Move to Maine??? every passing day you will find this to be true: (transplants, low crime)

[mainenative]

I have lived in maine all my life and for the most part Maine is beautiful and the way life should be. I agree there are those strange "going ons" that happen here and I've heard some pretty disturbing things that almost scar you just hearing about them. Incest, craziness and corruption, although disturbing, are human behaviors that come from ignorance and sickness. These things happen everywhere but are swept under the carpet, so to speak, to avoid embarassment of a community or family. Affluent communities have less occurances due to being educated and informed but they do occur. Lower communites tend to be more likely to suffer from these behaviors because they have a lack of education and understanding. Also they are not offered the medical attention that may need to control mental illness etc. . Maine is not exempt from the evils of life but we are sure a pretty angelic state.

[mainenative]

Unfortunately so, that happens everywhere in our country. You would make a great advocate for the discarded people you mention, we need more people, like yourself, in this world who are more concerned and caring about others and willing to give a darn and take action.

[Acadianlion]

Oh, well, now let's just wait a sec. I think that if people want to make scathing statements and negative allegations about social conditions in Maine then they should back up their statements with other than hot air and blustery rhetoric. Throughout the state there are community action programs (CAP) that provide many services to help the elderly and others in need of assistance. From my experience in other states, I would have to say that Maine takes better care of its people than in most other places. While we do have our homeless and abject poverty, we also have outreach programs that attempt to deal with social problems. I believe that the efforts are quite remarkable for a state that has such a narrow economic base to do as well as it does.

I spent two years at a small liberal arts college in southern Ohio. I can safely say in retrospect, that I hated nearly every second that I was there. Truthfully I found absolutely nothing of value there, and when I got the chance to transfer to a large university in Boston, I was out of there in a flash. But there was NOTHING wrong with the college, the people there, the community or the people in it. It was simply the wrong place for me at that time.

The people who lambaste Maine and Maine people on this forum probably came here with a sour attitude, and certainly they came here expecting something that quite possibly doesn't exist here. But the one thing that they should remember is that THEY CHOSE to come here, no one forced them to come here, and if Maine proved to be other than they thought it should be to please them, then the false expectations that they had are theirs alone. If they didn't do their homework about this state prior to coming here, then that is their mistake. If they came here with their elbows out, then they were greeted with the same posture.

One good thing for all of those people who like to be angry and negative about Maine and Maine people is that there is a nice, big, modern Interstate highway that runs from the Canadian border to New Hampshire. No one in the State of Maine will keep you from getting on it and heading south along with your attitude. Don't let the toll gate in Kittery hit you in the ass!

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

Oh, well, now let's just wait a sec. I think that if people want to make scathing statements and negative allegations about social conditions in Maine then they should back up their statements with other than hot air and blustery rhetoric. Throughout the state there are community action programs (CAP) that provide many services to help the elderly and others in need of assistance. From my experience in other states, I would have to say that Maine takes better care of its people than in most other places. While we do have our homeless and abject poverty, we also have outreach programs that attempt to deal with social problems. I believe that the efforts are quite remarkable for a state that has such a narrow economic base to do as well as it does.

I spent two years at a small liberal arts college in southern Ohio. I can safely say in retrospect, that I hated nearly every second that I was there. Truthfully I found absolutely nothing of value there, and when I got the chance to transfer to a large university in Boston, I was out of there in a flash. But there was NOTHING wrong with the college, the people there, the community or the people in it. It was simply the wrong place for me at that time.

The people who lambaste Maine and Maine people on this forum probably came here with a sour attitude, and certainly they came here expecting something that quite possibly doesn't exist here. But the one thing that they should remember is that THEY CHOSE to come here, no one forced them to come here, and if Maine proved to be other than they thought it should be to please them, then the false expectations that they had are theirs alone. If they didn't do their homework about this state prior to coming here, then that is their mistake. If they came here with their elbows out, then they were greeted with the same posture.

One good thing for all of those people who like to be angry and negative about Maine and Maine people is that there is a nice, big, modern Interstate highway that runs from the Canadian border to New Hampshire. No one in the State of Maine will keep you from getting on it and heading south along with your attitude. Don't let the toll gate in Kittery hit you in the ass!

Well put! The people complaining don't seem to realize social ills exist in every single state. To single out one particular state is unfair and ignorant, IMO.

[mainenative]

I agree Maine does have a lot of resources for our children and elderly and I am a maine native who is a strong believer in our state and that we are the way life should be. We like every other state in the union have problems and are not alone in our lack of fully meeting all the needs of our elderly and children but we do make a strong efford. Those who single us out and complain about the lack of us giving a darn are the perfect candidates to take action and advocate for those they so strongly feel are abandoned. To see a problem and ignore it is just as bad as acknowleging that there is one.

