Why Maine?

 

I can't believe how many people have asked us that since we first announced that we would be moving to Maine, which is where we are now.    

Those asking it seem genuinely curious, as if they really can’t imagine why anyone would want to move to Maine.  Maybe it’s because they don’t have any positive associations with it.   No big cities, no prominent landmarks or national parks, no reputation for anything other than moose and blueberries.  And it seems remote in a way that other states on the margins of the country don’t.  

A pet peeve of mine is when people talk about places and say that, “there’s nothing there” or "it’s in the middle of nowhere.”  What the hell does that mean? Always, there’s lots of things “there” wherever “there” is.  Here, for instance, there’s a rich natural landscape.  Outside my door this morning, I see a male and female phoebe feeding their young.  When I went out early this morning with the dog, I heard frogs in the pond, saw bumblebees on the comfrey, and more types of trees and grass and plants than I can identify.  There’s a couple of crows chatting in the field right across the road from our driveway.   

We’ve got neighbors, most of whom we haven’t met yet, since we only recently moved in.  There’s one man who rides his bicycle back and forth endlessly, and who often stops in the road by our house to wave his American flags, one in each hand.  There’s an older woman across from us who feeds the birds.  She attracts flocks of all kinds of things.  There's a large flock of wild turkeys who roam the area around her feeder and into our fields.  They haven’t been visible lately, though, I think they're busy raising their young ones in the woods.  One of our other neighbors makes beautiful flowers out of re-purposed china and glassware.  And there’s two young women, very friendly, who ride by once in a while on their horses.  We’ve chatted a few times.  

Our homestead is about ten acres, a mix of fields and woods.  I spent a lot of time wandering the woods this winter and spring, and I still haven’t learned the lay of the land back there.  There’s a lot of there “there" to learn. So, as I said, I don’t get it.  

Yes, we can no longer jump in the car and just a few minutes later get to Target, Walmart, Baskin Robbins, a theater showing independent movies, or a Thai restaurant.  I do miss being able to drive ten minutes to just about any kind of food I could desire.  But is access to places that sell things how we define where “somewhere” is?   Seriously?  If it is, I’d rather be here in the middle of nowhere. 

So, back to the question:  why Maine?  We had lots of reasons for moving here, and we systematically compared it to other possible homestead locations before settling upon it.  See for example, my entry for July 30, 2013 where I talk about what Maine offers.  Or my entry earlier in that year about how to live on a relatively low income.  

During our time in N.M., it became clear that the area is not very sustainable if you consider current and projected changes in rainfall over the next 20 years, and my desire to cut dependence on relatively cheap oil and the products that it makes possible.  Most of the available land in New Mexico just does not have dependable access to the water needed to support a homestead, and its gardens, trees, and livestock.  

Land with access to water is abundant and comparatively cheap in Maine.  There are few restrictions on what you can do on your own land here.  There’s plenty of vacant housing.  There’s legalized medical marijuana.  And there are enormous swathes of forest, tons of lakes and rivers, and wildlife of many kinds. Oh, and there’s the ocean....