OK This sounds like my kind of thread.
Lived in the Caribou area for close to 20 years and just left in June of this year. Not a whole lot there really. Of all the towns in that area Caribou is the LAST one I would live in anymore. Fort Fairfield would be first choice, Easton would be number two, Presque Isle #3, Washburn #4, Mapleton #5, Then every place else is just about the same. In all honesty the hospital in Caribou is actually a pretty good one and has some
excellent ER Dr's. It is tiny and has limited services for unusual circumstances, but they do a decent job. My wife has worked for TAMC in Presque Isle, Cary in Caribou, and several other hospitals around. Couple in Mass and New Hampshire, as well as two here in Michigan. She still swears the local ER Dr's at Cary are the best she has worked with anyplace (the temps they get in are hit and miss usually).
Culture in Caribou area is usually found under the sink or around a toilet bowl. Sorry, but there isn't a lot of it to be had up there. Don't get me wrong, I have some VERY close friends there who I miss a lot, but there isn't much in the way of culture and diverse things to do.
It is a long drive to anything that resembles a city and God help me, after a little while, the 35,000 in Bangor starts to look like a bigger city. The 70,000 in the Portland area starts to look packed.
Nothing wrong with that if that is what you are looking for. Just be warned, it does take some getting used to, and there are a LOT of people I have seen in those 20 years up there that come to "get away" from the city. Only to discover they didn't want to get quite
that far away. Some settle in nicely, others it is a long hard road they eventually get tired of trying to make work for them.
Fishing is so-so. A lot of fun and the wildlife is great up there. If you are into canoes, it is a wonderful place. Nothing like gliding along silently and coming on a great big bull Moose munching the bottom grass in a lake or river. Being so quiet you can hear them chew it, then the soft splash as they dip that great big head back under the water to get another bite, and the waterfall off their rack when they bring their head back out of the water. Just remember, they are wild animals and amazingly fast for such a large creature. Too close and they very well may stomp you into a memory. Hunting is also so-so. There are some truly huge deer up there, but there isn't enough hunting pressure to move them around. So after hearing that first shot during deer season, they just go into the thickets and lay low.
Before buying, I would recommend a visit or three first. February would be a good time, Late May or early June would be a good time as well. Then sometime in mid August. That way you get to see the area in it's three toughest times. February when everybody is tired of snow and cold, and it is usually at it's peak. June is when the Black flies come out to feast on anything that is around. Some years they are enough to drive you crazy, and there is very little that will deter the little Bastards. Then in mid August is the heat. Don't let the Northern lattitude fool you, it can get darn hot and dry up there.
I really am not trying to scare you away, because I have some very fond memories and dear friends up there, as well as family. I still like the area, and would live back there if I had to, but it is a tough place to live and people need to go into that area with their eyes open and not clouded by low housing prices and dreams. For the most part the people are very friendly, but you will never be a local, know that in advance and it is easier to take when you hear the "Yeah, but you are not from here." Even after 20 years it was comical to me. Especially when it is somebody who wasn't born when you moved into the area. (Yes several times that has happened to me. Once with somebody I have a photo of me holding when they were just 2 days old
) If that doesn't bother you, then that area can be a good place to be. The people still watch out for one another, and if there is a fire it is NORMAL for there to be so much help given and household items donated that a huge yard sale has to be held with the proceeds going to rebuilding, because there is just too much that is donated. People know what it is like to do without, and will give anything they can to help someone else who may need it more than they do at the moment. That you don't find many places anymore, but it is in abundance in the PI/Caribou area.
Sorry this is so long winded, but there is a lot to say about the area, and after living there for so long ....
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