Uninterrupted Nature: A Spotlight On Moosehead Lake, ME

Moosehead Lake Aerial View during summer

Three hours north of Portland, Maine, you’ll find a lake that American writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau described as “a gleaming silver platter at the end of a table” with gorgeous land that is “uninterrupted.” Moosehead Lake, its name derived from the lake’s shape when viewed from Mount Kineo, certainly lives up to Thoreau’s words. Stretching 120 square miles, Moosehead is the second largest New England lake after Lake Champlain. It’s also bordered by the charming town of Greenville, where you can discover shops, boutiques, golf courses, and fun restaurants such as the Stress Free Moose. This town certainly retains its local culture, just as the surrounding woods still boast their natural beauty. Unassuming yet magnificent, this tranquil Northeastern lake deserves its spotlight. And who knows — you may end up finding a new vacation destination or dream spot for your lake home.

The History

Henry Perley, better known as Chief Henry Red Eagle
Photo courtesy of The Moosehead Historical Society & Museums.

The background of this extraordinary lake begins between three and six thousand years ago when several Native American tribes used the waterways for transportation and hunting large animals. They also valued the minerals on Mount Kineo, felsite, and rhyolite, which were instrumental in creating tools such as spearheads. In the 19th century, Native Americans living in the region guided Henry David Thoreau through Moosehead’s expansive woods by foot, canoe, and boat. He wrote about his travels in his book, The Maine Woods. Moosehead Lake also holds a noteworthy place in the history of aviation and steamboats. You can still experience the latter by riding the Katahdin Steamship, also known as “Kate.” Today, the Moosehead Historical Society commemorates various aspects of Moosehead Lake’s history with attractions such as the Lumbermen’s Museum, the Moosehead Aviation Museum, and the Center for Moosehead History

The Great Outdoors

Father pointing to Moosehead Lake with daughter

This idyllic natural paradise in Northern Maine certainly has no shortage of outdoor activities. No matter the season, you can engage with nature and explore the stunning scenery. This time of year, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and skiing are popular activities for the whole family. You can check out the best ski and snowboarding trails to hit the slopes as soon as possible. Once the weather is a bit warmer, trade your ski poles for hiking sticks and discover the bounty of mountains and waterfalls that Moosehead Lake has to offer. In particular, the famous Mount Kineo offers several different trails with varying intensity. If you’re unafraid of arduous trails and want to get the most breathtaking views, opt for the six mountain hiking challenge called the Pinnacle Pursuit. You may be lucky enough to spot a native falcon or moose while you’re there.

After you’ve earned your trailblazer badge, try casting your fishing line at over 40 ponds and lakes in the area. Moosehead’s irregularly shaped shoreline encloses an abundance of fish such as salmon and trout, making it a popular fishing destination. For more high energy outdoor attractions, you can rent an ATV and ride through the woods. Or if you’re looking for a bird’s eye view, Moosehead offers scenic plane tours where you can get an aerial glimpse of this incredible lake region.

Moose walking along Moosehead Lake

With a plethora of outdoor activities and local attractions, you can tap into both your adventurous and serene sides at Moosehead Lake. This region, with its unique wildlife, little light pollution, and majestic mountains, is certainly a rarity, making it an ideal place to vacation or reside. 

To learn more about this northeastern lake paradise, click HERE.

Lake Nona: A 21st Century Lake Community

                     photo courtesy of floridaforboomers.com

Every once in a while, we come across a unique home design or regional fun fact that makes us take pause and dig a little deeper. It isn’t often, though, that we happen upon a place like Florida’s Lake Nona.

In a feature article for Worth magazine, author Helen Anne Travis highlighted what makes this little oasis unique. “With its innovative take on combining top-level healthcare, sports, technology and other amenities with residential planning,” Lake Nona offers “a futuristic vision of how people should live…”

Awe-inspiring. Groundbreaking. Ambitious. There are an almost endless array of adjectives that could be used to describe the lake community. But why not just let the facts do the talking?

A Greater Quality of Life

Located within Orlando city limits, Lake Nona is a 10,800-acre, master-designed community. Its raison d’etre is sustainable design, healthier lifestyles and an overall higher standard of living. The community became the first Iconic Cisco Smart + Connected Community in America in 2012. Major cultural hubs like London, Moscow and Barcelona also carry the distinction.

Lake Nona is also the first community in Florida to integrate gigabit fiber technology. Thanks to Dais, the development’s on-site technology company, residents can enjoy internet speeds that are 200 times faster than the average U.S. connection.

The technology is for more than just surfing the web and streaming videos, though. It allows for superior cellular coverage and provides Lake Nona’s Medical City the technological foundation it needs to run efficiently.

But the community has more to offer than just fancy tech. Forty percent of the 17-square-mile development is preserved green space, in keeping with Lake Nona’s theme of conservation and sustainable living. That means a garden, playground, park or pool on every corner.

And they can all be reached via the 44-mile web of walking and biking trails that connect the entire community. Don’t own a bike? Not a problem. The many grab-and-go free bike rental stations are another perk of a community that encourages active lifestyles.

There’s also the Sports and Performance district. Lake Nona not only pushes the envelope on what we know about sports science, but also advances athletic and personal performance with the help of professional athletes, researchers and trainers.

The community is actually the United States Tennis Association’s new Home of American Tennis.

Located in Lake Nona, the USTA’s National Campus houses 100 tennis courts, two separate divisions and the University of Central Florida’s tennis teams. That makes it the largest tennis facility in the country.

And the “wow” factors don’t stop there.

A Hub of Education and Innovation

                                                  photo courtesy of Fortune

It’s hard to imagine how this futuristic suburb of Orlando fits so many things into 17 square miles. From multiple neighborhoods and state-of-the-art event venues to intensive hubs of research and technology, the amenities seem never-ending.

The Lake Nona Medical City is a 650-acre health and life sciences park and is Orlando’s premier location for research, education and medical care. The initial theory was placing healthcare and life science facilities in close proximity to each other will help accelerate innovation.

Over the years that theory would prove to be spot on. Lake Nona is now home to some of America’s leading research institutions, hospitals and universities.

The Medical City includes world-class facilities like the University of Central Florida’s Colleges of Nursing and Dental Medicine. Nemours Children’s Hospital, Samford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of Florida Academic and Research Center are also included in the hub. And the Orlando Veteran’s Administration Medical Center is the first VA hospital built in the U.S. in more than 20 years.

This cluster of medical facilities and research institutions also plays a part in other community-wide educational projects.

The Lake Nona Education Initiative provides extensive learning opportunities at every level of education. Dubbed the Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE), this strategy was implemented by the Lake Nona Institute, a non-profit dedicated to health and wellness, education and sustainability.

All these ambitious projects bundled up into one city seems almost too good to be true. Coupled with the community’s thriving arts and culture scene and its location in one of the most popular cities in the world, Lake Nona is a spectacular place to settle down. And that’s not just our opinion. 

While the development only makes up 10 percent of Orlando’s surface area, it accounted for 18 percent of the city’s growth between 2014 and 2016. It’s one of the fastest growing master-planned communities in the nation.

Beyond being just a great place to live, the community is a shining example of human potential. Lake Nona is unlike any lake community we’ve ever seen. And while it may be the first of its kind in America, we have a feeling it isn’t the last.

 

To check out homes and details about the Lake Nona community, click here.

What To Expect From a Home Owners Association (HOA)

When you purchase a home, sometimes you will have obligations set forth by the local Home Owners Association (HOA). At times, it also includes a small fee in order to keep surrounding common areas up to par. You will need to educate yourself about the HOA before or after you purchase your home.

The Basics

The fees associated with the HOA are typically between 200-400 dollars. It is paid monthly. Typically, the more upscale the residence is, the higher the fees will be for that specific property.

One thing you will need to know about the fees is that it is subject to change. At times the HOA may not have enough money saved up for the new addition to a common area and the fees may be adjusted.

Learn the Rules

RulesYou may be lucky enough to find the rules for those specific HOA’s rules online. If you cannot find the rules, then you are able to contact the real estate agent to ask for these documents.

Make sure to pay very close attention to any information regarding fines or dues. There should also be information listed about meetings.

Compliance

Make sure that the home you would like to buy is in compliant with the document before you purchase it. You may be stuck with upgrades, fixes, or other aspects that will cost more money to fix.

If you purchase the home and it is not up to code, then you may be subject to fees as well. Ensure this is spoken about with the real estate agent before purchasing the home.

Questions to Ask

QuestionHere are some specific questions you may want to ask:

  • How are the fee increases set?
  • How often do the increases occur?
  • How much have the fees increased over the last 10 years?
  • How large is the reserve fund?
  • Is there a record of assessments that you can view?
  • What do the monthly fees cover?

To make sure that you are not getting the “raw end of the deal,” compare the fees listed on the homes you are interested in. Then compare the information that you have collected thus far. It will help you to make the decision on whether this is the home you would like to have in association with the HOA.