Well, it's final. For years the wife and I have vacationed up in Bar Harbor as her parents have had a house and roots up there for many generations. Since I met my wife in 1985, we have gone up for vacation all but one year. Every year we would drive around Mount Dessert Island in Acadia National Park looking at houses and properties etc. It never panned out due to me not being comfortable with leaving NJ for various reasons, mostly career related. Finally, this year, on the way home, coming over the Tappan Zee bridge, I could honestly say for the first time I was not happy to be home. I have outlived my desire to be in NJ anymore. Granted I live in a very nice area of Bergen County, but over the years the volume of people who have moved into the area has ruined what was once a haven from the mayhem of city life and traffic. It is completely out of control now and what with 9-11 and the kids being 3 already, me not knowing what my future is at Intel and my house being worth a laughable amount of money, the wife and I decided to buy a nice 8 acre wooded lot on Mount Dessert Island and build a new home and start from scratch with the type of lifestyle that we have always envied. My wife is a physical therapist and has already had 2 offers. I on the other hand, having had multiple career cjanges from automated packaging machinery to medical equipment to software tester, have an interesting but narrower scope of employment opportunities, especially without a degree. Somehow though I am not freaking. I know it will all work out and nothing could make me want to stay in NJ any longer anyway. I know it's the right thing to do and with Maine being rated as one of the top if not the top states to raise children, my decision is easy. I still can't believe I will have 8 acres of woods right near the ocean, fresh air, tourists in the summer and early fall, quiet in the winter with not too much snow cause it's on the ocean and nature forever at my doorstep. Someone pinch me! :Comp:
Congrats on the pending move, Ken! I grew up in a rural farming community, actually ON a farm, and I've also grown tired of living in our 130,000 pop. metro area. Within 2-3 years, we also are hoping to find a place maybe 10 miles out in the country, where my wife can have a horse, or 2... and I can have plenty of space for working on my car, maybe even room for a parts car too! :eek2: :eek2: Who knows, maybe I would even pick up a project car to restore myself... Whenever I spend a day back at the old farm, I'm just amazed at how wonderful the silence is...
Boy, you can say that again Dave. It's funny how so much revolves around the Buicks though. I told my wife that a three car garage is one non negotiable need of mine. Who knows, we may even end up with a bidding war on our house and get more than we are asking. In which case, maybe the wife can throw me an extra couple grand to get the 455 rebuilt. :Brow: I've already started mentioning it. :TU:
Ken: I tip my hat to you. My partner did the same thing last year and retired to the mountains of NC. Said he did not want to die with a dictaphone in his hand. There is more to life than the next buck. I always say that ," I would hate to wake up one morning and find out that I was dead". Money would not mean so much then. Quality of life is something different than the Wall Street view of what is "good growth" and "progress". My wife and I are nature buffs too. We live in the middle of a nature preserve. We have pets snakes that slide around the yard even with 10 dog rescues around. Sometimes I have to take them off the bird feeders where they like to wait for a snack to fly in. Just picked up a 6 footer two days ago. Jim Lore
Congrats on making a tough decision. I work in Dallas, but I live out in the sticks. Much better atmosphere for family life. When they are grown, your kids will have great memories out on your 8 acres. Probably more than in Jersey, regardless of how nice a place you have there. Time to get a pickup truck and a dog riding in the back!:grin:
I have the dog. Now I need the pickup! :laugh: Thanks for the good wishes guys. I really am elated about this whole thing. It's been my contention for almost my entire 40 years, that there is more to life and that being close to nature helps you understand your place in this world, the true meaning of it, a whole lot better. Of course I'm happy that I will be able to more than double the size of my house for half the price and all, but I paid the price living here and having the life and the $$ sucked out of me on a daily basis. It will take a bit of adjusting, but I know I am going to love it. Shux, I even have butterflies in my stomach just talking about it. :eek2:
Ken a HUGE congrats on making a big decision. I fully understand what you are saying about our beloved "Garden State". My family has been here for 5 generations but it is not the place they loved so much. My wife and I feel the same way about a small town down in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. People up here just don't understand why we go "there". Thats OK with us. Enjoy!
Thanks Doug! I do understand. The Smokey Mountains are beautiful. It's funny, some people are cut out to be here, some aren't. I know I'm not. But some people are like, "I would go crazy with all that serenity, no malls etc." I'm just like, uzzled: That's ok. Let them stay here and "enjoy" the malls and all (gag) NJ has to offer. I'm hittin' the Maine Turnpike baby. :beer
At one time we had a house on 15 acres. At that time I was working at the fire station every third day, and had 2 businesses at the same time. I was working all day every day. I was under a lot of stress, but when I would finally get home, I would go out on the back porch with my wife, watching my 2 young sons play with the dogs........sun setting over the trees. The only thing you could hear was the wind blowing through the trees. You can actually feel yourself relaxing. That is much better than sitting in front of the TV. When we had that place, we were outside until dark every day just enjoying nature. You will love it, and we will end up out on acreage again.
