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Not A Maine Condition, Ever Heard The Expression “Handcuffs Of Gold?

Our Youth, Local Community Members Are Where The Value Is, Not Wearing Handcuffs Of Gold And Over Spending.

In Maine, our happiness, sense of contentment does not come from a mall, or ordering a lot of “stuff”, junk, items on line to try and impress.

The joy we contain is not generated by plastic, being saddled with debt or wearing “handcuffs of gold”. I learn a lot of new expressions from the folks I work with wanting to find Maine real estate. I heard many complaints about living “down country” and usually the in the top three is the Maine property buyer wants to get away from the high overhead of where they live now. Not just the high property taxes, big home mortgages, traffic and crime. But their lifestyle that is 200 miles an hour, a blur with spending more than they make.

A gentlemen in to the Houlton Maine real estate office yesterday lives on the Hudson River in New York. His wife was not with him but he complained about the high cost of living and fear of being a terrorist target where he lives in New York now. He wanted a second home that could become his full time place. The money spending on the other end was staggering just to tread water, live day to day without the extras. And then the way you live in many areas of the country dictates trying to impress your neighbor, keeping up with the Jones, being something thru spending you got in to the habit of decades ago. It’s not Maine. It’s artificial, boring, wasteful, working at being a snob which is really insecure.

In Maine, we are resourceful and we enjoy the outdoor recreation in our day to day. Not throwing around tons of money, maintaining a level of spending to artificially create a sense of look at all the loot, shiny bling bling around me King Midas situation. Our happiness is we saw a moose, little ones crossing the trail on our way to climb Mt Katahdin to climb, picnic, camp with our own kids. Or we hear birds singing happily while the sunrises as we drink the first cup of hot black coffee overlooking a lake where fish jump, loons sing or cry depending on your perspective.

We are more aware of our surroundings in Maine. We care about others, feel connected and help each other.

Know we can depend on others to be there too. We are independent and don’t enjoy asking for help but knowing it is there in a time of need is a comfort. A joy, a cause for happiness. One more reason to live in Maine. Friendlier, helpful people and not too many people if you take a head count. Spaced so everyone has four season elbow room.

I guess it boils down to a sense of respect for others, the surroundings, yourself. Maybe we are more centered. Maybe taking money out of the life equation is what makes it simple, living here sane. Maybe we are in better physical shape, getting out and working on a hobby farm, out on a lake to enjoy the water. Perhaps its because we spend more time with just ourselves, know how to entertain ourselves. We’re not trying to be something puffed up, requiring wearing handcuffs of gold. We shy away from spending all our doors with money we don’t have. Or if we do spend at a drunken sailors pace, then we will have no savings for a raining day of the essentials, what matters most for our families. It’s not the glitter to impress that runs our day to day. Not how we roll. Mainers take you as you are, don’t care if you are wearing a real Rolex, driving a Porsche, or had that suit hand taylored in Hong Kong. Maine, get here fast as you can.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

May 28, 2010
Maine….Not Everyone Comes Here, Wants To Be Here For Same Reason.

Maine, No Place Like It, That Is Still The Way Life Should Be, Was.

Maine, why you are here, why you want or need to be in Vacationland, the Pine Tree State? The motivation, desire for Maine living, the flavor of the surroundings, people, 4 season recreation.

Different unique reasons, yet many of the same laundry list items sought out if you peeked over the shoulder, studied the written wishes, goals made by folks that remind themselves why they live here. Others outside Maine who want to live here. Need to be here. Or those that flit, sample, zip in to Maine any chance they can. Like this three day memorial weekend, for hunting season, the holidays. Traditions where just the expression, knowledge “I’m going to Maine” or someday “I’ll retire to Maine.” The state of Maine offers comfort, security from crime, elimination of traffic, and most of the countryside, lakes, resources are pretty much like they were before developments. Less people, more good stewards to the area mean better experience, quality of life in Maine.

Many of the same factors that pull people from outside the state to visit, relocated, move here are to get rid of something they don’t like, that has creeped up in their day day where they live now. You’ll love the state for what we have, Maine for what we don’t have too. Both are long lists in a good way. The lack of crime, being the 4th lowest in the nation, Aroostook County half that average again may be all it takes for elderly that worry about gangs, clusters housing and folks with no repect for their things, other people’s feelings, possessions.

