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A lot of people around here wear Carhartt bib overalls, but the OP is an accountant and keeps talking about office workers. So I made the assumption that she is not going to be outdoors too much
I'm sure that I'll come to love Carhartt but I can't say I'm overly enthralled with them now. Could we make them SLIGHTLY not so...meh? I'm not a vain person, I promise. I'm very jeans/T-shirt. I do do heels only because I'd rather not be mistaken for an Oompa Loompa. (And, I doubt Carhartt makes midget sized overalls...shucks)
As far as the outdoors things, I haven't been a big outdoors person in Florida as I make Morticia Addams look tan so the Florida sun and I haven't been BFFs. I do enjoy outdoors very much, though, and Maine's outdoors is one of the biggest draws for me so I'm expecting/planning for the outdoor time to increase exponentially.
>mainebrokerman: Coming from New Jersey,I earned a degree from Univ. Maine and spent 4 years in Orono with a great bunch of guys. They never referred to me as "being from away"; I was always a "^%%$#$ outtastater" Other generic names, not applied to me, included 'darlin', and 'sport'
I had one friend who used 'ayuh' fairly regularly but he was from a family of potato farmers who had farmed in Maine for several hundred years; I figure, if you're a potato farmer from Palermo, Maine you can say "ayuh". If you're from New Jersey, it's ok to say "yuse guys"
Upon retirement in a year or so, I will return to Maine. I won't be trying to be a Mainer because I know that I'll once again be a "^%%$#$ outtastater" but I'm also not at all worried about fitting in, meaning that I don't need to come up and see my first winter or mud season:
I've helped taken the docks out of camps in October and that lake water was cold!
I've cruised timber in thigh-deep snow at -23 degrees in western Maine.
I've even appeared on Dick Stacey's Country Jamboree (on tv out of Brewer a long time ago)
I know that the real Maine isn't the tourist or person who's "always wanted to live in Maine" with a view of living in an LL Bean catalog
I have friends in Maine who have two regular jobs and are always looking for a little extra job just in order to pay their biills; fortunately, being retired with a great benefits package (in a year) I won't be looking for a job. Need to be mindful of my budget but I've always done so.
The one thing that I won't miss about 30+ years in the South (two additional degrees and several tenured college faculty positions) is running the air conditioner continuously and full blast from April until October. My min/max thermometer was reset in June when I put a new battery in. Max temp was 105 degrees and min temperature was 73 degrees, fairly normal for summer in South Carolina
Larry Logger,
Your terms were awesome! I hadn’t ever seen/read about "^%%$#$ outtastater" before so that was great to see/know.
The timber-cruising in -23 degrees sounds…like I’ll be inside on that day.
I don’t know who/what Dick Stacey’s Country Jamboree is.
What do you mean take the docks out of camps? Aren’t docks a permanent (semi-permanent) structure? Why take them out?
I, too, am looking forward to some different weather. We’re currently in 100+degrees and hotter with the heat index. The fear of the unknown (and untried) is where my hesitation/worry comes from with the Maine winters.
How is the humidity in Maine? I wonder because when I visit family in both New Mexico and Australia, there’s pretty much NO humidify and makes your skin ache for days – also makes sleeping odd. As Maine isn’t a desert, I’m guessing there’s at least more than those two places, but still curious. (As Florida is a glorified swamp – no offense Disney fans – I’m sure it’s not as high as here)
One thing I have had difficulty pinning down an answer on is/are generators. I’ve only used a generator during a tornado in the Midwest but I think that was back in college at my parent’s house and don’t know if it was a good/bad/awesome one.
I’ve seen two varieties – mobile and permanent (I’m sure those aren’t the terms). Do most Mainers have generators? Most generators run on…gasoline? I’ve seen some operate on propane. Are prolonged power outages common/to be expected and planned for?
I’m sure many of my questions sound like they’re bordering on paranoia but I’d rather over-worry now and mentally prepare than under-worry and be blindsided by harsher realities.
Submariner,
I think I missed the boat on the 23-25
This may be an odd question but do people eat moose (mooses? Moosi? Meese?)? I ask because I’m a very big fan of elk and wondered how similar/dissimilar they are.
You mentioned logging trucks – is logging big in Maine? This may sound like a super obvious question, I truly don’t know though.
