so I moved from NYC to Bangor area... (Washington, Long Island: crime rate, home)
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I am saddened to hear that you perceive to be experiencing negatives from your time in Old Town. IMHO much of what we perceive forms from what we project out onto those around us. I know this could sound like an insult, I do not intend it to be an insult. If you find it insulting, I do apologize. You come from a high crime city, so that may be what you expect and what you may be projecting.
I live near Old Town
Have you checked out the social scene there?
You may find that it would help you if you got involved with your neighbors. I am a member of the American Legion Post in Old Town, they are a nice group of folks. I am also the Chaplain at the VFW post in Old Town, a somewhat more laid back crowd, but very welcoming.
The lodge in Old Town does pancake breakfasts, I go to their meetings sometimes.
Old Town also has a very active Elks, a Rotary, a K of C, and Kiwanis.
We go to church over in Greenbush, though Old Town has a good selection of churches that you may wish to consider.
If you go out and get into any of these social groups, you may find that it opens connections for you. And you may feel more welcomed here.
If you need assistance finding things, or if you would simply like to get together on a Saturday for supper, we would enjoy having you over. PM me.
I am saddened to hear that you perceive to be experiencing negatives from your time in Old Town. IMHO much of what we perceive forms from what we project out onto those around us. I know this could sound like an insult, I do not intend it to be an insult. If you find it insulting, I do apologize. You come from a high crime city, so that may be what you expect and what you may be projecting.
I live near Old Town
Have you checked out the social scene there?
You may find that it would help you if you got involved with your neighbors. I am a member of the American Legion Post in Old Town, they are a nice group of folks. I am also the Chaplain at the VFW post in Old Town, a somewhat more laid back crowd, but very welcoming.
The lodge in Old Town does pancake breakfasts, I go to their meetings sometimes.
Old Town also has a very active Elks, a Rotary, a K of C, and Kiwanis.
We go to church over in Greenbush, though Old Town has a good selection of churches that you may wish to consider.
If you go out and get into any of these social groups, you may find that it opens connections for you. And you may feel more welcomed here.
If you need assistance finding things, or if you would simply like to get together on a Saturday for supper, we would enjoy having you over. PM me.
Now this is the type of Mainer I have known all my life...good for you FB!
I asked my friend that lives in OT about this, here is his response...
"Nope Heard about a Few punk kids throwing rocks at car windows. Sorry and My Brother is a police officer for the county too. It could have but I didn't hear any any thing about it. Stories people bring up Crazy!!"
Last edited by Safecracker; 10-23-2011 at 07:45 AM..
My Dw and I were just talking about this thread. We have only been in Maine for 6 years ourselves.
During this time we have known a hand full of people who have moved to Maine. Mostly they have all had really good experiences.
We know one who is struggling and having a really negative time. We believe that her negative experience in Maine is largely due to the fears that she lived with for so long in a high-crime city, before moving to Maine.
We have tried to be welcoming to newcomers and help them transition to life in Maine. Just as we did in the military. A lifestyle of constantly moving to a new base, trying to get settled, just before packing up again.
I do believe that Maine does offer a much better life, than most of the places where we have lived previously. But it is only available if you go out and engage.
I am saddened to hear that you perceive to be experiencing negatives from your time in Old Town. IMHO much of what we perceive forms from what we project out onto those around us. I know this could sound like an insult, I do not intend it to be an insult. If you find it insulting, I do apologize. You come from a high crime city, so that may be what you expect and what you may be projecting.
I live near Old Town
Have you checked out the social scene there?
You may find that it would help you if you got involved with your neighbors. I am a member of the American Legion Post in Old Town, they are a nice group of folks. I am also the Chaplain at the VFW post in Old Town, a somewhat more laid back crowd, but very welcoming.
The lodge in Old Town does pancake breakfasts, I go to their meetings sometimes.
Old Town also has a very active Elks, a Rotary, a K of C, and Kiwanis.
We go to church over in Greenbush, though Old Town has a good selection of churches that you may wish to consider.
If you go out and get into any of these social groups, you may find that it opens connections for you. And you may feel more welcomed here.
If you need assistance finding things, or if you would simply like to get together on a Saturday for supper, we would enjoy having you over. PM me.
Good on ya, FB. This is how you get on with folks; get involved. Wish more were like you in this regard but here folks do a good job of it too. Tried repping again, NG.
Forest, that is the best advice on the subject one could ever get. If the OP takes your advice and follows through, I'm sure the Maine experience will be a positive and fruitful one. Taking it one step further, I've found that most of life is how you peceive it through your "filters". In short, have a positive attitude.
Please accept this advice in the way it is intended, and that is for people thinking about moving to Maine. Professionally, I was involved in bringing many people to Maine that were not natives. In my experience, those that did the best had some basic characteristics: independent, self-reliant, flexible, and self-confident. Those aren't necessarily all good characteristics in all situations, but they seem to fit the Maine temperament pretty well, and those possessing those characteristics seemed to fit in easier.
