Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People come here to live in a quieter safer place than where they were. I used to work in Canada back when only Canadians drove with their headlights on in the daytime. I asked them why they drove across Maine to get to Ontario. They all had the same answers:
Cheaper gas
Shorter distance
Friendly people
Great food
Respect for their language.
Many of them stopped at New Balance on the way through because they could buy shoes that actually fit.
We have clean air and clean water. Maine spring water sells for a dollar a pint down in the cities. Many of our towns welcome visitors and newcomers alike. You need somebody to tell you which towns. Some towns have 28 different zones to control what you can do with the property you own. Some towns welcome you and there is no zoning except for state zoning along lakes and streams. When people find out that they can have a few chickens and shoot skeet off the back deck they think they have died and gone to heaven. They pretty much have compared to where they were. We are a "shall issue" state. If you are not a felon you can get a concealed carry permit. You can carry in the open with no permit at all.
We need QUALITY people........we don't need some of the ones that have moved here over the past decade.......on both ends of the spectrum.
Back to positive stuff...........lots of open land, fewer people than most places, live and let live attitude, the state and Mainers value our natural resources, 4 seasons, clean air, plenty of fresh water.........and so much more.
I'm always amazed at Maine people's ability to help out those who need a hand up.
Often it's done very quietly and without expectation of any accolades for doing so, but in this case they obviously need to advertise to get the word out.
When I first moved here, I had let the dogs out in to my big backyard at night to conduct their business. It was so. quiet! I stood there, totally enjoying how quiet it was when I heard, "Hoo hoo....hoo hoo..."
Now, laugh all you want but I've NEVER heard an owl. Ever. So at first, hearing wildlife and it being so dark I could see a ton of stars in the sky, I had a shudder as I felt so "far away" from everything. My imagination started to kick in to over drive as I scanned the darkness and wondered what else might be out there. I managed to get myself all nice and skeered no matter that this huge house I live in has neighbors RIGHT next door. I loved every second of it.
Speaking of wildlife, I have seen so much wildlife while driving around in Maine. It never gets old for me. I still get excited when I see a fox or a raccoon, or porcupine...even little skunks. And deer? Fugettaboutit, I'm thrilled. I only hope I never hit any of them...
I've stated this a few times: Stopping in some place I've never been before to ask for directions. I ask one person and it goes something like this:
"Oh yah, I know where that is, hey, Shirley! SHIRLEY!"
Shirley: "Yah?"
First person: "Hey what do you think is the quickest way to get to X? Should she take Old Spring Road or should she stay on route # until she reaches the old Branson farm and take a left on to County Road 12?"
And next thing you know, Shirley, and everyone else in the joint, is up there discussing the absolute best way to go, what to see along the way, WHO I'll see along the way, all about the place I'm going to, it's entire history and they might pop in a recipe during the conversation. I freaking love that! I've done a LOT of driving around in Maine for jobs I've had or have and this happens frequently.
I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this in the multitude of threads I've joined in on talking about Maine but dang it all this place is gorgeous.
It IS possible to have ocean in my front yard, forest in my back yard and it really won't cost an arm and a leg.
The snow! Yes, I love it. My dogs love it. This past year, they built an intricate series of trails in the backyard. One leading to their "bathroom", one leading to the neighbor's fence where they like to "speak" to the Golden on the other side, and one that stops just under the bird feeders where I put out food for the squirrels and birds. At the end of their bathroom trail, they built a jump. I'm not kidding. They built a flippin' jump! And they flew over it with joy every single time. I would never have known that in Miami! (I also would never have known about the boy's love for agility as he now jumps over the shorter fence that separates my yard with my next door neighbor's yard (from this house), had it not snowed so much that he was able to work up to the height when it all melted.
I can get way more house for a much, much, much lower price than I ever paid in other places I've lived.
Learning Maineisms.
Did I mention quiet? It's so quiet at night! I can't get over it.
