You might have noticed that my posts have lately been minmal. Until the other day I have not been able to put my finger as to why that was, but my first thought was we haven’t traveled much over the last six months, so it would make sense that I would post less. However, I scanned my previous blog posts and noticed most are about travel tips anyway. Less travel should not impact those kinds of posts right?

So why did my travel posts decline, well, I fell in love!

I Fell In Love With Maine

I have been searching for home my entire adult life. Houston will always be my adult hometown and a large piece of my heart will remain there, but it wasn’t home. It certainly wasn’t childhood home, New York, as I got out of that hellhole the moment I could. I loved being close to my family in Florida, but I really hated living there (love our friends though!). Florida was too hectic, the politics are getting worse, and our immediate neighborhood was fun, but not very ‘homey’

When we told people we were moving to Maine, outside my immediate family who knows me best, everyone made fun of us. We heard things like.

o   It’s boring-          have you met me?

o   It’s cold-              I work from home so can avoid the cold and besides going to the store,   restaurants, or gym, what’s the difference? Also Florida/Texas summers are just as long and brutal

o   Old people live there-                    I go to bed at 9, also, have you been to Florida?

o   There are no gays there-               It is gayer here than I thought, plus Ogunquit is just lovely

o   It’s conservative-             it’s a blue state, is Florida?

o   What do you do on weekends?                This isn’t the Gobi desert, gay/straight bars, restaurants, shopping (including outlet shopping) within 10-15 minutes

o   Snow!   Not as much as you think, plus Hurricanes destroy and snow is pretty, especially if you don’t have to commute

Now that I dispelled some commonly held beliefs/myths about Maine, let’s discuss why I love it here so much.

Our House

I love our house and more importantly our babies love the house. There is something special about building and I just love how we face the Maine woods on all sides. The trees, fireplace, kitchen etc make’s it feel like a vacation home which minimizes the need for travel. I love that we are in the woods, but within 15 minutes of the Maine coast with everything that offers. We get peace and quiet, but easy access to tourist traps!

Ogunquit/Wells/York

These are my immediate towns where we go to eat, luxury shop or drink. There is a reason why these are some of the most desirable summer vacation destinations in the country, but don’t sleep on the winter either as I get to access these places within a 15 minute drive from my house with none of the people!

Portsmouth/Portland Are 25 Minutes Away, Guaranteed!

We have two lovely large towns/small cities that are always 25 minutes away as traffic really isn’t a thing here. BJs, Trader Joe’s, amazing restaurants, etc are all within easy reach. When we lived in Suburban Houston, everything was at least 25 minutes away but also only 10 miles away, if you catch my drift. Driving is a joy here with the woods as a backdrop 😊

Sanford

I want to give my local blue-collard town some love. Sanford is just 10 minutes west from us. It is not the wealthiest town in the world and has seen some better days (but signs of coming back), but the people are lovely, my gym is there, and the supermarkets are mostly empty. Easy living and a great place to visit for a dinner out during the summer when the beach towns are packed.

The People

Everyone is just so nice here. In the short time we have lived in Maine we have made wonderful friends and neighbors. What I like most is we are all on the same page, we like having fun, but we also like going home after! Neighbors have delivered pies and gifts, friends we have only known for a short time have checked on our house, invited us for dinners at their place, and people just seem to accept/like us for who we are! I also forgot that straight friends are nice to have for balance! 

My Babies Are Happy

They love it here so nothing else matters

No More Travel

Oh no no no, don’t worry, travel porn will return soon. It is almost summer here in Maine which means people will be back, which means we must depart! But our itch to travel just isn’t the same here as it was in Florida and Texas. 

Moral of the Story

It would be easy for me to suggest to my readers to live where you feel at home, but Matt and I work remotely and have that luxury and know many do not. However at the very least think of characteristics your perfect location would have and perhaps make a plan to achieve it sooner!

Welcome Home,

Andrew