Tell me all about Maine

Is there any there there?

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by Anonymousreply 132April 23, 2021 12:49 AM

Native Mainer here. Beautiful State from seacoast to mountains. People voted FOR gay marriage. Still just one area code: 207.

by Anonymousreply 1April 20, 2021 1:29 AM

Good weed seed banks too.

by Anonymousreply 2April 20, 2021 4:11 AM

Lucky enough to have a cottage in Ogunquit. Very gay friendly village with good restaurants, piano bar, and large gay bar right in the village center. Love being there as much as I can.

by Anonymousreply 3April 20, 2021 4:17 AM

So, can you go to the store and buy a packet of weed seed, the same way you buy a packet of say marigold seeds?

by Anonymousreply 4April 20, 2021 4:49 AM

Stayed there one night on a family vacation as a teen. It was charming.

by Anonymousreply 5April 20, 2021 4:52 AM

I see what you did there, R6.

by Anonymousreply 7April 20, 2021 4:56 AM

Beautiful state, friendly people. Fall is well under way in September. Felt very sleepy to me.

by Anonymousreply 9April 20, 2021 5:02 AM

Ogunquit is great. They love the gays there.

by Anonymousreply 10April 20, 2021 5:03 AM

Pity bout those damn vampires.

by Anonymousreply 11April 20, 2021 5:10 AM

Despite COVID, Maine still has a lot to offer. It's a shame so many mom & pop restaurants fell by the wayside during the past year. But in many cases, new eateries opened in their place. Maine boasts Acadia National Park (which encompasses the town of Bar Harbor), a beautiful coastline, abundant forests and wildlife and, north of Augusta, the quiet rural life seldom found so near relatively large population centers.

I live in Fort Kent, a town right at the Canadian border. The border has been closed since March of 2020, and that has put a damper on travel throughout eastern Canada. But we have our share of great little restaurants, a library, a UMaine campus, a new coffee shop, an artisanal pizzeria, a soon-to-open movie theater, a first-rate hospital and an honestly friendly vibe. In the winter, Fort Kent is the snowmobile capital of Maine.

Maine bills itself as "Vacationland" and more than lives up to that reputation.

by Anonymousreply 12April 20, 2021 5:37 AM

Very short (but breezy and warm) summers along the coast where you can go from sweltering to fall temps in just a couple of weeks from the end of August to early September.

Maine just isn't a there there state. No X to mark on the map. I think a lot of people like it that way.

by Anonymousreply 13April 20, 2021 5:38 AM

Lovely to drive through on jaunts in good weather. Head South before winter.

by Anonymousreply 14April 20, 2021 5:42 AM

They re-elected Susan Collins by 10 points. Fuck them

by Anonymousreply 15April 20, 2021 5:43 AM

Lots of cute, small towns. Is Hannaford still the big grocery store chain out there?

by Anonymousreply 16April 20, 2021 9:42 AM

What did you guys do to traumatise Steven King so badly?

by Anonymousreply 17April 20, 2021 9:49 AM

My folks had property there and we’d go up in my childhood. It’s great in summer, but the same Kennebunk cabin that was $60 in January will be $600 a night peak summer rate. Winters are COLD- my husband reached for his phone on the icy beach and it died from the cold!

by Anonymousreply 18April 20, 2021 10:14 AM

besides the lobster, my vague idea about Maine was from watching this.

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by Anonymousreply 19April 20, 2021 10:50 AM

Family in Lincoln and Bangor. Nice, but dull.

by Anonymousreply 20April 20, 2021 10:56 AM

We rented a great house on Bailey Island and day-tripped to Camden a few years back. It’s very quiet but very chill.

I thought Ogunquit was a snooze and the big event was Sally Struthers was doing stock theater a different Summer I was out there way back when. For a gay enclave the food in Ogunquit was meh.

by Anonymousreply 21April 20, 2021 11:03 AM

I hiked through Maine on the AT. Very pretty and isolated in that part of the state. However, some of the people who live out in the Maine wilderness are...interesting.

by Anonymousreply 22April 20, 2021 11:09 AM

R12 Parlez vous francais?

