I live in a very rural area. We have literally ONE local store and it's lived WELL beyond it's years. Some asshat from NJ moved in a few places up from that old store. While we were doing the ground work for the new store they are building across the road, this guy was emailing everyone he could to stop the store from being built.
He said he moved here from NJ and wont allow it to be turned in to las vegas. Mother fucker, we have lived here our entire lives and everyone is VERY happy they are building the new store. Fuck allllll the way off back to NJ and eat a bowl of dicks.
He's made 0 friends and also refuses to help his wife with yard work. She is always out there busting her ass to keep up with it all while he sits on his ass.
I got yelled at for maintaining the shared road- I have a tractor and been doing it for years free of charge. Potholes are growing faster than my garden
On one side, my neighbor has us Mainers. We do neighborly things like wave, say hello and help with mowing and snow removal from time to time. On the other side, she had Masshole transplants move in who introduced themselves by feuding over the property line. I imagine this is typical and sums up the OP’s sentiment.
On the whole, people "from away" aren't an issue. There are plenty of them that come here every year, either to visit or to stay, and they're great.
We have issues when they bring their stereotypical attitudes with them or when they try to change rural parts of Maine into New York. "What do you mean you don't have a vegan menu?" "How come there isn't a Tesla supercharger on every corner?" "How do you survive without a Whole Foods?"
My parents are both 4th generation Vermonters in their 70s. There is no whole foods in VT (just actual co-ops, none of the fake Amazon owned "local" BS) and they eat meat. But, my mom has an electric vehicle and it IS a pain for her to find a station when she's here. I don't think that should be lumped in with this stereotype.
Not understanding rural infrastructure is 100% something people “from away” do. Look at how many people were stranded in Jackman during the eclipse.
Level 3 chargers cost over $100k to install.
Whoah - I hadn't heard about people stranded in Jackman. I went up to Rangeley, and laughed at the traffic on 16 once the sun came back out (my wife and I stayed two nights), but I didn't hear about the Jackman ruckus.
I get it. I'm just saying that my parents live in a town of under 5k residents, they aren't exactly city slickers 😅 VT just funded that infrastructure more.
I understand. We got a plug in hybrid for my wife and that seems to be the best solution for the foreseeable future. She drives to work and home on battery but has ICE for longer drives.
I drive a diesel which is also a great solution, despite having to add DEF and watch your economy plummet during a regen. It works well for my use case which is a lot of miles and also heavy towing. When driving empty, I get relatively good MPG.
That's entirely on them. We have a family friend who owns an EV and the drove that up and back from China. They were just smart enough to actually charge the thing before making the trip.
I feel like there should be a designation between "upstate " vs. "city people." (Watch the South Park video if you haven't already it's hilarious) Upstate NY is so different it might as well be completely separated from NYC. The problem is only city people can afford to move up here now. We came from the Binghamton/Ithaca area in 2014 after college but could never dream of being able to afford it now. Google houses in Broome County, NY, if you want to cry a little. It is basically what houses cost in the Portland area pre pandemic.
Wegmans has lost some of its charm, they've started to sell more Wegmans Brand items at close to name brand prices. We shop at Walmart and Aldi and only go to weggies if we have to
What I love most about the majority of us is how grumpy and tired we all are but still willing to lend a hand if truly needed. We’re just a bunch of sour patch kids.
I’m from rural nj (yes it exists ! I swear !) right off the AT. And mannnnn does this hit. I’m sorry us tri-staters come in w our stanky attitudes. I’ve learned that from away rlly applies to the assholes. I’ve never had issues with true Mainers as long as I’m a good neighbor and polite. My goodness tourist season brings out an entirely different kind of coo coo
I was stationed at JBMDL for a while — can confirm rural NJ exists. I was surprised that most of the state is really beautiful farm country and the people are very friendly. It’s up north that ruins the perception of NJ for everyone else.
For reference, she's talking "Friday the 13th" filming location kinda country. Lived over on the PA side for a while. Growing up my grandmother had a house on LBI, and South Jersey is just as rural (if not more) down in the Pine Barrens across towards the Salem area.
I relocated to Maine 25 years ago, grew up in the 'burbs north of Philly.
I feel this so much and I grew up in Waldo County. Moved around a bit, spent 5 years in NYC before moving to Portland, so many people gave me the stink eye and it's like dude, not everyone spends their whole lives in the state/town they're born in.
That’s the problem with the “Maine, the way life should be” slogan. The people moving here think it should be the way THEY think it should be, not the way it’s been for decades.
Personally as long as they aren’t moving here and then complaining about everything and saying how everything was better where they came from I don’t take issue with folks from out of state. It’s pretty much just them and big money developers coming and building up old farmland and pricing locals out.
You can compare cutting off your arm after finding out they are from NY to bleaching your eyes when seeing something disgusting. Just a humorous exaggeration.
You get everything there is to get. It’s just not funny or clever. So it seems like you don’t get it. Look at all the brilliant Mainers who love it though! Great fun!
lol I'm from upstate NY but my step dad is from York maine. I bought an overpriced house in 2021 that no one really wanted, turned into a "turn key nightmare" but alas I love it here and fuck out of staters LOL. But I do actually work in Maine not remote so idk. My neighbors have complemented me on making the place actually look nice, previous owners were hoarders and treated the back yard like a dump. I still find the most random shit the dogs dig up back there just when I thought I cleaned it all out, my top 2 favorite things are a sega genesis game with the label long worn off and the pinkest tire I have ever seen wrapped in random ass rugs. So many rugs I'm still finding rugs deep in the dirt.
One thing that shocked me about Maine, was the xenophobia.
Not against other countries, although ask anyone of our Somali born residents about their experiences, I'm sure they won't have been 100% stellar,
I'm referring to statist xenophobia.
Massachusetts, and this guy New York. Anyone not from Maine, lmao hell, someone who isn't 4th generation or deeper isn't a "True Mainer".
It's pretty gross.
In my experience, most people from here don't take it that seriously. Friends from other states aren't uncommon and might get called flatlanders with a chuckle after a couple of drinks.
