Maine Population Shifts (Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, Newport: low income, homes, wedding)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

You'll be welcome, wannabe. In 1992, the environmental industry published a list of towns where they wanted 100% depopulation. They had a second list of towns where they wanted 50 to 80% depopulation. They are making good progress.

[Nor'Eastah]

The advantage to population decline is that you can live in a rural area with low population density. For all practical purposes, we have no neighbors. There is definitely a trend to increased urbanization. All of this is ebb and flow. Maine will rise again when the time is right.

Another good result is more freedom. Densely populated areas are less free. I can go back to my little shooting range, and odds are no one will even know. I can use the chainsaw and log splitter and no one will know. My dogs can bark at the wildlife, and no one will know. I can use the outdoor crapper each day and no one will know. The local compliance officer can go whistle Dixie. I think I heard him recently.

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah

The advantage to population decline is that you can live in a rural area with low population density. For all practical purposes, we have no neighbors. There is definitely a trend to increased urbanization. All of this is ebb and flow. Maine will rise again when the time is right.

Another good result is more freedom. Densely populated areas are less free. I can go back to my little shooting range, and odds are no one will even know. I can use the chainsaw and log splitter and no one will know. My dogs can bark at the wildlife, and no one will know. I can use the outdoor crapper each day and no one will know. The local compliance officer can go whistle Dixie. I think I heard him recently.

I would like to think you’re right, but realistically it will take a century or more for rural Maine to start growing again, I think.

[VAQUERO 45]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

There is a song called The Last Cowboy Song. It begins with, This is the last cowboy song; the end of a hundred year walk." Maine is the same way. Our traditions are dying as our elders pass on. .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKeDcF1v_Y4

"And eyeball to eyeball old wives back down " Towards the end of it you can hear Ol Willie chime in . Spot on Northern Maine Land Man .

If I may let me share this "underground" one with you from "out west " .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh0DQ80kZoY

[7th generation]

In 2004 Maine lost 24,000 manufacturing jobs and the U.S. has shed 7 million of these middle class dreams.
We as Mainers are resilient and the ones that stay and choose our way of life find opportunities to remain and flourish.

[VAQUERO 45]

Well said Sir !

[MassVt]

The death of manufacturing and mills, and the lessening of some forms of manual labor all contribute, but a major factor is just isolation. There's nothing to hold an inquisitive kid from leaving, when he sees a life of utter boredom and uselessness in front of him. This happens all over the country--i.e kids from the Dakotas head for Minneapolis, for much the same reasons..

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by MassVt

The death of manufacturing and mills, and the lessening of some forms of manual labor all contribute, but a major factor is just isolation. There's nothing to hold an inquisitive kid from leaving, when he sees a life of utter boredom and uselessness in front of him. This happens all over the country--i.e kids from the Dakotas head for Minneapolis, for much the same reasons..

I think you're right. It speaks volumes about our overall culture these days..........i.e. the places aren't inherently boring or useless. In fact, for hundreds of years they were usually seen as great.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

I would like to think you’re right, but realistically it will take a century or more for rural Maine to start growing again, I think.

I hope it does. Why does every place have to be hoppin'? Maine is the last frontier of the east, the last refuge of a New England that is increasingly urbanized and paved over. As an escapee of Rhode Island, I can't tell you how much it meant to have Maine nearby.

Not everybody loves the cities and big business. Give me the pines, the lakes, the haircap moss, the stars on a quiet night, the moose, the soft sound of a heavy snowfall. I don't mean to get overly romantic. It's just that I love my freedom and my privacy up here.

[OpinionExperience]

Originally Posted by 7th generation

In 2004 Maine lost 24,000 manufacturing jobs and the U.S. has shed 7 million of these middle class dreams.
We as Mainers are resilient and the ones that stay and choose our way of life find opportunities to remain and flourish.

I have family from New England and was a This Old House addict. Love the rocky coast and mountains behind me. I loved getting a foot of snow in April and I am not a big skier.

Being from away and New Jersey was my only down fall. I would be best friends with one family member, and the other would have it in for me. To this day, I am still friends with many Mainers and they understand the divide.

So what is "our way of life", what did I miss?