Plus, incredibly terrible local TV commercials
I just bought some shampoo there for dirt cheap and when I got home realized all the copy on the bottle was in Czech ;)
There's a Dollar General in Farmington and they always have cars in the parking lot. I've never been in there but they appear busy. There's another one over in the mall thing, across from Burger King.
Also, Big Al's. I've been in there. They have the strangest of stuff, almost. Marden's is a bit stranger.
Also home to the cheapest, and best movie theater I've ever been to. Still has $4 matinees, the last time I was up to visit my folks.
You're the only other Mainer I've seen on HN and I'm 'from away.' Yes, I live here by choice. I retired here.
I don't want to derail the thread or meander off topic.if you want, uninvolved@outlook.com will get seen and replied to.
But, I'm from away.
I know it's the second most rural state, but the Portland area seems urban enough to offer a variety of places to purchase food, so I don't completely understand how so many Dollar stores seem to thrive here especially with a Walmart nearby.
I've only been going up to Rangely for the past few years, and I've always wondered what type of store there was before IGA, because it doesn't seem to cater to a low income crowd like dollar stores in general.
I've never had an encounter with dang but hopefully dang won't be too harsh, this is just too special of an occasion.
Rangeley has a buttload of money. There are some poor, but not many. They only have 1200 residents, or so. However, they can swell to ten times that size during tourist season. They love them some tourists.
And, yeah, this is a definite rarity. I've browsed for years, joined almost two years ago, kept lurking to get the feel if things, and just started posting a few months ago.
I have no idea what was there before the IGA. I suspect that building has always been an IGA and has been since the 60s. That's going by the architecture internally.
There are an insane number of places to eat and the community is doing something all the time. I can live anywhere in the planet, for the most part. I live here.
It's a downright Mainah convention! I'm accepted as a native, but I came here to go to boarding/prep school as a kid. Kents Hill, no apostrophe. I'm quite partial to the lifestyle and people.
I should be quieter. People will start moving here.
Funniest bumper sticker ever: Welcome to Maine; Now go Home!
These days, there's little logging left. They still have the festivals with the demonstrations and competitions, though.
The lumber quality wood from my land goes to turning and some specialty mills - some goes down to Belgrade (Hammond). Over in Vienna, I've got a bunch of commercial blueberry fields, about 400 acres.
So, I've tried to fit in and the natives accept me as one of their own. I still call them the Village People, though.
You can tell when they've accepted you. The gossip is no longer about you - and now they tell you gossip about the new people. I moved here after selling my business and built a giant house.
The locals would come sit in my future driveway and talk about me. Sometimes, they'd spend the whole day there. So, I made it a point to hire anyone who asked. That worked wonders.
I paid people to teach me how to hunt, fish, use a chainsaw, process meat, preserve things, grow a garden, etc...
It's been VERY different than what I'd expected when I opted to move here. It's been much better, actually. It's the first place I've ever called home - which might explain my gushing about it.
I only lived there when I was a kid (extended family lives there too), so I don't know if I can call myself a Mainer.
Nobody but you will understand the significance of that comment, unless they Google.
It's technically in Lisbon Falls, which is just down around the corner.
I have like a dozen Moxie shirts. Man, the poor village people had to put up with me moving in. I used to drink - a lot.
But, we've come to grips with each other. It was so different than I'd expected. I do love it here. It's home. It's the only hometown I've ever had.
And it is awesome. The people crack me up. I've even got the accent figured out.
But as a community, it troubles me. But...it's a sand trap. I wish it were otherwise.
It is amazing how different the regions of Maine are. I'm in NW Maine, which isn't like it is up in the county, nor the mid coast, down east, southern, central, or even western.
I'm more Jackman and less Bethel, but the village is more Bethel and less Jackman. It used to be a bit more Bethel, but the ski slope needed money to replace the lifts and they are now shut down.
So, just in this one State, it is a lot of variation.
