WHY I LIVE HERE

Biddeford, Maine porch

A Massachusetts native and Maine vacationer for 45 years, I always knew I would end up here.

In the mid-’90s, I acquired an 1878 seasonal cottage in the Hills Beach section of Biddeford from a Navy family who had enjoyed it for 50 years. I had been looking for a place close to Boston so I could spend every possible weekend in Maine while continuing to live and work in the city. Oh, those autumn days I spent with no heat and only an outdoor shower! When my partner, Rick, and I moved here permanently in 2010, we did not take winterizing lightly. It was important to us to keep the cottage look and feel, right down to copying the gingerbread trim when we replaced the old siding. The house sits on a small peninsula with the ocean on one side and Biddeford Pool on the other. The panorama we see from the front porch — of Basket and Stage islands and Wood Island Light — changes every day. And we have sunrises that would make it difficult to leave for work each morning, but we don’t have to do that anymore!”

JOAN BLACK

Does your Maine home have a sweet view and a good story to go with it? Send a photo of the view from your porch, window, or yard, and a brief explanation of why you’ve chosen to live in this spot, to sarah@mainehomes and we may feature you.