I am finally living in Maine!!! (Presque Isle, Mexico: hotel, neighborhood, hydrant)

[ProdigalLobster]

Originally Posted by Naimah

Hey, Everyone

I'm new to this site and would like to hear everyone's opinion. I'm a black woman and my fiance is white we both would love to move to a state that has all 4 season's we were thinking about maine. I know majority of the people are white. I know times has changed but some people are still messed up in the head with this whole racism. My big concern is would people in maine except a mix couple or would they be against it?

Belated congrats to the Florida girl who began the thread... hope you're settling in well!

Regarding mixed race in Maine... keep in mind I have lived 'away' for 12 years, so I'm no longer an expert on things Maine. But I do visit every year & am close with my extended family & old friends, for what it's worth. LOL! I have 2 cousins who have married black men, & it doesn't seem to be an issue for them up there. I did ask, because as one whose heart is colorblind, I was curious. They said it wasn't a problem... in fact, one of the husbands told me they are treated better in Maine than they were when they lived in NYC!!

Mainers may not be used to seeing many interracial couples. It's not a very diverse place (especially central & northern ME). But I don't think it's likely you would get any rude treatment.... probably the max would be a little kid in a store making an innocent remark, & then his mom hushing him & feeling mortified at her kid's outspokenness.

Having gone from Maine to North Carolina, I can say there is MUCH more racism here (in NC), & it has taken me awhile to get a grip on all of that (I am caucasian, but enjoy a very diverse bunch of friends).

I'm proud to say, as a child of many generations of Mainers, that I was taught that the color of a person's skin did not matter. I was raised to treat everyone with manners & respect, regardless of how they looked. Hence my great heartbreak to get out in the big world & realize not everyone was raised like that.

[Visiting Maine]

Hello,

I plan to visit Maine in June and have a quick question: Where do the minorities live? I am an African American female and love people from all races but would like to know if the people there are nice and color-blind. According to my research, Maine is majority white. I just hope and pray the locals are nice and accepting to all people regardless of skin color. Please share your thoughts. Thanks.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Maine's minorities are widely dispersed. They don't see any need to group together. The city of Waterville has a black mayor. He get reelected and Waterville has a very low minority population. We have four native American tribes; the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseets. They have tribal lands, but are also widely dispersed.

The largest group of minorities in the same area is probably the Somali refugees in Lewiston. The Portland school system has students who speak 43 different languages.

[elston]

Originally Posted by Visiting Maine

Hello,

I plan to visit Maine in June and have a quick question: Where do the minorities live? I am an African American female and love people from all races but would like to know if the people there are nice and color-blind. According to my research, Maine is majority white. I just hope and pray the locals are nice and accepting to all people regardless of skin color. Please share your thoughts. Thanks.

Welcome.....I hope you enjoy your visit and if you decide to make Maine your home....welcome.

Yes, first off people here are "nice".....well like everywhere...people are "nice" and "not so nice". Just about everywhere I have been in the east, south, mid west and far west I have met some nice folks and some who I felt were really mean and unpleasant. Fortunately the odds seem to run in favor of "nice". I don't know that folks are really "color blind" anywhere.....that includes folks of all shades and hues. I dont think its about being oblivious of color.....its about not having negative expectations due to color.....I am not blind and I love the different colors and shapes and hues.

I think you can judge what you will find by considering how you get along where you are now......if you experience people as mean and not nice....well you will probably find Mainers that way too....if you make friends and enjoy the people you know....you will probably do ok here, as well.

Maine does have two strands......one of being proud of "roots and belonging" and being suspicious of outsiders or those who are unlike "us"; but it also has an equally strong tradition of tolerance and respect for individual difference.....and as long as you arent a threat to me....God Bless You. You will find these two traditions alive and well in Maine.

Maine is a large state......I live in the southern portion around Portland....here you will see evidence of diversity every day.....there isn't a large Afro American community here (or in our neighboring states of NH or VT.) Maine is an overwhelmingly "white" state; but you will see members of other races including African-American, and inter racial couples (and gays and lesbians are a visable part of the community).

