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I moved to Maine for the close to earth lifestyle, architecture, closeness of the ocean and wilderness and got all that but wasn't expecting the Drug use, crime, adulatory, surliness two faced people. Still love Maine just not its people so much, I still have friends their and with these passing few years they noticed the divide is real and deep. In a small population the rumor mill spreads fast about "People From Away".
I moved to Maine for the close to earth lifestyle, architecture, closeness of the ocean and wilderness and got all that but wasn't expecting the Drug use, crime, adulatory, surliness two faced people. Still love Maine just not its people so much, I still have friends their and with these passing few years they noticed the divide is real and deep. In a small population the rumor mill spreads fast about "People From Away".
I am just curious about how you know about the rumor mill. Did people tell you to your face about something strange that they heard about you, or what?
We moved to our teeny little town from Colorado, and the closest thing we heard about us was when someone said that they heard we were from Kentucky, and that was on the day we moved in when our neighbors came to greet us! Very strange, and I have no idea how that particular bit got started!
(Before living in Colorado as a couple for 23 years, we each lived in SoCal for about 30 years.)
I am just curious about how you know about the rumor mill. Did people tell you to your face about something strange that they heard about you, or what?
We moved to our teeny little town from Colorado, and the closest thing we heard about us was when someone said that they heard we were from Kentucky, and that was on the day we moved in when our neighbors came to greet us! Very strange, and I have no idea how that particular bit got started!
(Before living in Colorado as a couple for 23 years, we each lived in SoCal for about 30 years.)
Yes, people told me that so and so threw you under the bus. People would introduce me as "their friend from Jersey". People would hear my accent and call me "here comes Jousey" I gave that state 14 years of my live and still can't believe how it went south because of all my fake friends. I had friends in Caribou ME that moved to Freeport ME but then moved back because I was the only friend I had in the area. So it's just not all about out of staters many people are just stand offish.
I always had a pull to New England, my Grandmother was from Connecticut and had coffee table books about New England that I would look through, my cousin lives in Rohde Island, other cousin lived in Vermont, Uncle had a ski house in VT and I was in Maine.
After all I went through I still have a draw to rural areas for less noise pollution and congestion but know there are people that will be nice to you but not want you there.
Last edited by OpinionExperience; 09-10-2022 at 11:18 AM..
Yes, people told me that so and so threw you under the bus. People would introduce me as "their friend from Jersey". People would hear my accent and call me "here comes Jousey" I gave that state 14 years of my live and still can't believe how it went south because of all my fake friends. I had friends in Caribou ME that moved to Freeport ME but then moved back because I was the only friend I had in the area. So it's just not all about out of staters many people are just stand offish.
I always had a pull to New England, my Grandmother was from Connecticut and had coffee table books about New England that I would look through, my cousin lives in Rohde Island, other cousin lived in Vermont, Uncle had a ski house in VT and I was in Maine.
After all I went through I still have a draw to rural areas for less noise pollution and congestion but know there are people that will be nice to you but not want you there.
Even though regional variations in attitude towards newcomers do exist, you yourself just stated why it’s not that simple.
Rely less on trying to join the herd or trying to fit in. Desperation smells bad and looks pathetic.
Even though regional variations in attitude towards newcomers do exist, you yourself just stated why it’s not that simple.
Rely less on trying to join the herd or trying to fit in. Desperation smells bad and looks pathetic.
Don't promote yourself as "The Way Life Should Be" "Welcome Home" like your some kind of utopia when its just marketing. Why is the population so stagnant in New England?
...Why is the population so stagnant in New England?
Money. There are few good jobs in rural areas of New England. The factories and mills that made it a powerhouse of the economy in the 1700's through about the late 1800's are gone. The topsoil went before that. Anywhere there's a lot of rural unemployment and underemployment there will be drug use, apathy, close-mindedness etc.
Where I moved is adjacent to the Pioneer Valley in MA, which is mainly supported by U Mass and the the urban areas surrounding Springfield. It's quite rural, but a lot of the residents are retired U Mass professors and their ilk; it is educated and progressive. The young people tend to be neo-back-to-the-landers --also educated folks who often come from suburban backgrounds. It has a somewhat different culture than the real back of beyond parts.
