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You are right to seriously consider Maine for retirement. I've lived up here in Northern Maine for almost 15 years. I grew up in NYC and Bergen County NJ. It took a few years to get used to the cold. Northern Maine has about an six to eight month winter and southern Maine four to six months. Many young people leave because there are fewer job opportunities "away from it all" and some come back when they decide they don't want to live in the rat race anymore. In the last few years I've meet at least a dozen people that have returned or vacationed up here to snowmobile or hunt and decided to spend their retirement years in Maine. The people here are more laid back, honest and friendly. A good choice but so is NH and Michigan.
Adam, I'm glad you've enjoyed your move to the County. Good post. But I have to correct people when they say winter here is longer than it actually is! November is a hit or miss month: this year it was really nice and definitely more like fall. So that leaves you with December through March, and maybe a week or two of April if spring comes late. That's 4-5 months, which IS bad enough as it is lol...but let's not scare folks away!
my husband and i are hoping to move to maine when he retires from the navy in 12 years or so... funny thing is, neither of us has been there.
why move to maine? we could have everything we've ever dreamed of in a property... a little stream, a lot of trees, wild animals, remoteness, four seasons, a large acreage by a small town, ski hills nearby (we'll be about 44--many more years to snowboard, right?), hills and mountains, outdoor living, and probably a little topography in our own little paradise.... our other primary option is buying the land my parents live on in north dakota--which would give us remoteness and four seasons, but no hills anywhere near. it is FLAT there!
my husband and i are hoping to move to maine when he retires from the navy in 12 years or so... funny thing is, neither of us has been there.
why move to maine? we could have everything we've ever dreamed of in a property... a little stream, a lot of trees, wild animals, remoteness, four seasons, a large acreage by a small town, ski hills nearby (we'll be about 44--many more years to snowboard, right?), hills and mountains, outdoor living, and probably a little topography in our own little paradise.... our other primary option is buying the land my parents live on in north dakota--which would give us remoteness and four seasons, but no hills anywhere near. it is FLAT there!
Hmm.
Neat idea.
I retired after 20 years in the Navy, and moved to Maine.
I wish that I had known about Maine back that early in my career. It would have saved us a lot of searching.
my husband and i are hoping to move to maine when he retires from the navy in 12 years or so... funny thing is, neither of us has been there.
why move to maine? we could have everything we've ever dreamed of in a property... a little stream, a lot of trees, wild animals, remoteness, four seasons, a large acreage by a small town, ski hills nearby (we'll be about 44--many more years to snowboard, right?), hills and mountains, outdoor living, and probably a little topography in our own little paradise.... our other primary option is buying the land my parents live on in north dakota--which would give us remoteness and four seasons, but no hills anywhere near. it is FLAT there!
Sounds like you're picturing West Virginia as well as Maine.
We have lived in a few places....I grew up in Mississippi and Texas....Hubby grew up in Pennsylvania and Arizona. After having kids and marrying, We lived in Virginia and Arizona...and back to Mississippi a couple times. This last time in Mississippi, both of us don't feel like we have found "Home" yet. We have talked and talked about having a real Christmas....snow and cold weather....and we have decided on Maine. We will be making the move up in 2010.
One of the things that we don't like....take today for example.....72 degrees in December. It's cooler this year than it was last year, but it's still difficult to get in any holiday spirit when you have the air conditioner on and sweating.
I am from Mississippi and this last move here I thought I would be here to stay. I am wrong. Since the hurricane blew through here a few years back, nothing is the same. People have changed a lot. As well as crime and other things that are helping us decide to move away. There's another reason as well...we would like our children to have a choice of snow when they grow up. They have lived in the Southwest with high temperatures, they have lived in the South with humidity and temperatures, they have lived in Virginia with a mix of weather....not that Virginia gets any amount of snow fall as Maine....and I think that until they are there to witness it, they will have a better idea of where they want to settle when they are older.
