Why do retirees move to Maine?

[unclemick]

The Good Life - by Helen and Scott Nearing back to the land elder's in Maine(from badda bing badda boom New York City!) starting circa the 1930's or so. Had the book in my Mother Earth news reading days - stayed in Colorado - till I transferred to New Orleans.

Now my Sister lived ten years or so in White River Junction, VT - drove the politicans batty and got three kids into the Naval Acedemy. Rumors that the Maine border was closed to her are probably not true. Only time I felt a little sorry for politicians.

Now in the PacNW - she still thinks the Pats are a good football team and prefers cross country to downhill sking.

heh heh heh - 3 degrees north of Kansas City this morning.

 

[W2R]

I have never been to Maine, but looking at photos, parts of coastal Maine appear to be absolutely spectacular and yet uncrowded and unspoiled. Photos of Maine remind me of Nova Scotia in that respect. I get the sense that it is more uncrowded and unspoiled than New Hampshire (though I really don't know that from personal experience). Some summer, it would be fun to see both Nova Scotia and Maine.

I would have seriously considered Maine, but Frank pointed out that taxes are higher there than some places, and it's very VERY cold. Colder than that. Cold, cold, cold. So, we decided against it.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I have never been to Maine, but looking at photos, parts of coastal Maine appear to be absolutely spectacular and yet uncrowded and unspoiled. Photos of Maine remind me of Nova Scotia in that respect. I get the sense that it is more uncrowded and unspoiled than New Hampshire

I rode through New England for a few weeks. Away from its southern coast it feels extemely remote,
much more so than Vermont / New Hampshire (which were also very nice). Very low traffic on the
roads, scenic, relaxing. A hermit could feel very at-home in northern or western Maine.

 

[W2R]

I rode through New England for a few weeks. Away from its southern coast it feels extemely remote,
much more so than Vermont / New Hampshire (which were also very nice). Very low traffic on the
roads, scenic, relaxing. A hermit could feel very at-home in northern or western Maine.

That has its allure, I must admit. I could see myself finding my own version of Walden Pond up there and settling in to enjoy the simple life, in tune with nature, and so on. The rational part of me says nope, I should retire to a place with good medical care close by. The rational part of Frank says the taxes are too high. So, I guess we will leave that to younger ERs. It might be wonderful for a hermit that is healthy and doesn't mind the cold, but it is not the life for me.

 

[audreyh1]

Houston has it's own unique culture. As does each of the large cities in TX. I lived in Austin for 30 years, had parents living in Corpus Christi and later San Antonio, so spent lots of time in both those cities. Spent 12 months as an intern in Houston in the late 70s. Didn't take a more than a month in Dallas to figure out that it too was completely different...

And then outside of the TX cities is a completely different rural culture, with some variation across the state. If you cross the Trinity river, you might as well be in Lousiana (yay for the much improved seafood restaurants). Isolated West Texas is also different. When in TX we spend most of our time in the rural areas now, and it's nothing like the big cities.

Audrey

 

[Moemg]

I can see the appeal of New England but Orchid Flower you have mentioned several times that you would like to find a mate and I'd wonder how much opportunity there would be for that in Maine .I 'd head more to a year round climate that featured golf .

 

[W2R]

I can see the appeal of New England but Orchid Flower you have mentioned several times that you would like to find a mate and I'd wonder how much opportunity there would be for that in Maine .I 'd head more to a year round climate that featured golf .

Somehow, I thought there were a lot of interesting, ruggedly good-looking, intelligent single men living in Maine. But then, what would I know? I've never been there.

 

[Moemg]

Somehow, I thought there were a lot of interesting, ruggedly good-looking, intelligent single men living in Maine. But then, what would I know? I've never been there.

and since you haven't been there you know this because ?

 

[haha]

and since you haven't been there you know this because ?

Because of the same reason that Muslims figure heaven is full of young beautiful virgins.

By the way, why do they assume that these virgins will suddenly want to get physical with some nut-job who just dynamited himself and a schoolhouse full of kids?

Ha

 

[P.S.]

Despite being around for a few years, I still feel I don't have much to contribute to the investing threads, so I am very glad to be able to offer the following genuine and reliable information :

We presently live in Maine. And LOVE it.
The very apt state motto is "the way life should be."

It is not THAT cold. If you are used to anything south of the Mason Dixie, then yeah, it can get colder but not that biting mean cold that you get in the midwest or NY. We are on the coast, so even during a heavy snowfall, or after, the temperature is nice enough to bundle the little one up and go for a sled ride.

If you are a foodie or a locavore, this will be a wonderful place for you. CSA's, farmers' market almost every day of the week in season, cow or lamb shares. Local award winning goat cheese. The honest-to-God best honey I have ever tasted, produced just 20 min away. The local holes in the wall are proudly and entirely organic. Our local dairy farm: best chickens I have tasted outside of Europe. Beautiful rich dark orange yolk'ed eggs. Cabbage as tender as artichokes. Leeks that melt in your mouth. Intense blueberries. Crisp, flavorful apples. Lobster $5.99/lb.

