Where do you live and do you like it there?

I live up in Northern Maine. The top half of the state is very conservative, and unlike other New England states, gun laws here are very Second Amendment friendly. We have high gun ownership and very low crime rates. Hunting and the shooting sports in general are a huge part of life here. People are incredibly polite and generous, and much of my family all live within about 30 miles of me. My house is on 6 acres including a 150 yd shooting range in my backyard. And beyond that, there's pristine forest, lakes, and mountains as far as the eye can see. I love it here, this is home.
It's almost a year later and I decided to revisit this thread. Maine has actually been of interest to me lately. I was thinking maybe the bangor area. Is the medical good? Are jobs plentiful?
 
It's almost a year later and I decided to revisit this thread. Maine has actually been of interest to me lately. I was thinking maybe the bangor area. Is the medical good? Are jobs plentiful?
I have vacationed quite a few times in that area of Maine. I really like Maine. Curious what replies you will get. I was basically a toolmaker for 40 years, and other hands on skills. To me, when I considered moving to New England, a college degree would have made it more likely to get a good paying job. There’s a lot of tourism related employment in Maine, I believe they refer to Maine as Vacationland on their license plates. For me the heavily industrialized area of NE Ohio it was smarter for me to stay put. But now that I’m retired it would be an easier opportunity. But as you age you look at medical care and other things that weren’t as important when half my age.
Bangor is a pretty big town but close to some awesome beautiful places. We spent a couple vacations on Mt. Desert Island and will never forget the great times we had there.
Best of luck with your search.
 
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It's almost a year later and I decided to revisit this thread. Maine has actually been of interest to me lately. I was thinking maybe the bangor area. Is the medical good? Are jobs plentiful?
My primary residence is out in the country outside of Bangor. We have Mainecare, which can cover quite a few things depending upon your age and income. As far as medical care facilities, there are two excellent medical centers and a top rated cancer institute all within a few miles of each other in the Bangor/Brewer area. Bangor is a relatively small city, around 50,000. It has a very small-town feel. Low crime, nice people.

Job-wise, everyone, and I mean everyone, is hiring. Every single business I'm a patron of has a now hiring sign in the window. Small local shops, larger trucking companies, lumber and forestry, tourism and hospitality related jobs, even the Naval Shipyards at Bath Iron Works are hiring. Nearly all will train you and require little to no prior experience. Good pay too, even with the smaller businesses.

If you love the outdoors, hunting, fishing, the shooting sports, and a vast unspoiled wilderness, this place has it all. And just over an hour drive from Bangor is the ocean, and Acadia National Park out on Mount Desert Island. Absolutely gorgeous.

I'd stay away from Southern Maine, especially the Portland area. Northern Maine is very conservative, the south, is not.
 
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My primary residence is out in the country outside of Bangor. We have Mainecare, which can cover quite a few things depending upon your age and income. As far as medical care facilities, there are two excellent medical centers and a top rated cancer institute all within a few miles of each other in the Bangor/Brewer area. Bangor is a relatively small city, around 50,000. It has a very small-town feel. Low crime, nice people.

Job-wise, everyone, and I mean everyone, is hiring. Every single business I'm a patron of has a now hiring sign in the window. Small local shops, larger trucking companies, lumber and forestry, tourism and hospitality related jobs, even the Naval Shipyards at Bath Iron Works are hiring. Nearly all will train you and require little to no prior experience. Good pay too, even with the smaller businesses.

If you love the outdoors, hunting, fishing, the shooting sports, and a vast unspoiled wilderness, this place has it all. And just over an hour drive from Bangor is the ocean, and Acadia National Park out on Mount Desert Island. Absolutely gorgeous.

I'd stay away from Southern Maine, especially the Portland area. Northern Maine is very conservative, the south, is not.
Thanks for the reply. Not sure what Mainecare is? I was thinking somewhere within about 20 minutes of Bangor area. So what kind of weather would today be? We are low 30's bur about a 30 mph wind so makes it a lot less pleasant.
 
Thanks for the reply. Not sure what Mainecare is? I was thinking somewhere within about 20 minutes of Bangor area. So what kind of weather would today be? We are low 30's bur about a 30 mph wind so makes it a lot less pleasant.
Mainecare is a state healthcare insurance program for residents. It can save you some money for certain services depending upon age and income. Came in handy for me and I saved some money with some dental work I needed done.

Weather. Today is not your typical day after Christmas weather. It's 45 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a light breeze. We're having an unusually warm December. It should be in the 20's with a couple of feet of snow, but we had an unusual rainstorm come through last week with warm air that melted it all. We're still having a bit of that warmer air linger.

The coldest months are January and February. Typically -20 at night, +10 in the day. -40 is not unheard of. And the snow can be deep. 5 feet in a single storm can come down. Temps warm up come April and it's perfect outdoor weather from the beginning of May to the end of October. Summertime temps rarely go above 80, with low humidity, and cool nights in the 60's.
 
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I live in South America.

🟧 In PERU. 🟧

In the capital, LIMA.
Home to 10,000,000 people.
And twice as many pigeons. Death to them* all!!


