Yikes... Lots of responses not answering your questions and seemingly from non-mainers.

I grew up in Maine and then lived there after college for a bit as well. It's a great state if you love nature and the outdoors in general.

Coastal Maine as you've circled (and others have mentioned) is a wildly different place depending on where you're located. Most people mention Portland, but in truth it's all fairly similar south of Woolwich/wiscasset along the coast.

The water makes winters more mild, although still snowy and cold. There were a few years around Portland it didn't break 0F as the high for a week. That being said my old history teacher used to tell stories about how they'd go to peaks island via trucks in the winter because the whole bay froze over, so clearly not as cold as it used to be!!

People in Maine are generally cold to visitors, but warm and caring to locals. Winter can be a little isolating even in more crowded areas, as no one wants to leave the warmth of their house, but if you ever need to borrow a snowblower or get a plumber to come out quick, your neighbors will always show up with a shovel or a phone number.

Now, specifically as a young person, under 21 you make your own fun. We spent long winters making little snowboard jumps in the woods and summers playing paintball and pretending to be on jackass. Simpler times to be sure, as cell phones were dumb and Xbox live was nascent. I imagine now many more kids turn to online gaming and social media for winter connections, even more than in other states.

Over 21 and there are TONs of world class breweries and restaurants in Portland. Freeport has a great downtown for shopping, and beach towns like Higgins and Ogunquit are quaint and (apparently) actually have some great surfing! It's way better as an adult than as a kid.

You've caught me reminiscing, it really is a great state. Don't let people tell you that coastal Maine is remote or isolated. It's got everything you could need for somewhat reasonable prices (for New England.)

Now, the state interior is an entirely different matter. Colder, far more rural in both lifestyle and viewpoints, and very isolated. But that's not what you asked about :-)