Vegas to Augusta, maine...maybe (Portland, Waterville: fit in, neighborhood, landlord)

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Wow, maybe you and LTTT should meet and strategize on how to correct our corrupt government. While you're at it, see if you can figure out how to get things straightened out at the White House!

Well, I'll see how many people join the Keg Party first

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

I have already stated that I have no problem with the state of Maine. I don't understand with the high taxes and the fact that I have to buy City of Portland garbage bags that they can't use some of this money to clean the place up a bit. Either the mayor/city council is corrupt, or they are diverting all of the money into the Old Port.

Well I am enjoying the low property taxes, and low over-all accumulation of taxes here in Maine.

Since your complaints are exclusive to that one city, then perhaps you could attend whatever public meetings they have and get involved with how that city works.

I did not move to Northen Mass, as I did not like Northern Mass. This forum is primarily about Maine.

[Zymer]

...I don't understand with the high taxes and the fact that I have to buy City of Portland garbage bags that they can't use some of this money to clean the place up a bit....

Hold on a minute here...you *have* to buy garbage bags from the city? Good old 'Hefty' bags aren't good enough?

Now *there* is something I'd have a problem with...and the city would soon have a problem with me.

...Yes, Maine is a beautiful state-I'm not contesting that in anyway, I am however surprised at the state that Portland seems to be in. Granted, I have yet to fully explore the entire city, so my comments are only about the peninsula, or "the little nub" as I like to call it. First of all, there is garbage everywhere. The street sweepers may keep the roads clean, but no one seems to be doing a damn thing about thrash on the sidewalks, in bushes etc...

I've been to Portland a number of times, though mostly to the Civic Center and downtown/waterfron area. I can't say that I noticed a whole lot of trash around, certainly not as much as *some* cities I've been in...but maybe not quite as clean as Quebec City.

Not to mention all of the cigerrette butts everywhere which I find funny since Maine is smoke-free.

Maine 'smoke free'? Not exactly, but I know what you mean...and I think that that actually contributes to the problem.

Cigarette butts is/are something that I notice. I never thought about them until after I went in the Army- during Basic Training we would have to go on 'Police Call', which involved picking up all of the trash in an area, including the butts. I stopped throwing my butts on the ground after that, especially the filtered ones. Those filters take a very long time to degrade.

I think people in general are ignorant about that if they haven't had to spend a couple of months picking the butts up. They just toss them to the ground without a second thought. I see this everywhere...including my suburban yard. Sometimes it looks like people have been dumping entire ashtrays in my driveway and yard.

Having said that, though, banning smoking in restaurants and bars contributes to the problem. A lot of people smoke, and they like to have a smoke with their coffee or drink. They can't smoke inside, so guess what happens- a whole bunch of people who would otherwise be using an ashtray are now standing outside, where they just drop the butt to the ground when they are done.

I'm all for having smoke bans in truly 'Public' buildings- courthouses, motor vehicle registry, statehouse (not private offices) etc....but a restaurant or bar is NOT truly a 'public' building- it is still a PRIVATELY OWNED establishment and it should be up to the owner what business he/she wants to attract.

I can see requiring the owner to post a sign at the entrance such as 'This Establishment Permits Smoking' so that potential customers/employees have advance notice of the fact. They can then choose whether they wish to enter or not. BUT- it should be a CHOICE, not a LAW.

If a business chooses to cater to customers that smoke, then that's *their* business (pun intended). The law is bad, it contributes to the litter problem and businesses are losing money because of the law. Myself and other people who smoke (that I know) have reduced or eliminated our patronage of establishments that no longer permit smoking.

My wife and I used to spend more than $100 a week eating and drinking out. Now we stay home most of the time. Multiply that by a big number- this is money that is no longer going into the pockets of businesses and their employees, less income for them and less tax revenue being paid on it (meals tax and income tax).

Now that money goes into an IRA, so even less taxes are paid on it.

This is a law that does more harm than good.

[K-Luv]

Zymer-

yes, I have to buy City of Portland garbage bags and not just something like hefty. If the caretaker of my building didn't point this out to me I would have wheeled my garbage bin out to the street The other option is that I could sneak my white hefty bags into some one else's dumpster.