"They're finally gone until skiing starts up, except for a few hunters."
I gather it has something to do with number of customers but I'm not sure how it benefits someone that a store gets FEWER shoppers.
The foliage peepers, with tour buses and whatever, have finally gone home. Almost without fail I get a whole bus driving up my driveway because their GPS insists it is a road.
I don't mind, actually. Our local sport is making fun of tourists. We all go down to the boat landing on Memorial Day. You can watch them wreck $80,000 worth of boat, trailer, and truck. We don't get much amusement, otherwise.
If tourism stopped, the town would be dead. They milk them for all they are worth. Locals just go to Farmington where things are often about half the price.
So, no... It doesn't help the stors but it gets used to give a quick break and prepare for the winter rush. There are still tourists, but not as many. It's a tourist area, pretty much exclusively, all year long. Skiing, hunting, hiking, climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, camping, etc...
As a west coaster visiting New England for the first time this past summer, it really stuck me how serious the crush of tourists must be for places like small town Maine (made it as far up the coast as Acadia NP). The overwhelming number of shops, of american flags, of lobster rolls, of store advertising Yeti coolers for sale.. it was just 10x what we see in small towns in the west.
No matter where you go, of course, tourist town folk make fun of tourists but I think the crush must be much worse up your way, where small town life here, even for those of us who live in heavily populated areas, isn't quite as novel. It makes sense, though, given the massive population of the east coast. I remember once being angry about how everything is always advertised eastern-time-centric, and pulled up a map to try to make the argument that not THAT many people live in the Eastern time zone, but then realized it's almost 50% of the entire country...
I live outside of the tourist area, I'm really remote. But, the village is a tourist area. They go from 1200 to 12000 people at times.
There are camps and parks to accommodate them, hotels, and things like that. They have municipal services, which I do not have.
Also, that's the nearest village for me. It's the only group of people for miles. I suspect a dollar store would do well, actually.
It makes it really hard for restaurants to stay open during the off season, and even the Hannaford's market can't be sized right. It's a bit big for the population right now, but it feels like Black Friday on weekends during the summer.
The towns have been working to bring more off season events to even things out, but most aren't working (the one notable exception brought in 160,000ish customers in it's second 6 week run).
It is pretty much entirely jest. Most tourists are fantastic, though they often try things they aren't experienced or equipped for. This results in them dying in new and interesting ways.
I'm on the volunteer rescue squad and go out fetching bodies, ideally still alive, on a regular basis. They get lost, try kayaking during flood season, snowmobile on thin ice - including trying to do it over open water, get drunk and use an ATV until they are impaled on a pine tree, and try to back their boats into the water - which is expensive but funny as hell to watch.
So, some of the complaints are valid. You should see them drive in the snow. Fortunately, there are usually giant snow banks so they don't get too hurt. I drive around and pull people out of the ditches, just for fun. I don't charge them, I just enjoy it.
But, yeah, they seem to appreciate the ribbing. If they have issues, we will all stop what we are doing and go out and rescue them. I've rappelled down over the falls to retrieve a kayaker. I even went back to get their kayak. We don't charge them any money, we just give them a ration of crap and tell them to take a few classes before trying that again.
Edit to add: If you're from MA, we make fun of you the most.
Edit again: I just noticed AutoCorrect hates me.
2 sympathy hikes, a couple of Baxter coverage weekends, and ringleading at the MASAR conference so far this year for business.
Edit: I got derailed from my point. Not all tourists are what your stereotype says. Just like not all women drivers cause traffic jams and not all blacks are criminals. This is the prejudice you're showing that I think is equivalent to racism or sexism. Imagine replacing "tourist" with "black" in your thoughts to see how extreme it is.
Really, backing up a trailer is very easy if you just follow the directions. Basically, aim the truck. Put both hands on the steering wheel, at ten and two. Go backwards slowly. Look in your mirrors. If the boat is bigger in one mirror, turn that direction. Tada!
