F°
 May  44 F°  55 F°  65 F°
 Jun  53 F°  64 F°  74 F°
 Jul  59 F°  69 F°  79 F°
 Aug  58 F°  68 F°  78 F°
 Sep  50 F°  60 F°  70 F°
 Oct  39 F°  48 F°  58 F°
 Nov  30 F°  38 F°  46 F°
 Dec  18 F°  26 F°  34 F°

Monthly Average # of Hot and Cold Days

 Month  Days Greater Than 90 F°  Days Less Than 32 F°  Days Less Than 0 F°
 Jan  0  30  8
 Feb  0  26  4
 Mar  0  26  1
 Apr  0  12  0
 May  0  1  0
 Jun  1  0  0
 Jul  1  0  0
 Aug  1  0  0
 Sep  0  0  0
 Oct  0  7  0
 Nov  0  19  0
 Dec  0  28  2

Rain & Humidity

 Month  Rainfall  Rainy Days  Humidity
 Jan  3 "  10  10 %
 Feb  3 "  8  13 %
 Mar  4 "  10  20 %
 Apr  4 "  11  30 %
 May  4 "  13  41 %
 Jun  4 "  12  53 %
 Jul  4 "  11  59 %
 Aug  3 "  10  58 %
 Sep  4 "  9  51 %
 Oct  5 "  10  39 %
 Nov  5 "  11  29 %
 Dec  4 "  11  18 %

Snow

 Month  Snowfall  Snow On Ground Days  Snowy Days
 Jan  19 "  26  8
 Feb  15 "  24  6
 Mar  13 "  17  5
 Apr  4 "  2  1
 May  0 "  0  0
 Jun  0 "  0  0
 Jul  0 "  0  0
 Aug  0 "  0  0
 Sep  0 "  0  0
 Oct  0 "  0  0
 Nov  3 "  2  2
 Dec  15 "  16  6


Natural Disaster Areas


Cost of Living for Kennebec Valley Area, ME

Kennebec Valley Area, Maine cost of living for Housing, Healthcare, Transportation, Taxes, Utilities, etc.:

 Cost of Living

Demographics

Race

Religion

Political Party

Age

Senior Housing Options

Housing in the Capital Area is available to suit every taste and need. Median sales price of single family homes in Kennebec County in 2017 was $134,700 although the range of homes can range for luxury homes on beautiful lakeside settings to affordable in-town homes and apartments. Homes for the most part are located on heavily vegetated lots whether in the urban areas or in nearby country settings. Apartments are available in the area at reasonable prices and a number of seniors and assisted-living homes are available. Please see our membership directory for a full listing of Real Estate professionals or contact the Chamber for contact information.

Senior Assistance in Kennebec Valley Area, ME

Kennebec Valley Area, Maine offers the following assistance for seniors:
Bureau of Elder & Adult Services, State House Station 11, Augusta, Maine 04333 Phone: (207) 287-9200 or 1 800-262-2232

Spectrum Generations, One Weston Court, Augusta, Maine 04330, Phone: (207) 622-9212 or 1-800-639-1553.

What Job or Volunteer Opportunities Does Kennebec Valley Area Offer For Retirees?

Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the region including at the following businesses and organizations: MaineGeneral Hospital, Kennebec Valley Humane Society, United Way of Kennebec Valley, Kennebec Land Trust, Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, Spectrum Generations, Kennebec Valley Y.M.C.A., Kennebec Behavioral Health, numerous food banks, Bread of Life (food kitchen).

There are a variety of job opportunities in the Kennebec Valley region. For a list of jobs, visit our website or contact the Chamber.

Additional Information

Visitor Information


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