What we do here is just drop the bags right on the curb (which I am sure is the reason for the excess amounts of garbage laying around.

The part of town that you mentioned is in/near the Old Port, which is prime tourist territory, hence the cleanliness.

Maine went smoke free, from what I understand, 25 years ago in an effort to help boost tourism. As if tourist don't smoke, sheesh!

I agree that it should be up to the proprietors on whether or not to allow smoking in their establishments, but to be honest-it is nice to sit in a smoke free bar-and I smoke myself.

[Submariner]

I volunteer some of my time tending bar on occasion as a relief bartender; the customers smoke in the bar.

I go to Market every week in Orono, and multiple vendors smoke while they are selling their produce.

Maine is not smoke-free. Not from anything that I have seen.

[warpedg]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Zymer-

yes, I have to buy City of Portland garbage bags and not just something like hefty. If the caretaker of my building didn't point this out to me I would have wheeled my garbage bin out to the street The other option is that I could ........................... the proprietors on whether or not to allow smoking in their establishments, but to be honest-it is nice to sit in a smoke free bar-and I smoke myself.

K-Luv

How does Minneapolis stack up to Portland in terms of cleanliness? I have visited Minneapolis a couple of times and loved the Twin Cities. I thought they were MUCH cleaner, better mini versions of NYC. I will admit I didnt get to see every side of both cities but from what I did see I liked. If it wasnt for the killer winters there I would consider moving there. I really dont want to go to someplace where the winters are actually worse than here.

The other thing....it sounds like maybe you might just be in one of the seedier parts of Portland. Has anyone you've met given you any background on the area you live in? We all know that every town/city in this country has its crappy sections of town.

[deerislesmile]

I'm sorry to the OP, as this entire thread has veered far away from what she was asking, but since the discussion has rolled along this far....

Originally Posted by K-Luv

As for pictures-don't believe them! Believe it or not, this was another point of disappointment for us. I truly believe that there must be some sort of Maine Internet Photo mafia operating in cahoots with the tourism industry. Sure, pictures of lighthouses, coastline and moose are nice, but they don't accurately portray what the cities really look like.

I don't know if you were expecting all of Maine to be wrapped up within the city of Portland, but really.... there is a whole bunch of other Maine out there, and quite honestly- I don't think that the pictures do it justice. I don't know if you thought there might be moose walking up the streets of Portland, lobstermen walking around Portland in oilgear, or exactly what, but a simple image search on google brings up quite a few pictures of the "real" Portland, Maine. To say that all of the pictures of Maine are somehow fake, or a PR campaign is... kind of whacked- don't you think? Do you really not believe that these places (that have been photographed) are actually a part of Maine?

And as far as smoke-free... as long as the state is depending on revenue from cigarette sales (and ever-increasing taxes on cigarettes) to balance the budget, I would feel safe in saying that we are FAR from smoke-free.

[kdonahue]

I grew up in Augusta and still live in the area. Augusta is a working-town. There are a lot of new businesses coming in, places like Target, Lowes, Bed Bath and Beyond. I'm not sure it's a good place to move unless specifically for a job, as it's a bit commercial. However, Augusta's a safe city (MUCH better than the Waterville are). In Maine, you have to drive everywhere, so you may want to look outside of Augusta to some of the neighboring cities, since you'll need a car regardless. Hallwell and Gardiner are great towns, as is Belgrade. If you move outside of the city are, central Maine has some beautiful areas.

Augusta's downtown is non-existent, but Gardiner has a vibrant little downtown.

Portland's also a fun, funky city, but it's an acquired taste.

The thing about Maine is that's it's easy to become bored, as there isn't much to "do," i.e. quick, easy entertainment, especially for teenagers. Having said this, I have lived in big cities in other states and have been SHOCKED that nothing is open 24-hours. In Augusta you have Dunkin' Donuts, Walmart, and Denny's to occupy yourself at 3 a.m. AND they're safe.

[Zymer]

K-luv-

What would happen if you used ordinary trash bags?

Forest-

What is the name of this bar where one can still smoke?

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Zymer

K-luv-

What would happen if you used ordinary trash bags?

Well, I would assume that it would still get picked up, and the landlord sent a bill