You're the home of the first mile aren't you?

by Anonymousreply 23April 20, 2021 11:16 AM

Yes, R16, Hannaford is the big supermarket here.

by Anonymousreply 24April 20, 2021 11:52 AM

It looks beautiful, if I ever come back to the US for a holiday, I'd definitely like to explore Maine.

by Anonymousreply 25April 20, 2021 11:58 AM

Lived at The Yellow Monkey, a popular B & B in Ogunquit in the 80's, playing piano at a local gay-friendly restaurant. Beautiful town with a lot of charm and artsy folks. It's gotten too crowded in the years since but the Marginal Way is a mile long walk that is always spectacular to enjoy.

by Anonymousreply 26April 20, 2021 12:33 PM

Any black folkz? How's the racial climate? On par with Boston/Mass?

by Anonymousreply 27April 20, 2021 12:34 PM

Did I haunt your dreams? Then you stayed at The Admiral's Inn!

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by Anonymousreply 29April 20, 2021 12:48 PM

I've been to over 40 states, and Maine is just about my favorite. I love driving up and down every peninsula from Acadia to Ogunquit. Portland is great, too.

by Anonymousreply 30April 20, 2021 12:54 PM

That's currently showing on Tubi, R28 - one of my favorites.

by Anonymousreply 31April 20, 2021 12:54 PM

In terms of scenery, Maine is as good as the east coast gets.

by Anonymousreply 32April 20, 2021 12:55 PM

They float, they all float

by Anonymousreply 33April 20, 2021 1:02 PM

Depends on what your definition of "there is".

R32 - If you're into "coastal", yes. That said, Vermont, which is land-locked except for Lake Champlain, is one of the most beautiful places in the country, and the Carolinas and Rhode Island also have spectacular coastal beauty. It's a matter of taste.

Portland is a nice little city.

The black flies in Maine in the summer if you go camping are a misery.

It's also home to some of the most reactionary racist folk in New England, exacerbated by the recent influx of Somali refugees, mostly congregated in the state's couple of small cities.

by Anonymousreply 34April 20, 2021 2:27 PM

I only know coastal maine, bucolic and distant, like driving to patagonia. So white it blinds you. very pleasant though, bad wifi

by Anonymousreply 35April 20, 2021 2:30 PM

I know some people from Massachusetts who refer to people from Maine as "Maine-iacs."

by Anonymousreply 36April 20, 2021 2:33 PM

R36 - Yes, tribalism just never seems to die, does it? It's like cat in "The Cat Came Back (We thought he was a goner, but the cat came back)"

by Anonymousreply 37April 20, 2021 2:41 PM

Low population state, and somewhat inbred in places. Dominated by timber and tourism.

After English and Irish, biggest ethnic group is French Canadians. Until 1820, the state was part of Massachusetts. Although it can get cold, the southern coastal areas from Portland down are really similar in climate to the rest of New England.

Summers tend to be delightful, winters are hellish. Has its own Eastern New England accent (no R's).

Although it is one of two New England states without an Ivy League college, it does have three "Little Ivies" Colby, Bowdoin and Bates.

Portland, Bar Harbor and Ogunquit are very gay friendly, the rest of the state, not so much.

It has great seafood, especially lobster.

by Anonymousreply 38April 20, 2021 4:22 PM

We went there on vacation about 10 years ago. Rockland, Camden and Portland. It was so hot and humid in June you wouldn't dry off after a shower; it must have been in the low 90s and felt like a steam room. Ate lots of lobster. It's gorgeous. Lovely scenery and Portland is a great little city. Not much to do in the Rockland/Camden area but it's beautiful.

by Anonymousreply 39April 20, 2021 4:27 PM

Sigh! Now I've got my shot, I'd love to take that road trip to Maine, but I'd like to go in the fall.

by Anonymousreply 41April 20, 2021 4:28 PM

I've always wanted to live where they filmed Peyton Place. It looks so charming.

