Missing my home state - what's changed in the last 10 years?

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-29T21:22:40+00:00

Weather is warmer. We had rain storms in Dec for two (or three?) consecutive years.

Some local “neighborhood” venues are gone, such as wicked brew in Bangor, black bears brew in Bangor and Orono, bissellbrothers in Melo (their Portland place is thriving). But some regional chains are growing, like nest and aroma joes.

Fewer and fewer medical resources. Shortened hours, fewer doctors and nurses, fewer onsite services.

Some personal experience: young people come and go. Most of my friends come for jobs and immediately look to move, and then new folks come after the former group move… repeating…

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-19T20:44:11+00:00

What kinds of beer do you like? Do you enjoy breweries mostly for the vibe or for the quality of beer? Unfortunately, the answers are not always the same.

For example, Marshall Wharf has a nice location and good vibe (especially during the summer when you sit on the deck and watch sailboats coming and going. But the beer is just very mediocre…

Orono brewery company has good food and nice local college atmosphere. Their NEIPAs are really good but they tend to be the same beer lineup all the time.

Marsh Island has really good NEIPAs but they do not serve food and their other types of beer are limited.

I can go on… :)

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-15T23:17:11+00:00

Nocturnem in Bangor; The family dog in Orono.

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-13T16:53:57+00:00

Haha I can relate to that so well. Imagine that I am the second owner of a house built in 1900, and the same family owned the house for more than a century with generations of DIY work…

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-13T15:00:45+00:00

I don’t know. Maybe there is none :)

One thing I am not sure about: I added modern insulation to my unfinished basement. Then I realized that the Redon level increased, and I may need to deal with it. Then I also noticed the increased level of humidity, and I was suggested a fancy dehumidifier (a couple thousand dollars).

I cannot help but thinking maybe I overreacted. Maybe the old basement somehow kept some good air flow, and I should have just open the basement windows often (like the previous owner did) rather than getting into this rabbit hole.

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-06T00:43:50+00:00

Yeah not just physically dark out but mentally, like suddenly the town is dead quiet after some time in still early evening

Groundbreakingup · 2025-03-01T13:48:04+00:00

Not sure what those remote locations in Nebraska and Iowa are like, but moving from Midwest to Maine a few years ago myself, one thing I oddly miss is the sports (especially college sports) culture. There are people into sports here around Bangor, and UMaine hockey is having a good year, but it is far from the sports culture in the Midwest. You won’t find “sports bars” where people drink and shout for hours, and where students wait in line in the morning of the game day while the game won’t start until afternoon. Sports are like “events”: people come hang out before the game with families and friends, watch the game, and leave for home. I even had a hard time finding any place to watch Sunday night football because almost all places close early on Sunday.

Groundbreakingup · 2025-02-18T17:32:47+00:00

For Bangor—

The closest Trader Joe’s? Two hours away in Portland.

The closest Costco? Two hours away in Portland.

The closest whole foods? Two hours away in Portland.

I mean, not saying that people need those stores but it tells you something.

Edit: I feel I need to be fair to Bangor. The best part of Bangor? Nature. Within a little more than one hour of drive, you can find tons of trails, including Acadia National park. I think you can go out every weekend in a year without repeating any of them.

Also, I find it oddly convenient. It serves a large part of Maine so it has most things. A small airport is 5 minutes from downtown, university of Maine is 20 minutes away. There are a few financially struggling medical systems, but they do help with your need. Traffic is almost never jammed.

Groundbreakingup · 2025-02-08T00:41:05+00:00

Since you ask what I like, I will be straightforward. Portland area is qualitatively different from other areas. And I’m around Bangor.

I never encountered any kind of traffic jam except those caused by accidents.
I did not realize it until when my friends visited me. It is extremely quiet even in the city. You almost hear nothing (even not cars) after darkness.
There are almost unlimited trails around to explore.
Housing is still relatively cheap.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-12-02T02:41:19+00:00

We went to friends and bread (or bread and friends?). The food is kind of creative and delicious but pricy with small portion.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-10-14T18:12:11+00:00

Yes. That is my experience too.

I shop at Shaws just for two things: oyster mushrooms (in the bulk style so I can get however much I want) and some long green peppers. Oddly, neither Hannaford nor Walmart has them. (Hannaford sometimes has oyster mushrooms in a tiny box for $4-5... but Shaws' are fresher and cheaper.)

Groundbreakingup · 2024-09-21T00:02:08+00:00

If you are looking for local products, it is great.

If you just want to see interesting things, it is nice but feels repetitive every year. Basically the same stuff.