We make our home in the middle of a rocky desert 1000 miles long.
We're tucked right between the Pacific Ocean and the 20,000 ft tall Andes Mountains.

Dozens of hills like the one in the photo below poke up throught our city that sprawls over 30 miles along the ocean.



Traffic is either exhaustingly stressful as the only two traffic laws in use are:
(1) Don't hit anybody.
(2) Don't get hit by anybody.
Or, traffic can be conceived as an exciting game of attack & defense, guile & counter-guile – with points (self-)scored if you beat the indicated arrival time on your GPS by however many minutes your courage inspired you (or your backseat-driving wife allowed you 😉).



⭐ PERU is an amazing place of extremes...
because it also offers
• the green hell of the Amazon jungle,
• the Inca legacy of Machu Picchu,
• the mysterious Nazca Lines,
thrilling dune buggy rides that make you forget any roller coaster ride you ever took (no comparison!),
• some of the best waves for surfing (the Beach Boys include it in their Surfin' Safari),
the world's largest bird, the majestic Condor (over 10 ft wingspan) swooping through rocky canyons,
• endless white and black beaches,
• the second largest variety of bird species (I shoot very few of them),
and
the best food on Planet Earth.

Matthias



*Death to the pigeons, that is. Not the people. – I moved my family to Peru in order to HELP the people. 😉


View attachment 354098
You are correct about Peruvian food. It’s quite amazing.
 
I live on Vancouver Island, Canada.

On the plus side, it's a pretty place with mild weather. Pretty similar to the weather you experience on the west coast of the States, from about Santa Barbara up to the Canadian border. This winter I think the coldest we've got so far is about 2c (35f roughly). I live a 2 minute walk from the ocean.

On the minus side, gun laws here are extremely restrictive. Most pellet guns are considered firearms, just like powderburners. Can't fire them in your back yard or inside your house (most places) and can't fire a bow and arrow (most places). A "starter home" here is about $1.2M. That's Canadian dollars so that's only about $910k USD. We have an extreme housing shortage, so more often than not it's the availability of homes that's the problem, even more than the price. Just trying to build a shed in my backyard I had to file lawsuits against two of my neighbours -- who were being pricks and getting in the way of construction, even though they had given me verbal approval.

If you do live outside of a municipal "urban boundary" the above laws are often a little less strict -- you can sometimes shoot in your backyard, including powderburners. But you generally need a pretty big property for that, which at present costs an awful lot of money.

So for people into firearms it's generally a bad place to be. It's mostly a place NIMBY rich people come to die. I moved here for a job, and to be within 1000km of my family. But I might move if I find a better situation.
 
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I live in Great Falls, MT. It's winter for 6 months and windy all the time. Like really windy. I am ready for a move. My wife says she likes Michagan mainly because of the kind of properties she is finding for $300-400k. I am willong to spend up to $500k but I don't want wind, I don't want 6 months of winter, and I don't want venomous snakes or gators. We have a lot of rattlesnakes in central Montana. I lost my dog to one in my backyard 2 years ago.
Mobile AL Christmas Day 72 degrees
IMG_6945.jpeg
 
I have a slightly different take. I don’t think Michigan is that windy most of the time. Especially compared to out west where you are and yes the weather is a bit crappy 6 months of the year. However, the winter is nothing compared to Montana and nothing compared to what it used to be even here years ago. I live in central southern lower Michigan and used the snow blower like 2-3 times this whole year. As long as you are below midland the weather isn’t that bad. You have a great walleye, salmon and Muskie fisheries if you are into that too. The major downside is the state is getting more and more purple for sure. So no offense if you lean left please stay out there.
Why the political dig?? Not necessary!!
 
Why the political dig?? Not necessary!!
Its just a fact. I guess I could have left the very last sentence out I apologize but the political makeup of a state probably matters to most in its desirability to live in. The post is 100 years old anyway. Just causes the Barbara Streisand effect quoting it at this point. I guess this is just me and if it matters that much the mods can delete the post, ban me or those that are so offended there is always the ignore button. However the last sentence of the original post has been edited. 😀😀
 
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I'm in CT but have moved around a lot my whole life. Grew up in SC, moved to England for several years, back to the states to CT, then Oklahoma, Georgia, Germany, and back to CT... to be honest this is my least favorite place out of them all but it's where I have set roots down so time to make the best of it.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, then spent my working career in CT. Couldn't wait to get out because of winters and high taxes. Maine? Nice place to go on vacation, but to live there full time? Better do your homework.
 
Grew up in a small town in Michigan (St. Joseph) that was very tranquil - parents us moved Detroit in the late 70's - what a messo_O.

- Moved out to the Seattle area in the mid-80's - what a beautiful place:).

Currently, the Seattle area is over crowded, real estate is too expensive - looking downsize and move somewhere with more open space.
 
Georgia has been home for several generations. My daughter loves visiting from Texas and we always try to find time to ring the cowbell.
Her record is 10 straight. Mine is 18. The record to beat is Flytraps' 28. The bell is hanging at 82 yards which you will hear if the audio is working and the birds singing.

 
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