From my experience growing up in a rural/farm community
-Watch for tractors, especially in the spring and fall
-Lots of smells. Before my wife and I met I don't think that she had ever been on a farm and it was a shock to her.
-Lots of noises and not just animals. In the midwest, late fall is the big hunting season, and if you do go for a walk in the woods wear lots of bright orange.
-Lots of blowing and drifting snow across the roads from the open fields.
-You don't have the city breathing down your neck, or neighbors reporting you for little things. So expect a few neighbors to have some boats or cars that haven't moved in a long time.
-Farmers have a job to do they're not worried about your sleep schedule. Growing up with a corn field in our backyard come harvest time they're out in the fields 9-10 at night.
-Lots of open land means a fair amount of quads, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles.
Grew up in the country then moved to the city, and then to the burbs. I really do miss the peace and quiet of living in the country. I woul d love more than anything to sit out on my front porch and watch the sun come up over the trees
I couldn't read through all of these, but I did see a couple things others didn't mention through page 9 or so.
If you are buying in a forested area, who owns the timber rights? That's something to investigate and have clear before you buy. In the in-laws rural area a large landowner subdivided 40 ac lots (min to build on), but he kept the mineral and timber rights. About 10 years later a lot of those folks were shocked when he came back to harvest his trees.
As many have mentioned, lots of critters in the area. The in-laws kept a loaded .22 next to the sliding glass door in the dining room. Many a rock chuck and porcupine met it's end out there, and a few roaming dogs. If your dog, or your neighbors dogs tend to chase livestock (or wildlife) when they are out, then they are fair game. No one will complain much and many will thank you. Keep in mind whomever owns that dog likely won't pay to treat your horse if it cuts a leg on a fence, sharp stick, etc. when being chased. If you own dogs, keep them under control always.
Deer eat everything that's green. Lilac bushes seem to be a favorite, but your green lawn area, any flower, shrub, or garden plant is better than field grass. The in-laws used chicken wire around/over anything they wanted to keep through the summer. They also drop their pellets anywhere they want: yard, deck, patio, driveway. Motion lights, motion activated sound machines, etc. only work for a few nights, then they adapt. So, no need trying them, as it only wakes you up at night.
Depending on where you are at, there are lots of ATVs running up and down gravel roads all summer long at all hours. Then in the winter its snowmobiles. We joined in with the snowmobiles, but so did most of the neighbors. Full moon nights are stunning.
Money. There are few good jobs in rural areas of New England. The factories and mills that made it a powerhouse of the economy in the 1700's through about the late 1800's are gone. The topsoil went before that. Anywhere there's a lot of rural unemployment and underemployment there will be drug use, apathy, close-mindedness etc.
Where I moved is adjacent to the Pioneer Valley in MA, which is mainly supported by U Mass and the the urban areas surrounding Springfield. It's quite rural, but a lot of the residents are retired U Mass professors and their ilk; it is educated and progressive. The young people tend to be neo-back-to-the-landers --also educated folks who often come from suburban backgrounds. It has a somewhat different culture than the real back of beyond parts.
MA is starting to become an option, Pioneer Valley sounds nice. I have friends that live in Millbrook NY and have a second home in Ticonderoga NY on Lake George so being near them is a plus. MA just has more going on and an easy commute to all of New England.
When I moved to a semi-rural desert area, although still only 15 miles out from a big city center, I had, and still have, something of a learning curve to deal with. I never had a septic tank system. Never had a well. Never used a swamp cooler. Never had an irrigation system. Never had a boiler-based thermal heat system. Never had coyotes at the back door. Never had baby quail under foot in the yard. Never had scorpions in the house. Never stepped on a goathead. I don't think I even knew what to research before I moved here. Luckily, I had a neighbor who was helpful in many ways. One day I was bragging about the several rounded green shrubs I had in my yard -- he quietly told me they were tumbleweeds.
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