Help me move to Maine, /trv/. I live in DC and want to move

Portland is a medium-sized city with a beer-drinking hipster culture.
I live Downeast; here we have an odd cutrural mixture of rednecks, hippies, starving artists, successful artists, and summer billionaires. Sublime outdoors, but you can't enjoy any of it because it's all private. Expensive real estate, tepid winters. Generally we resent out-of-staters coming in and driving up prices, but if you only aspire to fit into the 'starving artist' bracket, you are welcome.

Between Portland and Downeast, there's probably nowhere in Maine I'd want to live.

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>>1231904
Sounds comfy af, desu.

How are the winters there? Will I have difficulty finding employment, since I'm an outsider?

Any other advice?

>Wanting to go to the most haunted state in America

don't you read Stephen King?

>>1232120
That's precisely why, anon. Maine is literary af.

Pity bump. /trv/, pls

Man I would love to move to another state also, but I have zero idea what I would do. At least you have a college degree.

>>1232120
Read Lovecraft. Boston-Providence area. Arkham is Salem and the Shunned House in Providence does exist.

>>1231885
depends what the degree is, but moving to maine won't be hard at all, just start contacting businesses in Maine, and sending them your resume, i lived in Millinocket for a little bit a couple years back, and it was close to numerous lakes and baxter park, beautiful nature, and that leads me to my main reason why it sucks in main not in a major city, THE FUCKING SNOW, if you aren't use to living with excess amounts of snow, don't bother

>>1232355
Thanks for your response, m8.

>but moving to maine won't be hard at all, just start contacting businesses in Maine, and sending them your resume

Good idea. Will they be reluctant to hire an outsider?

>THE FUCKING SNOW, if you aren't use to living with excess amounts of snow, don't bother

It can get be THAT bad, can it? I've lived in DC my whole life and am unfamiliar to New England winters.

Also, can you provide any other advice to an outsider?

:3

>>1232361
Not him but they won't be any more reluctant to hire an "outsider" than any other state you don't live in. You're at a disadvantage because many places don't take out of state applicants seriously - they assume you will have to move and it's more of a hassle than just hiring the guy down the street. If you can claim some connection to the area in your cover letter, this might help assuage their concerns.

I liked Maine but the people were closed off as fuck. I traveled the entire state for a month and it seemed like it would be very hard to make any friends there. If you don't care about that it's probably a wonderful place to live.

>>1232381
>I liked Maine but the people were closed off as fuck.

Can you expound on that, friend? How are people from, say, Portland like, in comparison to other parts of the country?

>>1231904
Portland has too many Somalians and heroin addicts. I've been having trouble with them recently, in the apartment where I live the back lot has been repeatedly used as a hiding spot for teens using illegal drugs. At nighttime it can be a touch dangerous around the Somalian neighborhoods. I really don't recommend moving to Portland.

I'd say just move up north around the Bangor area in a small town. Unfortunately Maine is devoid of jobs, but you can get a small-time job involving some internet service no matter where you are, so long as you have access to the internet.

>>1232472
The people in small towns have a very secluded community and aren't fond of newcomers. Portland is hipster/heroin/Somalian central.

>>1232489
>fuck off were full meme

Nice try, anon. You're not fooling me that easy.

>>1231885
As a fellow writer let me give you some advice. I am probably just a year or two older than you and I've been at it for just over two years. I'm only now starting to consider my work decent and seeing some of it published. This is after working tirelessly for two years. The point is that this takes time. Chances are you're so bad now that in a few years, you'll look back at your work and cringe.

You do not need to live in Maine, you need to live in a place where you'll have the time to write. This means you need to find a job that won't exhaust and deplete you--it is not so easy to work a full shift and then go home to create unless you're creating nonsense. My advice is to find the job first, make sure it won't eat up your time, and then move to it, regardless of where it is. Time is more important than anything else for the developing artist.

If you want more specific advice, leave the States. I came to China because it is the only place in the world where I can work 10 hours a week and still have money saved up at the end of the month. Good luck, I hope you are not writing commercial fiction. You would be wasting your talent and dignity by writing cheap and shallow works that offer no more than some entertainment.

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>>1232611
Thanks for your post, friend. You've written some pretty solid advice.

I'm only 22, and, in the past couple of months, just started taking my writing more seriously.

You're right in that it takes much time to become a great writer, which is why I want to move away in the first place. Living in DC makes it too difficult to write, as I am working a shitty 9-to-5 that leaves me with only two to three hours every day to read and write. I'm invariably groggy, which I can tell affects my writing.