A majority of Mainers voted for Obama! The newly elected mayor of Portland is a black woman, the mayor of Auburn is a black man who was re-elected as a write-in candidate, even though his name wasnt on the ballot and he didnt campaign. Maine also has a history of hate and instances of intolerance continue to flare here and there.

I hope you enjoy your visit and good luck, where-ever you decide to make your home.

[Casper1212]

I'm not a Mainer yet. But I'm hoping to find people who see other people before they notice things like what color their skin is. I grew up in redneck central, ie, small southern town in the sixties. I've seen discrimination against people for every reason in the book, and I've come to the conclusion that it's an excuse. If someone wants to find a reason to discriminate against you, they will. Race, religion, sex, age and nationality are just the top five. Thank God I was taught better! I've also lived in Louisiana and Mississippi and witnessed the problems there. Now, I live in a town that is 98% Hispanic and I have never lived in a place where I felt less discriminated against. Hate to leave it, but sounds like Maine will be a good fit for me. Hope the others on these forums that are hoping to relocate there are as fortunate.

[palval1]

Amen! I so hope you enjoy your visit to Maine as well! It's such a relief to hear that people on this thread accept people of color into their lives.

I was so very fortunate to be brought up on a street in Framingham, MA which was a classic melting pot. No one ever thought that we should celebrate anything other than diversity there.

As I get nearer and nearer to my move to Maine, I feel more assured that that same diversity may be present there, too. I pray for that to be the case.

Good luck in your search and have a wonderful Maine trip.

[JoanEM]

Congratulations!! I'm jealous!!! I am VERY happy for you, though. I hope it's all you've dreamed about. And don't worry...your blood will thicken up in no time at all. There's nothing like clean, crisp, fresh air!

See my thread "Want to Move to Maine...where should I go?" I've checked into the Belgrade Lakes region and others, too. I simply can't make up my mine.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by JoanEM

Congratulations!! I'm jealous!!! I am VERY happy for you, though. I hope it's all you've dreamed about. And don't worry...your blood will thicken up in no time at all. There's nothing like clean, crisp, fresh air!

See my thread "Want to Move to Maine...where should I go?" I've checked into the Belgrade Lakes region and others, too. I simply can't make up my mine.

Florida is nice too!

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by JoanEM

Congratulations!! I'm jealous!!! I am VERY happy for you, though. I hope it's all you've dreamed about. And don't worry...your blood will thicken up in no time at all. There's nothing like clean, crisp, fresh air!

See my thread "Want to Move to Maine...where should I go?" I've checked into the Belgrade Lakes region and others, too. I simply can't make up my mine.

Did you ever check into Eastport or is that too remote?


Palval1, how close are you on your move?

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by Casper1212

I'm not a Mainer yet. But I'm hoping to find people who see other people before they notice things like what color their skin is. I grew up in redneck central, ie, small southern town in the sixties. I've seen discrimination against people for every reason in the book, and I've come to the conclusion that it's an excuse. If someone wants to find a reason to discriminate against you, they will. Race, religion, sex, age and nationality are just the top five. Thank God I was taught better! I've also lived in Louisiana and Mississippi and witnessed the problems there. Now, I live in a town that is 98% Hispanic and I have never lived in a place where I felt less discriminated against. Hate to leave it, but sounds like Maine will be a good fit for me. Hope the others on these forums that are hoping to relocate there are as fortunate.

You got that right. I lived down south with 2 strikes against me: yankee and Catholic. Heathen!! I think people here are conscious of the color or nationality but don't give a negative or positive attribute to it. I mean, c'mon, if you see someone not white in rural northern part of Maine it draws a bit of attention.

DW is from Mexico (the country not the town) and she has fit right in from the start. 3 months after we moved here I had to go help my daughter & family in England for 3 months. Folks in town almost pestered her at her shop and at home making sure she was all right. Now if I can just knock the "city" outta her and get her to slow down a bit she'd blend in perfectly.

And there are plenty of mixed marriages here and statewide. Even Eastport has quite a few. And we're considered backward and quaint (hate that word).