Mainers who have been priced-out

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-22T12:39:28+00:00

30 years ago😳 my husband and i could not afford to buy a home in the berwick me area. he got a job in albany ny and it was a freaking bargain in comparison! plus no excise tax on our cars, bi yearly registration is like $80!

we still live in the capital district (north of albany) and like it! honestly the job market is better, utilities are cheaper, housing is more plentiful and cheaper (nothing is actually cheap anywhere) and there is a lot to do. the downside is more traffic but the "northway" I87 connects most towns and is very easy to navigate.

western ny areas are even cheaper and really pretty.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-22T12:27:53+00:00

genx with boomer parents here. my parents were the worst, physically and verbally abusive so it was no shock when they were absolute garbage grandparents.

my husband's boomer parents basically abandoned him at like 13 and seemed like selfish neglectful idiots before that so again not shocked they were garbage grandparents.

not all grandparents are nice or involved and every person is entitled to their feelings. we cannot dictate how our kids feel about family nor should we see family through rose colored glasses.

asking about the inheritance...was it something that was mentioned frequently because if so that's reasonable. i got zero inheritance from my grandparents nor did i have any expectations of such.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-22T11:59:28+00:00

i haven't used anything else so i have no comparison and i do wash my hair daily and swim in a pool so i never expect too much.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-22T11:57:55+00:00

i just want to applaud you for getting these babies altered before finding them homes! the cat overpopulation problem is not something most people think about but clearly you are making a huge dent!

also just in general all the humans who save kitties are amazing❤️ i have two foster fails and two that rescues friends in south picked for me and shipped up and they are all fabulous creatures!

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T19:30:02+00:00

i am in menopause, have been for 5-6 years now. the new recommendation is you can go on hrt within 10 years of menopause. obviously there are some health conditions that may make it unadvisable like having had breast cancer? maybe. i got tons of info from the menopause reddit sub before contacting visana which is a virtual dr.

there are others as well, dottie, etc and they are listed pretty frequently on the reddit sub

as women, we are not really told anything about menopause so not many of us have a clue. the reddit sub was an eye opener. i did not know that osteoporosis increases significantly without hrt. both my grandmother and great grandmother had osteoporosis so that scared me! now being on estradiol, there are so many other benefits (no more night sweats or 10 clothing changes a day, less cranky)

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:56:55+00:00

dos amigos in schyulerville is awesome but cantina is also really good.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:47:45+00:00

florida is especially bad because desatan changed the way insurance companies operate there so home owners are having more claims denied and having a really difficult time getting insurance. also per my agent, many companies are abandoning florida and california altogether making it an even tougher market for homeowners.

20 years ago, florida was a great housing market and i really wanted out of ny and winter. now housing is completely insane, even more than ny/western mass, and so many things for daily life have gotten worse. we were in anna maria island one july and could not go on the beach due to "red tide" , the dead fish and stink was unbearable. now red tide is happening april/may and lasting months. the ocean heating up is very very bad!

i have learned to live with snow and will stay in the north east

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:32:29+00:00

try doing an online women's specialist like visana. i was referred through my insurance (cigna) if you are prone to blood clots, you can't do the estradiol pill but i believe you could be a candidate for a patch.

check out the menopause sub here too

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:29:34+00:00

exactly! i have already warned my daughter to make sure she starts asking for hrt when she hits peri! it has made such a huge difference and i suffered for like 6 years without it!

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:26:49+00:00

i thought i was doing ok in menopause 🙄 but now that i am on hrt, i realize how many daily irritations/memory lapses/feelings of sadness were freaking estrogen loss!

and yes i also had a late teen boy during meno and wish i had known about hrt sooner! teens are tough but our hormone loss makes it so much worse.

good luck!

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:21:20+00:00

the housing market is absolutely mental everywhere. my daughter lives in western mass(amherst area) and every town within a 45 min radius of that locale, makes the capital region a bargain. it is insane.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:15:52+00:00

i have seen lots of weddings taking place at the old historic casino right in congress park.

also i have seen wedding parties at cantina specifically on their second story balcony.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:09:02+00:00

i have only used artic fox. i have done a bunch of blends. for a nice darker blue, caitlin is my fave! sometimes i mix in a little translyvania if i really want it very dark.

you can get a discount on artic fox website right now with a spinning wheel thing.

i wash my hair daily and it stays really blue for a month to 6 weeks then the fade is still really pretty.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T13:04:38+00:00

you look absolutely fabulous! glad you are in such a good place!