As for living in Maine, the main reason I want to go there is, to escape this hedonistic world that is DC. I think moving there would allow me to work a job with flexible hours while living cheaply and comfortably. It should be enough to allow me to write the way I ought to.

>I hope you are not writing commercial fiction

Anon, please. Just to give you an idea of what I aspire to write, some of my favorite writers are Melville, Salinger, and Twain.

Anyway, you seem interesting. What are you writing? Who are you favorite writers? How did you know to move to China?

>>1232622
I understand completely man, I'm actually from Northern Virginia so I know exactly what you're trying to get away from. No sooner did I graduate than I started traveling, hoping to escape it. The truth is that hedonism and materialism is everywhere though. My disillusionment was only debilitating for a few days; I think it served to strengthen my current devotion to art.

That 9-5 is going to be the same whether you're in DC or Maine. Two or three hours a day for reading AND writing is simply not enough. I really think you need that much time for each, everyday. Soon enough you'll need to start editing your old work, which takes up more time. Then you'll have to constantly be on the lookout for literary magazines and agents to represent or publish your works, which requires even more time. Do you see why I left? It is impossible to do all this in 2-3 hours without really hindering your progression as an artist.

To answer your questions, I did not really know to go to China. I started traveling to escape, but then I saw that I work better abroad only because teaching comes with a lot of free time. I decided to come to China after finding the ideal job. I've been productive here as never before in my life. Right now I'm taking a break from prose and writing a narrative in verse in the style of 'Don Juan'. It's about a man who falls in love with the woman he creates in his novel. It is at once the most fun and most challenging thing I've worked on and although I'm only on the first Canto, I see it has potential to be the greatest thing I've created. What about you?

I'm glad you're not writing work for the sake of pleasing a contemptible public. After I learned from the Russian works of the 19th century what literature can do to the spirit of a man, I started to write. My biggest influences are probably Dostoevsky, Lord Byron, Poe, Hugo, just off the top of my head.

Bump

>>1232630
I'll reply to your post after work, m8.

>tfw wagecuck

>>1232472
Portland was somewhat of an exception to the rule. I'll expand on what i meant.

>thank a bartender for bringing you a drink; they just turn around and walk away without acknowledging you
>pass someone in the street and they don't even look up
>walk into any establishment and it feels like everyone there knows each other and that you've intruded on their space
>didn't make a single friend or even manage a conversation with a local the entire month i spent traveling the state

Maybe i'm just used to the midwest, but even in Seattle (which is famous for its "freeze") i had a much easier time making friends with strangers or just having pleasant interactions with humans than i did anywhere in Maine.

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>>1232630
>Soon enough you'll need to start editing your old work, which takes up more time.

It takes me longer to edit my work than actually write it.

>Then you'll have to constantly be on the lookout for literary magazines and agents to represent or publish your works, which requires even more time.

Honestly, I never really looked too into literary magazine for getting published, mainly because they've become too politicized. But I'm curious to know which ones you read and try to publish with. Mind sharing?

>Right now I'm taking a break from prose and writing a narrative in verse in the style of 'Don Juan'. It's about a man who falls in love with the woman he creates in his novel. It is at once the most fun and most challenging thing I've worked on and although I'm only on the first Canto, I see it has potential to be the greatest thing I've created. What about you?

I'm just writing short stories and maintaining a diary right now. My plan is to continue cranking out one short story per month for the rest of the year. My thinking is that this will help with my writing, as I'm not yet ready for a novel. I also want to start getting into plays and theatre, so there's that.

>After I learned from the Russian works of the 19th century what literature can do to the spirit of a man, I started to write. My biggest influences are probably Dostoevsky, Lord Byron, Poe, Hugo, just off the top of my head.

Russian literature is pretty rad. I'm a big fan of Dostoevsky and Gogol, too.

Favorite book by Fyodor?

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>>1232841
I can't imagine them being much colder than city folk from DC or NYC. But I could me totally mistaken.

I wonder why they're like that-- and distant from outsiders.

>>1232489
Can you talk more about the Somalians? I've never even seen one but I find Muslims in general to be really chill, hardworking people. Surely it's unfair to mention in the same breath as heroin addicts?
Serious question; I live in Bar Harbor so we only have seasonal Jamaicans to bring discord to our quiet beach community.

>>1232918
I've spent time in DC and NYC. Mainers are worse.

>>1232978
Damn. But doesn't it help that they can almost legally smoke weed now?