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by Anonymousreply 42April 20, 2021 4:33 PM

Maine is the probably the most beautiful state I haave been to (been to 38, maybe Hawaii is as beautiful), gorgeous beaches,(Ogunquit), very gay friendly, great hiking, cycling, skiing, fantastic restaurants (Portland is a foodie town). Winters are long, but summer and fall are perfect. Bought a cottage in Wells just north of Ogunquit last year for summer. Avoid the western part of the state (redneck), but south and seacoast areas are fine. Becoming very expensive, bu so is everywhere else worth living.

by Anonymousreply 43April 20, 2021 4:50 PM

In Maine all seems to breath freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils

by Anonymousreply 44April 20, 2021 4:52 PM

I really like the look of Maine - it's one of the few places left in the US that I would consider visiting.

by Anonymousreply 46April 20, 2021 5:01 PM

Although tourism is a vital part of the Maine economy and the locals love the feel of outside dollars flowing through their hands, many of them have nothing but contempt for you behind your back if you're not a year-rounder. Especially in the lobstering and fishing industry. And even more so if you're from Massachusetts.

My extended family has been spending whole summers up there for five generations in a small coastal town, and like many other summer-only residents, we're not seen as all that different from the one-time weekenders or day trippers.

by Anonymousreply 47April 20, 2021 5:24 PM

Prolific children’s book author Margaret Wise Brown owned a house on an island in Maine and a small island off that island inspired the book The Little Island. Written under the pseudonym Golden MacDonald.

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by Anonymousreply 48April 20, 2021 6:08 PM

Children’s book writer and illustrator Robert McCloskey moved to Maine with his family after WWII and wrote the iconic book Blueberries for Sal and its sequel One Morning in Maine inspired by the state.

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by Anonymousreply 49April 20, 2021 6:14 PM

Well said, R44. I totally agree.

by Anonymousreply 50April 20, 2021 6:45 PM

They sure love their whoopie pies out there.

by Anonymousreply 51April 21, 2021 1:07 AM

A spectacularly beautiful place.

The demographics of Maine: White: 96.9 Black 0.5

by Anonymousreply 52April 21, 2021 1:21 AM

I love Maine, it's beautiful. It's a lot like a bigger Vermont with ocean views. The crazy there tends to be a bit crazier than us though

by Anonymousreply 53April 21, 2021 1:50 AM

Odd lusts run deep, but torrid secrets remain hidden. Much like in New Hampshire.

by Anonymousreply 54April 21, 2021 2:18 AM

The purple prose of Grace Metallious in the first paragraph of her bestselling novel springs to mind.

by Anonymousreply 55April 21, 2021 3:14 AM

Great place to visit.

To live?! There is a reason young people flee from Maine. The economy is kinda dead, and it's pretty boring and lightly populated.

by Anonymousreply 56April 21, 2021 3:23 AM

No one talks about it but Maine became a Canadian province in 1986. A lot of other things happened that year and people kind of forget.

by Anonymousreply 57April 21, 2021 3:25 AM

Is Stephen King Maine’s most famous resident?

by Anonymousreply 58April 21, 2021 3:31 AM

Stay away from Colinsport.

by Anonymousreply 59April 21, 2021 3:38 AM

Is Salem's Lot set in Maine?

by Anonymousreply 60April 21, 2021 3:42 AM

Ya cahn’t get they-aah from hee-yaah.

by Anonymousreply 61April 21, 2021 3:46 AM

Beautiful state. Independent in spirit. Have been to all 50 states and Maine is one of the few I'd like to see again.

by Anonymousreply 62April 21, 2021 4:13 AM

"Haven" was sent in Maine. Those people were...ummm..."troubled." But at least they have Eric Balfour.