As an example, as a child, I lived a couple years in Trucksville, Pennsylvania. The people there were VERY friendly and it was common for people to just walk into each other's houses. Everything was a group effort and people really depended on each other. Now move to the present. I worked with a guy that grew up in Pennsylvania, and he HATED it here. People here weren't friendly he said. He wanted really close and binding relationships with his neighbors. He wanted to be part of an extended family, and that wasn't what he found here. He said people here were aloof and remained to themselves.
He was right, and left Maine. That's the way Mainers tend to be, and sorry to say it, but that's the way we like it. There are exceptions, and fortunately for outsiders, we have many many people from away here, and they can help you with the transition. But, please think about the realities before deciding to come here. It isn't for everyone, and that isn't bad. There is a reason (actually many) why so few people live here, and that isn't going anywhere. So understand that, and do some self-examination before deciding to live anywhere new.
mmkay, so I just moved to Old Town from NYC and I'm seeing some problems. I think I've traded roaches for black mold, apathetic neighbors for knife-brandishing robbers(!) and somewhat-awkward landlord for slumlord. Old Town... sounds so quaint! Where did I go wrong?
I'm not surprised.
As for the robbers, I've been researching my move to Maine for years, and I've been getting plenty of reports of a growing property crime wave in many parts of Maine.
I suspect many thefts and burglaries go unreported, and so do not show up in FBI statistics.
And that they go unreported because most times little of value is stolen, and reporting the crime to the police is a waste of time because the small police departments have enough to do without tracking down whoever broke into your place and stole a toaster, table radio, or garden hose.
Kind of like down here in NY, you don't bother going to the police every time you find a sandwich wrapper someone discarded on your front lawn, many burglaries and petty theft in Maine might be such an everyday thing, they might not be reported, either.
The other explanation could be that the drug addict who broke into your home is a relative of a prominent good-old boy, and many unconnected home owners would fear retaliation from old boy network if they called the police on the miscreant--who n the eyes of his good old boy family, was a nice boy and just beginning to turn his life around.
And finally, it might even be that in some areas petty theft is regarded as a kind of commnity sport abetted by boredom, done in a spirit of competition to see if you can steal more from your neighbor than he can steal from you.
Kind of like the American Indian tribes used raid each other, although without the violence.
Old Town... sounds so quaint! Where did I go wrong
LOL...you didn't really move to Old Town cause you thought the name sounded quaint, did ya? I mean Hicksville sounds pretty nice but it's a high crime community on Long Island near NYC.
As for the robbers, I've been researching my move to Maine for years, and I've been getting plenty of reports of a growing property crime wave in many parts of Maine.
I suspect many thefts and burglaries go unreported, and so do not show up in FBI statistics.
And that they go unreported because most times little of value is stolen, and reporting the crime to the police is a waste of time because the small police departments have enough to do without tracking down whoever broke into your place and stole a toaster, table radio, or garden hose.
Kind of like down here in NY, you don't bother going to the police every time you find a sandwich wrapper someone discarded on your front lawn, many burglaries and petty theft in Maine might be such an everyday thing, they might not be reported, either.
The other explanation could be that the drug addict who broke into your home is a relative of a prominent good-old boy, and many unconnected home owners would fear retaliation from old boy network if they called the police on the miscreant--who n the eyes of his good old boy family, was a nice boy and just beginning to turn his life around.
And finally, it might even be that in some areas petty theft is regarded as a kind of commnity sport abetted by boredom, done in a spirit of competition to see if you can steal more from your neighbor than he can steal from you.
Kind of like the American Indian tribes used raid each other, although without the violence.
Your best bet would be to look somewhere else for a move if this is your true feelings and impression of communities in Maine. This is the single most foolish post I think I have read in a LONG time. I am absolutely Gobsmacked at some of your posts of how you view Maine and it's inhabitants. The garbage you are spewing in this post is un-verifiable at best, and a outright lie at worst.
I fail to comprehend why you would continue to look into moving to a place that you hold in such low regard as you show in your posts. That leaves two choices: 1) you're totally nuts or 2) you're a troll trying to stir the pot.
You are jumping to conclusions here far beyond what the OP has posted. Where has the OP stated that a "drug-addict broke into their home?" PLEASE show me where they say that. Prove me wrong please. PROVE that home invasion and burglary is a community sport ANYWHERE in Maine as you state. PROVE where petty theft and burglary is as common as finding a sandwich wrapper in a yard in NY. You have made some outlandish claims and as such the burden of proof of those claims is on your shoulders. Please post a link to verify any of your above claims. After living in Maine for 20 years I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you should NOT move to Maine. Actually you really should stop posting on the Maine forum if all you have are lies and foolish claims. They don't help anyone, and are not informational for those who are really searching for information on the true Maine.
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