Comments
IamSauerKraut t1_j5ge5e7 wrote
But the big lake in VT is much more accessible than the big lake in ME. I like the ski resorts in VT more, too.
Smitch250 t1_j5jue2l wrote
Moosehead is extremely accessible. Many roads lead to it.
IamSauerKraut t1_j5jx6ss wrote
>Many roads lead to it.
Bunny trails.
plowfaster t1_j5hba12 wrote
Rural Maine is ABSOLUTELY another world from rural VT/NH. “Rural” VT has (very) rich NYCers up skiing for the weekend and “rural” NH has people coming and going from Dartmouth or Mt Washington. Towns like Gorham, NH which ought to be serving pancakes to lumberjacks have fine dining crudités.
Rural Maine, on the other hand, is RURAL. Aint no one going through WashCo or Dover-Foxcroft on the way to anywhere. Also, many of these places are FAR from other states. Like, a rural NH dweller has been to ME and VT and has passing familiarity with them. When your state is tiny, you just end up in other states. When I worked in ME, I’d call people to set up appointments on my 603 number and get no answer. When I met them in person they’d say, “everyone I know is 207 so I figured it was a wrong number”. You could live your whole life in eg Houlton and NEVER need to leave ME. I think rural maine competes with, like, rural Wyoming or something where as rural NH is like, “gotta drive 45 minutes before you can go to a restraint with kale”
MisterMan-Maine t1_j5i4kxn wrote
>Rural Maine, on the other hand, is RURAL. Aint no one going through WashCo or Dover-Foxcroft on the way to anywhere.
WashCo just because Route 9 and Route 1 to get to Canada through Calais. Other than that I would agree.
t2ktill t1_j5jfof5 wrote
Bro i live in dover Foxcroft and this is accurate AF
snowswolfxiii t1_j5jpevx wrote
I don't think what you're describing is really rurality. While it is true that rural NH towns tend to get a lot of through traffic for Mt Wash, Laconia, Dartmouth, etc; the same could be said for a lot of rural Maine. D-FC is a great, unique, example. However, a bigger contributing factor, in my opinion, is the fact that it's in the middle of the state, and not that it's rural. As I'm sure you know well enough, plenty of rural Maine gets a good bit of traffic come summer time.
Fryeburg, Ossipee Valley (Porter/Cornish) gets traffic for Conway, Fryeburg fair. Get up towards Carthage and Weld and you've got Mt Blue, Loon Lake, and Bigelow. Acadia pulls traffic through most of the state. NMW and Katahdin for Millinotcket, Medway, and Ashland.
And lastly, even with D-FC, it's just a short drive to Skowhegan or even Bangor to get some fancy eating. Certainly less than the 45 minute threshold.
I would also argue that a lot of folks in Houlton probably do cross over in Canada pretty regularly.
No arguments about VT, though. Nailed that one.
eljefino t1_j5g2vt0 wrote
Vermont give the fewest fucks about what you do with your land. Perhaps it's them acknowledging that everything's a hill, so what you carve out, you've earned it. Trailer on a slope with cinder blocks propping up the low half? No problemo!
I agree, NH is like a demilitarized zone, always someone going from somewhere to somewhere else.
Maine has the greatest contrast between coastal yuppies and dirt farmers. NH could too but has way fewer miles of coastline.
Yourbubblestink t1_j5fs0s9 wrote
People are a bit different - VT trends liberal, NH trends conservative and Maine is all over the map, but closer to conservative. Mainers seems to be less friendly to newcomers. NH is a bit more rat racy. VTers are too far from the ocean. Lol.
[deleted] OP t1_j5gyi65 wrote
[deleted]
respaaaaaj t1_j5fqi2i wrote
Pretty similar, but watch out for the bears in rural New Hampshire
ZingZongZaddy t1_j5fqs0o wrote
And southern Maine.
MistakeVisual3733 t1_j5fzmy6 wrote
And northern Maine.
Candygramformrmongo t1_j5i010o wrote
And western Maine
Healthy_Ad_8247 t1_j5ja9pb wrote
Feel like we’re forgetting about the more affluent bears along the coast
Odd-Mountain3076 t1_j5g220z wrote
Having lived in VT and ME, both have thier benefits. In VT i was considered a far right conservative because I liked guns and didn't support a lot of social causes. In Maine I am considered a progressive liberal because I like social change and I'm not religious.
I personally think VT is prettier and as a whole has nicer people, but Maine is more wild and being so big it's a craps shoot as to if the folks are nice or not. Also VT is easier to come from away as most there are actually from away making the transition easier.... unfortunately many have wealth and a NIMBY attitude in VT.
