Where did you come from? / how long have you been in Maine? / what do you think? (Camden: sales, high crime)

[RMoore007]

Originally Posted by Maineah

No one is offended because believe me we've heard it all before. We (I) don't wish to make you're experience with Mainers any more difficult than it has already been.
We don't dislike new people at all. If you want to be like we are you'll fit in.
If you want to be like the mouthy morons that Seaglas described then you're going to find us hard to deal with. We don't care either way! It's your life. We already know each other and we're quite comfortable in our skin. We know the village idiot ,the professors, the painters, the repairmen, the teachers, housewives, policemen and pretty much everyone else who matters in our respective towns. Your opinion of us won't sway our way of life one iota. On the other hand if you want to embrace Saturday morning at the dump, bean suppers,firemen's musters, crappy winters,beautiful summers, good times and bad then you will probably be accepted.

Bean suppers....boy do I miss those.

MaineToday.com

[y200]

Originally Posted by Maineah

No one is offended because believe me we've heard it all before. We (I) don't wish to make you're experience with Mainers any more difficult than it has already been.
We don't dislike new people at all. If you want to be like we are you'll fit in.
If you want to be like the mouthy morons that Seaglas described then you're going to find us hard to deal with. We don't care either way! It's your life. We already know each other and we're quite comfortable in our skin. We know the village idiot ,the professors, the painters, the repairmen, the teachers, housewives, policemen and pretty much everyone else who matters in our respective towns. Your opinion of us won't sway our way of life one iota. On the other hand if you want to embrace Saturday morning at the dump, bean suppers,firemen's musters, crappy winters,beautiful summers, good times and bad then you will probably be accepted.

Which i actually think is a great thing in many ways, but the resistance to anything different or any form of change is not helping Maine thrive. Unless there is at least some movement then the poor economic climate will pose more of a threat to these established communities and ways of life than a few people 'from away'.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by y200

Which i actually think is a great thing in many ways, but the resistance to anything different or any form of change is not helping Maine thrive. Unless there is at least some movement then the poor economic climate will pose more of a threat to these established communities and ways of life than a few people 'from away'.

Maybe the 'resistance' to be different, resistance to change is what some folks like about Maine.

Maine is not Silicon Valley, so it does not have to mimic Silicon Valley.

[y200]

There's a whole lot of ground to occupy in the middle there though.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by y200

There's a whole lot of ground to occupy in the middle there though.

Some states make good places to live, and some are better places to make money. Maine is of the former.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Some states make good places to live, and some are better places to make money. Maine is of the former.

I agree.

Anyone who wants growth; or who wants city; or who wants high crime rates; or who wants pollution / traffic / noise /shift-work; can very easily move somewhere else.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

or who wants high crime rates

If you are the CEO of a company that manages private prisons, then you might be into high crime rates, other then that I believe that almost everyone who lives in the city does not do so because they enjoy the crime. They just want to live a decent, happy life just like you, but with concrete instead of trees and such.

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

or who wants pollution / traffic / noise /shift-work; can very easily move somewhere else.

Well, according to the Real Maine, all of these can be found in the Other Maine. Even those in the Other Maine moan that it is getting out of control.

[y200]

To be honest replies that basically say 'do as we do or leave' (and i put this politely ) ) and the attitude that goes with it is exactly what I'm trying to illustrate.

And I'm not suggesting Maine become Silicon Valley or take on the attitudes of Wall Street - but people do need to earn a living, and if they can't, then they will leave.

Maine has to at least some way adapt to changing times and find it's own path. Nowhere on the planet can escape this. And I'm not suggesting Mainers to open their lives to strangers, or somehow become Californian, I'm just hoping for a more open approach to things.

[elston]

I am a friendly person and almost always find that attitude reciprocated. My new neighbors all smile and wave and have verbally welcomed my partner and I to the neighborhood. The lady at the gas station is real chatty and a fountain of info, the owner of the coffee shop greets us in passing on the street and exchanges pleasantries, and at the combo resturant, feed and grain and garden store, the owner sits down next to us during breakfast and regales us with stories about the hijinx of the last 40 years of town life. The lady at town hall and at the public works have gone out of their way to be helpful. I am not experiencing any difficulty feeling accepted into town.

Then again I am a friendly person.....but I am also very independant and not needy of being taken to the bosom of neighbors or acqaintances. I don't want or need a coffee clatch circle and tho I like to wave as people walk by or ride by on bikes.....I value my personal space enough to be planning on a lilac hedge along the road line. I see a real difference between a lilac hedge and a stockade fence barrier.

I have landed in my ideal spot, friendly and personal.....but ample room and space for privacy. Many more of my neighbors know and greet me by my name here in 4 weeks, than ever did on my street in California after 5 years.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by y200

To be honest replies that basically say 'do as we do or leave' (and i put this politely ) ) and the attitude that goes with it is exactly what I'm trying to illustrate.

I can see that. When faced with the attitude that Maine must grow and change into something else.

... And I'm not suggesting Maine become Silicon Valley or take on the attitudes of Wall Street

Really? Are you sure?

... - but people do need to earn a living, and if they can't, then they will leave.

True.

... Maine has to at least some way adapt to changing times and find it's own path. Nowhere on the planet can escape this. And I'm not suggesting Mainers to open their lives to strangers, or somehow become Californian, I'm just hoping for a more open approach to things.

I found our chunk of "Life in Mayberry" here in Maine.

Maine:
Beautiful scenery, The rural lifestyle, lower population, lower land prices, the low taxes, the low crime, low housing costs, beautiful geography, slow pace of life, no traffic, unorganized townships, The lack of strip malls, Ma and pop stores, lobster, small town-new england charm, villages, beaches, mountains, lakes, sunsets, seasalt air, snow, potatoes.

Maine:
A warm and friendly people; where it is to get involved with local organizations; and they are 'resistant' to be different. Resistance to being modern-urban is what some folks like about Maine.

I did not move to Maine to try and force Maine into 'growth'.

I did not want to move to a city, I have lived in cities. I find the idea of moving rural and then expecting to convert rural into city, to be silly.

I do not want to live in a concrete jungle with high crime rates. Had I wanted pollution and traffic and noise and shift-work; I could have stayed in the career-field where I was.

I came here because it is 'Mayberry', and to then insist that it grow into an urban concrete jungle is crazy, in my opinion.