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Good news, my wife and I are trying to reconcile and we've been doing better working things out. I'm a 'country boy' at heart, but she's a 'city girl' from Sydney. She's very opposed to moving to a place like Maine, because she thinks she would be bored and cold (that's what a wood stove & coffee is for! LOL). Although she loves country homes, and enjoys doing activities outdoors. For some reason city people have this unnatural/unreasonable fear of living in the countryside. Ex: my Sister visited my families home in the 'woods' of RI, and she was afraid that there were 'murderers' lurking about; which is just hilarious considering she's from LA, and there's multiple murders there every week. I think the best thing we could do would be to visit Maine next time we come back to the US, and stay for a week or so. If she experienced it first hand, I know she'd fall in love right away.
On the topic of healthcare jobs. It bothers me how low some Healthcare workers get paid in the US at the moment. CNA's, or any kind of carer, here in AU get paid $25.00 per hour to start, and everyone has full health coverage by default. That's nearly the same starting rate of pay RN's make in the US (depending on the state). I know RN's at one time used to get paid quite low as well, until they unified and demanded appropriate compensation. I'm just surprised CNA's haven't done the same yet, considering they do all (or most) of the labor RN's used to do.
I'll have to think about what would be the best way to get my RN license. In many ways I think i'd rather get my RN first, then move to Maine and have a solid job lined up. That way if my wife wanted to be a stay at home mom, I could work full-time and get some overtime and support us.
As for my wife, she's a qualified 5 star restaurant Head Chef. I've seen some nice restaurants in some of the major cities, like Portland. Is culinary a bad field to for most of Maine, or are their good opportunities in the major cities, upscale lodges, and Skii resorts ect? I've been to Sunday River a few times, and I could imagine a chef could get a good job in that area, among others.
I took a look at Lincoln, and it seems like a really nice place. Could anyone give me some first hand info & opinions about what it's like to live there?
I am afraid that for now you are living a fantasy. Let's begin with a few numbers: there are only 1.3 million people in the entire state of Maine, and these people are scattered about an area larger than all the rest of New England put together. The largest city in Maine is Portland with fewer than 100,000 people, and Cumberland County, which INcludes Portland, is 2/3rd the size of the ENTIRE state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island has only 100,000 thousand fewer people than the ENTIRE state of Maine.
What this means is that the economy of the entire state of Maine is very, very small. That means that certain kinds of services and professions either do not exist in Maine, or exist in a very small area with very few to support it.
In the case of the medical services industry here, while Maine has a really pretty good network of hospitals and the movement in Maine hospitals particularly has been away from RN staffing for some time. At the same time this has been happening, many hospitals have also changed to "hospitalists" of regular doctors who are on the hospital's payrolls and do not practice outside of the hospital environment. With a constant staff of doctors on premises, the need for RN's has diminished somewhat. This is both a quality of service and financially driven management model.
So while RN's make more money than do LPNs, LPNs seem to have better job security in Maine overall and more demand than do RN's.
But the entire health management situation in Maine is in flux, and has been for several years since the state of Maine foolishly tried to force out the health insurance industry and become a single payer state all by its financially weak little self, the only result of which has been a diminishment of health services in general, and a tremendous rise in the cost of health insurance for Maine people and businesses. I don't think this is a good time to be thinking fond thoughts of entering the health business in Maine.
As far as "five star" food service is concerned, I'll bet that there aren't ten, true "four star" restaurants in the state of Maine, and I'll bet that there aren't more than one or two that are open year round. My insurance business was substantially devoted to the food service industry in Maine and when I sold it in 1989 if memory serves, there were fewer than ten restaurants that could have earned four stars in the Michelin Guide, and of those only two were year round businesses.
You are absolutely on the right track to plan on coming to Maine and spending some time here. Without being here with your feet on the ground, and getting a chance to meet real Maine people in many different locations, there is no way to make a comparison between here and anywhere else. If your lady friend has experience in rural areas in Austrailia or other places around the world and has determined that she is a city or urban person, she probably knows what she is all about: Maine is a rural state, with many, small to tiny towns, and very little in terms of urban environment and the kinds of cultural experiences that go with that.
