Move to Maine...someday (Ashland, Hope: apartment, motel, houses)

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by SoCal2Maine

Parrotpaul,

You're very lucky to live in a place you love so much!

It sounds as if you've had it with California. You aren't the only one I hear that from.

When I lived in Portland, Maine, I ran into California transplants. Most liked the place. They liked the dialed back lifestyle, and they seemed to enjoy all the seasons.

Give it a shot. I loved the Portland area. Lived and taught there for 25 years...was born and brought up 30 miles up the Interstate in Bath...terrific little river community of 10,000 folks.

My wife and I moved here after I retired, Her family moved here from New York, and we had no reason to stay in Maine...55 winters were enough for me.

We love southern California, but we are retired. It does make a HUGE difference in the so Cal lifestyle when you don't have to battle the freeways and the crowds every day.

[SoCal2Maine]

Sounds like you had the best of both coasts! Do you sill own an ice scraper?

You're right, California has it's own type of beauty- it's just time to try a different location, I've been here for 40 years! I dream of a place a little bit cooler, room for my dogs to bark without disturbing anyone and housing that I can actually buy!

Since you're in CA...who do you want to win - USC or UCLA?

[Parrotpaul]

UCLA...one of my friend's son is the UCLA fullback...#31 Trevor Theriot...doesn't look good at this point.

Let me know if I can help with any info about south-western, Maine. Unless you really want to be alone, going north from Portland gets appreciably less populated with each passing mile. There are some lovely places to live in Maine, but there are huge sacrifices to make...especially if you are used to the closeness of amenities in Pasadena.

I lived about 15 miles outside of Portland in North Saco for about 13 years. I didn't like getting the newspaper delivered, because it frequently got swiped from the roadside mailbox, so I had to drive 12 miles round trip to route one to get a paper, or a quart of milk, or a six pack. At six in the morning on a Saturday the third week of January, that can be a daunting experience. You pray the truck starts and there are no flat tires, and then you pray the thing heats up by the time you get to the corner store that sells the newspaper, but by the time you get back there is heat in the truck...just in time for you to turn off the motor and head for the kitchen and hot coffee. Get used to conducting most of your socializing in the kitchen. It's an old New England tradition.

[SoCal2Maine]

Sorry about UCLA! They put up a decent fight until the 4th though.

I will definitly ask for your imput as I go on! You've lived it!

That newspaper scenario is almost comical - not when it's happening, I'm sure!
I always wonder about cars/trucks starting in extreme temps...for Maine - one should always have a garage.

I actually live in Glendora (no one would know Glendora) and am a homebody - playing cards around the kitchen table sounds perfect!

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by SoCal2Maine

What an interesting life you have had ... probably because you were in the Navy..? What is the longest you were ever out to sea?

I spent fourteen years stationed onboard various submarines. Most of my patrols were 90 to 105 days underwater. The longest being 105 days, of which I have made numerous patrols. For example one patrol we started at Rota Spain, submerged, shot through the Gibraltar straights, patrolled in loops all around the Med, followed most of the coast lines snooping, just everywhere in the Med, came back out through the Gibraltar straights and surfaced finally back within sight of the piers in Rota Spain. So while I could say that I had been everywhere in the Med, I had never seen any of the Med, as we never surfaced in the Med. LOL

It was not until years later, that I was stationed doing Law Enforcement duty in Europe that I had a chance to see much of Europe and the Med.

I made seventeen patrols. Most of them were North, near or in the Arctic circle.

... You are right about the water - but that is not the only problem with California...we have 6 months of intense heat. Traffic from hell. Crime. Fires. Earthquakes. Untouchable housing. $3.29 a gallon of gas. Crowds of people where ever you go.

sigh

I agree that California does have many problems.

Maine does not suffer with the intense heat. 'traffic' here is when three vehicles are waiting on the same traffic light.

Crime? not so much.

Fires, here are mostly self-inflicted house fires.

No fires.

Housing, some folks here are able to find very reasonable housing, while others are only finding the more expensive housing.

I have not seen any true crowds here.

We like it here

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

'traffic' here is when three vehicles are waiting on the same traffic light.

Oh so right! I turned down my road last night and there was a car coming toward me, a Swans Ice Cream truck parked on the side and another going the same way, I thought it was insane to have that much traffic at once.

[Jpurvis]

That sounds like a dream to me. From my house to my job is 20 miles and it takes me almost an hour every morning to get to work. It is crazy down here.

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by SoCal2Maine

Sorry about UCLA! They put up a decent fight until the 4th though.

I will definitly ask for your imput as I go on! You've lived it!

That newspaper scenario is almost comical - not when it's happening, I'm sure!
I always wonder about cars/trucks starting in extreme temps...for Maine - one should always have a garage.

I actually live in Glendora (no one would know Glendora) and am a homebody - playing cards around the kitchen table sounds perfect!

I know Glendora. The bride and I have hiked most of the San Gabriel mountains, and I believe you have to go through Glendora or is it Azusa to get to Chrystal Lake and Windy gap to get to the trailhead for the Hawkins chain of mountains...up route 39, maybe?

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by Jpurvis

That sounds like a dream to me. From my house to my job is 20 miles and it takes me almost an hour every morning to get to work. It is crazy down here.

I used to drive about 15 miles to get to the school where I taught. For about nine of those miles, I never saw another car...the remainder was a series of about fourteen street lights that always seemed to be red (going by the Maine Mall, the airport, and into Portland), but with very few cars anywhere around. Most of it is two-lane road, and that can be tricky in the winter...God bless four wheel drive trucks.

[SoCal2Maine]

When I took my vacation in Maine, I ended up driving to Eagle Lake, which is very rural, at night - miles and miles of forest, no one else in sight, passing small ancient graveyards...very Stephen King