"Outsider" in Maine? (Portland, Bangor: best town, hotel, house)

[Audry524]

I'm considering moving my family to Maine and just wanted to get some honest answers from Mainers as to how you would think we would do as "outsiders."

We're not sure where we would settle yet, but I'm pretty familiar with all areas. While I grew up in CT my parents are from Maine (Aroostick county to be specific) and raised us with what I think are Maine values-work hard, respect people, make do with what you have. I still have many, many relatives living there that I visit often. I have no interest in bringing CT values to Maine and truth be told, I like Maine the way I know Maine if that makes any sense, and not sure if that fact that all my roots are in Maine that I would even be considered an "outsider" but that could just be ignorance on my part.

Also my husband is involved in the fire department here and it's very much a part of our lives and we would want to continue that in Maine. I'm hoping this wouldn't pose any problems for him.

So tell me the good, the bad, whatever.

Thank you in advance!

[Mark S.]

We just got back from a trip where we went through Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and upstate New York. People everywhere were very polite, if not friendly.

The only places where we kind of felt as if were being treated as "tourists" where probably Littleton, NH and Brunswick, ME. Don't get me wrong. People were still very polite. But it was more polite than truly friendly.

Mainahs were some of the nicest folks we met, particularly those in Presque Isle, up in Aroostook county. Very nice, friendly, genuine, down-to-earth people.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Okay I'm gonna give you my husbands experience.. He too lived in New Sweden.. North of Caribou in Aroostook County he moved there when he was 7 years old from Mass. Small town Maine everyone knows everyone population about 250... So he goes to first grade and draws a picture of a whale and tells his teacher that he's seen one before.. He got send home with a note telling him mother its not polite to lie to people. His mom came into school telling her he's not lying he saw one at the aquarium in Mass. The teacher could not believe it. He got a note home a month or two later for saying he'd been on an airplane in front of the class and was lying to his friends about it.. Once again he'd flown out of Logan.. Seeing how narrow minded and ignorant these people are yet.. So he goes off to middle school.. We're talking 1996 they school has no computers and refuses to buy them . They were also using books from the 1960's.. My husbands mother and father propose that the school buy computers and teach the children how to use them.. They board said you want em you buy em for the school. So she did, she had to set them up and then the school did not let the children use them.. The school also did not have a playset for the children, she brought it up to put them in as she had 3 kids go to the school, they said once again no if you want one for the kids, you buy it. She did and they had to put it together and everything.. They had their tires slashed , the police wouldn't do anything about it, My husbands father has teaching degree and there were in desperate need of teaches, he applied they wouldn't hire him even though he was more than qualified.. The principle hired instead her sister.. The whole school was fun by one family. Kindergarten through 8th grade.. Everyone was related. My husbands 5th grade class was the largest they'd seen in 30 years... It was 10 children big..The school enventually closed down from lack of students.. Hubby and family were eventually run out of the town they stuck it out for 11 years I wish I could say they went into town trying to turn it upside down or that there's more to the story but there's not honestly , they still own the house and we went back up to check it out about 3 years ago and the people in the town had ransaked the house , tore out all the kitchen cabinets, took all the furnature the left int he house, the toys my husband had growing up , everything.... I guess what I'm trying to say is becareful where you go.. They're weary of outsiders, they seem nice but seriously a lot of them are demented and imbred. I'm sure you heard about the aresnic poisoning in New Sweden where they guy put it in the church coffe and some people died. Bondeson was his name. my husband picked potatoes for him during harvest break. Yah you know why he poisoned those people? Because they proposed to put new pew in the church instead of the wooden ones that had been there for the last 100 years.. They're nutso's!!!. Its one of those nice places to visit.. not to live kinda deal. Unless your're gonna go to a larger town like Portland or Bangor

[Mark S.]

Wow. Well, we didn't go into Caribou, but what you describe could not be farther from what we saw in Presque Isle and Fort Kent.