By all means come and be in Maine. January and February would be great months for your girlfriend to come to Maine, because she will probably see Maine at its coldest. But her problem is not going to be with the cold. Her problem will be with the smallness of the environment and the long period during which the flourishing of the tourist economy that brings the much of the state to life, is just not here: late fall to late spring can seem like a long, bleak period, and that sort time and activity doesn't exist in urban environments.
Agree with Acadalion.
Don't try to change your woman friend's mind. Have a husband like that and we have compromised on getting a summer place within 3 hours of Boston. That way we will still live in suburbia most of the time - it is his comfort zone. However, we will be able to escape to the country in the summer - which is my comfort zone.
You have to remember, when they see lots of trees, they see nothing out there. When I see lots of trees - I see lots of things out there!~
Just to clarify. This isn't a lady friend, she's my wife, and we've been married for nearly 6 years.
I understand Maine isn't one of the easiest places to live, but neither is RI. I'm more concerned about having a fullfilling life, not an easy life. We're saving as much as possible, and once we buy a house, we can eventually sell our home here in AU and buy an affordable home in Maine. I plan on growing, hunting, and fishing for most of our food. I know firsthand that having a woodstove and cutting our own timber can save you heaps on heating expesnes. By doing this alone, our weekly expenses would be miniscule in comparison to living in a city.
If I had my RN, I could still work as a LPN if need be. I don't see how there would ever be a shortage of work in the healthcare field. I could also work privately on the side taking care of people. As for my wife, she could work in various levels of fine dining (4-Star if need be). Heck, maybe she'll open up her own restaurant in the right area in Maine, as she is planning on owning her own restaurant one day.
I know lots of people who have moved to Maine, and are very happy and comfortable living on a modest income. Maine gives you the opportunity to live a free life, and have access to the outdoors unlike anything here in Australia, or even Rhode Island. I know it can be done, and there's a price you pay for everything.
Either way i'm going to get my degree first before I move to Maine. I don't want to foolishly move there and ruine my dream.
Sorry. I stand corrected: YOUR WIFE! Even more important then. By all means you MUST get your degree before moving to Maine. Here in Maine education counts a lot, but if you don't have it, it also counts an awful lot against you.
Bring you wife to Maine and look around. She might really like the honesty that she will find here, it is one thing that Mainers have in great quantity.
I tend to agree with you regarding opportunity in Rhode Island. Of all the states in the northeast, I would think in terms of opportunity for you in Rhode Island as pretty far down the totem pole. (Full disclaimer: I began my life after college by teaching in Rhode Island for two years). But in Rhode Island you are very near to Boston and New York, and there is where the opportunities abound, and the spin-offs from both of those two cities bridge most of the territory between. Comparatively, Maine is waaaaaaaaaaay out of there.
RI has some very nice sights, and outdoor areas. Although the goverment there ruines everything. At least in Maine you have freedom to do as you please in the outdoors, and you don't have to worry as much about 'D.E.M' breathing down your neck. It's ridiculous how restricted RI is when it comes to the outdoors; although it's even worse here in Australia, which is disappointing.
I'm going to be checking with the universities here, and see if the Nursing license is is transferable to the US. Based on what i've read it seems like it's easier now, as some harder requirements for transfering your Nursing license have been dropped in most U.S. states.
Acadianlion, what do you have to say about living off the land in Maine?
RI has some very nice sights, and outdoor areas. Although the goverment there ruines everything. At least in Maine you have freedom to do as you please in the outdoors, and you don't have to worry as much about 'D.E.M' breathing down your neck. It's ridiculous how restricted RI is when it comes to the outdoors; although it's even worse here in Australia, which is disappointing.
I'm going to be checking with the universities here, and see if the Nursing license is is transferable to the US. Based on what i've read it seems like it's easier now, as some harder requirements for transfering your Nursing license have been dropped in most U.S. states.
Acadianlion, what do you have to say about living off the land in Maine?
Living off the land? I guess I don't really know what you mean by that. Does that mean that you raise all your own food, live in a shack with a little woodstove, the wood for which you cut out in the back yard, and you use an old fashioned outhouse? Well, I guess there are people who do that, and yes it can be done.
Mostly what people think of as "living off the land" is far less primitive than that. Many in Maine raise chickens and sometimes other critters that are kept and slaughtered for food. Many more have gardens with varying degrees of success because the weather can be so changeable that not all crops grow the same way, year over year.
