Visitors often come to Portland, Maine, for the first time because they want to spend a summer weekend in a quaint city by the water, or because they’ve heard about the city’s superlative seafood (80 percent of the United States’ lobster comes from Maine). Seduced by the easy access to nature and relative affordability, many return for longer stays or even for good. Between 2020 and 2022, Maine’s population had the highest percentage increase of any New England state.