Moving to Maine - Advice/Good-to-know Please

[Zymer]

Weather- Maine is some 400+- miles north to south, plus coastal and inland areas. The weather is different from place to place. Portland will be milder than most other parts north and west. Up here around Bangor we can see as much as -25 below zero and plenty of snow, up toward Ft. Kent there can be more snow and sometimes even colder.

4-wheel drive...is a nice thing to have, especially if you live outside the urbanized areas and in hilly country. You may not need it most of the time, but when you do, you'll be glad you have it. We have three 4X4s now, where I'm at they don't necessarily plow right away and when you're coming home from work (or where-ever) in a storm and you can't get up a hill, it kind of sucks.

Groceries- again, if you live outside an urbanized area and it's 15 or 20 miles to a good sized store, you just kind of get in the habit of keeping more things on-hand so a storm isn't as big a deal. You've got stuff so there's no need to freak out.

Generator- can be a nice thing to have. Power does go out more frequently than it does in other places, lots of trees to fall on lines. I lucked out last week- the power company tree-cutters were by here a couple of years ago and I asked them to take out a particular tree that I knew would come down at some point...but they didn't do it. It came down last week. Fortunately it fell parallel to the lines instead of directly across them, and the power only flickered a few times as the branches brushed the wires.

LL Bean Warden's Parka- great thing to have, totally worth the money. I've had other brands (less expensive) of down coats, this one beats them hands down. You might not need it all the time, but there are times when it's a good thing to have...as are their double-layer union suits (thermal long-johns) and heavy-weight Smartwool socks. Ditto on the stable-icers too, or other types.

Tires- good deep-lugged snow tires (not all-purpose radials), and studded is a good thing especially if you don't have 4-wheel drive. So you have to swap them out twice a year, no biggie, you should be rotating your tires anyway.

Snowshoes can be handy too. My bees are quite some distance from the house, and going to check them when there's 3' or more of snow on the ground is a slow slog without them.

Heat- a wood stove that doesn't need electricity is a nice thing to have too, an oil-fired furnace/boiler doesn't work very well if there's no power. I have two wood stoves and a pellet stove. There's an oil furnace in the basement, but I shut that off a week or so after moving into this house, and it hasn't been back on since. It takes way too much oil to heat this house with it.

'Stand-offishness'- most aren't being snooty, they're just respecting your privacy. Smile and wave, most will do the same in return, a lot will do it first. If they do, stop and chat some time. If you don't like socializing that much and just want to be left alone, that's fine too, they'll leave you alone if that's what you want. But go ahead and keep waving and smiling when you pass by them- just that little bit of friendliness is enough and if you need help with something some time, they'll help even if they don't know you. I've dropped my plow for a guy who was trying to shovel four feet of packed snow from around his mailbox, don't even know his name...and when I got my truck stuck because there was too much heavy, wet snow and I didn't have any chains, a fellow up the road with a tractor heard my motor screaming and came and pulled me out, don't know his name either.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The best brand of stabil icers people are mentioning is Y a k Trax. Even the Maine State Police use them. NOBODY can walk safely on wet ice and a fall on wet ice can injure you. Like the LL Bean warden's parka, *** Trax are worth the money. They are about $20 and can prevent a broken bone. Take them off when you go into a store or your kitchen.

Huh, The censor won't let me mention the name of an Arctic ox without spacing the letters.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

The best brand of stabil icers people are mentioning is Y a k Trax. Even the Maine State Police use them. NOBODY can walk safely on wet ice and a fall on wet ice can injure you. Like the LL Bean warden's parka, *** Trax are worth the money. They are about $20 and can prevent a broken bone. Take them off when you go into a store or your kitchen.

Huh, The censor won't let me mention the name of an Arctic ox without spacing the letters.

I tried those.

I have found the 'STABILicers Maxx' to be much better for my needs.