Nice art scene. Lots of indoor and outdoor activities.

The air is fresh and clean. The first day we woke up here, I noticed no boogers in the nose.

Lots of outlets, so you can afford to live in style too. One store was clearing out Lenox china when I happened to walk in one day. So I stocked up on platinum rimmed, made in the US china for @$2/plate.

My only complaint so far: the people here do not know how to drive.

And I have noticed there is a large population of retirees. (this last sentence not being a complaint )

 

[Trek]

I've been to Maine a few times, though not recently. We took a few family vacations to Nova Scotia and PEI back in the 80's. Used to drive up to Bar Harbor and take the ferry over.

I always loved going up there. The Maine lobsters were the best and the people were always very friendly to us out-of-towner's. The scenery was beautiful, especially along the coast and it didn't feel congested at all.

I totally see the appeal.

 

[Orchidflower]

Still laughing at haha and PS's comments...
Well, no boogers in the nose, PS...that does it for me. I am heading north now, baby....
Actually, I would just LOVE to move to NH. I am doing lots of homework on tax rates there in the hopes that I can somehow figure out how to live there and not pay their damned high property taxes (God! it is almost so bad as Houston) and 5% on my interest and dividends...both of which will eat my lunch if I don't be careful. Well, I will keep conniving and see if I can pull this off.
Moemg, here is a site where you can see just how many retired are there, how many are married...and how many men that are older are there (and then you can compare it to Florida where you live now, I think...I'll wait for your screams of agony....) NH is mecca for finding someone as a mate for an older, single gal:

New Hampshire

I have been watching the Boston weather daily, and the weather there is actually warmer than it is here on the Illinois/Iowa border west of Chicago. Yes, northern NH is cold...but the Seacoast area is not so cold. More rain there, but Houston rained all the time and am used to it.

 

[Khan]

The smell of sun on pine trees; the sunlight sparkling on the waves; fog thick as a blanket; spiderwebs on the grass glistening with dew; watching the tide come in over the pink granite boulders...

 

[Moemg]

[quote=Orchidflower;596452
Moemg, here is a site where you can see just how many retired are there, how many are married...and how many men that are older are there (and then you can compare it to Florida where you live now, I think...I'll wait for your screams of agony....) NH is mecca for finding someone as a mate for an older, single gal:

.[/quote

Orchid Flower ,

You don't have to sell me on New England . I love it there .Both of my children went to school in Mass . So I've spent a lot of time there .It is hands down much better than Florida .If my daughter still lived there I would be happily living in New Hampshire sipping Sam Adams beer .

 

[KM]

I live in the NH Seacoast area. For anyone who says it isn't cold and has rain and not snow......I wish you were here with me today. It was 3 degrees out and I can barely see out my picture window, because the snow is so high.


The best part of NH, though, is that 1) we have no state income tax (yeah), 2) are about an hour or less from everything (big city = Boston, mountains, ocean, lakes), and 3) have 5 wonderfully different seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter, and mud).

Honestly, the only downside I can think of is 1) heating costs and 2) if we want to go anywhere other than Maine, Vermont, Mass - well it is quite a drive.

DH and I are still talking of moving to a warmer climate when we retire, but honestly - there is nothing like surviving a good New England winter. Once spring comes and the sun comes out - you feel completely reborn again. Unlike other areas where the seasons blend quietly into one another - ours are very distinct - each season is a new experience.

 

[Khan]

I live in the NH Seacoast area. For anyone who says it isn't cold and has rain and not snow......I wish you were here with me today. It was 3 degrees out and I can barely see out my picture window, because the snow is so high.


The best part of NH, though, is that 1) we have no state income tax (yeah), 2) are about an hour or less from everything (big city = Boston, mountains, ocean, lakes), and 3) have 5 wonderfully different seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter, and mud).

Honestly, the only downside I can think of is 1) heating costs and 2) if we want to go anywhere other than Maine, Vermont, Mass - well it is quite a drive.

DH and I are still talking of moving to a warmer climate when we retire, but honestly - there is nothing like surviving a good New England winter. Once spring comes and the sun comes out - you feel completely reborn again. Unlike other areas where the seasons blend quietly into one another - ours are very distinct - each season is a new experience.

Especially Mudtime.

 

[citrine]

I don't understand why retirees would move to a freezing climate with lots of snow either. But if there really are as many single guys there....I may have to look into it as well!
A friend of mine (not rugged or handsome) moved up there to a mountain in the woods and loves it.

 

[haha]

This thread seems to have morphed into "Women Seeking Men".

Anywhere there is good technical employment, there will be many men. Same is true of any place with excellent outdoor recreation. No shortage of men in places with much better weather than Northern New England. Such as Seattle, San Jose, LA, Austin, Dallas, Portland, etc.

