The Up's and Down's of Living in Bath, Maine as a Navy Family
Bath, Maine is home to Bath Iron Works (BIW). They are part of General Dynamics and are "... a full service shipyard specializing in the design, building and support of complex surface combatants for the U.S. Navy." (General Dynamics, 2020).
While in Japan, my husband was selected for orders to USS Zumwalt 1000. A new class and first of it's kind destroyer that was being built there. Now it actually should have been completed and in it's new homeport by the time we were back in the states. But it was not. Not even close because the union kept striking and demanding more money. So instead of meeting it in San Diego, we met it in Maine. Even when we got there, the few month's extension, turned into a year.
Having heard nice things about Maine and the New England coast, we were happy to have a chance to check it out for ourselves. So we kept our hopes up and prepared for the cold, moose, and "lobstah"!
Pros
Bath, Maine, and really the whole southeastern area of the state that we got to check out was very scenic, and always picturesque. The rocky coastline with lighthouses and pine trees littering the area as far as you could see was very pretty. All the small towns, and even the city of Portland, were very quaint and nice to visit. Traffic was practically non-existent.
If you love seafood, then you have hit the jackpot. Everywhere we turned there was fresh fish, crab, and of course lobster! You couldn't escape it even if you tried. Even the McDonald's in the area sold lobster rolls during the summer when it was prime season for it.
Since we weren't sure how long we were going to be there, we opted to rent from military housing. They took the whole basic housing allowance (BAH), but it covered rent, utilities, and maintenance!
When we got there, it was still just my husband and me so we only qualified for a two-bedroom townhouse. But it was in great condition, clean, and very spacious. I absolutely loved the closets, too. They had so much storage space! So although it was an all BAH place, it was definitely worth the money.
Since there is no actual base at that location, so no base gym, we were given a free membership to the Bath YMCA. It was a nice facility that met our needs.
And again since there was no base for over an hour in the area, the local hospital was where we were designated to go. I spent most of our time in Maine pregnant with our first son. So I got very familiar with Midcoast Hospital. It was a very nice place. And I was very happy with all the doctors I saw- which is not something I say lightly given my medical history. So huge pro!
Cons
Unfortunately, this beautiful location did have cons that I do need to share. The first one I will start with are the people. Although I did meet a couple of nice people, overall most of my encounters were very negative.
I'm a light-skinned Hispanic, but even I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb. I could only imagine what my husband was feeling. When I was pregnant, a nurse at the hospital asked if I thought my baby would come out tan like me. So, yeah, that is saying something. Also when pregnant there, I always got comments about my weight and asked if I was carrying twins because I was so big. I never got those comments here in Illinois.
Still speaking about the people of the area, the people BIW hired were so rude and disgusting all the time. They parked wherever they wanted to, urinated wherever they felt like it, and drank during their lunch breaks. (Apparently it was allowed and protected under the union to drink up to two beers during their break.) These were the people building the Navy's ships and constantly striking to demand more money.
Although traffic wasn't terrible, the drivers themselves acted like they didn't care about their vehicles or yours. So many of the vehicles there had countless dents, and their driving proved it when they would tailgate and go 20 over the limit, even in the winter!
When it came to work, there weren't a whole lot of job opportunities, unless you were willing to drive to Portland every day. It really was a small town, surrounded by trees, small towns, and more trees. I found a remote position, but it did take months of looking to come across that job. The area being very seasonal didn't help this either. The main months of work were during the summer, which itself isn't that long.
In regards to things to do in the area, there isn't much. I do love the outdoors. But being pregnant most of the year there didn't allow me the opportunity to engage in outdoor sports. And there weren't malls or a lot of indoor things to do to entertain me while pregnant. So I really kept myself busy that year with doctor appointments and work.
Would You Recommend It?
Honestly, no. For those that truly want to live as much off the grid as you can, or in a small town, then this is the place for you. However, as much as I love the outdoors, I need a balance of indoor things to do too, especially with little kids and winter months being 6 to 7 months long.
Also, I'm sorry, but the people really didn't help with making us feel welcomed. I get that it's a small town. But seeing as it revolves mostly around shipbuilding for the Navy, they should know to expect people of various backgrounds to rotate through and be much more polite and understanding. But they weren't, so that really took them off my list of places I would want to go again.
However as I've said in other posts, everyone's experience in a location can vary due to things they may or may not have control of. I know plenty of people that loved it and had a great time. So with that said, keep an open mind. This was just my experience living in Bath, Maine for a year.
Works Cited
“Who We Are.” General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, 2020, https://gdbiw.com/who-we-are/.
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