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by Anonymousreply 63April 21, 2021 4:37 AM

Are there any de-ah? Must not get Lyme disease. Otherwise, i think I'd love it.

by Anonymousreply 64April 21, 2021 4:45 AM

So, decades ago, the 90s, we impromptu left Canada and started back south and needed to spend the night unscheduled in Maine. It was August and apparently there was some folk festival where every hotel room in the state is booked weeks in advance so we couldn’t find one for the night. I remembered that L.L Bean was open 24 hours, so we made our way to Freeport and slept in the car in their parking lot.

by Anonymousreply 65April 21, 2021 4:51 AM

Why stay away from Colinsport?

by Anonymousreply 66April 21, 2021 6:25 AM

I met a girl who went to Bowdoin one summer at an internship, she made it sound magical.

by Anonymousreply 67April 21, 2021 6:38 AM

It sucks OP. The people are the most humorless, self involved, self important, joyless cunts I have ever known, and I don’t exaggerate.

They live for politics 24/7. The entire state is like a DL “Let’s Be Michigan Fest” thread, I shit you not. It’s 99.999% of foaming at the mouth, rabid “woke” white pepper trying to out-woke one another constantly. Even southern Maine is provincial but they try to mimic every national political trend. The tiny Chamber of Commerce is Portland is now attempting to host some “Bias Against Asians” awareness event with the only two Asians in the city!! To say they take themselves uber seriously is a major understatement. It’s expensive, the population lives off pot and meth, homeless and toothless methed-out zombies pack the two largest cities of Portland and Lewiston. Portland has a bad problem of being a busing dumping ground for homeless and addicted folks from Boston, Rhode Island and New York and the rag tag little city council does nothing about it because they’re so frozen in fear wokeness.

It’s a beautiful state but it’s like a poison apple. I regret the day I decided on moving there.

by Anonymousreply 69April 21, 2021 9:46 AM

Stephen King lives there and seems pretty openly involved in his local community OP. You could go and visit him. He seems like a cool guy.

His house is being turned into a museum.

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by Anonymousreply 70April 21, 2021 9:56 AM

What coastal town in Maine resembles Collinsport the most?

by Anonymousreply 71April 21, 2021 10:02 AM

I'll never forgive Maine for re-electing Susan Collins!

by Anonymousreply 73April 21, 2021 10:32 AM

r66, r59 probably means Collinsport, the fictional town where Dark Shadows was set.

by Anonymousreply 74April 21, 2021 10:40 AM

R74, R72 Is the stomping grounds of the Bushes, I’m sure there are dark secrets and vampiric behavior there.

by Anonymousreply 75April 21, 2021 10:46 AM

r75, agreed. I was being pedantic and correcting r59 who said to stay away from "Colinsport" (and r66 asked why to stay away from "Colinsport" in response). It was of course Collinsport, home of the Collins family (not the Colins family).

(Yes, I'm that bitch.)

by Anonymousreply 76April 21, 2021 1:30 PM

If I had 5 days, could I do Ogunquit, Rockport, Portland, Bar Harbor and Acadia NP? We’re outdoor people, love scenery, not big on arts culture or fine dining.

by Anonymousreply 77April 21, 2021 2:02 PM

r77 You could but you'd be spending a great deal of the time in the car going from place to place, not leaving a lot of time to enjoy each stop.

by Anonymousreply 78April 21, 2021 2:33 PM

I lived there for a year of college. The Mainers were extremely private, quiet, and clannish. It was really hard to make friends there when so many Mainer students went home for the weekends and left the dorms empty. Stephen King is a UMaine graduate and I saw him speak twice at UMaine twice in the one year I was there—he’s their only celebrity who lives there full time, although the Bush family has their summer house in Kennebunkport.

The scenery is gorgeous and I would love to visit again and do more outdoorsy activities in the mountains. Gorgeous little towns along the coastline and beautiful lighthouses.