[Submariner]

In my travels [being career military], I have seen social ills.

Street gangs, drug-related killings, child abductions, rapes in the daylight and on the streets, prostitutes on the streets, etc.

I once was stationed in Newport News Va, the prostitutes were so thick around the shipyard, that even my wife driving down there to pick me up, would sit at a traffic light and hookers would knock on the windows of her car trying to 'attract' her. It was everywhere, it was open and in your face.

I moved to Maine, and so far the biggest thing that upsets folks is stupid little trivial stuff. It is great here.

The local newspaper, for two weeks running now has been up in arms because. A private group rented out the bowling alley for a private function. They covered up the windows, and they hung signs; so everyone near the bowling alley would know that it was a private function going on. One man ignored the signs, and walked in on the party to see nekked people bowling.

He has made complaints to the police and the city, and some folks are outraged.

For two weeks this has taken the focus of the newspaper.

LOL

If anything I applaud the private group for trying to maintain their privacy.

But I assure you that we do not have anything that even compares to the crime that I have seen elsewhere.



I love Maine.

[rogermoore]

Try Maine Taxes! Real estate is expensive and expensive to maintain.
tax's are high, mentality, am I still in East Tenn.? Coastal areas are more tolarable, winter's are bitter. People on surface are friendly with an aroma of having an inferior attitude, yes, sex abuse especially by parents is high and very high with men in childhood by fathers. my partner is a Dr. opiates are drug of choice and very high use, cheap coffee brandy is drink of choice, ME a great place to visit but living here is a challange.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by rogermoore

Try Maine Taxes! Real estate is expensive and expensive to maintain. tax's are high, mentality, am I still in East Tenn.? Coastal areas are more tolarable, winter's are bitter. People on surface are friendly with an aroma of having an inferior attitude, yes, sex abuse especially by parents is high and very high with men in childhood by fathers. my partner is a Dr. opiates are drug of choice and very high use, cheap coffee brandy is drink of choice, ME a great place to visit but living here is a challange.

Respectfully, what I see in Maine is entirely different.

I bought my land two years ago, at $350/acre for woodlot loaded with game and river-frontage.

My in-laws bought across the road from me and paid $300/acre [they have no river-frontage].

My taxes are about $1.05 per acre of woodlot on a river bank. I have power and phone with DSL running along one property line. My road is a state highway so it is always plowed.

I am 7 miles from I-95, and an easy 25 minutes into Bangor. It is not hard to get to, and does not have seasonal roads.

I have found land here to be very cheap, and with wonderful views and lots of game. Almost daily I am slowing for the wild turkeys crossing the road, or moose.

I have owned property in California, and in Washington, and Connecticut [being career military I have moved around a lot]. This area is CHEAP, and taxes are very cheap.

I drink rum. I do go into town and visit folks at the American Legion and the VFW, though I do not know that brandy is any more popular then anything else.

Crime is very low here. We moved here from Connecticut, which was VERY high crime as compared to here.

I find it difficult to imagine seeing our surroundings from your point of view, it does not match what I see.

[7th generation]

Boy! Finally nice to see level headed posts to the idea that Maine is somehow a 3rd world country.Whew! Was hoping that someone would defend and show support for one of the last wild and beautiful states in the union! If the naysayers would visit other rural states and open their eyes,they would recognize the fact that we live in a pretty darn nice place-ayup! Central Maine is an area to avoid! yeah right! Jump in your car and head to the White Mts. of Western Maine.here you will find generous,kind and helpful citizens.(oh yeah intelligent also) I longed after being away for many(too many) years to come back to whence my ancestors settled the magnificent valleys of the state to finish my time on earth.Am so glad in the business community that I don't hear the negativity that surrounds this forum. Again thanks to all who have defended OUR State-and to those that are so unhappy-hehe-see ya!

[iloveitinmaine]

Thank you for so eloquently setting straight the ones who are so anxious
to slam Maine for not getting what they came here for-or what they thought
they were going to get. I am fairly new to this forum and I do more reading than posting; I have been in Maine for 10 years and it has been a positive experience from the start. The helpful, caring people of this wonderland add to the attractiveness of Maine in general. While I enjoy visiting the coast I am thrilled to own property and enjoy looking at Mt. Katahdin every day...I too, am concerned that it will become too commercial and crowded and that I may be inclined to relocate to a more rural locale to continue to enjoy the wild beauty that exists away from the coast.