We have now lived in Maine for 4 years.  The time has flown.  My oldest daughter started Kindergarten just 2 weeks after moving to Maine.  Now she will be starting in the 4th grade in the fall.  We love it here!  I don’t know how many people get to choose where they want to live, but we feel very fortunate to be in a place where we truly feel at home.  I was a girl from Kansas and he was a boy from Texas and we met in Oklahoma.  However, a year and a half in Poland and grad school in New Orleans were enough to snip the ties that bound us to our region of origin.  We felt like we could live wherever we wanted, and one day in 1998 we picked Maine.  We had never been here, and we are still not sure what got us so excited originally about Maine, but we are goal-oriented people.  We knew before we moved here that Maine was the place for us, and now that we’ve been here, we have even more reasons why we love it.  Here are a few.

2006 – Our new home in Maine

• No Natural Disasters – As I mentioned, I grew up in Kansas and lived for 3 years in New Orleans.  I know what it feels like to live on edge and know that you and your family are at the mercy of major storms.  Here in Maine, when a storm comes, the locals start whispering about Nor’Easters, but these storms don’t have the potential to wipe out entire cities like tornadoes and hurricanes do.  No one dies in a Nor’Easter.  We get pretty bad snowstorms, but it is rare that someone dies from that.

Coastal Storm

• Four Seasons– Let’s start with summer:  perfect temperatures, ocean breezes, gorgeous foliage and flowers.  Fall:  Maine in the fall on an overcast day is breathtaking.  Winter:  Okay, so we get quite a lot of snow, but it is real winter snow.  The kind that kids dream about.  We can build snowmen and forts and have a snowball fight and go skiing from sometimes December to March.  Sure we get a little tired of snow in March, but then comes. . .Spring:  When the buds comes out and everything begins to turn green in contrast with the 4 months of white, then spring is one of the happiest times of the year.

September morning at the lake

• No Poisonous Snakes or Spiders – This may not be such a big deal for you, but to those of us with creature-loving children, this is a huge plus.  My son is a hands-on kind of kid and finds tremendous pleasure in locating creatures, turning them this way and that, and studying every inch if possible.

See what I mean?

• Rural yet Metropolitan – I’m a small town girl and can’t help but feel more at home in small towns.  Maine has plenty of these.  In fact, Maine’s largest city (Portland) has a metro population of only about 120,000.  However, Maine has its fair share of museums and cultural events.  Portland is an impressive small big city.  Its “Old Port” offers tons of charm, plus shops, restaurants, and attractions.

This little light of mine. . .

• Natural Beauty – I like living in a place that has a lot more to offer than strip malls and chain restaurants.  Maine is  a place that takes pride in its features.  It offers ocean to the south and mountains to the north.  It is home to Acadia National Park and lots and lots of State Parks.

Cousins by the sea

• Other Advantages – Maine is among the top ranking states for  good education, a low crime rate, and a lower obesity rate.  People live simply here.   There seems to be less of the urge to “keep up with the Joneses” here. People get outside year round and hike, garden, ski, bike, picnic, and camp.  They buy local and contribute to the arts and keep their opinions on religion and politics to themselves.

Our family at Acadia National Park

Where do you live?  What are your state’s advantages?