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thesleazye OP t1_itqlhwq wrote

Reply to comment by Ezzmon in UMaine Presque Isle by thesleazye

If I decide to go this route, I’ll come visit, but my program is completely online. I live in California and there isn’t a school like it here.

Their admissions team is perhaps the most supportive I’ve ever experienced in my academic career.

What’s the deal?

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spatialflow t1_itqot9x wrote

> What's the deal

Probably just that Presque Isle is a pretty isolated little town and there's not much to do besides hunting and growing potatoes. But if you're doing it online you don't have to worry about it.

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thesleazye OP t1_itqp6v8 wrote

Got it, got it. I lived in West Texas - it’s kinda like that too, but trade the trees for open, desert prairie.

Plus, I love me some potatoes and when I could eat it, venison!

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Alexhite t1_itqxoos wrote

Matters where you lived in west Texas- I live in rural Maine but northern Maine is next level isolation- expect to drive hours for access to some pretty basic stuff.

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xach t1_itr0y8w wrote

Presque Isle is like Los Angeles compared to some rural places in Maine.

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thesleazye OP t1_itr5wjf wrote

Woof. I'm 90 miles from LA and want to GET AWAY. I thought NYC was intense. Yikes.

I get your point, though. Very interesting.

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waterson2022 t1_itsnnnc wrote

If you're tired of LA, and CA in general, and want the opposite of whatever you're tired of there, Presque Isle is the place for you. LA has everything, and PI has nothing, which might be kinda nice if you like that sort of thing. Also one of the safest places to be in a nuclear Armageddon.

https://survivalfreedom.com/us-nuclear-target-map-most-safe-and-unsafe-areas/

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thesleazye OP t1_itso1qw wrote

Noice. Even though I’m trying to enroll into an online program, it’s good to know where to bug out.

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waterson2022 t1_itxb4da wrote

I came across that info recently with all the nuclear war talk. We lived in Greenville at Moosehead lake for a winter while I worked at the 100 mile wilderness property. Really loved Maine in the winter, snowmobiling, snow plowing, snowshoeing, all things snow! But summers are super buggy ugh. Best wishes for your education.

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thesleazye OP t1_itxkjhn wrote

No worries - If all goes well, I'm going to try to convince my wife for a random flight from CA to ME for funsies and exploration. I'll leave the nuclear armageddon fun facts until we get there.

Thanks for the wishes - hopefully it all works out as I'm getting it together.

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thesleazye OP t1_itqz6re wrote

So interesting - I know a minuscule amount about Maine. Given the ages of the states, I thought Maine was like CT in its population. Ignorant Texan, here.

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yeahigotnothing t1_itr1uwm wrote

Ehhh, I graduated from UMPI and live in PI. It's easily the most "urban" city in Aroostook County, though that's not saying a lot. It's population bounces around the 9k mark, is less conservative than other areas of The County, has decent, though sparse, amenities, and is all-round not bad. Is the degree the same caliber as UMO? Not really, but that may not be what you care about. I moved her from FL and am overall satisfied with the area, though I have zero interest in outdoor recreation, which is really the only entertainment available.

That being said, Bangor is only 2 hours away, Portland 4, Boston 6 (or so), and if you enjoy exploring and idyllic surroundings, you can't go far wrong. I've known some that have decided that they can't live without a diverse range of restaurants and entertainment, but there's a reason that so many people move back here after leaving in their youth. Honestly, I'd recommend checking it out.

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thesleazye OP t1_itr98fz wrote

Thank you!

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sintixerr t1_itrc83v wrote

If it hasn't been said elsewhere, Presque Isle also has a very, very, very small airport but it does have one and does commercial flights daily out to JFK (I think? Or DC), which should get you where you need to go if you need to travel from a connections perspective.

Aside: I left city life (Charlotte, DC, Seattle, elsewhere) for northern Maine (I'm an hour from presque isle) and love it. Presque Isle has all the commercial establishments you might want, but is probably missing the social scene - I've heard it's stayed subdued from pandemic. There is at least a weekly karaoke night??