Welcome to Maine Ken, Congratulations on your decision., and welcome to Maine (prematurely), "The Way Life Should Be." On the selfish side, I am excitied to hear there will be another Buick fan in the great state of Maine. I hadn't seen another GS until I went to Duane's in August. ( and speaking of a pickup - maybe you should consider a concept like X-Camino!). I would be interested in getting together with you after you settle. I went to a nice car show in Blue Hill last summer that was a personal kick-off for me to get back into that scene with my car. If there is anything I can do to help with the move - drop me an e-mail: kprice@gwi.net
Re: Welcome to Maine Thanks man. What's your name! Blue Hill......have you been to the Blue Hill Fair? I hear it's "interesting". I would love to get in touch as we settle in. I still need to do the 455 and put my interior in. As $$ permit, I will probably throw a posi in my 12 bolt single leg. First things first, I need the 455 done. Mark, thanks for the good wishes. Yeah, it's funny, when We're up there, TV is like a foreign concept to us. Gotta have one though, at least for Speed Channel. :Brow:
David, I feel the same way about Omaha and its half a million people. Would love to be able to find a nice 20 acre plot in Dodge county(sorry, no buick county in Ne). When I do get time off from work and go to Ma and Pa's place, I love to go on the front porch at night and look at all the stars I can't see in Omaha. Makes me wonder why I left. Oh yeah, No pay back in Podunk.
Ken, That is great news. Sounds like you are all fired up for the move. My best wishes to you and your family. Eric and I grew up in the country and around a fairly small town (24,000) in western NE. If I could get a decent paying job there, I would move back in a heartbeat and get away from this 'Big City'. (Hey, for Nebraska, 500,000 is as big as it gets!) I think the best thing about growing up where we did was the small country school I went to. Probably about the best education there is and it was free. My class never had more than 8 students until I got to the 9th grade and went to town school. As it was, my graduating class was only 230. Still small enough to know almost everyone, including both of my brother's classes. Although, Eric has almost no class anymore.:laugh: Good luck on your impending good fortune:TU: :TU: :TU:
Thanks Greg! Boy, to have a class with 8 children. You just can't put a price on individualized attention in school. You just can't do it with 30 kids in the class. Mount Dessert Island HS is not like an old small town school, but it has a great reputation academically and in sports too. It's funny how big to some people is small to others. I can imagine how you feel with the half million people running around. Just imagine how I feel in Northern NJ, the most densely populated state in the country, right across the river from NYC which has it's own 8 million people. Yuk! Hey, I love Madison Square Garden, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, St. Patricks Cathedral, Macy's, Arthur Avenue in the Bronx etc. But hey, been there done that. Time to pick up the axe, chop some wood, do some fishing, hiking, work on the Buick in a BIG garage......all in my spare time of course. I still have to find a job. ou:
Yep, 20-30 acres would be perfect! Even here in Fargo, the city lighting makes it hard to REALLY see the stars...not to mention all the *&%#$@^$^%$# trees that blot out the sky... don't get me wrong, I like trees, but my street is a forest ou: . So, you have a PODUNK in NE too? Not only no pay there, but no jobs... Pay scales aren't TOO bad in Fargo, but if I really wanted to rake in the dough I would move to Mnpls/St.Paul, but I just don't see that happening:error: , although my wife has a standing job offer in Edina if we ever did. Living out of town in MN wouldn't be so bad either!
Wouldn't I love 20-30 acres.ou: But hey, after living on an 80x100 foot piece of property all my life, 8 acres to me is like a whole national park!:jd:
Welcome Ken! I moved up to Maine 15 months ago from Central New York (Binghamton area) and find it a good place for the family. Bought a 9 year old Cape and 6 acres out in a very nice rural area. I work in Auburn and live between there and Augusta. Close but not too close to civilization. The family and I spent the last 14 years booming around the USA to progress my railroad career and the "General" issued orders last year to settle in one spot. Maine has been a great place to live. Just watch out for the "Taxachussets" crowd that is slowly migrating into New England and attempting to remake it in their image. As far as acreage goes I am now thinking smaller is bettor. Especially if it is cleared and needs the grass mowed. 6 acres = lots of John Deere sitting. And that means little time for the BBB Regal in the garage. From the replies it seems there are possibly 2 Buford guys in the area counting your move. Who knows maybe a mini local association can start up with some common interests. There is a small black top roundy round and a 1/8 mile drag located in Oxford, ME that is within reach of Bar Harbor (about 150 miles). Good luck on the relocation. George P.S. Might not get 3 feet of snow that close to the ocean but the winter ocean storms can quite a peach.
Good luck Ken! Don't blame you at all. Things here are getting more and more congested as time goes on, and there's no end in sight. Enjoy the quiet life!
hey ken, if your looking for work, try the golf courses. if you cant find any, call me at work 800-390-4151. i sell parts to golf courses all over n.eng and ny john