>>1232916
I don't read any literary magazines so I can't really recommend any. I look for ones that might find my work a good fit, but that's it. It is just a means to an end: my longer, more significant works have a better chance of being published when agents see that I have shorter pieces already in print. If I am in the mood for short stories, I will naturally turn to the masters, not some literary magazine.

I've yet to meet anyone whose favorite book by Dostoevsky is not 'The Brothers Karamazov' and I am no different. I've read most of his works and this is beyond a doubt his crowning achievement--in my opinion, the crowning achievement of prose. I owe my faith and my devotion to literature to this book and I always recommend it to people I come across. It is not easy, but nothing of any value is.

You said you just started to do this seriously, I wonder if you'll find it possible to devote yourself completely while also working during the day. Either way, I hope it works out for you. It might be that no other path comes with so much difficulty and disappointment. The satisfaction I've reaped until now has been enough to keep me going, but it's impossible to know how long one can endure hardship before everything collapses.

>>1232987
I doubt it. Weed doesn't necessarily make you social, and most people who will smoke legal weed already smoke illegal weed.

It's a cultural thing that isn't going to change. If you're OP i hope you visit Maine for an extended period before moving there. It's easy to idealize moving to places, i do it all the time, but at the end of the day if your life sucks it's going to suck anywhere.

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>>1232630

>Right now I'm taking a break from prose and writing a narrative in verse in the style of 'Don Juan'. It's about a man who falls in love with the woman he creates in his novel.

Isn't that what Ruby Sparks is about?

>>1231885
>I live in DC and want to move elsewhere, somewhere less densely populated and accessible to nature.
WTF, DC is like one big park connected to multiple state parks, connected to multiple national parks. You can't walk in any direction 3 blocks without being in nature. Do you not own a car or something??? What a great place to live for those who love nature. And the snow is nothing the city doesn't clean up in a single hour.

Yes, the Maine winters are bad. They are considered the worst winters in the nation. Fact. Before you start comparing prices to DC, factor in your winter heating bills, newer safer vehicle maintenance for two seasons and equipment for it, and the double wardrobe you'll need to stay alive sensibly.

Most people consider Maine either a part time vacation home state, like for ski enthusiasts, or autumn leaf lovers. It's a simple 2 hour drive from Boston to most of VT/ME/NH. You can buy gorgeous condos for $150k, but you have to maintain their condo fees, heating bills, store your vehicles and equipment to clear your driveway, have a 4WD, etc.

Fireside Fiction is good if your stories have a lot of left-wing themes in them. Gender and inversion of traditional roles is an easy way to get published with them.

>>1234711
>Fireside Fiction

Thanks, friend. I'll check them out.

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>>1234685
>Yes, the Maine winters are bad. They are considered the worst winters in the nation. Fact. Before you start comparing prices to DC, factor in your winter heating bills, newer safer vehicle maintenance for two seasons and equipment for it, and the double wardrobe you'll need to stay alive sensibly.

But if I live in or near Portland, I wouldn't need a truck or anything.

Sure, I would have to pay for more expensive winter clothing and whatnot. But the cost of living will be significantly cheaper than in DC.

Besides, I'm yearning to move so that I can distance myself from hedonism and other distractions, which should allow me to focus on my writing. Cold winters forcing me to burrow indoors all season will only benefit me, really.

>WTF, DC is like one big park connected to multiple state parks, connected to multiple national parks. You can't walk in any direction 3 blocks without being in nature. Do you not own a car or something???

Small urban parks aren't equatable to the nature in Maine. Miles of suburbs, traffic, and soullessness surround DC in every direction. I need escape from this hell.

>>1232932
I used to live in Minot. Too close to Lewiston/Auburn and all the shitty Somolians. They are rude and stupid and offer very little besides crime and violence from my experience. Theyre black and mudslime, what do you expect?

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>>1232622
go to arizona

>>1235658
Want to try again to answer my question, only this time be serious about it?

>>1232932
I live in CT and there are some male migrants ( I believe they're Somalian) that stop in where I work - they make a lot of people uncomfortable because of the way they talk. One of them kept approaching female employees, hitting on them and commenting that if they wanted to leave to go with him. They're also very demanding, but won't accept assistance unless it's from the specific person they want to see.

An anon mentioned earlier that people in Maine are closed off and it's the same in northern CT, so people who act like this stick out like a sore thumb.