Some people are afraid of the snow and cold...not us. I am welcoming it. Sure...some will call us crazy...but it doesnt bother me at all. Sometimes we have to make changes to find what suits us. If that makes sense. hehe
Feel free to share your thoughts...I won't get mad or yell or anything. ;o)
snow and cold are probably the biggest reasons we're considering maine over other places (like west virginia.) this morning in des moines, iowa, we awoke to a couple feet of snow and a pretty decent wind--we got the toddlers (2 of them) bundled up (is there an efficient way to do that?) and got outside as soon as possible... shoveled the snow knowing it's just going to continue to blow today, and all our work will be for naught... just because we're so excited to have a decent blizzard, and knowing this is our last winter in iowa. next winter, we'll be in rhode island, which will be a pretty good winter, too. anyway, we're enjoying our snow and cold!
our kids will be in their teens when DH retires, i'm excited about the prospect of enjoying the outdoors with them in all seasons. i'm kind of daydreaming about cross country skiing and snowshoeing as well as snowboarding with them someday.
my husband and i are hoping to move to maine when he retires from the navy in 12 years or so... funny thing is, neither of us has been there.
why move to maine? we could have everything we've ever dreamed of in a property... a little stream, a lot of trees, wild animals, remoteness, four seasons, a large acreage by a small town, ski hills nearby (we'll be about 44--many more years to snowboard, right?), hills and mountains, outdoor living, and probably a little topography in our own little paradise.... our other primary option is buying the land my parents live on in north dakota--which would give us remoteness and four seasons, but no hills anywhere near. it is FLAT there!
Wow! You two are some serious planners! Good for you! I wish I had done some more planning/campaigning myself. We thought we were lifers, but my hubby ended up leaving the Navy this past August after 10 years in. He had always had his heart set on moving back to TX, where he is from and his family lives. One of his good friends from the Naval Academy stayed in Maine after he got out. We need to visit them again soon. They are great people and I love Maine! I used to love the heat, but can't stand it any more. Wish I had realized that sooner!
It seems to me that most people seem to want to move to Maine to escape from where they are. Their hometowns just grew and grew and nothing's like it used to be. Actually, southern Maine is changing awfully fast. I really hate it that it's now considered a suburb of Boston. (Pooh on Boston).
Someone had mentioned retiring to Bedford PA. I used to live out that way. Why anyone would want to retire to Bedford is beyond me. DH grew up in western PA, and finally couldn't see why he continued to live there, so we moved to Maine because he enjoyed his layovers in Portland.
Personally, I think I'd like to live in Arizona or New Mexico, etc. I lived in Tucson for a few years, of course, it got really crowded since then. I'd love to see more Arizonans, etc., leave for greener pastures. It would leave more room for New Englanders who crave sunshine.
The winter darkness is getting to me. I start to feel a little better in February, but I won't feel like myself til March.
It seems to me that most people seem to want to move to Maine to escape from where they are. Their hometowns just grew and grew and nothing's like it used to be. Actually, southern Maine is changing awfully fast. I really hate it that it's now considered a suburb of Boston. (Pooh on Boston).
Someone had mentioned retiring to Bedford PA. I used to live out that way. Why anyone would want to retire to Bedford is beyond me. DH grew up in western PA, and finally couldn't see why he continued to live there, so we moved to Maine because he enjoyed his layovers in Portland.
Personally, I think I'd like to live in Arizona or New Mexico, etc. I lived in Tucson for a few years, of course, it got really crowded since then. I'd love to see more Arizonans, etc., leave for greener pastures. It would leave more room for New Englanders who crave sunshine.
The winter darkness is getting to me. I start to feel a little better in February, but I won't feel like myself til March.
'darkness' is what I do not understand.
I went into the city today to run an errand and I get hit by the storm, made it home fine, and went out to plow our driveway. But could not find my sunglasses. I have not wore them since last winter.
I find that the only time I wear sunglasses in when I am outside during the winter.
I went into the city today to run an errand and I get hit by the storm, made it home fine, and went out to plow our driveway. But could not find my sunglasses. I have not wore them since last winter.
I find that the only time I wear sunglasses in when I am outside during the winter.
Where are you going that it is so dark so much?
Roooolll another one......just like the other one......
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