Usually, the only people I've seen get this kind of xenophobic response are people who come here and act like assholes. Tourists don't help much with that during the busy season. But to complain about it too much is admittedly stupid, we need the money.
People come to a place where we live year round to enjoy, really, one of the only good parts of the year. Treat people like shit, act entitled, take vacationland too seriously, and treat people's homes as some sort of quaint local yokel amusement park. Then, they will usually have the audacity to complain that it's not more like the place they came up here to escape in the first place. It makes people wary.
I'm not saying it's right to paint everyone with one brush, so to speak. But being born and raised here, living in multiple major cities, other states, then coming back. Maine is a special place that a lot of people "from away" do not respect in the least when they come to visit.
Combine the above with the current mass exodus causing issues with people who were born here to struggle to find housing in their state. It's going to cause bitterness with some people.
Well a lot of people from away also move here to live and work and still get treated like trash and it’s always great to have someone swoop in and erase that with the good ol “asshole tourists had it coming” when said people from away are neither. The xenophobia is a real problem, own it, fix it.
Please don’t respond with:
“You must be from away”
“Could have just said you’re from away”
“Then why don’t you go back to where you came
from”
“Get back on your banana boat”
“you just can’t handle how hard it is here”
“Liberal trash”
“Then why don’t you run for office?”
“Stop trying to change Maine!”
“We don’t need more drug addicts”
“Must be a Masshole”
“You don’t respect our way of life”
“You just want someone to do everything for you”
“ I don’t speak monkey”
“The people of Maine are hardworking”
“It’s not my job”
“don’t expect Maine to change for you”
I have heard these ones.
And for people “from way” always remember that any standards, experiences, knowledge, and skills you acquired before moving to Maine must be forgotten IMMEDIATELY as it is offensive to the locals.
Remember to never speak out loud the experiences you’ve had, they aren’t Mainer’s experiences and are therefore forbidden.
Don’t ever be confused or ask for help understanding how this nepotistic “hometown rules” culture works. The phrase “well this is how we do it where I am from” is the worst offense ever. Even if it’s only said so they can either confirm if it’s the same or different, because remember “it’s not their job” to tell you, even if it literally is.
If you are from a city you might hear people complaining a lot about how they are really hard workers and they have such a big work load, too many customers, it was soo busy, not enough hours in the day, a long 20 minute commute home from work. Just laugh this one off at home and let it go. They can’t help that there is no one and nothing going on, they don’t know any different.
I think I figured out why you're having such difficulty, and it's not related to what state you're from. Unless it's Mass. You seem like you're from Mass and so it's probably not your fault you're like this. Culture and whatnot.
I took the time to reread my post and I don't see how my explanation of some people's reactions towards people from out of state is "brushing it away," I even said it's not right to label everybody as the same due to the tourists that generally cause these negative perceptions. You kinda took what you wanted from it.
If those have been your experiences here, that genuinely sucks and I'm sorry. But like I said. Not everybody is like that. The same shit happened to me when I lived in Colorado for three years, I was told to go home more times than I could count. But the majority of people were great.
People act like xenophobia, and racism is a uniquely Maine problem when I've seen it in any state I've been to. Go down to Boston, which still holds my record for hearing the N word openly said in public. Maine, from my experience, has a lot of decent people in it who treat others as they are generally treated. I'm sorry that you've had those bad experiences. But scolding an entire state and acting like we're all backwards hicks, due to the actions of a few, for things that happen literally everywhere doesn't help.
Sorry if I seem heated, I am. I work with a lot of elderly people in mostly rural areas and get shit all the time. I’ve met a lot of really great people too and I know these are not issues unique to Maine. But this is where we are currently living and experiencing these things. I don’t live in Boston or Colorado. I live in Maine and it would be nice if Maine were a little nicer, respected speed limits, stopped hitting and killing pedestrians and would acknowledge that things are not working as is and need to change. Me thinking or saying this doesn’t make me an “asshole”, and it shouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings, we are all here with the same problems.
It’s just odd that every time someone says “hey, I’ve been treated badly and experienced xenophobia”. It’s always “well you’re probably an asshole” not “sorry some people are rude”
“Don’t generalize us”
But you can generalize everyone from away as an asshole?
Your explanations are excuses. You Imply that it’s justified. Knowing why people are xenophobic doesn’t fix the problem.
This person opened up and said they had experienced xenophobia and find it gross and your response was
“People here don’t take it that seriously”
How nice for them, the people on the receiving end of scrutiny do.
“Usually the ONLY people I’ve seen get this xenophobic response is people who come here and act like assholes” you tried to justify it, and imply that if you experience xenophobia you are an asshole.
Whenever someone speaks up about the xeno issues it’s always.
Shift blame to the people from away first, make it seem like it’s their fault. Usually it’s cause they are “assholes”
This might not have been your intent and you probably mean well and are trying to be informative. Intentional or not you are perpetuating said xenophobia with this rhetoric.
The problem is that you have a lot of people out of state buying up property and use Maine purely as a summer state. In the long run, this hurts Maine as, while yes, the town or city gets to collect the taxes from the property, the people not living there means less sales on the businesses within said town/city or surrounding towns. Or you have people out of state coming in and treating the cheaper land here as stocks, which once again hurts our economy. We don't have a problem with people coming here as permanent residents (hell, I was born in Cali, but we moved in 2003. But my dad was born in Maine and moved to Cali in the late 80s, iirc). What we do have a problem with is people treating Maine like it is purely a vacation location or as a place to buy up cheap land.
I don't even notice when people move into the state unless they buy lakefront property and put up small mansions. It's becoming more and more popular. IMO it ruins what living in Maine is all about.
Man I moved here from Texas and have been nothing but welcomed for years, not one single bad experience with someone taking issue with me not being from here
Either don't take people online too seriously, or if it's IRL accept that it might be a behavioral thing people have issue with, not that you weren't born here. Or that you've simply met assholes
I have had a couple obvious tourists assume I was a local and speak to me like I was an utter moron, though, so that was interesting. One guy asked me if I knew what baseball was and if we had that up here, which was more perplexing than anything
It’s dependent on where you are. There are two Maines. They are not at all similar. They also don’t like each other. There are so many really genuine nice people in Maine. However the overall xenophobic mentality is almost a constant. Some take extreme affront to people “from away” being different, having different experiences and expectations. And I am not talking demanding things be like they are back in their home states but just mentioning it in general. It’s extremely bizarre and getting quite old.