Every year people hunt moose, and it gets eaten. Commonly the families who get the meat, get way too much, so the surplus is quickly given away. If you make connection, you may suddenly find yourself holding 40 pounds of moose meat.
92% of Maine is forest, so it does get timbered and logging does happen. However the industry of timbering, wood chipping, wood pulp, and all forest products, is changing. The mills of Maine have been closing. Forest products can not compete with internet or electric cars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenny9504
I'm sure that I'll come to love Carhartt but I can't say I'm overly enthralled with them now. Could we make them SLIGHTLY not so...meh? I'm not a vain person, I promise. I'm very jeans/T-shirt. I do do heels only because I'd rather not be mistaken for an Oompa Loompa. (And, I doubt Carhartt makes midget sized overalls...shucks)
As far as the outdoors things, I haven't been a big outdoors person in Florida as I make Morticia Addams look tan so the Florida sun and I haven't been BFFs. I do enjoy outdoors very much, though, and Maine's outdoors is one of the biggest draws for me so I'm expecting/planning for the outdoor time to increase exponentially.
I think I understand about the clothing, which is why I was not recommending that you load up on Carhartts.
Tans in Florida are a big thing. Not so in Maine. When I go into town in summer, I do sometimes see girls showing a lot of skin, but even in August it is mostly pale skin. Not a lot of dark brown tans here. The most tans I see are farmer-style tans. People who work outside get tanned faces and arms. My legs are as pale now as they would be in winter. Where I live we have a lot of skeeters, so no shorts for me.
Rivers, lakes and ponds freeze over. Floating docks will be lifted when the rivers rise, then later as the ice jams break-up anything held in the ice may go downstream. I have 1/4 mile of river frontage. Every year I see a lot of flotsam on my land, the remains of people's docks from upstream. If you pay big money for a dock, you want to hoist it up out of the water when the water is high, and before it freezes over.
Keep in mind that some people drive on the ice. Some people tow shacks out onto the ice so they have a place to sit as they fish, protected from the howling winds.
Excellent post by River Runner. I have never owned a $1,000 jacket. The best winter coat I ever bought is the Maine Warden Parka by LL Bean. I paid $199 on sale, but they now cost about $300. They are worth it. They are waterproof and have a removable liner. They are all forest green.
The most economical way to dress for winter is to dress in layers. A poly undergarment that will not absorb moisture followed by a warm shirt. Then a poly fleece jacket followed by an insulated parka. If you dress in layers you will be arm without perspiring as you exercise. I spend a lot of time on a tractor or snowmobile every winter. I'm out in the wind all the time. Your outer shell should be an efficient windbreaker.
For my hands I wear cotton gloves inside large mitts.
For trousers I wear poly underwear, wool pants and Goretex overalls. For socks I wear smartwool. They are something new in the past few years and are worth the price.
In the last few years, college students have been buying Bean boots faster than they can be made.
I have the Storm Chaser coat from Bean 3 in 1 the liner is a nice fleece jacket that can easily be taken out. Keeps me dry during the rainy winters here in the Northwest. I also have bean boots and a lot of other clothes.
I, too, am looking forward to some different weather. We’re currently in 100+degrees and hotter with the heat index. The fear of the unknown (and untried) is where my hesitation/worry comes from with the Maine winters.
How is the humidity in Maine? I wonder because when I visit family in both New Mexico and Australia, there’s pretty much NO humidify and makes your skin ache for days – also makes sleeping odd. As Maine isn’t a desert, I’m guessing there’s at least more than those two places, but still curious. (As Florida is a glorified swamp – no offense Disney fans – I’m sure it’s not as high as here)
One thing I have had difficulty pinning down an answer on is/are generators. I’ve only used a generator during a tornado in the Midwest but I think that was back in college at my parent’s house and don’t know if it was a good/bad/awesome one.
I’ve seen two varieties – mobile and permanent (I’m sure those aren’t the terms). Do most Mainers have generators? Most generators run on…gasoline? I’ve seen some operate on propane. Are prolonged power outages common/to be expected and planned for?
The generator thing depends a bit on where you live. If you live further in the boonies a generator may be a really good investment since if there is a power outage it will likely take longer to get the power restored to your area than more populated areas. But it looks like you'd be leaning more towards being close to town. So it wouldn't be as likely to be needed as living remotely. Your call on that one. The major potential causes of power outages would be ice storms where the weight of ice on trees causes limbs to weigh down or break onto power lines, snowstorms with wet heavy snow (as opposed to the fluffier drier snow) which again weighs down tree limbs and lines, snowstorms with high winds causing drifting snow or downing tree limbs and, lastly, hurricanes.
