Quebecers, old memories and the future (Portland, Brunswick: condo, hotel, house)

[chickenium]

Hi everyone,

I've come across this board last night and proceeded to read the crap out of it until the wee hours of the morning (which did not help for work today ).

I'm, as you may have deduced, a Quebecer and yes I'm a frenchie. I've been curious about the presence of french speaking people in Maine. I know a lot of the names and places I've read over the years are the same as back here. Is there any kind of a french community in the state?

I've been recalling lately the vacations me and my family took when I was a kid mostly in Old Orchard but also in Bar Harbor. I always had a great time there and have wonderful memories of every minute spent on your superb beaches. There's always something that tickled my wandering side when we drove down there. We mainly used the 201 out of Jackman and I was always longing to explore the tiny roads we saw branching out from our path.

In the last years, I've gotten my mechanical engineering degree, got a job in the big city (Montreal) and have been working pretty successfully so far in a somewhat hi-octane style job. Recently, I've been starting to get doubts about the big-city life (my hometown is about 30000 big) and the job. Now I can't exactly say if it's because I'm a bit tired of the lack of sunlight (winter doesn't bother me except from that at some point) or if the issues I've neglected thinking about have gotten back and bit me on the ass. I've always been a quiet guy that likes to tinker around on my car and other stuff, I don't need to be around people much. Sometimes I overdose on people here and I have to get away for a while ... I love nature and I'm also a very crappy hunter/trapper/fisher.

I guess what I want to ask is about the job and housing market in Maine. From my job experience, what I have liked most up to now is designing and creating things. I've worked on developing machining and assembling a prototype hydraulic grapple used either for scrap metal or logging in the past and it was a blast. I'm guessing the logging market should be pretty good in Maine. I've also worked in a shop to design and build automated hydraulic precision machinery for a guitar industry, though what I learned there is pretty universal. How's the manufacturing market on your side of the border?

As for housing, I'm torn between a rural area close to parks or a more urban environment, specifically Bar Harbor and Portland. I've always loved the sea in your part of the country even more so in the fall/winter though I can't say why, so I'd prefer to stay on the coast. Maybe it's something to do with the lack of other people on the beaches round those times . Pretty much all I need is a garage to tinker around in my free time, a place to be outdoors, a good internet connection and a good book. I've found that even though I have just about everything here in Montreal, I only go out for a movie once in a while and for a beer on occasions. The weather doesn't really matter, I'm used to the cold and the dark (or the ''pink'' in cities, it never gets really dark here ...)

Now I'm thinking of planning a week long trip alone in the fall along the coast. I was going to start with Bar Harbor but from what I've read here, I'll go check out Eastport first and work my way down the ''1''. Are there any places I should check out? Things I should know about or be noticing in the Maine lifestyle?

Dear God that was a long post. My apologies, I hope you'll still read through it . Thanks for your time.

[moughie]

What a lovely post!! Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you fit right in.

Well, I can say that the exchange rate is most definitely in your favor You could purchase quite a lovely property in Maine for a good deal!

Though not a Mainer ( originally from upstate NY), I am the proud Mom of 2 Mainiacs! Your idea of exploring the coastal area is good. Belfast, Brunswick, Machias- all great areas. So many lovely places, though I believe prices are a bit more reasonable inland. By the way, I remember the beauty of the Jackman to Quebec route and can appreciate your desire to explore that area.

So glad those memories of OOB endured!

[McMar]

Welcome to the forum! Your post was so much fun to read. I understand the "pink skies", and your desire to see a nice black sky with lots of stars. The Maine Woods dark enough for you? I can't really recommend a city for you, as I'm not a Mainer yet myself, but I think that the French speaking communities are all in the Northern part of the state. But you seem to have a nice way with the English language, so you'll do ok elsewhere. Ok, so I didn't help you much, but I just wanted to say "Welcome." You'll find that the Mainers on this forum are oh-so-helpful and friendly.

[quiet walker]

Thanks for your enjoyable post. I too have happy memories of family vacations in Quebec and the Maritimes.

qw

[CreditWitch]

I ever tell you about the story when my drunk Grandfather stood up on the bar in a Quebec pub in the 60's and demanded to know if anyone there really spoke French?

[RMoore007]

Nice first post here chickenium. My grandfather was french Canadian and lived in the Norridgewock and Skowhegan areas. And they just loved going to Belfast on the weekends. Not sure if there is much of a french speaking community or not but he was really loved around there. I enjoyed hearing him speak to his relatives in the Quebec area. And whenever we visited your area, my family always noticed how clean and neat everything was around there, like Disneyland clean, and that I felt like I was in Europe or something with all the neat buildings. Nice place to be from.

And speaking of my grandfather, he visited me once out her in Cal. My wife and I took my grandparents out to eat at a local eatery. I asked him during dinner when he started his small business in Maine. He sat there for a minute and thought about it and said, Oh, that was when I was quite young, I was only 56 years old then. Seems us Mainers and Canadians are a tough breed and age is relative. He went on to run that business for many more years getting up a 4 in the morning. He did have to put up with a lot of jokes though from the old timers about being a "frenchie Canadian". He always laughed at himself and with the others. Miss him. Good luck with your endeavors.