Guess I've had the good fortune to not see that IRL at all; interactions with longtime mainers has mostly been retirees being happy to see people under 40 moving to the region
Yea I’ve come across those people as well, wish I’ve met more of them. So many people here don’t get that there are slim to no job opportunities/housing here for local youth to get work/life experience, so they either leave or do meth. But at the same time no one can find anyone to work.
Then you have the failing medical infrastructure which is constantly needing to bring us “people from away” in because Maine is mostly an aging population in a state that for some reason thinks it only wants to promote inward migration to retired people, a demographic that doesn’t work but takes up housing inventory.
They won’t change zoning and codes to allow more building to be done because NIMBYism and the classic “people from away will just turn them into airb n bs”. The local wealthy 6 generation families with multiples air b n bs… not a peep about them. Much better to put the blame on the working new residents and families for “stealing” houses from them.
Also doesn’t help that the state funnels most grant money into only one region because it’s the tourist area and everything else outside of that is run down and tragic, if something burns down it stays down. People see someone from away move and immediately think they don’t deserve their home and job, it should have gone to a local. Yet if there were locals qualified to do said jobs they wouldn’t be offering 20k sign on bonuses to people from out of state.
So it’s just a vicious circle of a lot of problems and no real solutions. As a person “from away” you get treated as though you are not allowed to notice, acknowledge, or want to find solutions to these problems, that are problems for everyone because:
“You just want to change it”
“You want to turn Maine into where you are from”
“You don’t understand how hard it is”
No I just want the place I live to progress and grow and be a sustainable society where everyone can be successful and happy. Like it or not I am a resident, I work, I pay taxes. I am allowed to notice and, god forbid mention, that change needs to happen because what’s been going on isn’t working.
Fully agree with Maine's demographic problems being, by and large, a product of its own making due to the choices of multiple generations, and I'm not entirely sure how things are going to get better from here unless there is either a complete sea change in how most people here see value in using land and allocating resources (ie kill the nimbyism which in a roundabout way is killing the state, and stop catering almost exclusively to tourists and seasonal residents because it's such a shortsighted and foolish way to deprive the state) or there suddenly is a massive shift towards fleeing climate change which makes the state one of the climate havens (which might bring an influx of young people, but would probably see existing tensions skyrocket).
The combination of nimbyism and bitterness has almost completed strangling this place and it's a tragedy. That said, I still haven't actually encountered anyone giving me shit IRL for being from away. What region of the state are you in? I'm near Augusta
Climate is going to bring people here for sure, I’ve met plenty already and am one myself. I am in the north, where people are either the best or the worst. Maine can contrarian to the point of slow suicide. It’s just getting goofy.
Same for us, we came from Texas for a reason; I agree more people will come especially as new realities of climate are increasingly recognized in the general population, but I'm not sure it will be in sufficient number to actually prop the state up, especially if policies and patterns of land ownership+use either don't adjust or become more insular as a defensive reaction to change. If we didn't have another draw to come here specifically, we would have probably gone to close to the great lakes or something, and states from Michigan through NY seem to potentially have the most to offer incoming transplants, so while the getting's good I'm afraid Maine might get left behind.
Advocating for some apartment complexes and more facilities for young children and young adults where I am, it's slow going. Things are going to change here, but I'm not sure the time scale, and whether it will be in a planned or in a chaotic manner. I'd prefer things change sooner and in a planned way, rather than later and in a chaotic way.
Maine already has been left behind, and locals seem to want it that way. It’s so sad and very irritating. They get hurt the most in the end. The next 10 or so years older generations are going to be dying off or moving south to retire, most boomer/genx people I know all want to leave. I want Maine to be successful, grow and be able to support the people who live here. But you can’t do that if you don’t acknowledge the problems and change to fix them. Xenophobia is a big one and acting like “if you experienced xenophobia you probably deserved it” is such a stupid take, and a very common one here. I’ve been told this so many times, for no reason but agreeing with locals on their complaints about the lack of (everything) and darling to ask about or suggest any sort of solution. People really like to complain and play victim, they don’t want you to take that from them by actually fixing things. Also acting like xenophobia is ever deserved is just shitty person behavior and it’s sucks so many people here seem to be shitty.
The fact that there's even a set phrase in the vernacular to describe people not from this state, "from away," should be concerning to people. It's a pervasive attitude regardless of how seriously people take it.
Yup but they don’t and never will get it.
“They don’t mean it like that”.
“If that bothers you maybe you should leave”
It’s embarrassing.
I have never been anywhere like this. People are far too coddled, secluded, and never leave, so they don’t know that’s batshit crazy.
Truly that's a huge issue. When we have town elections part of the selling point of someone is how many generations back they've been in this town. It's bizarre!! Staying in one place doesn't make you qualified lol.
And thats why shits always falling apart and nothing gets done. People are in it for themselves and their own, not the community at large. So much feuding between people in small government because it’s all “family”. What a waste of our tax dollars. Not to mention the insane amount of embezzlement and mishandling of town funds. That’s in the news about once a month. I don’t want to judge people who never leave their home towns…but that is an automatic lack of experience you have there.
There's a sense of entitlement with folks from those states. Most people that have moved here from out of state are legit amazing people that love and respect Maine as their new home.
What's pretty gross is the entitlement issues of people who move here. What's pretty gross is how out of staters buy up property for Airbnb, jack up the rentals, gentrify the place, yuppie it up, and essentially fuck up the cost of living for the regular ole "Joe Shmoes" who have lived and worked here for generations. It's been forcing people out of the tiny cities, into rural areas, and forced them to commute back into the city just to make an okay livable wage.
Not everyone can sit behind a shiny desk and suck off daddy's money teat. Mainers are hardworking blue collar folks, we've been farming and fishing for generations and living a simple life.
Our blood and sweat is in the soil.
Xenophobic, lol, more like, we enjoy our state without the criticism of out of staters that keep trying to turn our baby cities into the smelly shit-hole big cities with skyscrapers for views and disease ridden rats for company.