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turnleftnoright t1_ityd7be wrote

Flights are to Newark…and I can’t say that they are consistently on time.

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JooePasta t1_itryye4 wrote

It's a great English speaking area to stage your exploration of Canada. Quebec city is closer than Boston if you've got your passport! Plus all of New Brunswick is basically at your doorstep. I grew up in Fort Kent and Loved going to Canada almost every weekend. People are fun and friendly over the border and up around there!

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bigtencopy t1_itr1ueh wrote

Northern Maine/ P.I is not as bad as people say. It has a decent night life when college students are in town, has enough amenities for most regular people. Also, it has an airport you can fly direct to, No 3 hour ride from Bangor needed. If you like hunting,fishing, hiking or exploring deeply wooded areas then you would enjoy it.

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RatherNerdy t1_itrr3dg wrote

It's not about population, but geography. Maine is a big state and there's a lot of distance from the bottom to the top (5 hours driving). Presque Isle and all of northern Maine is remote and you will likely experience some level of culture shock. There's no way around that, but depending on who you are, it could be an interesting experience.

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whogivesashart t1_itsfs49 wrote

What are you talking about? Apparently you've never been to Presque Isle. Huge hospital, tons of restaurants and fast food, Walmart.

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Vexans t1_itwyi16 wrote

Well, I have worked up there a bit. They have all the necessities.

Plus a demonologist is visiting soon.

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Delicious_Rabbit4425 t1_itsj3an wrote

It's not really that isolated, southern Mainers are usually like whoa its way up there but its also on the border and there is way more up in Canada that is closer than the bottom of the state. It's also hella beautiful up around those parts so if a small town and lovely country is your jam you certainly have options.

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seeclick8 t1_itrd1dh wrote

Where in West Texas? I moved from West Texas to Presque Isle and then Caribou back when I was 29.

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thesleazye OP t1_itrd91e wrote

I'm from Houston, but did a small stint for work out in the Permian: Pecos and Odessa. That's a pretty big move - how'd you like Maine in comparison?

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seeclick8 t1_itrdvgg wrote

We lived in San Angelo. Both my husband and I grew up in that area but wanted something new and different and moved in 1980 to Presque Isle and then Caribou and five years later to southern Maine. He worked at BU in Boston. Still here. Love it. So glad we left Texas. I have family in Houston. And I have good friends in Seattle whose daughter and son in law moved to League City. They love it there after growing up in Seattle. I guess it’s all about trying something new. I do miss cheap good Tex Mex.

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thesleazye OP t1_itrf7yy wrote

How cool! San Angelo is very nice, but I understand the desire to get out. New England has a charm that I have always loved. It's far more kind than Southern California, where we are currently. It's nice, but fake here. I'd rather someone yell at me for doing something stupid and correct me than the opposite.

Houston is my heart. It's a lot easier lifestyle than where we are in California, but for as big as it is, it can be small and not have a lot of touristic options. It has a lot of restaurants and jobs, but didn't have the right opportunities for my wife, and that's why we moved.

Check out this book:https://www.amazon.com/Homesick-Texan-Cookbook-Lisa-Fain/dp/1401324266

It helped me when I was in Connecticut ;-)

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seeclick8 t1_itrfqyu wrote

Thanks! I’ll check out the cookbook. Trying to explain Okra to people here is a list cause. Back in the late sixties I had a boyfriend at U of H and used to hitchhike from San Marcos, where I was in school, to Houston. Many adventures in that part of the state. Way back when since I am 71 now. Crazy days when I had hardly a lick of sense. Lol

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thesleazye OP t1_itrim62 wrote

Ah, you're a SWTS Bobcat! Good school :) You do funny things when you're young.

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j4w7 t1_itrvoyg wrote

You can still hunt online though. Plenty of games for doing that!

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Mor_Ericks28 t1_its73ug wrote

The deal is you’ll have a lot of discussion board talks with people who have been educated in Maine and have very different values and levels of thought than you do. When I moved to Maine I felt I had gone back to 1950 socially, 1930 economically, and 4th grade academically. School here is pretty rudimentary, in that no one really does actual research outside of looking shit up on Google.

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