[Bydand]

A LOT of the people up where I am speak French as their primary language. Almost all of the smaller communities to my North with a few exceptions (Stockholm/ New Sweden) are mostly French, and French speaking. Do I know any? Of course, but nothing I could repeat online without getting kicked off the forums. Working construction for years, you tend to pick up the portions of language that isn't appropriate for a dinner conversation.

[chickenium]

Thanks for your comments!

I was mainly asking about the french community because I was curious, nothing more. I lived for a year in West Palm Beach when I was 12, going to school and everything. My english has slipped a bit over the years but it's nothing I can't fix with a little practice. I also worked in Arkansas for a short time. Both places are too hot for me though. Maybe for a one week trip during the winter, but not more than that. It helps that my dad still has his condo in Florida and spends his winters there, he's a stereotype snowbird .

As for stories, I have a rather nice one myself. My grandfather was a bit of a rebel soul. Though I have never had the chance to meet him, my dad told me that he was the kind of bigger than life character that everybody liked. He was a card-playing, drinking and joke-telling guy that everybody knew in the neighborhood. In the mid-60s, he and his buddies were after some big game. They knew the moose and deer in northern Maine were pretty big so he put a plan together with them. Him and another guy went down to the customs near Jackman (which were pretty much just a cabin back then) and spent hours getting the guard drunk while his buddies went and bagged a truckload of deer that night. The guard was too hammered to even check the truck so they got a lot of meat for the winter . I never knew if that story was true, but it's something I've always found pretty funny.

Anyways, I'm glad some of you guys had the chance to come visit our province. If any of you are looking for a great time seeing old historic sites, come visit Quebec City. They're celebrating their 400th anniversary all year long with all kinds of events. It's said to be one of the places that looks most like Europe in America and without the price tag. Now that may be a bit less true with the recent dollar values, but it's a great place. Here are a couple pictures if you're curious...

[url]http://www.sogonow.com/archives/Quebec-%20Quebec%20City%20Le%20Chteau%20Frontenac%20%202_ edited.JPG[/url]

[url]http://www.acqs.org/img/Quebec.jpg[/url]

[url]http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/images/pic_wonder_quebec_city_lg.jpg[/url]

[url]http://radio.weblogs.com/0117154/stories/2002/12/14/quebecCityCanada.html[/url]

And the famous Ice Hotel!
http://www.easyrez.com/index.php?option=com_propview&id=772&location=&br= "

I'll still be doing some research on Maine in the coming year. At this point in time I'm not about to make some rash decisions when I need to know more about the job aspect. Who knows, maybe I'll need to start my own business in the US! I wasn't intending on working for someone else for very long anyway ...

By the way, I'd be in paradise if my house was on that rock near Bar Harbor!

[url]https://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc3527.php[/url]

EDIT : Argh, the urls are weird on this board

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"Anyways, I'm glad some of you guys had the chance to come visit our province. If any of you are looking for a great time seeing old historic sites, come visit Quebec City. They're celebrating their 400th anniversary all year long with all kinds of events. It's said to be one of the places that looks most like Europe in America and without the price tag. Now that may be a bit less true with the recent dollar values, but it's a great place. Here are a couple pictures if you're curious..."

I worked in Canada for 7 years. The first time I went to Montreal ,in the winter, at night I thought the place was a ghost town. It looked like East Germany. Then I discovered Underground Montreal. For those that have not been there, Montreal has a vast underground network of shops, bars, restaurants and the very best bakeries in North America. You can walk around in February in shirt sleeves.

I have had lunch at the Beaver Club. Quebec City is excellent, but more expensive than Montreal.

Come on down to "La Maine". Old Orchard is known as the Quebec Riviera. When I got out to places like Lac St Jean and Amos, Chicoutimi and Malbaie the local people wondered what in the world I was doing there in February. When I mentioned Old Orchard though they opened right up. Every Quebecker has a story about Old Orchard.

[kellysmith]

Chickenium,
You didn't mention if you were a Canadian or US citizen. That will make a difference in you job hunting. With an engineering degree you could probably qualify for a tn1 visa, but the first step is getting a qualifying job, then the employer would partition for the tn1 visa for the foreign national. He has to jump through some hoops to prove there is not a qualified candidate available who is a USC, and the candidate has some burden of proof as well. Tn1 visas are part of NAFTA which I'm sure we've all heard alot about lately. Loads of Canadian nurses work on this side on tn1 visas. Each application is looked at carefully and it's vetted fairly intensely. There are plenty of Canadians that come over as tourists and blend into society, but the chances of not being detected are becoming less and less all the time. Every time they cross the border they are taking a chance that their double world will be turned upside down. (and you will want to be able to go home to visit relatives) When you present your ID at the border they are able to connect a lot of the dots and cross the tee's as far as who you are.
As far as the story of the drunk border guard, that would have had to been the Canadian customs since they would have made the inspection into Canada and somehow even 50 or 100 years ago I can't see that as being very likely.