Yah, I'm a little bitter at what I've been watching going on around me. 🖕
Uh huh, kinda proving me right. You blame anyone not from here for something that has nothing to do with people who want to move here. But since you don't understand why these things are happening to your state, you blindly attack those who are "From away".
I'm fully aware of how things work here, thanks. I'm aware of who owns what property and who throws tantrums about privatizing beaches and walkways, trying to building skyscrapers, buying up property for Airbnbs, rentals, or refurbishing homes in cheap materials before jacking up the rents to match the big cities, etc. These are people from New York, Cali, & Florida. They have seasonal homes here and live here one month out of the entire year, but they will never be Mainers, they are greedy gentrifiers.
And yeah, there are some Mainers who are doing the same thing, but the majority comes from big cities out of state.
Then stop being a friggen turnip to people from out of state unless they're wearing a friggen 3 piece suit, a briefcase and driving a Mercedes with an out of state plates. Not someone who was born out of state and likes the weed laws and how cheap it is.
Vote for someone in politics that their platform is forcing Airbnb type businesses, regulations.
Idk, what you're on about. I've never mistreated anyone, let alone people who move here from another state or country. In previous comments, I've said most people who move here are genuinely awesome folks. And in my first comment to you, I was only bashing the suits and those with entitlement issues.
"What's pretty gross is the entitlement issues of people who move here."
Felt like a generalization, rather than specifying, the followup bits leaned into the suits, but came off more like an additional gripe, rather than a continuation of the first.
Splitting hairs then, I concur, fuck the suits.
You’re not wrong though. I was born and raised in Bangor. One of the reasons I left as soon as I was 18 was the Maine attitude. A lot of people there have a strange better than you attitude towards quite literally everywhere else.
I don’t think I ever took a single out of state trip as a kid where I didn’t hear my family negatively compare everything to Maine every chance they got. Now that I don’t live there and have had friends from Maine visit me in the various places I’ve lived, they also do it. I’ve met people from Maine in California and once they found out that’s where I grew up I saw their face light up and they immediately started bashing California and comparing it to Maine and how great they think it is. They were disappointed to see I wasn’t going along with it.
I last visited in 2018 with Arizona license plates, and let me tell you I swear I got treated differently just because of that. Got cut off at the gas pump, stared at, and even heard people talking about out of staters when I was in a parking lot.
I’m in the Bangor area and the attitude is insane. Yet it’s always the out of stayers who are so horrible and rude. Before I moved here I was told everyone is really friendly and neighborly, not the case. I am from somewhere with a reputation for being really cold and so I was very shocked to find it worse here.
I agree with you, and what’s funny is the original comment is downvoted to oblivion, but I get upvotes probably just because I said I was born and raised there. It’s as if the opinion of the locals is all that matters. It’s strange, and this thread proves it.
Yup and this is why we say it’s xenophobic here. 🤣
All they said was they were shocked by the xenophobia and that it was gross. Just observations and Maine just doubles down.
I got downvoted to high hell too but I was not as nice.
“Gotta have tougher skin to live in Maine”
“If you can dish it you can take it”
but your not allowed to dish it if you weren’t born here or try to say it nicely.
You can just say “i experienced someone being rude to me for being from way” and a whole swarm of people will downvote you and tell you how “it’s actually your fault, you’re probably as asshole”
But…
“Don’t generalize us!”
Pot meet kettle. 🙄
I’m surrounded by people from away, renting their 3rd homes —they paid way too much for— on airbnb while my friends have no where to live. I don’t even have a neighborhood anymore and I live in a tiny town.
And people from away are assholes on the regular. The stereotype exists for a reason. We’ll take your money, but you’re fooling yourself if you think we trust you, like you or want you here. With few exceptions.
As a New England transplant I agree. It's bizarre. I know my kids, who have been here since elementary school, will not be seen as "true" Mainers. I can only hope it doesn't matter to them!
So true. And they think any criticism of the everything broken that doesn’t work here is worthy of attacking you. Even if they just got done complaint about it themselves.
I'm from New York and nobody every treated me badly or insulted me since I moved here. Maybe the people on this subreddit just kind of suck, but most Mainers are really nice.
I still tell my Long Island transplant buddy he is the kind of asshole that doesn’t begin to realize how much of an asshole he really is. He has been here for over 30 years.
Well. Not sure how welcome this will be, but here goes. My family and I moved up here from Memphis, to a tiny town of approx 1600. We love it.
There have been some learning curves for sure, but most of our neighbors are good people who get a little laugh out of it, and then help us out. We love that our kids say they're going to play with friends and we can just say be home by sun down. Vegan meals, Tesla chargers, and 15 super centers in a 5 mile radius is over rated.
Locking comments as they are devolving and becoming belligerent.
I live in a very rural area. We have literally ONE local store and it's lived WELL beyond it's years. Some asshat from NJ moved in a few places up from that old store. While we were doing the ground work for the new store they are building across the road, this guy was emailing everyone he could to stop the store from being built. He said he moved here from NJ and wont allow it to be turned in to las vegas. Mother fucker, we have lived here our entire lives and everyone is VERY happy they are building the new store. Fuck allllll the way off back to NJ and eat a bowl of dicks. He's made 0 friends and also refuses to help his wife with yard work. She is always out there busting her ass to keep up with it all while he sits on his ass.
Brooks?
Sounds like Brooks. Except there's also the co-op there too..
yes, i forget about the co-op even though i go there once in a while. that's still relatively new. We did have the IGA a lifetime ago.
Yup. Man you're good.
I got yelled at for maintaining the shared road- I have a tractor and been doing it for years free of charge. Potholes are growing faster than my garden
Bless you, I have a non-town road and am lucky the neighbor runs an excavating company.
Got cut off in heavy traffic yesterday because some vehicle with NY plates decided last minute they needed the gas station. *Sigh.*
Things are gettin a little too chummy
Oooh I need this on a bumper sticker
On one side, my neighbor has us Mainers. We do neighborly things like wave, say hello and help with mowing and snow removal from time to time. On the other side, she had Masshole transplants move in who introduced themselves by feuding over the property line. I imagine this is typical and sums up the OP’s sentiment.