You've obviously never seen many tourists in the wild, or were one.
We take good care of them. We want them to come back. But, we live in an area where you will die a horrible and gruesome death if you don't follow directions. Yet, many fail to follow directions.
Most of their risk is pretty harmless. Our biggest rescue this year was 28 campers who somehow got completely lost on a nature hike. We had two snowmobiles in the lake, a car in the lake, a kid who drowned under the ice, and a few ATV accidents. Then there are all the smaller mishaps which require a 45 minute drive to an ER.
This might help... I live 1h 15m from a fast food joint - if the roads are clear. You will die here - really. They do it all the time. They do it because they don't follow directions.
Now, if you read my reply again, you'll note that they aren't the majority. The majority still screw up traffic, scare the animals, feed the bears, and generally get drunk and smash into stuff. Not too long ago, a nice lady tried to pet a bull moose in rutting season. She spent a while in the hospital but she lived.
When I risk my life to come save you from a situation you stupidly put yourself into, and then I laugh at you, you can be pissed or grateful. That is up to you. I find they are usually embarrassed and grateful.
By the way, is this response you're giving what the trendy kids are calling 'virtue signaling?' If it helps, you're gonna change my mind exactly zero. I'm not even remotely concerned that it is unethical. If you want to avoid it, don't make us have to clean up after you. You're full of nasty bits that are hard to clean off.
So I know exactly what you are talking about.
(Disclaimer: am Australian, living in Austria, and if I hear that stupid joke one more time I'm gonna start throwing snakes at people. The friendly kind, y'know .. Austrians.)
So far, none have died on my property but two have died really close to it. Some snowmobile and ATV injuries have happened. A bunch have gotten lost.
I'm always amused when someone has a cell phone and still gets lost. They will point out that they had no cell service. I've figured out how to open the mapping application on all the devices so that I can show them.
We give away trail maps. They are free. We have plenty, take two. Hell, if you want, I'll even show you how to do most of the activities safely. I have all the gear, just ask.
But no... They think watching Mission Imposeible means they are experirienced rock climbers.
You should see them hunt. Firearms and tourists are sometimes a bad mix. That usually kills a few people.
I understand that you help people when they have problems. I don't think that makes is OK to insult them though. It's easy to be frustrated when people repeatedly don't do what you tell them, and feel smugness when they suffer the consequences. To pull out another analogy, we don't mock victims of industrial accidents for failing to follow the safety rules 100% of the time, despite being told those rules. Instead, we look for ways to make it harder to suffer the accidents.
Don't forget that just about every problem that people suffer is somehow due to their own actions. Life's full of rules you're supposed to follow but nobody can reliable follow them all the time, and if you did, you'd surely not get far or have much fun. People everywhere still crash their cars, turn up to work late, get preventable diseases, etc. I think it's offensive to blame them for their suffering.
Anyway, don't reply because I think you're just here to release your frustrations without understanding things. You've used brags and personal insults which show that you want to engage in an argument but you don't have anything constructive to say.
Maybe another way to look at it is ask, what is the alternative to having a laugh at the tourists? I can't comprehend one.
Calling each other out for riffing on tourist blunders because they are part of a pseudo-disabled population or something? I'm honestly finding it impossible to imagine a different way for it all to play out.
Not even a remotely fair comparison. The vast majority of those groups are affected by negative (horrible) external circumstances: physical or mental conditions, histories of trauma, and awful circumstances are incredibly common among those groups.
Tourists are embarking upon something for enjoyment while of sound mind and (sometimes) body. Ridicule is one of many important ways to help correct (and, as someone helping, cope with) the damage these folks do to themselves and others. It might not be the best way, but it's a far cry from making fun of someone for being on the wrong end of circumstance.
Seriously. You just compared tourists to alcoholics and suicidal people. You're either accidentally supporting GP's point or you should be ashamed of yourself, or both.