Except for one vet, no one bats an eye when I mention that I feed my pets raw. In fact, I found a farm that sells the meat for OTHER dog owners for a really great price. (Which is how I came upon my first, "Hey Shirley..." conversation when I stopped to ask for directions so long ago.)
I don't have to dress up to the nines just to leave the house to do errands because NO ONE CARES about that stuff. I can be comfortable and no one gives me an attitude about it.
The bank lady...my bank lady...we always share hysterical laughs when I go in.
The wild life rehab lady...she understood me, she got me.
Everyone at Hannafords in my 'hood.
The convenience store/gas station lady in Frankfurt who let me use her personal cell phone to call work to tell them, "Yah, no, I can't make it in this snow..." and treated me like she was my mother.
The little old lady at the gas station in Winterport who asked me ever so sweetly if I would help her pump her gas. I almost died at how adorable that was.
The lady at the Irvings when I first moved here who let me take home their phone book without any hesitation so I could get set up.
ANY local business I have to call for services of any sort, has never, ever, EVER been anything but nice from the start and patient all the way through.
The mechanics I went to last year and earlier this year who go out of their way to help me. Even though they say, "Payment due at time of service, no exceptions", the owner, who is hilarious and treats everyone who walks in the door even if for the first time as if they are old friends, was willing to let me. Even when I pointed to his sign and said, 'But that says I can't.' He replied, "Rules are meant to be broken." I paid him on time anyway. But I'll never forget the gesture. One time, when my car was going to be there overnight, they drove me to work from their garage for no reason whatsoever than courtesy.
Are we getting the picture here? There is so much that is good about Maine that anything that isn't good is far outweighed.
Oh, and today, at work, I was asked if I'm from Maine. I said no. They said, "Well, you look like a Mainer." It was a compliment.
When I first moved here, I had let the dogs out in to my big backyard at night to conduct their business. It was so. quiet! I stood there, totally enjoying how quiet it was when I heard, "Hoo hoo....hoo hoo..."
Now, laugh all you want but I've NEVER heard an owl. Ever. So at first, hearing wildlife and it being so dark I could see a ton of stars in the sky, I had a shudder as I felt so "far away" from everything. My imagination started to kick in to over drive as I scanned the darkness and wondered what else might be out there. I managed to get myself all nice and skeered no matter that this huge house I live in has neighbors RIGHT next door. I loved every second of it.
Speaking of wildlife, I have seen so much wildlife while driving around in Maine. It never gets old for me. I still get excited when I see a fox or a raccoon, or porcupine...even little skunks. And deer? Fugettaboutit, I'm thrilled. I only hope I never hit any of them...
I've stated this a few times: Stopping in some place I've never been before to ask for directions. I ask one person and it goes something like this:
"Oh yah, I know where that is, hey, Shirley! SHIRLEY!"
Shirley: "Yah?"
First person: "Hey what do you think is the quickest way to get to X? Should she take Old Spring Road or should she stay on route # until she reaches the old Branson farm and take a left on to County Road 12?"
And next thing you know, Shirley, and everyone else in the joint, is up there discussing the absolute best way to go, what to see along the way, WHO I'll see along the way, all about the place I'm going to, it's entire history and they might pop in a recipe during the conversation. I freaking love that! I've done a LOT of driving around in Maine for jobs I've had or have and this happens frequently.
I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this in the multitude of threads I've joined in on talking about Maine but dang it all this place is gorgeous.
It IS possible to have ocean in my front yard, forest in my back yard and it really won't cost an arm and a leg.
The snow! Yes, I love it. My dogs love it. This past year, they built an intricate series of trails in the backyard. One leading to their "bathroom", one leading to the neighbor's fence where they like to "speak" to the Golden on the other side, and one that stops just under the bird feeders where I put out food for the squirrels and birds. At the end of their bathroom trail, they built a jump. I'm not kidding. They built a flippin' jump! And they flew over it with joy every single time. I would never have known that in Miami! (I also would never have known about the boy's love for agility as he now jumps over the shorter fence that separates my yard with my next door neighbor's yard (from this house), had it not snowed so much that he was able to work up to the height when it all melted.