Mainers seem to dislike outsiders. And winter was brutal. I remember the sun setting at 4pm in the winter and cold temps for several months. And very, very, very white.

They have a history of bashing their Franco-Americans in the state, with “Jacque and Pierre” jokes and French-Americans trying to hide their heritage and accents there. I learned about it in a class I took there.

by Anonymousreply 79April 21, 2021 2:38 PM

[quote]They have a history of bashing their Franco-Americans in the state, with “Jacque and Pierre” jokes and French-Americans trying to hide their heritage and accents there.

Well, I never in all my life.... How terrible R79! How terrible indeed.

by Anonymousreply 80April 21, 2021 2:41 PM

I visited the town of Kennebunkport in September of 1991, with other members of ACT UP.

Nice place!

by Anonymousreply 81April 21, 2021 2:56 PM

Anyone ever taken the Amtrak Downeaster from Boston to Portland (possibly farther up the Maine coast)? Looks like a nice way to see Maine without spend a lot of time in the car sitting in traffic

by Anonymousreply 82April 21, 2021 3:13 PM

Maine is the only place on the East Coast I’d consider living. My mom, who was born and raised there, retired there, and I can easily imagine doing the same. But I’d have to be within 15 miles or so of the ocean - everything else is Trump country.

And the coast is experiencing a housing crisis, at least if all the desperate “seeking housing” ads in the “for rent” section of Craigslist are any indication. The opioid epidemic is hitting Maine hard too.

by Anonymousreply 83April 21, 2021 3:16 PM

R82, I’ve taken the train from Boston to the (current) end of the line in Brunswick. It’s a pleasant way to go, but much slower than driving. And you don’t see any coastal scenery from the train until you get to Old Orchard Beach.

by Anonymousreply 84April 21, 2021 3:18 PM

Portland is fantastic. Some of the best restaurants outside of the big cities (LA, SF, NY) - lots of innovative up and coming chefs.

Also, The Lost Kitchen in Freedom. Hardest reservation to get in the country.

The coast is magical.

The only weird thing is, there are no black people there. At all.

Oh, and Ogunquit is definitely a lot of fun.

by Anonymousreply 85April 21, 2021 3:25 PM

There’s a Somali immigrant presence around Saco.

by Anonymousreply 86April 21, 2021 3:42 PM

Nonsense, R85. There are black people in Maine.

And both of them love it, thank you very much.

by Anonymousreply 87April 21, 2021 3:44 PM

I wanted to do a Euro trip later this summer but I think i may end up just doing a little trip to Boston. Check out RI (Newport tour), spend time in Boston then drive up the coast to Maine. Any must see places on the coast?

by Anonymousreply 88April 21, 2021 3:59 PM

R88, if you’re willing to drive an extra couple of hours past Brunswick, you can explore the Blue Hill area and Deer Isle. I think it’s the nicest part of the coast, with lovely villages like Castine and Blue Hill, and gorgeous scenery everywhere you look. And it’s not (in normal times) overrun with tourists, like Bar Harbor and everything west of the Penobscot.

by Anonymousreply 89April 22, 2021 1:32 AM

Despite Susan Collins (I’m convinced she is a descendent of Barnabas), coastal Maine is charming with spectacular scenery. Ogunquit is touristy but the beach is stunning and the town is gay friendly. Way down east (Washington County) offers some of the best coastal scenery, although many of the towns are impoverished and sad. Eastport (easternmost city in the U.S.) has historic homes on nearly every block — some of which can be purchased for pennies. Although it attracts artists (the light is reminiscent of Provincetown), the whole town has a surreal, Stephen King like vibe that I’m oddly drawn to.