Or not spending a big portion of your life stuck in traffic. Going somewhere, trying to get there and having time during the day to get things done, but not just behind the wheel. The worry about crime, the being on your toes driving thru multiple lanes of traffic, are two contant worries you leave behind as you cross in to Maine from New Hampshire, to the south. Replaced with four season beauty, wildlife, less people to be on the look out on the roads, around your low cost ME real estate.

Don’t get me wrong. People are great…but too many people, well, they start to cause problems within just the over population stress.

Like labratory rats when they get too many rats in a small confine. You and I react to the environment and if it over crowded, one where you live in fear, or stuck in gridlock on a six lane highway, what fun is that? What toll does that existence do to you day in and out? Mentally, physically, financially, spiritually? Maine, happy campers here because the surroundings are like they used to be everywhere. Maine is the way life should be. Still is because not too many people here mean the simple things have not been messed up.

Maine, the reasons you move here are many, but to each person, their list has what they want from Vacationland, need. And what they don’t want, but can not get rid of where they live in population centers now. Maine, get some in your diet. You can dream standing up, with your eyes open here. These Flickr Maine images, over 1200 of them show you just a glimpse, but without words this great state. And for 30 images per second, brace yourself for over 400 Maine videos. To show you the community living, flavor of the people that make Maine unique.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

May 26, 2010
Your Maine Real Estate On A Lake, Pond You Better Hope Never Gets Milfoil.

Summer Living On A Maine Lake, Means Water Fun But Milfoil Infestation Is Not Good.

Milfoil and your Maine real estate lake property, waterfront cottage or second home are a bad mix.

Not only does it affect your property value, but milfoil is an plant that spreads like wild fire if a boat prop, a float plane pontoon drops a slip off in your Maine lake, waterfront camp or cottage location. Milfoil is in Southern Maine lakes and luckily Aroostook County is four hours away from where the state has discovered the milfoil infestation.

Here is a list of Maine lakes, ponds where aquatic evasive Milfoil infestation is known. Six Maine groups are working to aggresively address variable leaf Milfoil, and The Maine Congress of Lakes (COLA) is one of the lead intiators on the drive. Southern Maine lakeshore values where variable leaf milfoil is found have seen property value declines due to the milfoil.

Lake Arrowhead in the town of Limerick added a provision for a 10% devaluation for those properties with heavy off shore milfoil infestation.

Maine’s neighboring New Hampshire where I read on line there are 58 lakes infected with milfoil, it is reported the variable leaf milfoil plant is taking over one to three lakes a year in the Granite state.

Here is more about the problem in New England’s milfoil growth in lakes, ponds. I am president of the Drews Lake Property Owner’s Association and we have had kept track of our lakes “health” monitoring temperatures, visibility, vegetation growth. Since 1947 Drews Lake had a dam to control the water levels and make a fish spill way. But back in the 1980’s when the dam when in to disrepair and the state was happen to let the association have it for $1, we have rebuilt the dam, written grants for soil erosion and put thousands and thousands of dollars in to silt control, revegetation along the shoreline. If you asked a Maine lake, pond, river what gets it the most angry it would gurgle lawns. Ones with weed and feed, lots of phosphorous and soil erosion because all the trees have been removed, and water can race to the lake, bring along lots of nutrients, top soil, debris that flows directly in to the water.

This Maine Lake Volunteer Monitoring Lake Group’s milfoil infestation graphic shows the extent of monitoring going on around the state, and where the known infestations are currently.
Milfoil is serious stuff and if you are thinking of buying Maine lakeshore, waterfront real estate, you need to make milfoil one of the top questions. Keep this graph to target the Known problem lakes. Luckily, Northern Maine, Aroostook County has no milfoil infestation problem. Partly due to education about how easy it is for a prop to bring in the infestation from an infected lake. Also with less people, less activity the lakes in Northern Maine don’t get “the traffic”, abuse and as much presure as other recreation lakes down state do that are closer to Boston, population centers.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573
Email info@mooersrealty.com

May 23, 2010
Maine’s Coast Line, Lakes, Rivers Have Over 3000 Islands To Explore, Live On.

Maine Nests Protect Like ME Islands Surrounded By Water.

Islands in Maine are neat, no two ways about it.

Along the Maine rugged, rock bound coast, islands make the landscape interesting, unique offering little remote places of solitude, a feeling of a country, a small nation surrounded by water all by itself. I’m not an expert on Maine islands and when you live in interior Maine, islands become less plentiful than the way they carpet the coast line like different size lint particles. But lakes have them, large rivers can contain islands. The difference is no lighthouses, no salt water, sea gulls or boats to protect from being ship wrecked on all those rocks and deep rough water when the wind picks up. Or in the middle of a Maine “Nor’ Easter.