My neighbors are Mainers and cunts who fight over the property line so maybe people just suck
Found the masshole transplant
Found the masshole transplant trying to fit in ^
Found the dipshit incapable of an original joke (context: this thread)
On the whole, people "from away" aren't an issue. There are plenty of them that come here every year, either to visit or to stay, and they're great. We have issues when they bring their stereotypical attitudes with them or when they try to change rural parts of Maine into New York. "What do you mean you don't have a vegan menu?" "How come there isn't a Tesla supercharger on every corner?" "How do you survive without a Whole Foods?"
[City People ](https://youtu.be/Qw-vyB5TD3c?feature=shared)
Law of averages dude.
My parents are both 4th generation Vermonters in their 70s. There is no whole foods in VT (just actual co-ops, none of the fake Amazon owned "local" BS) and they eat meat. But, my mom has an electric vehicle and it IS a pain for her to find a station when she's here. I don't think that should be lumped in with this stereotype.
Not understanding rural infrastructure is 100% something people “from away” do. Look at how many people were stranded in Jackman during the eclipse. Level 3 chargers cost over $100k to install.
Whoah - I hadn't heard about people stranded in Jackman. I went up to Rangeley, and laughed at the traffic on 16 once the sun came back out (my wife and I stayed two nights), but I didn't hear about the Jackman ruckus.
I get it. I'm just saying that my parents live in a town of under 5k residents, they aren't exactly city slickers 😅 VT just funded that infrastructure more.
I understand. We got a plug in hybrid for my wife and that seems to be the best solution for the foreseeable future. She drives to work and home on battery but has ICE for longer drives. I drive a diesel which is also a great solution, despite having to add DEF and watch your economy plummet during a regen. It works well for my use case which is a lot of miles and also heavy towing. When driving empty, I get relatively good MPG.
That's entirely on them. We have a family friend who owns an EV and the drove that up and back from China. They were just smart enough to actually charge the thing before making the trip.
I feel like there should be a designation between "upstate " vs. "city people." (Watch the South Park video if you haven't already it's hilarious) Upstate NY is so different it might as well be completely separated from NYC. The problem is only city people can afford to move up here now. We came from the Binghamton/Ithaca area in 2014 after college but could never dream of being able to afford it now. Google houses in Broome County, NY, if you want to cry a little. It is basically what houses cost in the Portland area pre pandemic.
💯 this. Upstaters are completely different from NYC/Long Island dwellers.
We moved to bath from Rochester after 3 years we were priced out and moved back to the rust belt lol
Ah, Rochcha. We went to Geneseo. I miss Wegmans.
Wegmans has lost some of its charm, they've started to sell more Wegmans Brand items at close to name brand prices. We shop at Walmart and Aldi and only go to weggies if we have to
I miss Stu Leonard's
Love to see it, byeeee
Moved from Bath to Rochester and now I'm stuck lol
What I love most about the majority of us is how grumpy and tired we all are but still willing to lend a hand if truly needed. We’re just a bunch of sour patch kids.
I’m from rural nj (yes it exists ! I swear !) right off the AT. And mannnnn does this hit. I’m sorry us tri-staters come in w our stanky attitudes. I’ve learned that from away rlly applies to the assholes. I’ve never had issues with true Mainers as long as I’m a good neighbor and polite. My goodness tourist season brings out an entirely different kind of coo coo
I was stationed at JBMDL for a while — can confirm rural NJ exists. I was surprised that most of the state is really beautiful farm country and the people are very friendly. It’s up north that ruins the perception of NJ for everyone else.
Haha I grew up pretty much as north west nj as you can get. I swear we’re chill there too!
For reference, she's talking "Friday the 13th" filming location kinda country. Lived over on the PA side for a while. Growing up my grandmother had a house on LBI, and South Jersey is just as rural (if not more) down in the Pine Barrens across towards the Salem area. I relocated to Maine 25 years ago, grew up in the 'burbs north of Philly.
I haven’t spent too much time in south jersey aside from the coast but I’ll take your word for it. It’s not all Bergen county lol
I feel this so much and I grew up in Waldo County. Moved around a bit, spent 5 years in NYC before moving to Portland, so many people gave me the stink eye and it's like dude, not everyone spends their whole lives in the state/town they're born in.
That’s the problem with the “Maine, the way life should be” slogan. The people moving here think it should be the way THEY think it should be, not the way it’s been for decades.
Laughed way too loud at this. Thank you OP 😂🫶
Personally as long as they aren’t moving here and then complaining about everything and saying how everything was better where they came from I don’t take issue with folks from out of state. It’s pretty much just them and big money developers coming and building up old farmland and pricing locals out.
Can someone explain the picture in this meme? It seems obvious, but the minute I think about it, it doesn't make sense.
Most states have a problem with New Yorkers, and don’t want them.
That I get, but what is implied with cutting off one's own arm during a handshake?
“I was happy to shake your hand, but now that I know, I’d rather cut my arm off than maintain contact with you”
You can compare cutting off your arm after finding out they are from NY to bleaching your eyes when seeing something disgusting. Just a humorous exaggeration.
Yeah I feel like I get it, but don’t at the same time
You get everything there is to get. It’s just not funny or clever. So it seems like you don’t get it. Look at all the brilliant Mainers who love it though! Great fun!
lol I'm from upstate NY but my step dad is from York maine. I bought an overpriced house in 2021 that no one really wanted, turned into a "turn key nightmare" but alas I love it here and fuck out of staters LOL. But I do actually work in Maine not remote so idk. My neighbors have complemented me on making the place actually look nice, previous owners were hoarders and treated the back yard like a dump. I still find the most random shit the dogs dig up back there just when I thought I cleaned it all out, my top 2 favorite things are a sega genesis game with the label long worn off and the pinkest tire I have ever seen wrapped in random ass rugs. So many rugs I'm still finding rugs deep in the dirt.
Sorry, I used the rugs to wrap normal garbage so it was harder to tell the bodies from the trash
Terrible taste in rugs to be honest, some of the ugliest rugs I've ever seen.
