Pros and Cons of Maine (Portland, Saco: 2014, high crime, home)

[Newdaawn]

It's over a 4 hour drive for us to Boston and it seems long when you are attending to a relative in one of those fine hospitals. But we chose Maine many decades ago and have never regretted it, after having grown up about 12 miles from Boston.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

Why would anyone ignore 95% good to elevate the 5%? When you're surrounded by good and choose think everyone is bad because 5% of the population are jerks it's time to adjust your way of judging people.

It's human nature. The whole "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel." It's psychologically true. If someone visits a new region and 9 people are nice to them, but 1 person is super rude, it's that 1 person that is going to stick in their memory. It's the way we're hardwired. We can't help it.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

It's human nature. The whole "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel." It's psychologically true. If someone visits a new region and 9 people are nice to them, but 1 person is super rude, it's that 1 person that is going to stick in their memory. It's the way we're hardwired. We can't help it.

That's a lazy excuse. This part of "we" can help it and so can anyone else who has a little control over their thoughts.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

That's a lazy excuse. This part of "we" can help it and so can anyone else who has a little control over their thoughts.

It's human nature. Let me put it this way:

If you go out to a restaurant, and one your plate is the finest steak you've ever tasted, next to the world's greatest potato, and to round it out your favorite vegetable prepared just the way you like it. But there's a worm wiggling in the middle of your plate. Will that one worm set in the midst of perfection color your opinion of the restaurant?

It will. Because you're human.

The overwhelming majority of Mainers are the nicest people on earth. But mingling among them are some good old-fashioned local snobs with a major chip on their shoulder. They're an extreme minority, but when the newcomers run into them, they give the rest of us a bad name. Outside of Maine, Mainers have a reputation for being rude to outsiders. It isn't true for most Mainers. But to say it doesn't happen at all is denying reality.

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

It's human nature. Let me put it this way:

If you go out to a restaurant, and one your plate is the finest steak you've ever tasted, next to the world's greatest potato, and to round it out your favorite vegetable prepared just the way you like it. But there's a worm wiggling in the middle of your plate. Will that one worm set in the midst of perfection color your opinion of the restaurant?

It will. Because you're human.

This is a nice try, but it is not a good, analogous example. Seriously, go anywhere in the United States. Stay there for a week. See if you can go that entire time without meeting a disagreeable person who would ostensibly ruin your perception of the place. You can't do it. Keep things in perspective, and you'll realize that, comparatively speaking, Maine has some damn nice people. Just look at the beginning of your next paragraph:

Originally Posted by Mark S.

The overwhelming majority of Mainers are the nicest people on earth. But mingling among them are some good old-fashioned local snobs with a major chip on their shoulder. They're an extreme minority, but when the newcomers run into them, they give the rest of us a bad name. Outside of Maine, Mainers have a reputation for being rude to outsiders. It isn't true for most Mainers. But to say it doesn't happen at all is denying reality.

As a person who was once a newcomer to New England, and will be again soon with any luck, I can tell you that while it was a bit of a "culture shock" for me, I never had my view of the entire population spoiled by running into one unpleasant person. And I had moved to central Mass and met plenty of unpleasant people, honestly. It did not make me unreasonably hostile toward the rest of the population.

Moreover, I can unfortunately prove my point by referring to my own state. I dread the thought of someone from another region sitting down in a diner in a small town in Alabama. I just know that they'll end up hearing some kind of ignorant or bigoted or just generally distasteful nonsense. All I can do is hope that they will have the level of maturity that will allow them to see that "we are not all like that". So believe me: as a Mainer, you are much better off in this department than people from other states.

[ClownShoes]

The only cons I can think of is the price of gas, no Taylor Ham or Sabrette hotdogs and I can't find any good rolls or jelly donuts.

Besides that, it's all good.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

The only cons I can think of is the price of gas, no Taylor Ham or Sabrette hotdogs and I can't find any good rolls or jelly donuts.

Besides that, it's all good.

the taylor ham, or pork roll,,,is in some iga's up here
as are the sabrett hot dogs

the are more well known in southern new england,,,but some iga's do carry them...

its funny, i was down on cape cod a few weeks back, and one store had jordans franks
jordans use to made out of bangor -they still are popular in maine
kirschners and jordans -two of the best selling hot dogs for years in maine , (kirschner use to be made in augusta, then tyson bought the augusta plant a few years back and shut it down)
now they are made/distributed by Kayem

Rice's franks are now made and sold by w.a. beans out of bangor

[CoastalMaineiac]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

the taylor ham, or pork roll,,,is in some iga's up here
as are the sabrett hot dogs

the are more well known in southern new england,,,but some iga's do carry them...

its funny, i was down on cape cod a few weeks back, and one store had jordans franks
jordans use to made out of bangor -they still are popular in maine
kirschners and jordans -two of the best selling hot dogs for years in maine , (kirschner use to be made in augusta, then tyson bought the augusta plant a few years back and shut it down)
now they are made/distributed by Kayem

Rice's franks are now made and sold by w.a. beans out of bangor

Speaking of hot-dogs--One of the biggest pros of Maine is this kind of hot-dog bun:

Why they bother to make them any other way for the rest of the country, I've never been able to figure out. But I know that I don't like a cold bun with a hot-dog, and these are real good for buttering and toasting.

Oh, and in my experience, we (being New England from Massachusetts northward) have some of the best Americanized Chinese food available. After having spent some time out of state in the past, I can tell you that the Chinese restaurants are no comparison to places like Ming Lee in Waterville!

[slyfox2]

Are there really any "cons" for moving to Coastal Maine?

I can think of a few for moving to the wilderness, but then I can think of a few for moving to the outskirts of Moapa, Nev, for pretty much the same reasons.

[slyfox2]

BTW, Moapa, NV is apparently a fine place to live, except that its out in the desert a good distance from the nearest town of Las Vegas. This means that if you should be bitten by a rattler, you will probably die before you get help.