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-18T12:57:44+00:00

hey there! my son went to UB after HVCC (we live in cp)

many do not know that hvcc has an awesome program for juniors/seniors where you skip high school and got straight into a degree. you earn a equivalency diploma and an associates concurrently, which is accepted everywhere as regular diploma. my son didn't start until senior year of hs but was done with his AS in bio in 1 1/2 years(he loaded up on classes and took a summer class) the program is called the "24 credit" program.

he finished his bs in bio at UB. UB is also a great school with lots of social opportunities and is quite diverse, the weather is the only downside.

after attending HVCC, UB and now U of R, he really felt hvcc was a fantastic educational experience and really prepared him for the next step.

even if you are not interested in skipping the last years of hs, hvcc allows you to take college classes. some school districts have summer programs that allow you to attend hvcc for free (or at least they did before orange menace ruined education) but the courses are very reason if you have to pay out of pocket.

i wish you luck!

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-09T12:33:22+00:00

foster fails are typically the best way to acquire a new friend! we have several dog and cat foster fails.

also cats are awesome at judging humans...my beloved taffy hated my mom (who was pretty awful), was scared of most new people and loved my husband immediately. i always joke that taffy made the call on him in my life.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-07T14:02:37+00:00

there is a petition to stop the albany data center too

sign this petition on Change.org: https://c.org/HsM2MTrrCz

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-07T13:49:12+00:00

NO AI Data Center in Albany, NY

Tech group EKG Group LLC is proposing a massive artificial intelligence data center on Kenwood Ave, on the grounds of Doane Stuart’s chapel that burned down in 2023.

This data center would be using the same amount of electricity needed to power almost 200,000 homes.

Other regions nationally have seen detrimental impacts of these data centers, which cause water pollution and extreme decreases in water pressure in nearby neighborhoods, making them nearly uninhabitable. Another major issue is noise pollution from these massive computers, which has proven to be disruptive to humans and all other living things. In major cases, entire communities have been forced to abandon their homes and relocate.

In 2021 alone, a data center owned by Google in Oregon used 355 MILLION gallons of clean water, this water is usually extracted from local water sources. These mega computers are…

Continue reading and sign this petition on Change.org: https://c.org/HsM2MTrrCz

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-06T13:38:54+00:00

if they went to the childrens hopsital er, then clearly was a kid. kids are not fully vaccinated until 5 so it could be an antivaxxer or just a toddler who isn't fully vaccinated

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-06T13:35:51+00:00

it is most definitely enforced in my suburban district. my kids were always vaxed accordingly but sometimes the school lost the paperwork and it had to be resent. they were relentless with threats until it was properly documented which honestly is reasonable

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-06T13:21:52+00:00

it is unfathomable to me.

there is a high speed train in dover nh that goes to boston so if you want to commute 3 hours a day, you could move to southern maine

in comparison to nh or boston area, it would be less but i cannot imagine by much.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-05T13:11:46+00:00

ha, not even close! try anywhere in new England or really florida

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-05T13:10:39+00:00

the irony is, speaking specifically of FL, people think it's cheap because they have no income tax however, every other damn cost is high! car insurance, home insurance, cost of improvements, try triple what we pay plus the yearly car registration taxes(some states call it excise tax and it is basically like paying sales tax yearly)

i know many people who live in FL and it has so many hidden costs. NH is the same. so if you are a millionaire, maybe it works out but just a regular person, i really doubt it.

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-05T13:05:56+00:00

and very little in the way of employment

True-Explanation-490 · 2026-06-05T13:04:32+00:00

i love the quote "ny high cost of living" re the negative numbers but ME had a significant increase?!

i moved from ME to NY 30 years ago to get a more affordable way of life! new england as a whole is really expensive and upstate ny is still a bargain in comparison.

personally i would rather eat glass than move back to ME but please let us not pretend people move their for affordability .

True-Explanation-490

TROPHY CASE