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>>1231885
I live in Central Maine, right next to the Capitol. Southern Maine, like Portland and Lewiston are full of Somalis and rich people; property can be expensive. Northern and Eastern Maine has cheap property, but has few jobs. Central Maine is a weird combination of both, I like it here.

>>1235961
Mind giving some more advice to someone like me? I'm OP.

What's it like living it Maine? Where should I check out when I visit Maine this June? What should I keep in mind if I'm planning to move there? What do you think Maine would be like to someone who's lived in an urban environment their whole life?

Maine seems comfy and literary af, desu.

Thanks, friend.

>>1235983
I'd visit the coastal regions, like Bar Harbor, Camden and Boothbay Harbor. They're tourist traps, but beautiful.

If you move here, you need to be prepared for the winter. It's extremely cold, and it's not uncommon to get two feet of snow in one day. Also, depending where you are, the people will avoid you. They're not being mean, they're just not used to strangers.

Maine is completely different than D.C. Our largest city, Portland, is at least half the size as D.C. Almost everyone up here is white, and the further north you go the less populated and wild it gets.

I'd be happy to answer anymore questions you have.

>>1235993
>I'd be happy to answer anymore questions you have.

Here it goes:

I figured if I moved to Portland I won't need a car. How's the public transportation system there? Is the city mostly walking accessible?

How long would it take me to transition from an outside to an insider? I'm not the most extroverted of persons and tend to keep to myself, so I don't think I'll be too bothered by locals avoiding me.

How are the women? Would they consider dating an outsider?

I imagine the nightlife isn't comparable to DC's, but how's it like nonetheless? How's the bar scene?

What are somethings I shouldn't do so that locals won't despise me? For instance, is it rude to smoke in the street, walk dog without leash, etc.

How long does winter last? Is it common for locals to become depressed? What do locals even do during the winter?

Is Stephen King a big deal there?

Thanks, friend.

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>>1235997
Public transportation is completely non existent. There aren't even any taxis, really. You'll probably want a car. I don't know too much about Portland to be honest, I try to avoid it.

To transition, it depends where you are. If you move to a place used to tourists, a few months. A plantation with like 50 people, you'll be an outsider forever.

Women are the same as the rest of the U.S, I guess. Nothing special.

We have a lot of unique bars and pubs, at least in my area, they're actually pretty cool. I don't like the nightlife scene to much, so I can't be much help here.

Don't blast music from your car, always be polite, don't litter and most of all don't be elitist because you're from D.C. We are proud of our state.

Winters usually go from November to April. We complain about the snow, but I've never heard of anyone getting depressed. In my area, we like to ski, snowmobile and go ice fishing.

Nobody really cares about Stephen King. Funny story; my friend's dad accidentally ran him over with his car. He was walking down the street reading a book and wandered into the road. Stephen told him not to worry and that it wasn't the first time that it had happened.

I am happy to help. A lot of people forget Maine exists, so it's fun to talk about it.
Pic related, my town, Gardiner

>>1236010
That's a funny story. Your town looks comfy af, m8. How many people live there? How long would it take an outsider to be an insider there?

Last few questions:

What are some of your favorite things about living in Maine?

Aside from Portland, specifically which other towns or cities do you suggest I consider?

What's the local cuisine like?

Do the smaller cities and towns have hostels or motels? Or when I'm traveling around Maine, will I have to stay in hotels?

Are people there generally Christian? I'm Catholic and would like to have access to a Catherdral or Catholic Church.

What's the nature like there? Do people go hiking a lot on the Appalachian trail? Do they hunt?

>>1236010
I also forgot to ask:

I was planning on taking a train up to Maine. But if I wanted to travel around to other places, I would probably have to drive, right? So it would be best if I drove up to Maine in the first place, don't you think?

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>>1236016
6,000 people live here. It wouldn't take long to fit in; when you first move in people will be very curious and ask a lot of questions. As long as you're nice, you should be all set after that.

I like the nature, I also love the people. None of us in my part of the state have much money, but we have a lot of fun and work hard.

Cities to live in? I'd avoid Lewiston like the Plague, the Somalis pretty much ruined it. Bangor isn't bad, but it's in the middle of nowhere. I'm biased, but I think my town is a great place to live, it's 5 minutes from the capital and 40 minutes from Portland. I also recommend Waterville, Freeport, Saco and Topsham.

Seafood is a big hit, especially lobster. we also have fluffernutter and whoopie pies, which are god-tier. We don't like exotic stuff, like Indian or Greek.

I don't think there are any hostels in Maine, you'll have to stay in hotels.