I can get way more house for a much, much, much lower price than I ever paid in other places I've lived.
Learning Maineisms.
Did I mention quiet? It's so quiet at night! I can't get over it.
Except for one vet, no one bats an eye when I mention that I feed my pets raw. In fact, I found a farm that sells the meat for OTHER dog owners for a really great price. (Which is how I came upon my first, "Hey Shirley..." conversation when I stopped to ask for directions so long ago.)
I don't have to dress up to the nines just to leave the house to do errands because NO ONE CARES about that stuff. I can be comfortable and no one gives me an attitude about it.
The bank lady...my bank lady...we always share hysterical laughs when I go in.
The wild life rehab lady...she understood me, she got me.
Everyone at Hannafords in my 'hood.
The convenience store/gas station lady in Frankfurt who let me use her personal cell phone to call work to tell them, "Yah, no, I can't make it in this snow..." and treated me like she was my mother.
The little old lady at the gas station in Winterport who asked me ever so sweetly if I would help her pump her gas. I almost died at how adorable that was.
The lady at the Irvings when I first moved here who let me take home their phone book without any hesitation so I could get set up.
ANY local business I have to call for services of any sort, has never, ever, EVER been anything but nice from the start and patient all the way through.
The mechanics I went to last year and earlier this year who go out of their way to help me. Even though they say, "Payment due at time of service, no exceptions", the owner, who is hilarious and treats everyone who walks in the door even if for the first time as if they are old friends, was willing to let me. Even when I pointed to his sign and said, 'But that says I can't.' He replied, "Rules are meant to be broken." I paid him on time anyway. But I'll never forget the gesture. One time, when my car was going to be there overnight, they drove me to work from their garage for no reason whatsoever than courtesy.
Are we getting the picture here? There is so much that is good about Maine that anything that isn't good is far outweighed.
Oh, and today, at work, I was asked if I'm from Maine. I said no. They said, "Well, you look like a Mainer." It was a compliment.
Nice! Thank you for posting.
Oh and I think this is great because all I ever seem to hear is about how stand-offish most of us appear to be to to "from aways:"
Oh, and today, at work, I was asked if I'm from Maine. I said no. They said, "Well, you look like a Mainer."
Learn lessons from Colorado...........Colorado used to be a very patritic, conservative state. Then California liberals began moving in and brought with them their California ways. Within 10 years Colorado was a new liberal California.
So, please don't move here for a job. There aren't enough to go around as it is!. If you do move here , move for our values, our freedom, and our way of life! Don't come here and bring your old states ways with you!!
I think I can say we all welcome, honest, hardworking, folks no matter where they are from...........
Plenty of space; we're not crammed in like sardines or city slickers.
Not much traffic.
Clean Air.
Fishing.
People who will stop to help you if your car is broken down on the side of the road.
You can usually trust your neighbors to be honest, hardworking folks.
Respect for boundaries and personal space. Most people don't go prying in to other people's business.
Equality. Maybe not in incomes, but people of special "status" don't really get treated differently than anyone else. Some celebrity comes to Maine, we're not going to go gaga over them like people will in other parts of the world. They're just people with jobs, and they get to wait their turn in line like everyone else.
Did I mention we don't have much traffic? Oh sure, we have more during tourist season, and it can get annoying; but that's the extent of it, annoying; not stuck in stop-and-go traffic for two hours just to get to work.
People have integrity here. I've dropped money on the ground, not realized it, and had complete strangers pick it up and hand it back to me, saying, "you dropped some money." Maine is one of the few states where you could leave your keys in an unlocked car overnight, and it would still be right where you left it, untouched, in the morning.
Ever have someone you didn't know pay your toll for you on a toll highway? It has happened to me a couple of times on the turnpike.
It's not 120 degrees here in the summer!
For all the complaints I have about people driving (I drive almost 500 miles per week), the vast majority of drivers here really are attentive, courteous, and watch out for the other guy. They use their turn signals, yield to pedestrians, and actually seem to know what to do when confronted with this sign:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