The exteriors of “Cabot Cove,” Maine were actually shot in Mendocino, CA.

by Anonymousreply 90April 22, 2021 2:25 AM

Does Dolores Claiborne still live there?

by Anonymousreply 91April 22, 2021 4:18 AM

Isn't it THE place where all the lesbians flock to? As if it was Lezzie Nirvana for some reason? I bet the nut loafs are heaven!

by Anonymousreply 92April 22, 2021 4:48 AM

Gay homos are more prevalent than the lezzys.

by Anonymousreply 93April 22, 2021 5:15 AM

[quote]The purple prose of Grace Metallious in the first paragraph of her bestselling novel springs to mind.

People seem to forget "Peyton Place" presumably takes place in Metallious' hometown which was Gilmanton, New Hampshire (we lived there for years), not Maine!

by Anonymousreply 94April 22, 2021 5:52 AM

Maine in some ways reminds me of Montana—predominantly white, has some really obsessive outdoorsy/sporty people in the urban areas, and then rural drug use and poverty in others. And then rich people vacation there. The real difference in the end is that Maine is just wayyyyy more scenic between the beaches/coast and the Forests and mountains...in my opinion. Montana all looked the same to me.

by Anonymousreply 95April 22, 2021 6:01 AM

I looked at some real estate there, then I found Tuckedaway. The rest is his-try.

by Anonymousreply 96April 22, 2021 6:06 AM

Step away from the touristy and ny old moneyish areas and GRINDING DELIVERANCE POVERTY.

by Anonymousreply 97April 22, 2021 6:15 AM

I second the comment about black flies in the summer. I spent part of two summers on the Bates campus in Lewistown.. Much more pleasant weather than NYC or the rest of the East Coast in general, although still humid. It's very understandable why the rich would want to have summer homes in the state. But hiking through the woods (ANY WOODS), and you'd be assaulted by mosquitoes, biting flies - not just black flies, but deer flies, horse flies, every kind of biting fly. Also no see ums. Horrible. And apparently plenty of ticks, although I didn't personally get any on me. Driving in Maine is a nightmare. Lots of tiny winding roads connecting one little town to another. Something that looked like a distance of 25 miles on a map, would end up taking an hour because of slow speed limits in every little town and village, and inability to make time on open stretches because the roads were so winding. I would guess that fall would be the most pleasant season there - frost would kill the bugs, and the changing leaves would be spectacular. Winter, as mentioned, brutal. Spring I imagine would come very late, and be very changeable, Probably June would be the first month of the year with settled weather. As a westerner, I'm grateful for the relative scarcity of biting bugs.

by Anonymousreply 99April 22, 2021 9:01 AM

Didn't Tom Selleck own a vacation home there at one time?

by Anonymousreply 100April 22, 2021 12:05 PM

Laura Webber from General Hospital and Jonathan Frakes own a home in Belfast.

by Anonymousreply 101April 22, 2021 12:26 PM

Not American, and all I know or have seen of Maine is the outdoor location shots in the ‘90s movie adaptation of CASPER (with Cathy Moriarty, Christina Ricci, and the late Bill Pullman). As a little kid, I always dreamed of living in some Gothic New England manor just like Whipstaff.

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by Anonymousreply 102April 22, 2021 12:32 PM

Yes, the Downeaster from Boston to Portland is slower than driving but it is very comfortable.The route is lovely especially through the Scarborough marshes.

by Anonymousreply 103April 22, 2021 12:39 PM

I think of this movie when I think of Maine, but I guess it was filmed in Vermont.

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by Anonymousreply 104April 22, 2021 12:41 PM

Portland is home and birthplace to the gorgeous, talented, and very kind Cherokee pro-wrestler Fandango (real name Curtis Hussey). He makes enough money with WWE to move almost anywhere else in the States if he wanted (and many other nicer places would be far more convenient for work), but he chooses to stay in Maine.