They do a fairly good job at preventively trimming trees to cut down on the potential of limbs being an issue come winter. The last extended power outage I had was several years ago during an ice storm that happened just before Christmas. We had four or five days with no power.
We are currently in a humid stretch with dewpoints in the 60s/low 70s but the humidity does not compete with that of down South. Typically in the summer we have a few humid days here and there and then it goes back to being pleasant. This summer our long period of humidity has been out of the ordinary.
Often during the winter months like January it can be really cold and dry which is bad enough to cause increased use of lotion for dry skin. My hands, in particular, crack real bad but regular use of lotion or other things take care of it. You may want to poke in once in while online to the weather pages of the local news channels so you can kind of get an idea of the weather we are having. Might give you some insight. Just Google WMTW, WCSH or WGME and go under the weather section. Those channels cover southern, mid coast and central Maine regions.
In regards to the discussion of clothing the items like a heavy parka and heavy gloves and boots are things you may not need to wear all of the time but when you don't need to it is important to have these items in your vehicle. Because should your vehicle break down or get stuck on a cold day and you lose power in the car you will need them. This may never happen but at least you are prepared if it does.
>mainebrokerman: Coming from New Jersey,I earned a degree from Univ. Maine and spent 4 years in Orono with a great bunch of guys. They never referred to me as "being from away"; I was always a "^%%$#$ outtastater" Other generic names, not applied to me, included 'darlin', and 'sport'
I had one friend who used 'ayuh' fairly regularly but he was from a family of potato farmers who had farmed in Maine for several hundred years; I figure, if you're a potato farmer from Palermo, Maine you can say "ayuh". If you're from New Jersey, it's ok to say "yuse guys"
Upon retirement in a year or so, I will return to Maine. I won't be trying to be a Mainer because I know that I'll once again be a "^%%$#$ outtastater" but I'm also not at all worried about fitting in, meaning that I don't need to come up and see my first winter or mud season:
I've helped taken the docks out of camps in October and that lake water was cold!
I've cruised timber in thigh-deep snow at -23 degrees in western Maine.
I've even appeared on Dick Stacey's Country Jamboree (on tv out of Brewer a long time ago)
I know that the real Maine isn't the tourist or person who's "always wanted to live in Maine" with a view of living in an LL Bean catalog
I have friends in Maine who have two regular jobs and are always looking for a little extra job just in order to pay their biills; fortunately, being retired with a great benefits package (in a year) I won't be looking for a job. Need to be mindful of my budget but I've always done so.
The one thing that I won't miss about 30+ years in the South (two additional degrees and several tenured college faculty positions) is running the air conditioner continuously and full blast from April until October. My min/max thermometer was reset in June when I put a new battery in. Max temp was 105 degrees and min temperature was 73 degrees, fairly normal for summer in South Carolina
great post!!!
orono use to be the party capitol of maine for colleges
well put for fittin in,,
I don't know 99,9% of mainers,,and don't worry about fittin in...
tho years ago when id travel to these small towns and have lunch somewhere local ,,,,,, others will give you a couple looks to see who you are or look like .
when up in northern maine ,,,, I was eating at a diner type place and one of the locals said "you visiting family or here on business"??
I felt like funning with them so I sold ..softly,,,, i'm up here looking for my birth mom"
well, half the place seem to hear that and give me a good stare,,,then .... they all got to whispering who I looked like and who's kid I could be..
Oh, the stories I could tell about living in Orono (on campus) back in 1970's. Nothing we did was politically correct, nor socially correct or even "common sense" correct; some activities might have even been slightly illegal. We didn't run to university safe zones when our feelings got hurt. We just hunkered down (and maybe got even later on)
Majority of us survived quite well. I ended up taking the academic route in forestry and will finish up my career as "professor emeritus" (which translates to "call me Mr. from now on), another dorm-mate is a county sheriff in Maine and others just have 30+ years of steady employment along with kids and grand kids
And my friends' camp is still there on Branch Lake near Ellsworth and the docks will still need to be taken out each October and I'll probably end up in the water again, which will evoke comments like: " %$$#$ outtastaters from New Jersey aren't too bright, even with three college degrees"). But the fire pit will be burning and hot and the PBR's cold
First - thank you VERY much to all those giving wonderful and helpful answers, I'm feeling much more prepared!