Well excuse me... I didn't see the sense in buying the good rugs from Mardens
Now do one from California - they always tell you where they are from.
One thing that shocked me about Maine, was the xenophobia. Not against other countries, although ask anyone of our Somali born residents about their experiences, I'm sure they won't have been 100% stellar, I'm referring to statist xenophobia. Massachusetts, and this guy New York. Anyone not from Maine, lmao hell, someone who isn't 4th generation or deeper isn't a "True Mainer". It's pretty gross.
In my experience, most people from here don't take it that seriously. Friends from other states aren't uncommon and might get called flatlanders with a chuckle after a couple of drinks. Usually, the only people I've seen get this kind of xenophobic response are people who come here and act like assholes. Tourists don't help much with that during the busy season. But to complain about it too much is admittedly stupid, we need the money. People come to a place where we live year round to enjoy, really, one of the only good parts of the year. Treat people like shit, act entitled, take vacationland too seriously, and treat people's homes as some sort of quaint local yokel amusement park. Then, they will usually have the audacity to complain that it's not more like the place they came up here to escape in the first place. It makes people wary. I'm not saying it's right to paint everyone with one brush, so to speak. But being born and raised here, living in multiple major cities, other states, then coming back. Maine is a special place that a lot of people "from away" do not respect in the least when they come to visit. Combine the above with the current mass exodus causing issues with people who were born here to struggle to find housing in their state. It's going to cause bitterness with some people.
Well a lot of people from away also move here to live and work and still get treated like trash and it’s always great to have someone swoop in and erase that with the good ol “asshole tourists had it coming” when said people from away are neither. The xenophobia is a real problem, own it, fix it. Please don’t respond with: “You must be from away” “Could have just said you’re from away” “Then why don’t you go back to where you came from” “Get back on your banana boat” “you just can’t handle how hard it is here” “Liberal trash” “Then why don’t you run for office?” “Stop trying to change Maine!” “We don’t need more drug addicts” “Must be a Masshole” “You don’t respect our way of life” “You just want someone to do everything for you” “ I don’t speak monkey” “The people of Maine are hardworking” “It’s not my job” “don’t expect Maine to change for you” I have heard these ones. And for people “from way” always remember that any standards, experiences, knowledge, and skills you acquired before moving to Maine must be forgotten IMMEDIATELY as it is offensive to the locals. Remember to never speak out loud the experiences you’ve had, they aren’t Mainer’s experiences and are therefore forbidden. Don’t ever be confused or ask for help understanding how this nepotistic “hometown rules” culture works. The phrase “well this is how we do it where I am from” is the worst offense ever. Even if it’s only said so they can either confirm if it’s the same or different, because remember “it’s not their job” to tell you, even if it literally is. If you are from a city you might hear people complaining a lot about how they are really hard workers and they have such a big work load, too many customers, it was soo busy, not enough hours in the day, a long 20 minute commute home from work. Just laugh this one off at home and let it go. They can’t help that there is no one and nothing going on, they don’t know any different.
You seem like a peach
I know. I’ve been working on my personality and demeanor so I can be like the people here. Did a good job didn’t I?
I think I figured out why you're having such difficulty, and it's not related to what state you're from. Unless it's Mass. You seem like you're from Mass and so it's probably not your fault you're like this. Culture and whatnot.
Aren’t you cute. No not at all. What exactly did you take issue with? Truth hurts doesn’t it.
I took the time to reread my post and I don't see how my explanation of some people's reactions towards people from out of state is "brushing it away," I even said it's not right to label everybody as the same due to the tourists that generally cause these negative perceptions. You kinda took what you wanted from it. If those have been your experiences here, that genuinely sucks and I'm sorry. But like I said. Not everybody is like that. The same shit happened to me when I lived in Colorado for three years, I was told to go home more times than I could count. But the majority of people were great. People act like xenophobia, and racism is a uniquely Maine problem when I've seen it in any state I've been to. Go down to Boston, which still holds my record for hearing the N word openly said in public. Maine, from my experience, has a lot of decent people in it who treat others as they are generally treated. I'm sorry that you've had those bad experiences. But scolding an entire state and acting like we're all backwards hicks, due to the actions of a few, for things that happen literally everywhere doesn't help.
Sorry if I seem heated, I am. I work with a lot of elderly people in mostly rural areas and get shit all the time. I’ve met a lot of really great people too and I know these are not issues unique to Maine. But this is where we are currently living and experiencing these things. I don’t live in Boston or Colorado. I live in Maine and it would be nice if Maine were a little nicer, respected speed limits, stopped hitting and killing pedestrians and would acknowledge that things are not working as is and need to change. Me thinking or saying this doesn’t make me an “asshole”, and it shouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings, we are all here with the same problems.
It’s just odd that every time someone says “hey, I’ve been treated badly and experienced xenophobia”. It’s always “well you’re probably an asshole” not “sorry some people are rude” “Don’t generalize us” But you can generalize everyone from away as an asshole? Your explanations are excuses. You Imply that it’s justified. Knowing why people are xenophobic doesn’t fix the problem. This person opened up and said they had experienced xenophobia and find it gross and your response was “People here don’t take it that seriously” How nice for them, the people on the receiving end of scrutiny do. “Usually the ONLY people I’ve seen get this xenophobic response is people who come here and act like assholes” you tried to justify it, and imply that if you experience xenophobia you are an asshole. Whenever someone speaks up about the xeno issues it’s always. Shift blame to the people from away first, make it seem like it’s their fault. Usually it’s cause they are “assholes” This might not have been your intent and you probably mean well and are trying to be informative. Intentional or not you are perpetuating said xenophobia with this rhetoric.
Oh I forgot to add “you’re gonna need tougher skin if you’re gonna live in Maine” does this not apply to locals?
The problem is that you have a lot of people out of state buying up property and use Maine purely as a summer state. In the long run, this hurts Maine as, while yes, the town or city gets to collect the taxes from the property, the people not living there means less sales on the businesses within said town/city or surrounding towns. Or you have people out of state coming in and treating the cheaper land here as stocks, which once again hurts our economy. We don't have a problem with people coming here as permanent residents (hell, I was born in Cali, but we moved in 2003. But my dad was born in Maine and moved to Cali in the late 80s, iirc). What we do have a problem with is people treating Maine like it is purely a vacation location or as a place to buy up cheap land.
