Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A sound roof is important, leaks can be fixed more easily.
Sagging floors are easily fixed.
I once owned an apartment building in Scotland that had no central heat system. Every room had a peat/coal fireplace and you could use a propane ceramic heater. When you left for work you expected your apartment to be cooler than 40 degrees when you returned, and no amount of heating will bring a room up above 55 degrees. Brits wear wool sweaters in their living rooms, females wear wool stockings all of the time.
Americans tend to expect central heat, and it is nice. However it is not a necessity. Individual room heaters work great, and they are very economical.
We are currently in the process of building our own home. We have owned a few apartment buildings previously, and I have done most of the repairs for those buildings, so I have accumulated a few skills.
I find that most jobs are pretty simple, if you take them one step at a time. The biggest part is planning, designing, and thinking out exactly how you are going to perform each step. How is it going to function.
I have been in Maine for many years and have NEVER seen actions like you describe. No music? Have you checked out the Bangor Music Festival, how about the music festivals all over the state? Even the little town of Fort Fairfield has 2 music festivals a year, a gospel one followed a few weeks later by a Bluegrass one.
I did not find Gizmopolina's post to sound condescending , maybe because I sort of agree with it. I have seen actions as described many times, except there IS a pretty big music scene in Portland.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 02-12-2008 at 11:01 PM..
Reason: orphaned content
I did not find Gizmopolina's post to sound like , maybe because I sort of agree with it. I have seen actions as described many times, except there IS a pretty big music scene in Portland.
So you also find people who do not meet a certain economic standard to be rude, angry, bad drivers, miserable, ignorant, and having low self esteem? That is what was posted, which I find to be extremely condescending.
Moderator cut: no need for the personal insults And this is coming from somebody who is NOT a native Mainer, and has moved in here as an adult from "away" to find some of the nicest people anywhere (and I also have been ALL over the US). Most of the rudeness I have seen and experienced while in Maine have been from those who have come in from other places. Either on vacation and carrying the attitude that they are bringing and spending their money so everybody should jump and kowtow to their every whim, or freshly moved into the area with the attitude that they are going to drag the area into the "modern" era, kicking and screaming if need be.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 02-12-2008 at 11:02 PM..
You know I go everywhere and drive a lot and that is my experience, my neighbors are a lifetime Mainers and they are lovely, I am referring to the contact that a new visitor will have. I know many who would agree but they will never post here. Bad experiences such as tailgating, flashing lights at you at night, passing on the right shoulder at 90? what about the signs people put on their cars? at first I thought there was something wrong with my car, but then I got the point, this one time, this woman from Bangor tailgating and flashing lights, I pull over and she speeds by and throws a bunch of garbage out her window onto the road! But all this is just examples, in general there is a unwelcoming feeling, a resentment if they think you have money and this can be unsafe on the road. My son goes to the University here in Orono and ever since he drives a bit up old truck people stop bugging him. The volvo did not fare well at all. I do admit my post was negative, I apologize for that.
I totally agree with the tailgating, but I already commented on that. Happens to me all the time. I find it alarming that I can drive five to ten mph over the speed limit and I am still somehow the one of the slowest cars on the freeway.
People on my block throw their garbage all over the street and one of my neighbors left his left-over food over his balcony onto the sidewalk. To his defense, though, I am assuming that he is feeding the feral cats and squirrels. It is still gross, though, when he tosses chicken carcasses overboard.
Anyways, I have no problem posting my views. I am not a Mainer, I have no ties to Maine other then my desire to be here. Heck, I am not even from the region. But, there are many things that I am holding back on, just so you know. For one, I don't want to seem like a jack*ss. Well, not anymore then I already do. This is mainly out of respect for the majority of those who post on this forum. Another thing is that I am not sure where people are coming from. It's easy to just post, "this person that I saw today was a real nim rod." But in real life (non-CD forum) I can't tell if this person is a typical Mainer or from Boston or just a typical New Englander or East Coaster. Or a combination there of. When I lived in Minnesota is was easy to tell the difference between those who where born and raised in Minnesota and those who where from out of state. It was easy because in contrast it was like night and day. In Maine, it is not so easy.
By the way, I have never had any problems with my out of state DL until I got pulled over. Apparently it is illegal to have an out of state ID if you are a resident of the state of Maine (more like, you been in the state for more then 30 days). Funny thing, it is not mentioned on the Maine BMV. But according to the Westbrook police, it is a $137 fine I'm going to take it to the judge.
So you also find people who do not meet a certain economic standard to be rude, angry, bad drivers, miserable, ignorant, and having low self esteem? That is what was posted, which I find to be extremely condescending.
Moderator cut: orphaned content And this is coming from somebody who is NOT a native Mainer, and has moved in here as an adult from "away" to find some of the nicest people anywhere (and I also have been ALL over the US). Most of the rudeness I have seen and experienced while in Maine have been from those who have come in from other places. Either on vacation and carrying the attitude that they are bringing and spending their money so everybody should jump and kowtow to their every whim, or freshly moved into the area with the attitude that they are going to drag the area into the "modern" era, kicking and screaming if need be.