More questions:
I have friends here that tell me about Nor'easters and how "if you don't get up on the roof periodically and clear off the snow, your roof will collapse." Is this true?
When a storm hits (or is threatened to), do stores really get completely emptied? I know here, whenever they use the "H" word (hurricane) people freak out and drain stores. I just don't know if I should truly stock supplies for whatever Armageddon is coming our way.
First - thank you VERY much to all those giving wonderful and helpful answers, I'm feeling much more prepared!
More questions:
I have friends here that tell me about Nor'easters and how "if you don't get up on the roof periodically and clear off the snow, your roof will collapse." Is this true?
Quote:
... Nor'easters are usually accompanied by very heavy rain or snow, and can cause severe coastal flooding, coastal erosion, hurricane-force winds, or blizzard conditions.
As a career sailor, I had always heard of Nor'easters as being particularly bad storms, out to sea.
Now that I am retired, living ashore and located in-land, I have not observed them to be much different from any other storm front.
People with shingle roofing may need to rake their roof clear after every heavy snow storm, to avoid ice dams. I have had friends who were dealing with ice dams on their roofs and it is bad. It may cause water to leak inside your house, the water can travel through the shingles. It is the primary reason why many home owners in Maine have been shifting to metal roofs.
Building code requires new homes to be of substantial engineering to hold snow without fear of being crushed.
On the other hand, living in Maine, when you drive around you will observe old barns that have began to lean. You will see deserted mobile homes or houses where the roof is clearly sagging. Nobody lives there, nobody cares, nobody is doing maintenance. We have gotten into a hobby of predicting when such structures will collapse from snow load.
If you were in such a house, it would generally by noticeable 3 or 4 years in advance that hey maybe someone should look into why your structure is failing.
Sometimes it makes the news when a 50+ year old flat-roof building, like a store or school gym, will collapse from snow load.
When the Old Town VFW was in it's previous building [a 50 year old flat roof structure] the roof began to sag. It held a pond of water up there from every rain storm. The sag got progressively worse after each rain. We clearly had multiple years of warning within which to begin repairs to the roof. After much head scratching and quotes, they setup up pumps to pump the water off the roof after every rain storm, and that lasted another 5 years. Before they finally sold the building to someone else.
Quote:
... When a storm hits (or is threatened to), do stores really get completely emptied? I know here, whenever they use the "H" word (hurricane) people freak out and drain stores. I just don't know if I should truly stock supplies for whatever Armageddon is coming our way.
I don't live in Maine though I do pass through there several times a year (and I lived in the far northwest 'north' near Alaska for many years and I now live further up the coast, on the tippy top northeast part of Nova Scotia) so I have a bit of insight about northeastern winters - vis a vis weather, etc. YMMV however depending on where you live in Maine.
We get the nor'easters here too. Wind! I love gales (but if your house is not well insulated, it may come right through the walls.) We have loads of power outages where I live mostly due to wind (any time of year) and/or ice storms, more than snow. Today is blowing as though it could blow your house down - the sounds are awesome but you do get tired of them after a day or two. But in summer they do keep the temperatures relatively comfortable. This year we have had a few thunderstorms but those are not that common here - not sure why but most likely because we never get very warm so there is little clash between warm and cold. Many of our storms come from the northwest but I think t-storms may be more likely when they travel up the coast from .. Maine. If you buy a house eventually, think about which way it faces and where you will spend most of your time - and how well it is insulated. You may not need a generator but a working woodstove is 'nice to have' even if you only use it for ambience or the occasional power emergency.
Moose - delicious, 2 year old meat is THE best red meat you can ever eat in my opinion. Very little fat though so you may need to learn a bit about how best to cook it. Plural of moose is ... moose.
I keep very warm clothes around the house but more likely you will find them in my vehicle in winter. However, unless travelling far on the roads, if you are going to a meeting/shopping and you are female, you can easily get away without the Carhutts and long johns for most activities. If you go out walking in the woods though you may want to layer up a bit - and wear practical boots ... always - snow melts, you can slip on ice (take a pair of slippers or shoes with you and remove those boots at the 'office').
