I commuted to UNE from Yarmouth during all of first year, and it took me 45 minutes door to door. I later moved to POrtland 2nd year and it took 35 minutes. It NEVER took me an hour to get to school, construction or not. EVER.
There are good places to study in Portland. It depends on what kind of environment you like. You can study at the UNE library in Westbrook, the USM library, or the law library on the USM campus. If you don't like libraries, there are about 5 coffee shops in the Old Port, 2 of which I studied at frequently (Starbucks and Java net). Some of my other friends who lived here studied at a new Starbucks near the mall by Target. There are also good places to study outdoors, namely Deering Oaks park, and in Cape Elizabeth there's plenty of land around Fort Williams and Two Lights State park to throw down a blanket and study. There's a Borders near the mall, which is a little loud, but if you study with headphones the noise isn't a big deal. Some people studied there. Or you can just stay at school. As for studying past 10pm somewhere other than your house on a weeknight in Portland, no, there isn't really anywhere I know of. The public library is good too, if you go in the "Portland Room".
If anyone has any other questions about UNE or Portland, you can PM me. I don't get on here that much, so it may be awhile before I can get back to you, so anything pressing you should probably post. Good luck to you all!
Doc Oc
UNECOM Class of 2005