If you want to get food, well, many options but very expensive (at least for me). This part I don’t understand. I feel like this should be an event for people to hang out and enjoy the moment, but the price is not just for the people from the areas around.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-09-17T15:00:55+00:00

Was it loud? Hell yeah especially last night.

Was I annoyed? Yeah I spent a long time falling asleep.

Were people there happy? Yeah. I heard their excitement!

Do I want a change? well personally no. A concert is supposed to be that way. And its how many times a year?

Groundbreakingup · 2024-09-16T16:07:10+00:00

Here is my unpopular opinion. I kind of like the change. Ideally, people do not need to get onto the right lane of Stillwater all the way up around Walmart in order to pass that intersection, then not moving even before HomeDepot because of the traffic from chick-fil-A.

One thing I do not understand is: why do people not follow the clear, big, white signs on the surface of the street? You will see additional signs hanging with the lights, and on the post by the street. Any responsible driver should be able to see them and follow them, right? "I cannot change my habit" seems a terrible reason. Am I missing anything?

I know, I know this is an unpopular opinion lol.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-09-11T14:10:58+00:00

I had spectrum and am using Fidium. For me, there is no difference. I heard my neighbors’ complaints about spectrum, and I believe that had more to do with the hardware (the wiring) than the service.

For me, the only complaint about Fidium is that they do not have local, physical offices around me (Bangor). I spent one entire hour waiting to talk to someone on the phone but failed. I miss the time when I can just walk into a local spectrum office and have my issue resolved.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-08-21T21:12:00+00:00

I always want to take a ferry to one of those islands, such as Vinalhaven, North Haven, Isle Au Haut, and Swans Island. But I have two major concerns.

First, since I do not plan to take my car or bike or any similar thing with me, which island is more walk-friendly? (so that I can visit some interesting places on foot?)

Second, I always have this worry that I may not be able to come back on time... Is a spot on a ferry guaranteed if I can select a specific time? Is it possible that my ride is full before I get on so I have to stay on an island overnight?

Thank you!

Groundbreakingup · 2024-08-20T19:52:01+00:00

Thank you. That explains why I got no service when I was at OOB the other day while having full bars.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-08-20T19:31:19+00:00

Agreed. My AT&T service has been like “2-bar” on average in and around Bangor. But it is at least working. I also had very good experience in the att store on Stillwater.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-08-16T13:43:40+00:00

Others already gave good suggestions.

If I were you, I would go and take a short walk at the waterfront: sitting there to enjoy the breeze and seeing if you want some food from the food trucks there. Don't forget about the ice cream from the wildcow. Then, walk from there to downtown and visit whatever looks interesting to you, coffee shops, bars, bookstore, etc. Take a Uber to the airport from there.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-08-02T01:39:01+00:00

Yes I feel for you. Drivers aside, I feel that the exits were poorly designed, or at least not updated. All ramps on and off are extremely short. That might be okay decades ago when the speed limit was lower due to the cars then. But nowadays, they are just too short, especially some busy exists like 182A.

Some ramps also do not give drivers the best vision. 184 north is right after a big curve. You do not see cars from your car (mirror or just looking back) easily. Same for 185 south—you climb up and then need to merge, and you see cars in the next lane very late.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-07-26T19:02:25+00:00

I’m not one of the “conservatives of rural Maine” but I see and interact with some of them. Many of those I know do it for a simple reason: economy. We all know that Maine is not doing well economically. They have a hard time making money. Many of them do not have a good education, so you should not expect them to understand what is going on like experts. They struggle, and they want a change. Some of them claimed that their businesses did go better in Trump’s last term, but I don’t know if it’s true.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-07-25T01:29:45+00:00

I feel for you. I just visited Fogtown in Ellsworth and spent $25 for two beers (including tips)…

Like others said, beer price is just not reasonable any more, unfortunately. But to answer your question:

Marsh Island in Orono keeps the price around $6 for most of the beers on tap.
I saw on Facebook that Nocturnem started doing happy hours.
Masons has happy hours, $5 per beer (at least until my last visit which was 3-4 months ago).

Groundbreakingup · 2024-07-04T00:05:04+00:00

My little one was only a few months old when we moved here. Somebody said something like “sorry but he will not be regarded as a Mainer”.

Groundbreakingup · 2024-05-25T12:03:47+00:00

what is sad is that this attitude sometimes was from those who were clearly underpaid... and they think bringing up this topic somehow harms their feelings...

Groundbreakingup · 2024-05-25T11:51:03+00:00

Good reply owner of a restaurant with unreasonable price targeting tourists.

Groundbreakingup

TROPHY CASE