Where did you come from? / how long have you been in Maine? / what do you think? (home, living in)

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

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





Really? Are you sure?





True.





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.

Good points for prospective new residents to ponder!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by 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.

See folks...this is how it's done! Welcome to Maine elston!

[elston]

Thank You Maineah! We truly can all get along even when there are areas of disagreement and difference. It takes regard, respect and perspective.

[Maineah]

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.

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.

The thing is Maine has changed a lot since I was a kid. Forty years ago MOST of the roads in Maine were dirt. They sprayed oil on them in the summer to keep the dust down. Thirty years ago Byrant Pond, Maine still had hand crank phones and an operator to connect the calls. Twenty years ago there were no Home Depots,Lowes, Wal-Marts, or any other big box stores in Maine. Now they're everywhere. Things have been changing around here though not always for the better. You missed MBNA with it's multi million dollar call centers in Camden and several other towns. That turned out to be a flash in the pan like many other business related businesses. As soon as the technology changes POOF there goes the whole company and all the great jobs they provided (for 8 years).Pardon me if I don't hitch my wagon to the technology train. Maine has thousands of little cottage industries you may not even be aware of tucked in some little town somewhere doing quite well thank you.
The internet has been a big help in boosting the year round sales of some of these smaller companies. They do well even in down times because they make good products that people want to buy!! Now there's a concept for you!
We're doing quite well here in Maine over all, your concern for us and our future would be better turned around and used on yourself.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Maine has thousands of little cottage industries you may not even be aware of tucked in some little town somewhere doing quite well thank you.
The internet has been a big help in boosting the year round sales of some of these smaller companies. They do well even in down times because they make good products that people want to buy!!

I have to say this is one of the most wonderful things I noted on my first visit up here and am continuing to enjoy as we wander around... the little businesses tucked in everywhere, often noted only by a small sign on the highway that says the name of the business and sometimes a distance and points down a side road... I have seen everything from car sales to produce to ice cream and lots in between.

Some we have followed and visited, many more are on my "someday" list... and soon I hope to be able to join them with my businesses... one of which involves helping just such folks to grow their business on the 'net... and one of which involves selling my own handmade wares just that way. But we gotta "settle" first.

I love the idea that many Mainers have more than one iron in the fire. I know that is likely because they need to, to keep the roof over their heads, and stay warm, dry and fed. It was so in the "other down east" as well, but it seems more accepted, and a part of the culture here, to do more than one thing. Mainers seem to be (traditionally) hardworking lot, and I am happy to be here amongst you.

[Maine Writer]

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.

Ok, please don't leave. But please don't come to a place we love and try to change it into something else. If you have to change something to make it acceptable to you it was probably not the place for you.

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.

The population is growing not declining. There are plenty of ways to make a living in Maine. If the way to make a living isn't here for someone, or they aren't able or willing to create that way, they're probably better off elsewhere. I hope that makes sense.

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.

Why do you think Maine doesn't have its own path?

I think you are asking us to open our lives to strangers and I think we already do. Elston has given a wonderful example of this. He came to his community as a stranger and has been welcomed with open arms.

Maine is a state full of independent people. If someone can't find his or her way here it isn't because Maine needs to change.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by elston

Thank You Maineah! We truly can all get along even when there are areas of disagreement and difference. It takes regard, respect and perspective.

Couldn't agree more. Now if we could get the rest of people in the country to follow our lead.......

[Siobjuan]

We moved to Maine Highlands a year and a half ago from the south shore of Massachusetts. I have found most people are very friendly, but everyone respects each other's space. Most folks respond 'in kind'. If you are friendly, they are. If you are stuck up, snotty or have a sense of entitlement, run, don't walk, run away. You will never make it here!

Some examples; we lived on the same small street in Duxbury, Massachusetts and there were people we did not know by name on the same street. Here, people may not know our first names, but Oreo the wonderdog is requested by the local wee ones to come out to play all the time.

My teenage daughter put it well; In Duxbury, if your friends rode horses, they had their noses stuck in the air. La de Dah! In Maine, if your friends ride horses, they live on a farm!

Before, if I tried to strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store, I was odd. Now it's where you find out what's REALLY going on with your neighbors.

I love to do crafts in the wintah, garden (flower & vegetable) whenever possible, explore the area, go to auctions... and being first time homeowners, do happy home projects. (Maine being the only place with reasonable housing prices- yes, we looked all over the country!!!) I telecommute for a national company and it is the perfect fit. I am not taking anyone's job, and yet can contribute to the local economy.

It's all attitude. Good or bad, no matter where you go. What you put into the community is what you will get back. Here in Maine, we just won't sugar coat it. You will never have to guess where you stand.

We will always be 'from away'. Our kids will always be 'from away'. That's okay. We appreciate you all letting us stay.

I love
~Reny's & Mardens
~you pick em strawberries
~all farmstands
~yardsales!!!
~how fast my gardens grow (not having to water them the first couple months!!)
~abrupt weather changes (the mountains will do that!)
~a walk around the block taking over an hour because you stop to chat with folks along the way
~snow piling up (NO, I am not crazy and have lived my entire life in New England, so it's not a flash in the pan!)
~the smell of woodsmoke in January
~the way what you have doesn't define you. How you behave does.
~no one gets startled. They get 'jumped'!!!

What I don't like about Maine;
~Nothing!

If you don't like it here, no one will stop you from leaving.

[msina]

I understand completly, I lived in Carver, Ma.

[island mermaid]

siobjuan, Maine is lucky to have you! That was a great post, thank you!