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by Anonymousreply 105April 22, 2021 1:07 PM

R95: Montana was a disappointment to me, too. Big Sky country because the land is so boring. I like New England, in general, but I was taken by the lushness and the beautiful coasts in Maine.

by Anonymousreply 106April 22, 2021 1:18 PM

If you want to see a real “land that time forgot” village, Camp Ellis/Ferry Beach, just south of honky-tonk Old Orchard Beach is a postcard from the 1950s. Old wooden cottages, an ice cream parlor, a wooden inn, a souvenir shop, a library and shuffleboard court. The same families coming since forever. A bit further inland, there was a an Victorian revival camp set in a grove of pine trees. Parking is limited but you can walk there from OOB, it’s maybe a half mile on a quiet road.

by Anonymousreply 107April 22, 2021 3:24 PM

The upside to global warming is that the Maine winters, at least in southern Maine, arent as brutal as they used to be.

People just hygge the fuck out too. One of the better dinner parties I've been to was in Portland in February after a blizzard. A friends sister made a huge stew, baked her own olive bread, and had about 10 people in. Everyone brought something. We ate and got tanked then stumbled home in the snow. Good times.

by Anonymousreply 108April 22, 2021 3:58 PM

I live in Old Orchard Beach and am damn proud of it. Yeah, in season it can be "dirty and touristy," but it is still quite charming. The other three seasons are delightful. Born there, but spent most of my adult life in Connecticut. I can honestly say I have much better shopping opportunities within 7 miles of me in Old Orchard Beach than I had in Connecticut. I also must add that I can also actually survive shopping locally in-town, something that I cannot say was possible in Connecticut. Living on the seacoast, the winters are not so bad - I can check the weather (temperatures, storms, etc) in Connecticut and it is rarely much worse in Maine.

by Anonymousreply 109April 22, 2021 4:02 PM

It’s creepy to me - seems dark and run down and depressing in many places. I find Vermont much more beautiful. There are very few coastal spots with good vistas. Most of it seems privately owned and the craggy inlets and dense forests limit views. I found Bar Harbor and Acadia to be a letdown. I like Portland. But it’s such a long drive, I don’t find the payoff worthwhile. Fine if you’re from Boston but coming from NY, I prefer Western MA and VT.

by Anonymousreply 110April 22, 2021 4:03 PM

That’s Ocean Park, R107, but yes it’s just as you describe it. Ferry Beach and Camp Ellis are a few miles south of there.

by Anonymousreply 111April 22, 2021 4:08 PM

Vermont has a ,lot of poverty, esp. in the NE Kingdom. But frankly, you're going to find something grim in any part of the country. I've done all 50 states and can probably name something awful in any of them.

It used to be more common for resorts and other tourist draws to mostly attract locals in most parts of the country. A lot of those places have struggled for years---the Catskills, little beach towns near big cities in the Great Lakes. I'd imagine Maine has some of these, as well as logging and milling towns that had their peak 100 years ago or right after WWII.

by Anonymousreply 112April 22, 2021 4:29 PM

Jesus, VT has some of the most harrowing poverty I've seen, especially right over the NYS border.

I will agree that the NYS/MA Berkshires area is lovely. But it's also landlocked.

I like the the gritty areas of Maine. The Biddeford/Saco area is especially interesting. It's another funky town that time forgot that the hip kids are flooding to. Consequently, the restaurant/bar thing has infiltrated and many of them are kind of amazing. Palace Diner. Magnus on Water. Dizzy Bird. Elda.

I'll take a shit town near the sea with brilliant potential any day over the whole rural landlocked quaint thing.

by Anonymousreply 113April 22, 2021 4:48 PM

R106 I lived in Bozeman for a year and a friend of mine was a real estate agent there. Bozeman was overrun with with trust fund kids and rent was jacked up for the poorer college kids there. There were a lot of extreme sport people who lived there (my neighbor would just go for a 20 mile run on a regular Saturday) and restaurants were really overpriced “organic/local!”yet really bland and mediocre. I came to really dislike Montana after living there, whereas I still appreciated Maine after I left.