Anyway, men can be attracted anywhere, even at a NOW convention. Just shorten your skirt or lower your neckline, and smile and say yes a whole lot.

Ha

 

[Moemg]

I don't understand why retirees would move to a freezing climate with lots of snow either. But if there really are as many single guys there....I may have to look into it as well!
A friend of mine (not rugged or handsome) moved up there to a mountain in the woods and loves it.

Here is a map that might help !

144 - Single Guys Live in LA, Single Girls in NYC « strange maps

 

[lem1955]

Taxes -- a universal "bad"?

Taxes, if wisely raised and spent, create an environment of common good -- public libraries, roads, schools, safety nets. All these things appeal to retirees as much as young families or other working people, not only for their own use, but also because if the state cares for all its citizens, unrest and crime are reduced and neighbors are happier and less stressed. I'd rather live in any neighborhood in Maine than in a gated community in Florida, whether I'm working or not.

 

[mexmeme]

Lets add Texas to that list of places where you are an outsider unless you grew up there. And, God forbid you are a Yankee, as you will be most unappreciated (to put it kindly).
And I was a Yankee from Chicago, so , when I got there, I talked fast like they do in Chicago. They hated me for it, and I knew it; so, I had to really work on slowing down my speech patterns when I was in a social situation. Ironically, fast speech and Chicago ways didn't seem to affect my selling at all. How do I know? Cause I was always #1 in any office (this is before I went into biz for myself). Go figure?
But socially was being a Yankee from Chicago a negative? You bet it was in Houston.
Also, where I grew up in Illinois on the Iowa border where I am staying now, I talk to gals in the locker room who have been here a few years only saying how hard it is to penetrate and gain some friends here. They like the area, but tell me they can't get any friends. I can see why as this is a post-industrial area that now has little in and out traffic, so everyone here almost grew up here. Me, I feel comfortable and like I fit in. Why? I have no idea unless it is because the area is familiar with me from my youth. But I do hear it here from new transplants over and over.
I think this goes on alot more than we think. California, NYC, Chicago, D.C. are areas I have spent time in and never felt like an outsider. Why? They have so much movement in and out that they are so much more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than most areas.
Just an opinion, and not saying I am right.
I know one thing: if I ever move back to a metro in Texas, I am telling them I am from Houston. Period. Saying you are from Chicago or any place up North rates you as an a**hole there. And anyone who has not picked up on that and lives in Texas is either blind or fooling themself.

We lived there for 5 years in the 80s and loved it. I even got a plate that said "Naturalized Texan". Used to get thumbs up from lots of people. My neighbors were great and the golf course friends I made, I still have and they were all Houstonians. I was not working outside the home in those days, but all my friends were also stay at homers.

 

[Orchidflower]

Were you there AFTER oil crashed and people were losing their jobs? Did you NOT see all the bumper stickers to the effect of "Welcome to Texas. Now you have seen it, GO HOME!" or "Go home, Snowbird" and other similar "welcoming" slogans? If not, you were in your house and insulated just too much.
I even had a supposed minister go off about how much Yankees came to Houston and ruined her little town. Again, if you never had any experience like that after the oil crash where people were losing jobs and companies were folding, you were just too, too insulated in your little world.
Even my son--in first grade--had fellow pupils look mortified when he said he was from Chicago originally. First grade! Where did they learn that, I wonder..
I have the feeling you were there in the early 1980's when Houston loved everyone, things were going well and everybody was making money hand over fist. NOT the situation around 1984 and on.
Or all your "friends" had Yankee roots somewhere is another possibility.

 

[HFWR]

Native Texans can be a bit obnoxious with the "Texas this and Texas that" routine. Here in North Dallas Burbville, I think the transplants outnumber the natives...

Blah, blah, blah...

Texas does have some good music, though!

 

[Orchidflower]

The OP HAD to be there when Houston was rocking--and boy! I missed that party.
They gave her a thumbs up to her "Naturalized Texan" when she was there...brother! when I was first there in 1982 right at the time of the crash (clever planning on my part) they would give anyone the finger that had that bumper sticker. These people were p.o.'d that the oil crashed and they had to blame someone, I guess. It was pretty grim for the area, for sure. But why blame the non-natives for it? Silly.
Naturally, time heals all wounds and Houston did cool out on that sort of thing, but it took quite a few years for the nasty bumper stickers to wash off and the anger at the oil crash to subside.
Maybe they were all Yankees giving the thumbs up during the good times. After the crash, the non-natives couldn't get the hell out of there fast enough...leaving alot of damage in their wake.

 

[W2R]

I used to love the bumper stickers that said, "I'm not a native Texan but I got here as fast as I could!", "Texan by choice, not by birth", and similar things.

I lived in College Station, which is kind of a special case, from 1984-1996. There were Aggies, and then there were locals. These were two whole different populations. I really didn't have any problems with either group. But then that really says nothing about Houston or the rest of Texas, since College Station is, well, College Station and completely unique.