Not long ago there was a fellow who wrote about moving to Maine for a simpler life. His plan was to raise food in the garden and go fishing for fish and have a few lobster traps. He planned to try to sell his fish and lobsters to others, and was somewhat surprised that there are regulations both legal and social about getting into the lobster buisness. I have known more than a few casual, or "recreational" lobstermen, and from my observation it is something that people try to do for one or two years, but by the time they have laid out the money for boat, motor, fuel, traps, rope and assorted other gear, PLUS lobster bait, they would be financially much further ahead to go to the fish market and buy a couple of lobsters every once in a while.
You mention "D.E.M", which I take it referrs to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Protection. Make no mistake: Maine has its own Department of Environmental Protection, and whatever regulatory agency exists in Rhode Island, exists in Maine. Make no mistake: Maine is just as much a part of the US as is Montana, Michigan, Iowa, California, New Mexico and the other 44 states and has every one of the same agencies, many of which have far more sharp teeth than the rest: as a small business person just try to figure out Maine's sales tax law!
If you are thinking of "living off the land" as a way to avoid being a part of the general American culture, I sympathize with you. There is an awful lot of our "American Lifestyle" that is rather shallow and based on pretty skimpy and false values. Much of that is likely to change over the short future simply because so much has been dependent on credit and delusional thinking about the importance of acquisition as a factor of life. But if you are contemplating moving to rural Maine with the hope that you can disconnect from ALL of it, I would have to submit that you will have a hard time going back to an early 19th century lifestyle.
I have one example to give you here from my own experience. I came to Maine the first time in the summer of 1944. I was barely six months old, and my family came drove up the long, two lane road from Massachusetts to bring me, the new baby in the house, to see my Mother's parents. That began an annual pilgrimage. Father was a teacher and we had most of all summers to spend in the little cottage on the shore not far from Ellsworth.
When I was about eight, after much pleading, my Father bought me a Plumb hatchet. I grew up watching my Father and my grandfather chop wood for the kitchen stove, and my grandfather's house was heated entirely by the big cook stove in the kitchen, and a wood burning hot air furnace in the basement. I wanted to chop wood, too, so my Father gave me the new hatchet, along with a very stern and strong training session about the dos and don'ts of chopping wood.
One morning, I did the "don't", and while trying to chop a piece of kindling, I made the mistake of trying to drive the hatchet down into too finer piece, and caught the end of the index finger on my left hand just at the last joint.
There was blood EVERYWHERE.
My hand wrapped in bandage and a big towel, my Father and Mother raced up to Ellsworth, about five miles away, which in those days took about about twenty minutes. We did have a telephone in the cottage, and Mother had called my Uncle Fred's office: he was an osteopathic doctor and one of the only ones in eastern Hancock County. The doctor was in.
Uncle Fred unwrapped my hand, looked at my finger and called the hospital in Bangor. Wrapped up again, we headed up Route 1A for the ONE HOUR trip to cover the 30 miles to Bangor. In those days Route 1A was a narrow little two lane road that was rough as a washboard over most of its length. VERY slow going in the best of times.
Well, the doctor in Bangor sewed me up and said that I would probably lose all use of the end of my finger and I might even have to have the end of my finger taken off. I didn't. I even retained the use of all of my finger, but it is a mite shorter than the right index finger and sports a huge scar to this day.
But I almost didn't make the trip home because I lost a LOT of blood and there was not a lot anyone could do about it because it was more than a long tortuous trip from point of accident to medical care: I was lucky that the doctor was in, and in fact, that there WAS a doctor.
Now there are still places in Maine where people live that are well more than an hour from medical care of any kind. If you are thinking of "living off the land" in its purest form, then you need to ask yourself if that means being willing to die from a simple injury the medical fix for which is just out of reach by time, distance and conditions.
In 1977 I moved into the little summer cottage for good. My wife had decided that I should go and live in the Maine woods instead of being anywhere near her, and her suburban environment near Hyannis, Massachusetts. That first winter was pretty harsh with a lot of snow, and an awful lot of wind off the water. The ground was covered with ice and snow of varying depths from late November into April.
One night I arrived back from town with a sack of groceries. I had to park the car about 100 feet from the house which was down a slope which wasn't terribly steep. It was very dark and VERY cold, and the ground was covered with a sheet of ice. I stepped away from the car, grocery sack in my arms, took a couple of steps and the next thing I knew I was coming to, and looking up at the stars. I had falled flat on my back and smacked my head on the ground, knocking myself silly for a few seconds.