I recommend forgetting fashion for the most part (or save that for summer) - comfortable, warm is the way to go in winter in the northeast. Buy FLEECE! It is cheaper than wool and I have found it quite warm and cozy. Honestly everyone in the north deals with winter - they won't notice much what you are wearing (other than to wonder about you if you are wearing stilettos in winter). When the winter goes right through me - I put on fleece. Down or down alternatives are light, wear well and are great in winter - and can scrunch up smaller than heavy coats for stowing a coat or two in the car. Driving long distances with a heavy jacket on is hard on your shoulders I have found.
You will probably usually go from car to building and back again with only a few seconds to run between each. A garage is a nice to have thing in winter ... but without one of those you may have to occasionally scrape off your car windows and brush off the snow (and please DO brush it completely off - because if you don't, it will blow off as you drive and hit someone behind you!). One of the first small things you should buy before winter is a snow/ice scraper - indispensable. I am an older female and these days I hire help with digging out the driveway (and I also have a double garage). Unless you are really in the 'boonies' it is likely there are guys around with trucks and shovels happy to help out in that department. If you buy, think about getting something that has a relatively flat driveway - if not, you may be able to roll down the hill in the morning but not be able to get back up in the evening or vice versa.
I don't think we generally get as much snow as some parts of Maine do where I live - but some places in the 'maritimes' do - and yes, in those areas, there are times when some have to scramble around to get the snow off the roof. Not so much here because the wind blows it all off. That is something to observe and ask a realtor about when you do decide where and when to buy a house. Not something you will probably have to worry about in a rental, especially if that rental is an apartment.
I live in a small fishing town. Hard to even find fish and lobster/shrimp here unless you know people - they don't sell much of it in the tiny grocery store in town. And here .. yes .. even here where everyone is used to winters (and almost everyone in town - except me - is related to someone else and therefore has loads of help at the drop of a phone call) the store gets emptied when there is a weather report saying that there might be a storm, winter or summer but it is most obvious in winter. You need more of a prepper attitude to live happily in the north - not 'whole hog' perhaps but never take it for granted that you can run to the store for food at the last minute! Ensure you always have extra food in the house (canned is fine - although many go further than that) - something you like to eat but is easy to prepare (especially if the power is out). And keep extra water in your house as well. Just common sense. Those who deal with hurricanes in the south also should think that way - everyone should but most don't unfortunately.
I buy ingredients when I go to larger towns or down south - and I make my own Thai-style food. People eat quite plainly here and aren't much into spice - and unfortunately many here also like processed foods more than cooking these days it seems (though they DO love baking) - so I make my own - hard to get fresh lemongrass or turmeric but I manage. And here in this town we have only a pizza joint and a sandwich place so not many 'dining out' spots.
I am an older woman but I knew absolutely no one here when I arrived - and I had never lived in the maritimes before. And honestly I probably still don't know many at all really well - but there are more familiar faces now (after 3 years) and I am sure more know who I am than I know them. I also probably know more neighbours here than I ever did living in the DFW area for years, or even Asheville NC. I will always be an outsider here I know but one fits in over time. Of course I live in a very small town (about 400 people) - if you choose to live nearer a larger center you may be anonymous longer if that suits you or you can choose to get 'involved' in some clubs or organizations if you are more social.
People are friendly here too - much like in Maine - but they are quite 'live and let live' too .. with outsiders anyway ... they do keep the grapevine going when it comes to family and events I have found. It never occurs to them to post a notice at the local grocery about something happening in town - they all know already all about it seems - and I have found that a bit frustrating. I have missed a number of things that I might have liked to attend because I didn't know about them. No local radio here or paper .. and I don't do 'facebook' which is apparently where they 'share' more.
Anyway .. I hope you love Maine. I have considered getting a place there myself because it is the one state I like to stop in when I drive from here to NC several times a year. I run right past all the other northeastern and mid-coast states as fast as possible. My only issue as someone who travels with a large dog and drives long distances is that I often find it hard to find accommodation in Maine at the last minute when I don't know how far I will get on the journey - and as others have noted, particularly on the mid-upper coast areas things shut down in the fall.
And yes, I shop at LL Bean too - though mostly by mail order when I am down south unless I am passing by the Maine store in a shoulder season - too many people crowding the town during the summer. But, I like their quality for the most part so they get my business still. I know I am not alone .. I know many Canadians who make pilgrimages there ... warmth is warmth and they do warmth and casual quite well.
Last edited by Aery11; 08-26-2016 at 10:10 AM..
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