Oh, no, not certain economic standards, I should have cut that part out when I quoted. But, if you want to talk about economic standards and rude people, pay a visit to my block and have a look for yourself. I'll PM you the street, if you like.
Modern era, eh? I am assuming that by that you mean big box stores, strip malls and other chains of convenience. I have my own ideas regarding Maine and the 'modern era', but it is not really important, although probably not what anyone is thinking, though.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 02-12-2008 at 11:03 PM..
Bad experiences such as tailgating, flashing lights at you at night, passing on the right shoulder at 90?...at first I thought there was something wrong with my car, but then I got the point, this one time, this woman from Bangor tailgating and flashing lights, I pull over and she speeds by
I'm curious...how do you know she was from Bangor?
You don't say if you were on a multi-lane roadway or not, but in Maine (as in a number of other states), when driving on a highway with multiple lanes going in the same direction it is customary courtesy, as well as the law, that vehicles keep to the right lane unless they are in the act of passing another vehicle.
If you are in the "passing lane" and just riding there, then other drivers approaching from behind may signal you to move over so that they can pass in the legal and customary manner. Failure to recognize this signal and yield the lane may be viewed in a negative manner...and you might even get a ticket for it, if the vehicle wanting to pass happens to be a cop car.
(I don't know if this example fits your particular experience, but it is something that someone from out of state may not be aware of.)
I'm curious...how do you know she was from Bangor?
You don't say if you were on a multi-lane roadway or not, but in Maine (as in a number of other states), when driving on a highway with multiple lanes going in the same direction it is customary courtesy, as well as the law, that vehicles keep to the right lane unless they are in the act of passing another vehicle.
If you are in the "passing lane" and just riding there, then other drivers approaching from behind may signal you to move over so that they can pass in the legal and customary manner. Failure to recognize this signal and yield the lane may be viewed in a negative manner...and you might even get a ticket for it, if the vehicle wanting to pass happens to be a cop car.
(I don't know if this example fits your particular experience, but it is something that someone from out of state may not be aware of.)
You are right, I do not know if she was from Bangor, I was on my way to Kittery, passing Hamden or something like that, on route 1 and that is not a multilane, just two ways and a tiny little shoulder, I meant to say that we were on our way back from Bangor and I subconsciously assumed she was coming from Bangor. She had Maine plates, and we did not, we had Washington plates. By the way, not that you said anything but I noticed that some people think my posts were deleted, none of my posts were deleted.
So you also find people who do not meet a certain economic standard to be rude, angry, bad drivers, miserable, ignorant, and having low self esteem? That is what was posted, which I find to be extremely condescending.
Moderator cut: no need for the personal insults And this is coming from somebody who is NOT a native Mainer, and has moved in here as an adult from "away" to find some of the nicest people anywhere (and I also have been ALL over the US). Most of the rudeness I have seen and experienced while in Maine have been from those who have come in from other places. Either on vacation and carrying the attitude that they are bringing and spending their money so everybody should jump and kowtow to their every whim, or freshly moved into the area with the attitude that they are going to drag the area into the "modern" era, kicking and screaming if need be.
Dear BYDAND, I never said ALL people of disadvantaged economic strata are all those things but the ones I have run into are, I am not you, and I am not everyone, I have a different experience in Maine than you. In Orono the students that I have met from "away" as you call people from out of town (which is rather a "cold" term, that I don't know why but sends me a message of "you will never belong, and don't forget you are from away") well many have made comments to me in conversation that they feel attacked, and they don't like to go anywhere because they feel intimidated. But enough of this BYDAND, I apologized to you too, for insulting your beloved Maine, I understand, but I was just telling the truth and about the spitting in your food that actually did happen at the Burger King in Bangor where they spat on our veggie burgers and since I always look at my food I found out just before I bit into it, My son ate it and got very sick,. Well this is a very long story and really more than I want to tell.
I did not find Gizmopolina's post to sound condescending , maybe because I sort of agree with it. I have seen actions as described many times, except there IS a pretty big music scene in Portland.
Thank you K-LUV for being open minded to my experience, I don't know why I posted such an angry post, I don't know the devil made me do it I guess and of course I have been carrying this anger because the rudeness I did not understand. You know I came here and expected it to be like everywhere else but it is not, very territorial. Which is fine because I am a citizen of the U.S. and I have the attitude that I can go anywhere I please. I also want to tell the audience at large that I think that Maine is beautiful, but Washington State is the most beautiful place anywhere, and you can come and go as you like and no one will make you feel bad or will call you from "away" or put signs in their cars that tell you to leave. I just bought 285 acres up the North Woods and I got people working for me, I bet they are very happy I brought a few jobs close to their homes and I am happy to be able to. I have Maine plates now and am now a Mainer and a Washingtonian and a Pennsylvanian to be,since my son will go to Penn Law.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm going to take it to the judge.