[Audry524]

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

Okay I'm gonna give you my husbands experience.. He too lived in New Sweden.. North of Caribou in Aroostook County he moved there when he was 7 years old from Mass. Small town Maine everyone knows everyone population about 250... So he goes to first grade and draws a picture of a whale and tells his teacher that he's seen one before.. He got send home with a note telling him mother its not polite to lie to people. His mom came into school telling her he's not lying he saw one at the aquarium in Mass. The teacher could not believe it. He got a note home a month or two later for saying he'd been on an airplane in front of the class and was lying to his friends about it.. Once again he'd flown out of Logan.. Seeing how narrow minded and ignorant these people are yet.. So he goes off to middle school.. We're talking 1996 they school has no computers and refuses to buy them . They were also using books from the 1960's.. My husbands mother and father propose that the school buy computers and teach the children how to use them.. They board said you want em you buy em for the school. So she did, she had to set them up and then the school did not let the children use them.. The school also did not have a playset for the children, she brought it up to put them in as she had 3 kids go to the school, they said once again no if you want one for the kids, you buy it. She did and they had to put it together and everything.. They had their tires slashed , the police wouldn't do anything about it, My husbands father has teaching degree and there were in desperate need of teaches, he applied they wouldn't hire him even though he was more than qualified.. The principle hired instead her sister.. The whole school was fun by one family. Kindergarten through 8th grade.. Everyone was related. My husbands 5th grade class was the largest they'd seen in 30 years... It was 10 children big..The school enventually closed down from lack of students.. Hubby and family were eventually run out of the town they stuck it out for 11 years I wish I could say they went into town trying to turn it upside down or that there's more to the story but there's not honestly , they still own the house and we went back up to check it out about 3 years ago and the people in the town had ransaked the house , tore out all the kitchen cabinets, took all the furnature the left int he house, the toys my husband had growing up , everything.... I guess what I'm trying to say is becareful where you go.. They're weary of outsiders, they seem nice but seriously a lot of them are demented and imbred. I'm sure you heard about the aresnic poisoning in New Sweden where they guy put it in the church coffe and some people died. Bondeson was his name. my husband picked potatoes for him during harvest break. Yah you know why he poisoned those people? Because they proposed to put new pew in the church instead of the wooden ones that had been there for the last 100 years.. They're nutso's!!!. Its one of those nice places to visit.. not to live kinda deal. Unless your're gonna go to a larger town like Portland or Bangor

I'm sorry your husband had such a horrible experience growing up. I'm very familiar with New Sweden, my parents grew up not far from there. I'll try not to take offense to the inbreeding comment since I have many relatives still in the area, LOL! I do get what you're saying however We're thinking more of the Bangor or Portland areas.
.

I see that your location states that your from Keene NH. That's another one of our many locations we're considering. Can you give me your take on Keene?

[tkx7]

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

Okay I'm gonna give you my husbands experience.. He too lived in New Sweden.. North of Caribou in Aroostook County he moved there when he was 7 years old from Mass. Small town Maine everyone knows everyone population about 250... So he goes to first grade and draws a picture of a whale and tells his teacher that he's seen one before.. He got send home with a note telling him mother its not polite to lie to people. His mom came into school telling her he's not lying he saw one at the aquarium in Mass. The teacher could not believe it. He got a note home a month or two later for saying he'd been on an airplane in front of the class and was lying to his friends about it.. Once again he'd flown out of Logan.. Seeing how narrow minded and ignorant these people are yet.. So he goes off to middle school.. We're talking 1996 they school has no computers and refuses to buy them . They were also using books from the 1960's.. My husbands mother and father propose that the school buy computers and teach the children how to use them.. They board said you want em you buy em for the school. So she did, she had to set them up and then the school did not let the children use them.. The school also did not have a playset for the children, she brought it up to put them in as she had 3 kids go to the school, they said once again no if you want one for the kids, you buy it. She did and they had to put it together and everything.. They had their tires slashed , the police wouldn't do anything about it, My husbands father has teaching degree and there were in desperate need of teaches, he applied they wouldn't hire him even though he was more than qualified.. The principle hired instead her sister.. The whole school was fun by one family. Kindergarten through 8th grade.. Everyone was related. My husbands 5th grade class was the largest they'd seen in 30 years... It was 10 children big..The school enventually closed down from lack of students.. Hubby and family were eventually run out of the town they stuck it out for 11 years I wish I could say they went into town trying to turn it upside down or that there's more to the story but there's not honestly , they still own the house and we went back up to check it out about 3 years ago and the people in the town had ransaked the house , tore out all the kitchen cabinets, took all the furnature the left int he house, the toys my husband had growing up , everything.... I guess what I'm trying to say is becareful where you go.. They're weary of outsiders, they seem nice but seriously a lot of them are demented and imbred. I'm sure you heard about the aresnic poisoning in New Sweden where they guy put it in the church coffe and some people died. Bondeson was his name. my husband picked potatoes for him during harvest break. Yah you know why he poisoned those people? Because they proposed to put new pew in the church instead of the wooden ones that had been there for the last 100 years.. They're nutso's!!!. Its one of those nice places to visit.. not to live kinda deal. Unless your're gonna go to a larger town like Portland or Bangor