In Drews Lake, also known as Meduxnekeag Lake there are four islands that my four kids enjoyed exploring. Naming them with all the pomp and circumstance of Christopher Columbus or any other foreign explorer of years gone past as they discovered the New World real estate. In this case, that “New World” all contained a short boat ride loaded with other kid “explorers” in a little over a thousand acre lake roughly 9 miles from Houlton Maine. Names proudly exclaimed for all in the boat to hear, recite for the islands based like the early explorers on what was found on those islands to make each rare, unique, memorable to a child with everyone in that boat way under six feet tall. Some never getting to that height later in life.

Blueberry Island, Toad Island, Midway Island, The Rock names created based on highly scientific exploration done in a well planned boat expedition when the weather was right, the lawn mowed and every kid’s chores done. Summer living on a Maine lake, making memories, experiences to play back in the childhood memory of each child around Drews Lake.

Today as I blog, two my four children, the youngest are exploring for an island. With new friends to explore, sample this new island in their explorer sights. Pine Island in the Aroostook River is where they hoped to camp, tent, document.

Both college kids and and their counterparts heading north, deeper in to Aroostook County on a Saturday afternoon looking for an island.

Leaving one vehicle of two in Oxbow, parked at a property I just listed for sale owned by a family that used it for fall deer, moose, bird hunting trips. The other vehicle with two canoes heading north to Masardis to park, put in to the Aroostook River at an easy public boat launch site. Short weekend trip, hopefully to find, explore Pine Island that shows up on the Maine Gazateer. Nothing more to know about the small undocumented island. Pine and Junkin Island are mentioned briefly in a search anything about these Aroostook River Islands.

How did the boys zero in on camping in this area, looking for these islands? Maybe it’s my fault, after seeing Moose Island in Masardis Maine last weekend. Watch the Maine river video for a unique location, hand made log lodge, cabin property we listed to sell.

Who owns most islands in lakes usually boils down to the state of Maine. If you go back thru the Maine legislation, it usually revolves around was their ownership, taxes being paid, use of an island between these years or not. The legislature in Maine made laws, reversed itself and there is a Sherlock Holmes list of questions to determine ownership of an island. Have sold a few in Northern Maine over the years and found islands, like my kids, to be unique, surrounded by water and like a “country within a country” feeling. How do you react if someone says living on a Maine island like one Isle au Haut couple did? Or Maine kids explore other ME islands here on Vinalhaven and North Haven Islands.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573
Email info@mooersrealty.com

May 23, 2010
Maine Camping, Canoeing, Kayaking, Hiking, White Water Rafting, Skiing, Bird Watching, Sporting Lodges.

Find Yourself, Get Your Bearings In Maine, Life Is More Fun, Healthier Here.

In Maine, our fun usually means some activity outdoors from hiking, camping to down hill, cross country skiing, white water rafting or slew of activties guaranteering physical activity for better health.

In Maine you don’t have to worry about crowds, too much traffic or crime. Here is a Maine site that is a one stop shop for lots of Maine outdoor recreation, especially covering hiking one of my favorite activities. The state of Maine has many parks, here is one area to consider, the Allagash Wilderness Water Way.

Over 200,000 acres of land surrounds Baxter State Park and Mt Katahdin is not the only mountain to hike but Maine’s tallest mountain hogs most of the spotlight. The snowcap peaks of Katahdin are pretty surprising, stunning, memorable. My four kids and I have climbed many parts of the Baxter Park collection of mountains. Starting with Horse Mountain which is about 1400 feet high, easy for the smaller kids to tackle, conquer as they work their way up. In Northern Maine also suggest Echo Mountain at Aroostook State Park in Presque Isle. Or Haystack Mountain in the Mapleton, Castlehill area of Aroostook County.

Had a fraternity brother room mate in college at the University of Maine at Orono who was from Longmeadow Massachusetts. He was in to techincal climbing. The ropes, pitons, sneakers with the extra rubber surface to help in the climbing up and over, out from rocks spider like. I think I will still be hiking with maybe a walking stick someday when I get old and need one to help steady myself, but not push the rope technical climbing hobby. Little Chick and Big Chick in Clifton Maine near Old Town was where Chris and I tried my first foray in college in to the technical climbing with ropes.

