Maine-ah mentality? (Lewiston, Auburn, Kennebunk: house, to live, shop)

[Elcarim]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

does salsa dancing involve a pole???

if it does,, i think you would do well,


from what i've seen and lived, i believe most mainers have softened thru the years.....
not as edgy

Now that you mention it........I was trying to be nice and not open a can of worms. My thought earlier was to say that pole dance excercise classes have become very popular down here, so I'm sure with the right hook ("choreographed excercise", etc.) Salsa classes may draw some positive interest.

[msina]

You could set up through a local YMCA to do yoga I think. Salsa dancing is big with the younger people, think Shakira and The Pussycat Dolls. A lot of the moves translate well. Pole dancing would be big here if you could do it at an all female facility.

was that nordic pole dancing?

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by msina

You could set up through a local YMCA to do yoga I think. Salsa dancing is big with the younger people, think Shakira and The Pussycat Dolls. A lot of the moves translate well. Pole dancing would be big here if you could do it at an all female facility.

was that nordic pole dancing?

Maybe we need to invent that style, msina! I have a hard time keeping my balance with fast-paced dances... but with my nordic poles... I might be able to keep up!

[willb]

I moved to Rawly in 1967 as a 16yr old from Berkeley CA, you talk about culture shock. It was quite a nice place except for the clannish and close-minded people, which by the by are everywhere. There were a lot of bumper stickers that said "Hell No I ain't Forgot", talking about the civil war, or the War of Northern Aggression as it was known. There were 2 white High Schools and 1 black one. The people came in waves, 10,000, 20,000 a year. You could drive by a cow pasture one month and the next month there would be streets and houses or a strip mall. A five minute drive became ten minutes then 15 then 20. The old Maine thing about "you can't get there from here" became true because you couldn't make a left hand turn across 6 lanes of speeding traffic. Country roads started handling 50 or 100 thousand cars a day. I bought 10 acres and a house with 12 pre-revolutionary oak trees 5 miles outside of Chapel Hill in '75 for $15.000 (the guy offered to bulldoze down the house for me at no charge) by '84 it was surrounded by subdivisions and trailer parks. My wife and I moved to Wake Forest in '91, there were 5000 people living there and it was 15 miles from the Raleigh line. Burlington Industries employed 800 people, Weavex, Shrader-Bellows, and a company called Athey that made street-sweepers, all employed 200 people or more. By the time we left in 2003 there were 20,000 people, Wake Forest and Raleigh shared a border, all the factories were gone, and the Super Target was the largest employer. When she was 7 my oldest daughter came home crying from the neighbors because she was told she wasn't welcome because the girl's mother felt that she wasn't close enough to Jesus. It was hard to talk to a stranger without the Amway opportunity entering the conversation. Up here people may make their judgements, but you can have your space and most are polite or friendly. In 5+ years nobody has mentioned Amway or asked about my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I think the beauty of the place is amazing. I don't know if you could make it teaching, but you can certainly dance to your own tune.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

does salsa dancing involve a pole???

Salsa on a pole does sound exciting.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

does salsa dancing involve a pole???

There you go again with your one track mind. My dear man, would you be so kind to show us all how it's done? I'd pay good money to watch you pole dance.

[ProdigalLobster]

Pole dancing (as fitness class, for women only) is huge here, too, Elcarim! What parts are you from? Hmm... maybe I should start teaching that as well! :P

Willb, you make some good points about the development of Raleigh. My personal experience has been a lot more positive; I've only been here 4 years, & I love the balance & diversity of the area. Before here, however, I did leave in eastern NC... attitudes there are much more like Raleigh 40 years ago, as I'm sure you know. So to me, present-day Raleigh-Durham offers much of the culture of bigger cities, with a relatively low cost of living. I will miss much about this area if/when I go.

Despite being in an area that makes me happy, there is a nudging feeling that my place is in Vacationland, giving back to the place that made me who I am.

This thread is really encouraging; thank you all!

[RANGER.101ST]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

does salsa dancing involve a pole???

if it does,, i think you would do well,


from what i've seen and lived, i believe most mainers have softened thru the years.....
not as edgy

that would be awsome (salsa pole dancing) stricly in a profecinal maner of corse.but if there were classes then it would be edgicational.

[dramamama6685]

Welcome, prodigallobster. I wish you all the happiness in your journey back home.

[ProdigalLobster]

Thank you, dramamama... you, too!

Since I see you have Eastport in mind, that reminds me of something Molly mentioned earlier in the thread. Molly, you said that Eastport & Calais have traded relative sizes? When I was there in the early 90's, Calais was the bigger place with more going on. Is Eastport now the booming town?? I always did like that town; it seemed to have more character.