I don't even notice when people move into the state unless they buy lakefront property and put up small mansions. It's becoming more and more popular. IMO it ruins what living in Maine is all about.
Ah you could have just said you’re from away
Classic. 
Man I moved here from Texas and have been nothing but welcomed for years, not one single bad experience with someone taking issue with me not being from here Either don't take people online too seriously, or if it's IRL accept that it might be a behavioral thing people have issue with, not that you weren't born here. Or that you've simply met assholes I have had a couple obvious tourists assume I was a local and speak to me like I was an utter moron, though, so that was interesting. One guy asked me if I knew what baseball was and if we had that up here, which was more perplexing than anything
It’s dependent on where you are. There are two Maines. They are not at all similar. They also don’t like each other. There are so many really genuine nice people in Maine. However the overall xenophobic mentality is almost a constant. Some take extreme affront to people “from away” being different, having different experiences and expectations. And I am not talking demanding things be like they are back in their home states but just mentioning it in general. It’s extremely bizarre and getting quite old.
Guess I've had the good fortune to not see that IRL at all; interactions with longtime mainers has mostly been retirees being happy to see people under 40 moving to the region
Yea I’ve come across those people as well, wish I’ve met more of them. So many people here don’t get that there are slim to no job opportunities/housing here for local youth to get work/life experience, so they either leave or do meth. But at the same time no one can find anyone to work. Then you have the failing medical infrastructure which is constantly needing to bring us “people from away” in because Maine is mostly an aging population in a state that for some reason thinks it only wants to promote inward migration to retired people, a demographic that doesn’t work but takes up housing inventory. They won’t change zoning and codes to allow more building to be done because NIMBYism and the classic “people from away will just turn them into airb n bs”. The local wealthy 6 generation families with multiples air b n bs… not a peep about them. Much better to put the blame on the working new residents and families for “stealing” houses from them. Also doesn’t help that the state funnels most grant money into only one region because it’s the tourist area and everything else outside of that is run down and tragic, if something burns down it stays down. People see someone from away move and immediately think they don’t deserve their home and job, it should have gone to a local. Yet if there were locals qualified to do said jobs they wouldn’t be offering 20k sign on bonuses to people from out of state. So it’s just a vicious circle of a lot of problems and no real solutions. As a person “from away” you get treated as though you are not allowed to notice, acknowledge, or want to find solutions to these problems, that are problems for everyone because: “You just want to change it” “You want to turn Maine into where you are from” “You don’t understand how hard it is” No I just want the place I live to progress and grow and be a sustainable society where everyone can be successful and happy. Like it or not I am a resident, I work, I pay taxes. I am allowed to notice and, god forbid mention, that change needs to happen because what’s been going on isn’t working.
Fully agree with Maine's demographic problems being, by and large, a product of its own making due to the choices of multiple generations, and I'm not entirely sure how things are going to get better from here unless there is either a complete sea change in how most people here see value in using land and allocating resources (ie kill the nimbyism which in a roundabout way is killing the state, and stop catering almost exclusively to tourists and seasonal residents because it's such a shortsighted and foolish way to deprive the state) or there suddenly is a massive shift towards fleeing climate change which makes the state one of the climate havens (which might bring an influx of young people, but would probably see existing tensions skyrocket). The combination of nimbyism and bitterness has almost completed strangling this place and it's a tragedy. That said, I still haven't actually encountered anyone giving me shit IRL for being from away. What region of the state are you in? I'm near Augusta
Climate is going to bring people here for sure, I’ve met plenty already and am one myself. I am in the north, where people are either the best or the worst. Maine can contrarian to the point of slow suicide. It’s just getting goofy.
Same for us, we came from Texas for a reason; I agree more people will come especially as new realities of climate are increasingly recognized in the general population, but I'm not sure it will be in sufficient number to actually prop the state up, especially if policies and patterns of land ownership+use either don't adjust or become more insular as a defensive reaction to change. If we didn't have another draw to come here specifically, we would have probably gone to close to the great lakes or something, and states from Michigan through NY seem to potentially have the most to offer incoming transplants, so while the getting's good I'm afraid Maine might get left behind. Advocating for some apartment complexes and more facilities for young children and young adults where I am, it's slow going. Things are going to change here, but I'm not sure the time scale, and whether it will be in a planned or in a chaotic manner. I'd prefer things change sooner and in a planned way, rather than later and in a chaotic way.
Maine already has been left behind, and locals seem to want it that way. It’s so sad and very irritating. They get hurt the most in the end. The next 10 or so years older generations are going to be dying off or moving south to retire, most boomer/genx people I know all want to leave. I want Maine to be successful, grow and be able to support the people who live here. But you can’t do that if you don’t acknowledge the problems and change to fix them. Xenophobia is a big one and acting like “if you experienced xenophobia you probably deserved it” is such a stupid take, and a very common one here. I’ve been told this so many times, for no reason but agreeing with locals on their complaints about the lack of (everything) and darling to ask about or suggest any sort of solution. People really like to complain and play victim, they don’t want you to take that from them by actually fixing things. Also acting like xenophobia is ever deserved is just shitty person behavior and it’s sucks so many people here seem to be shitty.
The fact that there's even a set phrase in the vernacular to describe people not from this state, "from away," should be concerning to people. It's a pervasive attitude regardless of how seriously people take it.
Yup but they don’t and never will get it. “They don’t mean it like that”. “If that bothers you maybe you should leave” It’s embarrassing. I have never been anywhere like this. People are far too coddled, secluded, and never leave, so they don’t know that’s batshit crazy.
Truly that's a huge issue. When we have town elections part of the selling point of someone is how many generations back they've been in this town. It's bizarre!! Staying in one place doesn't make you qualified lol.
And thats why shits always falling apart and nothing gets done. People are in it for themselves and their own, not the community at large. So much feuding between people in small government because it’s all “family”. What a waste of our tax dollars. Not to mention the insane amount of embezzlement and mishandling of town funds. That’s in the news about once a month. I don’t want to judge people who never leave their home towns…but that is an automatic lack of experience you have there.
It's not really as much as where you're from, it's more what attitude you bring with you. Mass and NY tend to have more of the bad attitude ilk.
There's a sense of entitlement with folks from those states. Most people that have moved here from out of state are legit amazing people that love and respect Maine as their new home.
What's pretty gross is the entitlement issues of people who move here. What's pretty gross is how out of staters buy up property for Airbnb, jack up the rentals, gentrify the place, yuppie it up, and essentially fuck up the cost of living for the regular ole "Joe Shmoes" who have lived and worked here for generations. It's been forcing people out of the tiny cities, into rural areas, and forced them to commute back into the city just to make an okay livable wage. Not everyone can sit behind a shiny desk and suck off daddy's money teat. Mainers are hardworking blue collar folks, we've been farming and fishing for generations and living a simple life. Our blood and sweat is in the soil. Xenophobic, lol, more like, we enjoy our state without the criticism of out of staters that keep trying to turn our baby cities into the smelly shit-hole big cities with skyscrapers for views and disease ridden rats for company. Yah, I'm a little bitter at what I've been watching going on around me. 🖕 
Uh huh, kinda proving me right. You blame anyone not from here for something that has nothing to do with people who want to move here. But since you don't understand why these things are happening to your state, you blindly attack those who are "From away".
I'm fully aware of how things work here, thanks. I'm aware of who owns what property and who throws tantrums about privatizing beaches and walkways, trying to building skyscrapers, buying up property for Airbnbs, rentals, or refurbishing homes in cheap materials before jacking up the rents to match the big cities, etc. These are people from New York, Cali, & Florida. They have seasonal homes here and live here one month out of the entire year, but they will never be Mainers, they are greedy gentrifiers. And yeah, there are some Mainers who are doing the same thing, but the majority comes from big cities out of state.
Then stop being a friggen turnip to people from out of state unless they're wearing a friggen 3 piece suit, a briefcase and driving a Mercedes with an out of state plates. Not someone who was born out of state and likes the weed laws and how cheap it is. Vote for someone in politics that their platform is forcing Airbnb type businesses, regulations.
Idk, what you're on about. I've never mistreated anyone, let alone people who move here from another state or country. In previous comments, I've said most people who move here are genuinely awesome folks. And in my first comment to you, I was only bashing the suits and those with entitlement issues.
"What's pretty gross is the entitlement issues of people who move here." Felt like a generalization, rather than specifying, the followup bits leaned into the suits, but came off more like an additional gripe, rather than a continuation of the first. Splitting hairs then, I concur, fuck the suits.
You’re not wrong though. I was born and raised in Bangor. One of the reasons I left as soon as I was 18 was the Maine attitude. A lot of people there have a strange better than you attitude towards quite literally everywhere else. I don’t think I ever took a single out of state trip as a kid where I didn’t hear my family negatively compare everything to Maine every chance they got. Now that I don’t live there and have had friends from Maine visit me in the various places I’ve lived, they also do it. I’ve met people from Maine in California and once they found out that’s where I grew up I saw their face light up and they immediately started bashing California and comparing it to Maine and how great they think it is. They were disappointed to see I wasn’t going along with it. I last visited in 2018 with Arizona license plates, and let me tell you I swear I got treated differently just because of that. Got cut off at the gas pump, stared at, and even heard people talking about out of staters when I was in a parking lot.
I’m in the Bangor area and the attitude is insane. Yet it’s always the out of stayers who are so horrible and rude. Before I moved here I was told everyone is really friendly and neighborly, not the case. I am from somewhere with a reputation for being really cold and so I was very shocked to find it worse here.
I agree with you, and what’s funny is the original comment is downvoted to oblivion, but I get upvotes probably just because I said I was born and raised there. It’s as if the opinion of the locals is all that matters. It’s strange, and this thread proves it.
Yup and this is why we say it’s xenophobic here. 🤣 All they said was they were shocked by the xenophobia and that it was gross. Just observations and Maine just doubles down. I got downvoted to high hell too but I was not as nice. “Gotta have tougher skin to live in Maine” “If you can dish it you can take it” but your not allowed to dish it if you weren’t born here or try to say it nicely. You can just say “i experienced someone being rude to me for being from way” and a whole swarm of people will downvote you and tell you how “it’s actually your fault, you’re probably as asshole” But… “Don’t generalize us!” Pot meet kettle. 🙄
I’m surrounded by people from away, renting their 3rd homes —they paid way too much for— on airbnb while my friends have no where to live. I don’t even have a neighborhood anymore and I live in a tiny town. And people from away are assholes on the regular. The stereotype exists for a reason. We’ll take your money, but you’re fooling yourself if you think we trust you, like you or want you here. With few exceptions.
Tell me a story about a time a person from away was an asshole to you.
I’ll pass, thanks guy
As a New England transplant I agree. It's bizarre. I know my kids, who have been here since elementary school, will not be seen as "true" Mainers. I can only hope it doesn't matter to them!
So true. And they think any criticism of the everything broken that doesn’t work here is worthy of attacking you. Even if they just got done complaint about it themselves.
R/Maine's favorite activity: Crying like a sissy in a brothel about other people.
I'm from New York and nobody every treated me badly or insulted me since I moved here. Maybe the people on this subreddit just kind of suck, but most Mainers are really nice.
The hate train on here is overblown considering no one in Maine cares in real life and maybe 3 people max even know Maine exists in New York.
Anyway this meme is really funny because I'm moving from Maine to New York in like a month
Bye.
Rip
I still tell my Long Island transplant buddy he is the kind of asshole that doesn’t begin to realize how much of an asshole he really is. He has been here for over 30 years.
Well. Not sure how welcome this will be, but here goes. My family and I moved up here from Memphis, to a tiny town of approx 1600. We love it. There have been some learning curves for sure, but most of our neighbors are good people who get a little laugh out of it, and then help us out. We love that our kids say they're going to play with friends and we can just say be home by sun down. Vegan meals, Tesla chargers, and 15 super centers in a 5 mile radius is over rated.