I lay there for a while looking up at the stars, and realized that it was entirely possible that living in that little cottage alone, with no neighbors within half a mile, that I could just die there and no one would know about it for certainly several days. I learned from that experience that I needed to be more than just a little mindful of my environment and how close to the earth I really was.
Two nights ago, living in the same place but in a modern house, we arrived home after dark with grocery items. I was making the last trip from the car to the house...I still haven't squared the garage away enough to put all the vehicles inside...and carrying four large items in my arms, I tripped on a 3 1/2 inch piece of ice that was frozen into the driveway. I went down flat, bruising my left wrist and my ego. It was easy and quick: the driveway and yard is well plowed, flat, and well lighted with about 750 watts of flood lights. But there was this one little bitty piece of ice that could have resulted in a broken somethingorother on this 65 year old body. We now are far from wilderness.
The point that I am making here is that America has become an urban culture. The concept of "living off the land" is romantic and it is well and good to have some basic survival skills to use for fun and for those times when the snow and wind take down the power lines. But to deliberately seek out an agrarian substitance lifestyle is counter to the entire culture. From what you have written your wife is an urban woman who wants to enjoy the solidity and dependability of living within the settled environment. I doubt that you will every find it an easy task to enlist her enthusiasm for the blisses of rural life.
Maine in many ways offers a simpler alternative to suburban Boston. But there are many liimitations to living this sort of simpler life, and for many younger people there are not enough tradeoffs to justify what they see as a hardship and limitation to the successful development and following of their lives.
Have to admit, am a little bothered by your missive Steel. What are her dreams in this regard? If I read your letter correctly, she moved to the US from Australia to Rhode Island. And you are trying to work things out. Yikes! You have asked alot of her already. She doesn't want to live somewhere where it is cold and away from city life. Am I reading this right? Please listen to her! IMO a summer place where you can escape to once in awhile.
I did the reverse, moved from a rural area to a more suburban one. And it has been rough for me and sometimes rough for our marriage. We are compromising by getting a summer place someday that I can escape to and if he wants to, he can. I know he loves this area (West Boylston)but I don't and miss swimming and being by the water. He is realizing that I need this and is willing to help, altho doesn't quite understand why I want to live in a rural area.
Living off the land? I guess I don't really know what you mean by that. Does that mean that you raise all your own food, live in a shack with a little woodstove, the wood for which you cut out in the back yard, and you use an old fashioned outhouse? Well, I guess there are people who do that, and yes it can be done.
Mostly what people think of as "living off the land" is far less primitive than that. Many in Maine raise chickens and sometimes other critters that are kept and slaughtered for food. Many more have gardens with varying degrees of success because the weather can be so changeable that not all crops grow the same way, year over year.
Not long ago there was a fellow who wrote about moving to Maine for a simpler life. His plan was to raise food in the garden and go fishing for fish and have a few lobster traps. He planned to try to sell his fish and lobsters to others, and was somewhat surprised that there are regulations both legal and social about getting into the lobster buisness. I have known more than a few casual, or "recreational" lobstermen, and from my observation it is something that people try to do for one or two years, but by the time they have laid out the money for boat, motor, fuel, traps, rope and assorted other gear, PLUS lobster bait, they would be financially much further ahead to go to the fish market and buy a couple of lobsters every once in a while.
You mention "D.E.M", which I take it referrs to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Protection. Make no mistake: Maine has its own Department of Environmental Protection, and whatever regulatory agency exists in Rhode Island, exists in Maine. Make no mistake: Maine is just as much a part of the US as is Montana, Michigan, Iowa, California, New Mexico and the other 44 states and has every one of the same agencies, many of which have far more sharp teeth than the rest: as a small business person just try to figure out Maine's sales tax law!
If you are thinking of "living off the land" as a way to avoid being a part of the general American culture, I sympathize with you. There is an awful lot of our "American Lifestyle" that is rather shallow and based on pretty skimpy and false values. Much of that is likely to change over the short future simply because so much has been dependent on credit and delusional thinking about the importance of acquisition as a factor of life. But if you are contemplating moving to rural Maine with the hope that you can disconnect from ALL of it, I would have to submit that you will have a hard time going back to an early 19th century lifestyle.