HAHAHA! my mom is from New Sweden. If she saw this article she would think it was funny because most of it is not true but some of it is. I have been to New Sweden a few times to look at the farmhouse she grew up on which is still owned in the family by one of her cousins. She grew up on a potatoe farm. She actually went to church with that Bondeson guy growing up. You make the town out to be really bad but from what I hear it was pretty nice. Sure it is rural, some of the people are ignorant, but that certainly isnt everyone. Besides, the world is completely different today than 40 years ago.

[Tarastomsgirl]

New Sweden IS a nice town , if you have family there or know someone who's related to the Landeens or Bondesons or Andersons.. I mean they named the roads in town after them forgods sake. All that I stated is true, that was my husbands experience.. it wasn't 40 years ago.. He only moved out of there 6 years ago. So its recent.. Nothings changed I went up myself a couple years ago and we signed our names in the museum book the lady took one look at the last names and was on the phone with so and so telling em the Heaslips were back.. She did it right in front of us no less!! I mean like i said I wish i could say the hubby and parents were in town , makin trouble tryin to change whatever way of life they had but nope they were pretty much left over hippies, livin on their own farm, just raising their kids. LOL but hey they're long gone from there so whatever. As for the question on Keene even though this is a Maine forum , I happen to love Keene its a "small" big city if you will. College town lots of young happening people, pretty safe, it was voted best town to raise a family a few years back... They have some great websites around , check em out..

[Audry524]

I meant no disrespect, I understand where you are coming from and I think your husbands experience was a sad one, again, sorry he had to go through that. One of the reasons I posted this was to get all the inside info. I don't want my family to have a similar experience.

Thanks for the info on Keene! My husbands leaning towards there more.

[irishmom]

Honestly I don't know a thing about the town you guys are talking about. But although I don't doubt that your husband's family may have had a bad experience there...I can't imagine it could have been that bad. Maine is known to be the most progressive state as far as technology in schools go (this is all districts poor or not). Every middleschooler (I think this happens in 7th grade) is given a laptop to use and take home with them. So why wouldn't they let the kids use computers? Sounds weirder than weird. Also it seems strange that they wouldn't welcome playground equipment (I'm assuming that's what you meant by playset) and if it was there and set up how would they not let the kids play on it? Are you sure your husband's memories haven't been embellished a bit? I'm not saying he's lying but I know lots of people who have childhood memories that get bigger and bigger as they get older. I have a sister like that and I just have to stare at her when she tells stories of our childhood and says, "remember that!"...LOL I don't even correct her because I know she believes what she says as the truth, but it's not...it's based on fact but blown up to almost fiction.

Again no disrespect for anything your husband or his family went through I just can't imagine they would have stayed around 11 years if it was that bad.

[Tarastomsgirl]

no these recounts are not my husbands childhood memories these are from both of his parents and I've talked to his friends from up there. The playset at new sweden consolidated school was put there by my in-laws, they spent a whole weekend putting it together and cementing it into the ground. They went to some kind of town meeting and she stood up and brought up why these children didn't have computers, updated books or playground equiptment and I laugh when she tells me that some guy in the way back, old guy, stands up , you know the country bumpkin type and just goes well I didnt' and I turned out just fine.. lol like something in a movie. There are people up there still using farm equiptment from the 1800's up there. I mean its definetly outdated.. When we were up in Aug of 05 we were having breakfast at the only hotel in Caribou can't remember what its called now but the waitress was braggin how they just instated 911 in the town. I mean 2004 and you're just getting 911. I swear to you I'm not lying about any of this... Its all true cross my heart. And they stuck it out for 11 years because they loved the peace and quite of where they were, they lived in a big farm house they bough on 10 acres of land, had their own little apple orchard and animals and for the most part lived a peaceful life... but you know there were times when the people weren't so nice. But thats they way it goes. They moved and they're happier down in Fla. My husband missed NE too much though... He has to have his Red Sox fix ... And I'm not trying to disrespect anyone I'm just giving recounds.. And as far as the imbreeding and what not.. Don't take offense they're all over down here too hun.. Florida everglades is FILLED with Billy bob and Besty Joe's if you know what i mean. Ya just gotta roll with the punches and smile