Most people in Maine have ancestors from France, most people are Catholic. You won't have any problems.

Hunting is big here. I don't like it, so I can't tell you much. There are a lot of lakes, and northern maine is literally one giant forest. The trail is pretty far away from where I live, so not really. However, in the next town over from us is a place called Hobbitland, it's absolutely surreal. Pic related

>>1236020
You'll definitely need to drive. I know there are a few car rental places in Portland.

>>1236023
>>1236029
You seem like a really cool dude, anon. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions. If I come up with any more, I'll be sure to ask. I doubt this thread will be going anywhere.

>>1236030
Anytime! I hope you love Maine when you stop by.

>>1235909
Thanks, this gives me a better idea of the dynamic. Honestly it's pretty typical of New Englanders to take offence to the kind of thing you describe. Example: In Africa if you board a bus with only one person on it, you sit down next to that person, introduce yourself, and chat for the duration of the journey. In New England you sit as far as possible from that person and avoid eye contact at all costs.

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>>1236123
>In New England you sit as far as possible from that person and avoid eye contact at all costs.

It's like that most places in America, champ.

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>>1235666
cool digits my man

>Maine: the way life should be
>Over 94% of Maine's population is non-Hispanic White

BASED MAINE!

>>1236286
Truly based, indeed.

>>1236010
In "On Writing" King talks about getting run over. It was pretty serious and your friend's dad was lucky he didn't get his ass locked up.

>>1236422
>tfw just recently bought On Writing and will start reading it tomorrow

How did you like it, tripfriend? Is it just a memoir, or does King provide any advice for prospective writers?

>>1236429
Both. A bit of bio and writing lesson. Check it out. Supposedly someone said that Dean Koontz had the better writing book but I didn't read it.

>>1232511
Speak for yourself, I hate it here. I'm planning to get out of this godforsaken city as soon as possible. I can't imagine why my sister actually WANTS to move to D.C., a place 100x bigger and even MORE soulless than Portland.

>>1232932
Somalians are not like Arab muslims, or Bosnian muslims, or Albanian or Egyptian or Iranian muslims. Somalians are the worst of the worst of the muslim world. They are loud, obnoxious, forward, and rude. They especially stick out here because of Maine's closed-off, privacy-heavy culture, even if it's not as pronounced in Portland. I actually had one come up to me while I was on a night-time walk and try to sell me drugs. No shame or anything, I wasn't even in a dark alley, I was on Congress Street, the busiest road in the city. He said "fuck you" when I refused. I really had to bite my tongue to keep from shouting some racist slurs back at him.

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>>1236918
>Speak for yourself, I hate it here. I'm planning to get out of this godforsaken city as soon as possible.

Where to, Augusta?

>>1235757
I think youre just really dense or naive. these stereotypes are common for a reason, you know

>>1234685
>maine winters
>worse than upper peninsula michigan winters

Kek, new englanders are such self-righteous brats

>>1237268
jej

>>1236918
He was a criminal selling you drugs. Were you expecting "Have a nice day?"

Bump uglies

All I know about Maine is, eat at Dysart's Truck Stop. I am not joking. You will thank me later.

Looks like they have some other restaurants now, which I have not been to. Go to the actual truck stop.

https://www.dysarts.com/truckstop/

>>1231908
I assume the job market is the same as anywhere, just don't be afraid to take the shitty sounding jobs.

I worked for waste management for about a summer's length, good pay but labor intensive. There really are few jobs for say artists. But really try to join the community if possible, we have film fests and all kinds of camps.

>>1232120
King is shit and an arrogant cunt. Don't through his name around in maine much because the more red mainers hate his guts.

>>1232491
Ehh, if you're a visitor it's typical tourist stuff. If you're moving in you need to go the extra mile to join in and put forth your worth, but if you're generally nice to people they tend to be nice back.

>>1232987
Even when it was illegal the cops really wouldn't do shit unless you did it in their faces (and many retards did). So it being legal now really won't change anything, but it actually makes it a little worse from what I hear. The law apparently gave too much rights to businesses while shafting some rights of private growers.

>>1231885
>that cartel
Americans are cringe as fuck

>>1235757
Another anon from general area,

Somalis exist solely in the Portland, Aurburn/Lewiston and Walmarts. It's the cheaper housing and their main job opportunity which causes this, rather than reclusive rural towns. However, the bulk of Maine's aggressive crimes happen in those places and is the reason why the housing is cheaper in the first place.

Are there cute Jewish grills in Maine?