by Anonymousreply 114April 22, 2021 5:24 PM

Just looked at house prices in Portland and Biddeford. Insane. People are paying $1mm to live way up there. What jobs pay that kind of money in Maine? Is it all Bostonians? I thought it would be cheap - but am shocked how expensive it is. Even apartments in Portland are $300k+. Crazy. You can live somewhere decent for that kind of money,

by Anonymousreply 115April 22, 2021 5:30 PM

How much does a cabin go for out there?

by Anonymousreply 116April 22, 2021 7:01 PM

Vermont is greener, more lush than Maine. Maine is scrubbier due to all the pine trees but it does have that coastline.

by Anonymousreply 117April 22, 2021 7:47 PM

r115 Yes, folks from Boston (not that far a commute), but also tons on NY/NJ folks who now work virtually. My husband grew up on Munjoy Hill in a home his parents purchsed for $3000.00 that recently sold for over a million. That's how insane prices are. And, no, most jobs pay not nearly enough to live well in Portland.

by Anonymousreply 118April 22, 2021 8:10 PM

Main Cabin Masters is one of my favorite shows. A quirky crew rehabs old "camps" all over the state. It's a delight to watch.

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by Anonymousreply 120April 22, 2021 8:32 PM

R119 My guess is they would lean towards Hellman’s there.

by Anonymousreply 121April 22, 2021 8:37 PM

R38 The PBS station in Augusta WCBB = Colby Bates Bowdoin

R79 funny you should say that I saw a car here in Florida which had me exclaiming "Franco blue!" (not a compliment)

by Anonymousreply 122April 22, 2021 8:38 PM

It's very eastern, if you get my drift.

by Anonymousreply 123April 22, 2021 8:40 PM

My sister, who has lived in Maine for 35 years and considers herself a native (ha!) is able to spot an out-of-state license plate from a quarter-mile away.

by Anonymousreply 124April 22, 2021 9:07 PM

R102

Bill Pullman is alive and well. I think you were mixing him up with Bill Paxton (which is common), and Paxton is dead.

by Anonymousreply 125April 22, 2021 9:18 PM

My family spent our summers in Maine. The coast is lovely and filled with interesting places and people. But backwoods Maine is Deliverance country. Scary meth-addled, toothless people who look like they came straight out of a bad horror movie. And it's very conservative politically outside of the urban areas and the college towns (of which there are many). This is a state that had one of the most rightwing governors in the country until recently. And it;'s a state that loves Susan Collins.

So if you want to visit, stay on the coast. Otherwise, you might end up becoming the entree of someone's dinner.

by Anonymousreply 126April 22, 2021 9:31 PM

It's amusing to me to observe people who are in a particular place where you're visiting or live and they think their shit doesn't stink because they were born there or because they deem themselves special because they moved there.

It happens everywhere that is a desirable location that attracts newcomers. I was born in San Francisco and didn't notice it until my first job out of college downtown where there were newbies from all around the country who thought they discovered the place and deserved an award. I in turn developed "obnoxious native syndrome." Suddenly it was chic to have your parents nearby. I lorded it over my newbie friends before moving to another fashionable location and became a newcomer myself. The natives can be insufferable. in their pride.

It seems to be a universal human trait. Give me an award because I'm a local and got here before you. Humans are silly.

by Anonymousreply 127April 22, 2021 9:43 PM

Maine. Psht! That shit should be called Last Resort!

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by Anonymousreply 128April 22, 2021 10:37 PM

I thought my Maine-born grandmother might appreciate a book about her native state, so one Christmas I gave her this one.

I chose poorly.

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by Anonymousreply 130April 22, 2021 11:43 PM

I recall the film starring dishy Rutger Hauer.

by Anonymousreply 131April 22, 2021 11:59 PM

From 1946 until 1996, the most gay friendly restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine. Tickling the ivories there in the 1980's was a wonderful experience.

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by Anonymousreply 132April 23, 2021 12:49 AM

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