BATH — Bath will host its second annual “Welcome to Bath Night” Monday as a way to welcome new residents to the City of Ships.

“This is the second Welcome to Bath 2.0,” said Mari Eosco, director of Main Street Bath.

The event is a way for new residents to get to know their city and their neighbors.

The 2017 American Community Survey shows that more than 100 people moved to Bath from out of state or out of the country in the past year. Closer to home, about 385 people moved to Bath from outside of Sagadahoc County in the previous year. In a city approaching 9,000 residents, that’s a lot of new faces.

According to Sally Johnston, vice president of the board at Main Street Bath, the folks moving to Bath can be divided into two main groupings.

“We’re basically seeing two different groups,” said Johnston. “One, of course, is retirees coming up north. Maybe it’s because they spent summers here or Maine is just a place they’ve decided to retire to. Bath is actually a really excellent place to retire to.”

“The other thing we’re seeing is some younger families and couples coming up. They’ve been priced out of Portland and the immediate area around Portland,” said Johnston. “They’re finding Bath is an absolutely amazing place to raise a family.”

Looking at American Community Survey data, Johnston notes that while the population of households with children under 18 has remained stable, that’s largely because an influx of new families has replaced those that have left.

“It hasn’t really grown, but just the fact that it has remained stable is pretty amazing,” said Johnston.

“Bath is so uniquely situated. We’re 35 minutes from Portland. … It’s a great community, and people are really discovering that,” said Eosco.

“We are one of the only communities in the state where we have younger people moving in,” said Eosco. “It’s really interesting to see. There’s a shift that’s happening.”

The ability to telecommute has also made Bath a more attractive place for people to move to. Unconstrained by the need to be physically close to where they work, telecommuters can choose to live in places that fit their lifestyle needs. For those people, said Johnston, Bath is a great place to relocate. The American Community Survey found that 4.3 percent of Bath residents work from home.

The Welcome to Bath Night presents an opportunity for those new residents to come out and learn about their new community.

There will be food and beverages available, as well as a cash bar. City Councilor Aaron Park, who is chef and co-owner of Henry and Marty, will be providing food.

Similar to last year, attendees will be mixed together at tables and encouraged to get to know their neighbors. There will be some Bath-related trivia led by John Ater. Beyond that, there will be city officials, city councilors and other community members who will be there to talk about Bath and answer people’s questions about the city.

Eosco said she leaves it up to residents to determine whether they’re new to Bath or not — even someone who moved to the city 5 years ago could be considered new to the city if they want to become more involved in the community, get to know their neighbors or simply have questions about the city.

“We’re really letting people decide for themselves how new they are,” she said. “We’re not excluding anyone. We want them to know Bath welcomes them with open arms and hope they get involved.”

Registration is not required to attend the free event, though Eosco asked that people planning to come sign up on their Facebook event page in order to help them plan for food and drinks. The event will run 6-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, at the Maine Maritime Museum.

nstrout@timesrecord.com