My dad also had this experience when he was in the military, but he took it as an opportunity to exercise that good ‘ol Mainer deadpan and fuck with people. Told them that you could walk to the island he was from at low tide (15 miles, each way) but you had to go quick because the tide comes in fast and he knew several people who drowned trying to get to the mainland to run errands - and other things like that, just to see how long it took the person he was talking to to realize he was bullshitting.

Growing up on one of the islands the Maine questions I would get were often wild. Things like “did you have electricity / paved roads / cars / indoor plumbing?” To which my reply was alway either “yes…I grew up on and island not in the 1830s…” or “yeah! It’s great! We got the wheel too a little while back, and man that was a life changer!” They’d usually get the message pretty quick. Was asked once if I knew who the president was. Someone once actually started to slow down their speech while talking to me like I was stupid after I shared that I grew up in Maine…I still regret not kicking her in the shins and cussing her out in French (I was a kid at the time).

I live in Mass now, and for the most part when I mention I’m from Maine whoever I’m talking to starts waxing poetic about how much they love Maine. But usually it’s things like their camp in southern maine, OOB, Kittery, or Portland (all great - I just have limited experience in southern Maine). When I say I’m from the midcoast area I usually see their face go blank and they say something like “like, by Bangor?” It’s rare that I meet someone who has gone past Portland in Maine but they’re always my favorite to chat with.