I have one example to give you here from my own experience. I came to Maine the first time in the summer of 1944. I was barely six months old, and my family came drove up the long, two lane road from Massachusetts to bring me, the new baby in the house, to see my Mother's parents. That began an annual pilgrimage. Father was a teacher and we had most of all summers to spend in the little cottage on the shore not far from Ellsworth.
When I was about eight, after much pleading, my Father bought me a Plumb hatchet. I grew up watching my Father and my grandfather chop wood for the kitchen stove, and my grandfather's house was heated entirely by the big cook stove in the kitchen, and a wood burning hot air furnace in the basement. I wanted to chop wood, too, so my Father gave me the new hatchet, along with a very stern and strong training session about the dos and don'ts of chopping wood.
One morning, I did the "don't", and while trying to chop a piece of kindling, I made the mistake of trying to drive the hatchet down into too finer piece, and caught the end of the index finger on my left hand just at the last joint.
There was blood EVERYWHERE.
My hand wrapped in bandage and a big towel, my Father and Mother raced up to Ellsworth, about five miles away, which in those days took about about twenty minutes. We did have a telephone in the cottage, and Mother had called my Uncle Fred's office: he was an osteopathic doctor and one of the only ones in eastern Hancock County. The doctor was in.
Uncle Fred unwrapped my hand, looked at my finger and called the hospital in Bangor. Wrapped up again, we headed up Route 1A for the ONE HOUR trip to cover the 30 miles to Bangor. In those days Route 1A was a narrow little two lane road that was rough as a washboard over most of its length. VERY slow going in the best of times.
Well, the doctor in Bangor sewed me up and said that I would probably lose all use of the end of my finger and I might even have to have the end of my finger taken off. I didn't. I even retained the use of all of my finger, but it is a mite shorter than the right index finger and sports a huge scar to this day.
But I almost didn't make the trip home because I lost a LOT of blood and there was not a lot anyone could do about it because it was more than a long tortuous trip from point of accident to medical care: I was lucky that the doctor was in, and in fact, that there WAS a doctor.
Now there are still places in Maine where people live that are well more than an hour from medical care of any kind. If you are thinking of "living off the land" in its purest form, then you need to ask yourself if that means being willing to die from a simple injury the medical fix for which is just out of reach by time, distance and conditions.
In 1977 I moved into the little summer cottage for good. My wife had decided that I should go and live in the Maine woods instead of being anywhere near her, and her suburban environment near Hyannis, Massachusetts. That first winter was pretty harsh with a lot of snow, and an awful lot of wind off the water. The ground was covered with ice and snow of varying depths from late November into April.
One night I arrived back from town with a sack of groceries. I had to park the car about 100 feet from the house which was down a slope which wasn't terribly steep. It was very dark and VERY cold, and the ground was covered with a sheet of ice. I stepped away from the car, grocery sack in my arms, took a couple of steps and the next thing I knew I was coming to, and looking up at the stars. I had falled flat on my back and smacked my head on the ground, knocking myself silly for a few seconds.
I lay there for a while looking up at the stars, and realized that it was entirely possible that living in that little cottage alone, with no neighbors within half a mile, that I could just die there and no one would know about it for certainly several days. I learned from that experience that I needed to be more than just a little mindful of my environment and how close to the earth I really was.
Two nights ago, living in the same place but in a modern house, we arrived home after dark with grocery items. I was making the last trip from the car to the house...I still haven't squared the garage away enough to put all the vehicles inside...and carrying four large items in my arms, I tripped on a 3 1/2 inch piece of ice that was frozen into the driveway. I went down flat, bruising my left wrist and my ego. It was easy and quick: the driveway and yard is well plowed, flat, and well lighted with about 750 watts of flood lights. But there was this one little bitty piece of ice that could have resulted in a broken somethingorother on this 65 year old body. We now are far from wilderness.
The point that I am making here is that America has become an urban culture. The concept of "living off the land" is romantic and it is well and good to have some basic survival skills to use for fun and for those times when the snow and wind take down the power lines. But to deliberately seek out an agrarian substitance lifestyle is counter to the entire culture. From what you have written your wife is an urban woman who wants to enjoy the solidity and dependability of living within the settled environment. I doubt that you will every find it an easy task to enlist her enthusiasm for the blisses of rural life.