There is something unnerving about crawling vertical, straight up using just your fingers to pull along small rock out croppings. Cracks to fit your finger tips in to and hope just your fingers can hold, lift the entire weight of your body while forgetting the distance to fall to earth below that is underneath all you do. To actually defy gravity by climbing up, out and around stone formations. Pushing with your toes, swinging out on a rope you hope is anchored properly but knowing you’ll be the first to know if it was not.

Needless to say, never put technical climbing apparatus, stocking stuffers on my list to Santa over the years. Not scared of heights, just want more than my finger tips, toes to work my way up the side of a sheer rock surface. Funny that way. Call it a quirk but used to a trail, trees along the side of it when I climb, hike.

Or maybe you need some salt water, sea air in your outdoor fix of Maine. With many islands dotting the ragged, jagged, jutting in and out coast line, sea kayaking to explore these little “countries” off Maine has a serious attraction. With over 3000 Maine islands, it may take more than one or two summers to hit most of them, to float and paddle around a few.

For more surf and turf adventures, Maine white water rafting is a fun trip down the Kennebec, Dead, Penobscot Rivers. I have gone on trips with Unicorn Expeditions out of The West Forks area and also on Northern white water rafting on the Penobscot River. You can have a party of eight to ten people and when they remind you to keep your legs up if you get sucked out of the raft, hit by a wave so those legs don’t get broken. You eddy out along the river after the major rush of water, dodging river centered rocks for a meal prepared on open fires. For the fall trips, wet suits are available to take the chill out of the Maine air when you get wet from either the river ride or the water fight with buckets with another rafting group in your party.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573
Email info@mooersrealty.com

May 22, 2010
Maine Small Town Living…Wearing More Hats, Feeling More Connected, Needed.

Local Soap Box Derby Racing Is Big In Houlton Maine, 66 Volunteers Make The Nation’s Largest Event Happen.

In small Maine towns, you quickly learn there is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.

Everyone has roles to play. The area in Maine they hang those many hats they wear is better off, richer, fuller for local volunteers and their day in, day out efforts. The most important hats in Maine are the jobs, roles you take on with your family…like little league coaching, soap box derby racing, being a sunday school teacher. Kids learn from the entire villiage in Maine. There is a connection and everyone feels a sense of belonging, that they are needed. Because they are.

Many of the service club civic work a local Mainer does, takes on is because in smaller areas, if they did not, it might not get done. Fewer people in Maine..just over a million folks mean grab a tool, hone a skill and take on a job the area folks need you to assume, sign on to. Less people, heck eleven people per square mile in Northern Maine, Aroostook County translates to just enough to have a game thinking. Like when you live in the country in rural Maine and only so many houses in the few miles around your home, so back yard baseball contests with the local kids means hunt, stratch, beg, plead sometimes to fill a skeleton roster.

You’re all there is situation in Maine but a sense of pride that you have a needed role you volunteered to. Lots of them. Serving on local town government boards, helping to shape the future direction, development of the town in Maine you call home. I make my living “selling” Maine and have for thirty years as a Maine real estate broker. But the blogs we write here, around the internet, the videos we shoot, edit and post about the listings, the local community events are not just part of my job. I am a personal fan of Maine. You reading this blog must be too. Once you get all Maine offers, how sincere and caring, hard working the local people are, you find your real home, niche, place under the sun. I am not just a promoter of Maine. I sincerely enjoy living here, promoting it and way I can.

In Maine, our local bands, parades, state hosting of music, sporting events are home grown, not store bought. Our financial resources are limited, our creative efforts to get an event off the ground are off the charts to track. There is nothing stronger than the heart of a Maine volunteer.

Often a kid benefiting from the experience is all that is needed to get the program, event, annual tradition off the ground in a small Maine town.

Sometimes the drive is simply knowing when you were young, growing up in a small town other older members of the town put their shoulder in to this, this and this event. Pick yours and assume the position when you enter adulthood. You feel needed in small Maine towns, connected, aware of the other folks who live here. Why? because you are. What would your area where you live suffer from, lose if you were not there to do this, this and this?

This blog helps get the word out about how we roll in Maine. We work, don’t feel entitled to any free lunch.

Our hearts are strong, designed, shaped, taught to get involved on a strong local level. That’s why I live in Maine.

Ask me how you can get a taste of Maine, or to relocate, retire, get to raise a family here. It’s one of my favorite subjects, hobbies, hats I wear. Here is an video example of a couple living in the Maine woods of Masardis..to give you a taste of being in the woods of Aroostook County..full time on a the Aroostook River.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
Call 207.532.6573
Email info@mooersrealty.com

May 21, 2010