Maine, a great place to live (Portland, Bangor: spring break, for sale, real estate)

[mainebrokerman]

I,ve lived in maine all my life, wouldnt live anywhere's else, but like all towns and cities, im sure you do run into some bad apples and small minded folks, but a bad apple, should't spoil the whole bushel, i've read a few threads are are totally negative, denouncing maine folks and maine living, as the old saying goes, we see what we want to "see"
having travelled most towns in the state, and meeting many "locals" i can firsthand attest, most of maine , is a beautiful state with decent folks, for example, because i travel alot, i happen to see a car on the side of the road,,possibly brokedown, well in most area,,,every third car, will stop and ask if they can help, or make a cell call, this has happened to me,,even in the "sticks" and the folks were very decent, even offering to come have dinner with them. or driving me to an area that has cell phone reception to call triple A. mainers may have a reputation of "keeping to themselves" most of this is born , not of suspician, but of mutual respect,,that "whats your business, is your business, and whats my business is my business"
and also, to be frank, most mainers despise arrogance, or condescension(sp)
and most mainers welcome tourists, and new folks to thier communities.
so once again, yes we probly have our share of kooks, losers, and scumbags, but they are a very very small part of maine. dont let anyone tell you any different!
p.s. i see alot of questions about crime-rates, i believe maine has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation and voted best place (in the top 5) to raise a family, i've lived in my house for 14 yrs, just an hour north of portland, in a small town, and havent locked my front door, for those 14 yrs, and leave keys in my car in the driveway, without a thought, that someone would steal it, its just the way it is, and has been (some places may be changing) but so far in this town , it hasnt.
i was raised hauling lobsters on the maine coast (hard work) and also, worked in slaughterhouses, (early on) so , i know what hard work is, and hard times, just so the small minded folks, arent concluding , because of my upside view of maine, i've had it easy.

and finally, for anyone thinking of moving to maine, i hope they do, and if they are my new neighbors, i will welcome them to maine and the neighborhood, (this is how most mainers think)
so, come to maine, the way life should be!
Rick from maine

[Red123]

Great post! I've only been to Maine once last August for about 4 days and I thought the people were the nicest people. We're going back for a week during spring break to dig alittle deeper in Bangor, Waterville area. It's always nice to see a positive post once in awhile =)

[Acadianlion]

Well, I've gotta tell you a story. I was traveling to Aroostook County for a business project a few years ago. Loring Air Force Base had been given to the STate of Maine in a base closing, and I was doing some work on the base. One of the things that the Loring development folks did was sponsor a series of concerts by the group, Phish in consecutive summers. I am sure most people reading this have heard something about this.

Well, one story that was told to me was about this group of concert goers who made the trip all the way to Limestone, the town that the base is in, and arrived in the wee hours of the morning of the concert. Exhausted, in the really dark of the wee hours, they pulled off the road to sleep in their camper not knowing where they were.

They were awakened in the morning sunshine by the people in whose front yard they had camped. Instead of being angry that there were strangers camping out in the front yard, the property owners invited their "guests" in for breakfast and a shower before heading off to the concert.

I have heard other stories also....about people who had breakdowns while way up in Aroostook County and were treated more than fairly by the locals and were surprised that they weren't "gouged". This is pretty much how I have found Mainers. We are basically an even bunch, and welcome those who begin with a smile and a kind word.

[MsJL]

I like this thread.

Reps for you all.

[mainenative]

I know in my town we have 7 dental practice offices that I am sure of, there may be more and I don't live in a city. The lack of Healthcare workers is a nationwide problem that has been all over the national news, Maine is not alone. Life isn't perfect anywhere and if we don't like our current situation we are free to move along in search of what we consider to be perfect.

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by Catlily71

Maine has a serious problem with physician and dentist shortages. I would imagine is equals
Appalachia or Mississippi. Washington County ME is the second poorest county east of the Mississippi.


Dentist shortage means many live in pain
By BARBARA WALSH, Portland Press Herald Writer
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/ne...tdentist.shtml



Maine’s shortage of dentists and dental health professionals is severe enough ... Right now Maine ranks 28th among the 50 states in population-to-dentist ...
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache...gl=us&ie=UTF-8



http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.2/aid.49010/column.htm




Northern Maine has a serious physician shortage, especially when it comes to specialists. Mainers should not have to wait months to see a specialist. ...
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/...7489&v=Article - 8k


Thank-you, I know I am free to leave, but as stated before I found a nice out of state real estate agent. There is no telling what shady deals the real estate agents around here will attempt.

Because of course only Maine has shady realtors and a shortage of dentists and physicians .

[ontheroad]

FWIW, New Mexico has a terrible shortage of everything--especially medical providers.

Originally Posted by Catlily71

It's probably one of the only states in New England to have a shortage of physicians and dentists. Northern Vermont probably may share this problem...but we know what goes on in Northern Vermont.

[MsJL]

Originally Posted by Catlily71

People from Maine "welcome" tourists and "newcomers" because these people "from away" pour much needed money into a failing economy.

If you believe shortages of dentists and physicians is the way life should be, that's good.

As for the "best places to live" there is the saying: there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. That applies to Maine to a T.

I will have found an out of state real estate agent to sell my home. I am done being ripped off by Maine people with "integrity".

As you said, there are liars, etc. Those with an agenda will usually go with the liars known as "statistics".

However, Maine is the first place I've ever lived where I was able to get an appointment with a doctor (as a new patient) in under 6 weeks.

Actually, I could have gotten in to see him 2 days later, but I couldn't make it that week.

Great MD, too. Knows his stuff.

Oh, and he lives 4 minutes from my house. The dentist is farther away, granted - he's 8 minutes from here. It takes 8 minutes to get there because his office is on a 25mph road, and I don't speed.

My regrets that you hate Maine so much. I wish you well, and I hope you find what you're looking for.

[Coaster]

Catlily71, I confess I'm at a loss understanding the venom you bring to this board. If I understand you correctly, you live in a fairly remote part of Maine -- Washington or Arootook counties. Did you really expect to find the same level of services there that you would find around Portland or Bangor? You also appear to have a very low opinion of Mainers. Why?

It's my experience that people generally find what they're looking for, good or bad. Perhaps a change of scenery will change your expectations, and thus your experience. I wish you luck. If you have a home for sale, where is it located? Perhaps one of the people looking to move here would be interested.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Catlily71

It's probably one of the only states in New England to have a shortage of physicians and dentists. Northern Vermont probably may share this problem...but we know what goes on in Northern Vermont.

I go to the EMMC in Bangor, they are currently accepting new patients.

I read our weekly newspaper, in it the Old Town Family Practice has a running ad that they are accepting new patients.

They are not full-up with patients, so how is there a shortage?