Maine in many ways offers a simpler alternative to suburban Boston. But there are many liimitations to living this sort of simpler life, and for many younger people there are not enough tradeoffs to justify what they see as a hardship and limitation to the successful development and following of their lives.
Eskimos lived off the land for a long time, and have been called the happiest people on earth.
You can live off the grid and die from an injury because you couldn't get to the hospital, or you could be flattened by the Fith Avenue Bus walking from the subway to your office on Wall Street.
The main thing is to learn the dangers and survival strategies in the enviroment you'll be entering.
The concept of "living off the land" is romantic and it is well and good to have some basic survival skills to use for fun and for those times when the snow and wind take down the power lines. But to deliberately seek out an agrarian substitance lifestyle is counter to the entire culture.
About your first point. No, I don't expect to totally separate myself from the entire culture, and I wasn't referencing that. 'Living off the land' isn't just a romantic vision of mine, it's family tradition, and it's quite practical. What I meant ask was, do most Mainers try to live off the land; or have most become like the rest of America and can't live away from a Wal-Mart?
Where i'm from in RI, many of my family members heat their homes with oil, and it's ridiculously expensive. While the more able ones have a woodstove. They get their own firewood from leftover landscaping jobs, friends & realtives, or from their property. Either way they split their own firewood, and i've learned to do so since I was young. The people I know that do this, save hundreds, to thousands, of dollars on heating costs each year.
Then there's hunting. My grandfather use to hunt deer, duck, peasant, geese ect. He had enough meat to last him all year round, and had plenty to give to the family. He also has a large garden in the back, and he has plenty of veggies that last through the warmer seasons. Since they're Italian, they cook a lot of it (like tomatoe sauce), freeze it, then have it for the winter. Then there's fishing, and we've always been able to catch freshwater, or salt water fish and have lots of meat for meals, and freeze for the future.
That doesn't mean you don't stop by the market and pick up some extra things here and there throughout the month. Although your food expenses are greatly reduced, and not to mention you're eating fresher, better quality, and healthier foods.
About the RI D.E.M, they're much worse than anything i've experienced in the Maine D.E.M. Every time i've been to Maine with my friends, I've been able to freely enjoy the outdoors without hardly seeing anyone, nevermind a goverment ranger getting on your case. There's massive amounts of land in Maine that's open to the population to roam about and enjoy, that's not the case in RI as the government restricts a lot of areas, or makes you pay to enjoy it.
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Have to admit, am a little bothered by your missive Steel. What are her dreams in this regard?
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From what you have written your wife is an urban woman who wants to enjoy the solidity and dependability of living within the settled environment. I doubt that you will every find it an easy task to enlist her enthusiasm for the blisses of rural life.
My wife comes from a very rough, and poor part of Sydney. Most of her life she was surrounded by junkies, and economically depressed people. When we met I came to Sydney to be with her. Eventually she wanted to live in America and experience what life was like there. She fell in love with it, and grew quite attached to it. She loves taking trips to NYC, Boston ect, but she is also quite fond of places like Coventry, West Greenwich, Greene, South County, Newport in RI. She likes the peaceful counryside, and we both would rather raise children in a safer, quieter, and more wholesome country town.
I got medically discharged from the US Navy, and we kinda got stuck living in RI, which wasn't part of our plans. Problem is RI is such a difficult place to start off in as a young married couple. I was also unemployed for awhile, and couldn't find stable work there; as it's in the top 3 for unemployment in the country. I preferred to move to another part of the US, or come back to Australia. We both agreed on coming to Australia, due to the current economic situation in the US. There's a lot of nice benefits to live in Australia though, and we wanted to be with her side of the family. Although I didn't necessarily plan on staying here permanantly, but wanted to get my college done, and save more money for the future.
I know my wife really well, and she will definitely like Maine if she can experience it herself. She just has an ignorant view of Maine that's it's pretty barren. As long as she's a reasonable distance to Portland or Boston, I can see her doing just fine. I'm not 100% certain, but i'm sure Portland is much nicer and larger than Providence, RI. She also enjoys the outdoors just like me, but growing up in the 'ghetto' never gave her the opportunity to really experience the beauty and fun of the outdoors; not to mention the outback in AU is dangerous with the massive amounts of poisonous creatures lurking about.
This isn't just a selfish dream of mine. I know it would be a great way to raise a family, and live in a peaceful setting. Every single family, or person i've known that has moved to Maine has never regretted it.
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