I’m guessing that a few regulars may remember that we moved from CA to ME in 2014. Some recent questions have come up and have prompted me to step forward and offer a bit of a reality check for others who may be contemplating their own Big Move from CA to ME.
California is not Hell, and Maine is not Heaven. We left CA not so much to escape that state, but because we felt Maine represented a much stronger pull. Certainly, CA has big problems, and I’m not sure it can dig itself up out of the hole it has dug itself into.
Of course, Maine has issues as well; and so does every other state in the Union. I suppose that is the point. Not every place is a perfect fit. Issues, and people change. What is a pretty darn good place to move to at a particular time, may not be a pretty darn good place to move to for another person at another time. Things change, people change. Droughts and earthquakes happen. Really bad winters happen. Weaponized ticks roam the countryside, and weaponized gangs roam the streets.
We absolutely love Maine, and still do, six years later. It’s is a terrific place! It is not, however, paradise. We are making new friends and trying to be good neighbors. We wake up every day, and think, “wow, we live in such a cool place”!
There are Californians that wake up every day and think, “wow, we live in such a cool place”… and a few of them probably moved from Maine. Taking every opportunity to rip on CA, or any other former-stomping-grounds seems like such a waste of energy. Kind of like you learned in 4th grade; that it takes much more effort to frown rather than smile.
Maine is what it is.
California is what it is.
I’d rather spend my time investigating what is good about a particular place, eyes wide open. A number of friends in Maine and California were instrumental in helping us make the decision to move to our wonderful, new, adopted state of Maine. For that, we are so very thankful.
Much of one’s happiness and contentment ultimately is derived from what they bring to the game (or state), and how they treat other people. Second, or maybe even third is the state of the union that they live in.
Yes, Mid-Coast Maine is an absolutely terrific place! We love it here. Overall, it fits us just fine. Here at CA to ME, we’ll continue to offer you insights on the place as we learn and experience it, first hand.
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