Communities · Southern Maine
Kittery
Just across the Piscataqua, and a world of its own.
A point of view
Kittery is the first town in Maine, and it wears the distinction well. Cross the Piscataqua River Bridge from Portsmouth and something in the light changes — the buildings sit differently, the pace slows a notch, and suddenly you're on the working coast rather than the historic one.
The town has three distinct lives. Kittery Point, out toward Fort McClary, is old Maine — shingled cottages, stone jetties, and lobster boats that have been in the same families since the war. Kittery Foreside is the food-and-design village, walkable and full of the kind of independent operators that make a place worth living in. And the outlets and Route 1 corridor, which most locals politely ignore, keep the town's tax base healthier than its coastal neighbors.
For buyers coming from Portsmouth, Kittery often offers a few things Portsmouth can't: a bit more land, real access to a working harbor, and a Maine tax posture that some households find preferable. Julie is licensed on both sides of the bridge and works this crossing constantly.
What people love
- Foreside village restaurants and shops that rival much larger towns
- Real working harbor with commercial lobstering and boatyards
- Meaningfully more land for the price than across the river in Portsmouth
- Maine tax posture (no sales tax on many essentials, homestead exemption)
What to consider
- Route 1 traffic during outlet season is real — check the route from any home to the highway at 4pm on a Saturday in July
- Maine's income tax applies — worth a side-by-side comparison with the NH alternative
- Some Kittery Point homes are on private roads with association responsibilities worth understanding
Recent activity
Ask Julie for a current list of active listings in Kittery. She responds the same day.
Other communities nearby
Also worth considering
Considering Kittery?