State govts, VT is more progressive with better social welfare and lower income taxes yet also has an awesome Republican governor. Maine....like the weather politics shift depending on the climate. That leads to economic instability that we have seen for decades.
joeydokes t1_j5gd9dg wrote
I lived in Lamoille county for 30 years. I'm a hardcore leftist and at the Garfield range nobody gives me s*** cuz they're all working class folk and we love talking guns!
Vermont is prettier than maine cuz it preserves that pastoral look. All the nooks and crannies on dirt roads. But I love it here in Maine and the oceans a bonus!
GraniteGeekNH t1_j5fs7jm wrote
I would say the biggest difference is how quickly you can get to a mid-sized city - a place with a decent hospital and good variety of shopping alternatives. Otherwise the climate / social attitudes / roads, buildings etc. are pretty similar.
Using that measure, there's no state-vs-state difference, but plenty of difference within the rural areas of each state.
QueenOfKarnaca t1_j5ho3jt wrote
Vermont has a lot of maple, maine a lot of pine, and nh a lot of birch.
robrien1968 t1_j5hpt2v wrote
Not really on topic but my gf lives in Vermont and I live in Maine and all her friends summer vacation in Maine..don’t know any Mainers who vacation in Vermont.
pl8ster t1_j5m1u4x wrote
Maine has been Vacationland since 1936, officially, according to the license plates.
MuleGrass t1_j5j8hl6 wrote
Best advice I heard when looking to move to VT many moons ago. "VT people retire to NY to pay less in taxes". I've lived in NY and it wasn't cheap. Maine doesn't give a flying fuck what you do where once your north of Augusta. Last time I called for a building permit the town hall said to just go ahead, they trust me to do the right thing, permits would only slow things down
bigtencopy t1_j5jhyf4 wrote
Rural Maine is Rural, took me 6 hours to get back to pavement in Ashland yesterday after fishing the big woods.
sneakyfucker1977 t1_j5gr83b wrote
Lots of white folk
A-roguebanana t1_j5gyzmd wrote
Vermont has nothing remotely close to Manchester or Portland. Take that as a pro or con.
Successful_Border321 t1_j5i2yo9 wrote
To be fair, Maine has NOTHING like Manchester.
A-roguebanana t1_j5i4rfw wrote
Totally agree. Portland is still way bigger than Burlington
Successful_Border321 t1_j5ji6l5 wrote
Yea, sure. But Manch was a poor smelling dumpster dire a decade ago and has been burning hot ever since. Portland is one of the most charming small cities in America. Comparing the two is a fool’s errand.
cathouse1320again t1_j5g3gd0 wrote
Similar, but more pine trees in Maine, more ocean off Maine, more Canada 🇨🇦 north of Maine
cannonball12345 t1_j5hs4t1 wrote
They all get the same side eye from rural Massachusetts. Not sure if that helps.
ggtffhhhjhg t1_j5jrtee wrote
All three can’t survive without the hand that feeds them and they refuse to admit it.
mfeldmannRNE t1_j5jeel4 wrote
Sorry. There is nothing that compares with Maine.
mainething t1_j5g5vvk wrote
favorably... it's not geography, it's demographics. Chickens don't choose to sleep with fox.
joeydokes t1_j5gcrmn wrote
politics aside, Hicks the sticks would be in good company from any of those States:)
baxterstate t1_j5h811b wrote
As a former bay stater, it was a shorter faster drive to get to NH.
In_betweener t1_j5i8sja wrote
Empirically
Glum_Control_1219 t1_j5odnga wrote
Easy, Maine's the way life should be
IamSauerKraut t1_j5geknc wrote
VT has a kicking ice cream place.
And Elle lives there. Milked cows before breakfast when she was in high school. Still does.
JosephCedar t1_j5gyr7f wrote
I may be biased here, but Maine has Round Top ice cream. Not quite as wild with the flavor combos and B&Js, but still a good selection and all made locally.
Odd-Mountain3076 t1_j5j3zf7 wrote
Don't forget Giffords as well. I was really disappointed with the VT ice cream scene. All I could find local was really expensive pints. I could get 2x round top for the cost of the typical vt ice cream.
JosephCedar t1_j5lsk5d wrote
Yeah I like ben and jerry's but the price is pretty outrageous. For the price, I'll just grab a couple handfuls of my favorite candy and mix it together myself with local stuff.
Odd-Mountain3076 t1_j5lvb30 wrote
That was a huge surprise when I moved to VT....I couldn't believe that BJ was not a penny cheaper than anywhere else in the country
True_Cheetah_6618 t1_j5h393v wrote
they all suck
idrovetoofaragain t1_j5i4tmk wrote
why are you here
Technical-Role-4346 t1_j5g61zv wrote
It’s much more difficult to find ocean front property in rural Vermont and New Hampshire.