A lot of the folks who call Maine their home were not born here.
These transplants have birth certificates with hospital locations at birthing centers in city setting centers south of Vacationland’s Big Green Bridge. The state of Maine does not promote itself with heavily bankrolled slick publicity either. The home town proud rural nature of outdoor living, family first is kept a secret.
Safe, Uncrowded, Low Cost. Growing Up In Maine, That’s The Big Pull To Raising Families Here.
The gravitational tug to Maine was not caused by ad agencies glossy four color brochures but word of mouth. Most found there way because it did not get the commercial advertising and hype hoopla.
Hunters, fisherman that discovered the North Maine woods decide they need more than a long weekend of stretch of seven days a year of Maine. Others found their way here on a cruise ship off the coast. Or figure if the Bush family have a Presidential vacation home in Maine. If folks like Martha Stewart, Teddy Roosevelt, horror writer Stephen King, Ted Williams spent time here, they conclude they should too.
Many of these new to Maine re-locations happen at retirement. When picking the best wholesome location to raise a family. Getting more for less, to gain four season clean outdoor living for the little money investment.
All recreational trails lead to Maine. Yesterday an 83 year old from Rhode Island man, raised on a farm in Cranston was a tour guide. To locate a new Maine listing back in the woods. In a township six by six miles square with less than 126 souls populating it full time. It is nice to solicit the help of a local who knows the lay of the land when dealing with a new real estate listing smack dab in his own backyard.
This man of Swedish descent helped me locate the land and cabin of a friend of his who has died. The family wants to sell the property. It is located quite a hike in off a maintained roadway. Say two miles of not the best path even for a Jeep. Up the hilly, twisting seasonal dirt road in a small rural Maine town of Haynesville. More a recreational trail than roadway is what protects against getting too much company.
Have you heard the song about the Haynesville woods, the place up in Aroostook County?
The one loaded with buried truckers up north on that lonely stretch of woods called US RT 2A? The song made famous by Dick Curliss of Fort Fairfield that had one good eye. One under a patch and parked from use to navigate.
The gracious guide that signed on to help me locate the new listing in Maine raised on a dairy farm.
Being brought up on a potato and grain farm myself, we had a common bond of the work ethic both were exposed to early on. This fellow wore plaid pajamas in Irish green color. They looked pretty comfy but were not limited to inside use.
His wife shared with me that in Clearwater Florida, their winter home as snow birds, he wore shorts. But up at the camp-like routine living in Maine, it was comfortable soft flannel plaid PJ’s put on daily. That was her husband’s wardrobe of choice.
The most interesting people you meet in Maine are not all born in this state.
It is refreshing to learn of the steps taken, the course of any person’s life when they are willing to share the story. This couple, in a second marriage, loved the same things. The wife a retired teacher, the husband making a career in promotional advertising items. To help folks expose their brand through a myriad of ways.
The couple owned a Cessna 182 and flew around New England. The husband took a trip to Alaska that was quite the adventure he willingly shared. Their home in the woods in Maine has power that they paid sixteen thousand to bring in the lines to get it from US RT 2A.
Like I said, the location is in a willy wags, not exactly over populated with people.
Lots of four legged furry neighbors though and the pile of apples collected, dumped out back attracted black bears, white tail deer. The husband is an avid hunter. They consume a lot of cider and like the apple juice pure and natural.
After locating the hidden listing, the land in the rain on a Saturday afternoon, I captured all the images. Scribbled down the room dimensions. Collected from the field all the local property information needed to get the details online. The couple wants my girlfriend and I to see where they lived and over an hour was spent touring, sharing, talking in their hand made log home. They invited us into their dwelling to sneak a peek. The vacation home in Maine polished rustic decor with all the creature conveniences.
There was a sauna house.
The sauna, pronounced like the female pig… “SOW-nah” was a source of pride and joy. Used to cleanse the body, a component of the husband’s Swedish background, the sauna housed in the a separate screen house.
With tunes, power, the sauna made of native cedar with a heater. Loaded with hot rocks to pour ladles of Maine spring water on to create the hissing steam.
The dry heat and sitting in the sauna session finished with rolling in the snow in the white of a Maine winter.
Or dashing yourself with cold water to rinse off after each bathing experience the other three seasons. To force the body’s toxins out through your pores. More than relaxation with tunes and the dry heat and social aspect. The clean up, personal hygiene happens with the scrubbing up and all the hot heat too.
More on saunas. I have had many Finnish property owners who all installed a sauna at their homes. More on the history of saunas. Maine has lots of natives from Scandinavian descent. I have blogged about the love affair with a Norwegian wood stove made by Jotul.
There are lots of Swedes in New Sweden, Stockholm area of Maine that never lost their old country traditions. Down hill skiing, cross country skiing, the biathlon alpine experiences live on in Maine. More on how to build a sauna from scratch for inspiration. More on a sauna off grid operation,
It was the woods, the streams, rivers, lakes that attracted this pair to Maine.
The vacation-land location for retirement was lower cost and fit their budget too. What is your favorite part of Maine? What’s your attraction beside less people, no traffic, the four seasons natural beauty? Pure and simple. Maine is the way life should be.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA