Life in New England (2 Years After Moving Here!) 

Lived in CT most of my life. I have SAD here, so it's one of the reasons I have to be careful moving to Maine. If your SAD gets tough, check into a SAD lamp that you use each day, if you are affected by lack of light. Its super bright & helps many people feel more energetic in winter if they have SAD. Pass it on! Nice video. The great thing about Maine that doesn't happen as much in CT is snow. Snow is your friend if you have SAD, because it reflects the light off the snow cover on the ground. CT has limited snow so its brown & dark all winter, yet Maine has much shorter days. People have degrees of SAD. I was helped by something called an Alpha Stim. I personally think SAD is a circadian rhythm sleep dosruption due to the waning light of winter. Maine is beautiful, I heard everyone should see the lighthouses in winter. You bring some Texas friendliness to New England, great thing! Enjoy!

Kitty litter for winter traction if you’re ever stuck.

Native New Hampshirite here, and first off, you did not offend me with your comparison of Maine vs NH personalities. I think you were spot on. Perhaps it's something to do with Maine's long rugged coast, tough winters or overall more remoteness but I've always thought Maine had a very strong, independent vibe. In the past, because the culture is so embedded (particularly hunting), it has been hard for outsiders to get a foothold in the community. (Like you can live there for 20 years but if you weren't born there, you are still an outsider.) I don't know if that's changed. NH on the contrary, particularly southern NH is often viewed as a bedroom community to Boston. A lot of folks live in NH and work in MA, so I feel like the NH identity has been diluted somewhat. Do you think you'll ever move back? No pressure, but I was living vicariously though you so. Lol

I started using strip lights from Amazon around the tv and under kitchen cubborts. It simulates sun light and on those dark days it really works wonders.

Meg I actually think of you pretty often because I so admire what you did in uprooting your life to move somewhere you love. I dream of moving to Maine myself, but I am much older than you and have so much stuff that I could not possibly move with me. I always knew I could downsize and go just like you did, but it seemed daunting. Then, this past Summer I was faced with an unexpected change in life, and I had to wonder if it was the universe's way of moving me on to a new life. As briefly as possible...I had been living in my home for 9 years, and I thought it was the last place I would ever live. I planned on it in fact. Then, last Summer my landlord advised he would not renew my lease. He said he decided to turn the property into an AirBnB which I had never heard of before. I looked for four months for another suitable rental and could find nothing, but I was out of time. Finally, in late October, I found a tiny one room apartment. It was far from ideal, but I had to move. In the end, I lost 90%-95% of everything I owned. I can never afford to replace any of it. It has been very traumatic. As I said, though, I thought of you again, and I wondered if this was fate's way of preparing me for yet another downsize in the next year or two so that I could relocate to Maine. Who knows? We are experiencing an affordable housing crisis now as you probably know, and this AirBnB stuff is really hurting regular people who live and work in an area. I do not know what is to become of so many of us, especially older folks like myself who are retired and live on a small, fixed income from SS. I know that problem has been exacerbated by immigration, too. It has made me think about leaving this country altogether. You are an inspiration, though. Take care, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas my dear. 🎄🎅

Vitamin D3 with K2 (in oil is best) and a "Happy Light" or lightbulbs will help tremendously for winter blues (plus sitting near a window). Shovel in the car is great for post work/dining/shopping snow removal, as you never know when a small storm may turn into a bigger one!😱Make sure your wiper blades are new/newer as they take a beating in winter. (I also love the defrosting windshield washer fluid) I'm so happy you are enjoying the New England life!💕

Thanks for the video! Born and raised in NE , and couldn't wait to leave it at age 50! Now I miss it! I don't miss the 6 months of gray skies, but I miss alot. My new state is sunny, which I wanted, but not as cute and quirky!

I loved this! Thanks for sharing. We are in Oklahoma City and looking to relocate to NE. I’ve felt called there my whole life. It’s nice to see someone else who just went for it!

So glad to see you again. I am from Maine and yes we do have a very distinct personality. You are living my dream. Doing what you want to do. I admire you for that. I love your videos and I also love thrifting and home decorating and would love to see more of that with you as you venture out to your favorite thrift places. Please stay safe this winter. No matter how many winters you experience they are never the same anymore so it is always better to be prepared for anything.

Hey Meg! What about tire chains? And do you have an emergency kit in your car in case you get stuck? Snacks, water, hand warmers, blanket, solar cell phone charger? What about wellies (rain boots) for the snow? For seasonal depression, I think you hit it on target, get out with friends, that's what my friend does who lives near the North Pole, (they have night for 5 months in the winter, no daylight) they have lots of get togethers around fires, lots of hang outs at each others houses. Movie nights, game board nights, hot coco nights. etc They will do themes. So good to see you on here again!

I learned the hard way, keep a small food stockpile in your apartment. Stuff you will actually eat lol That way if you can't get out you have stuff :)

Love this!! I moved to Maine from Virginia a couple years ago too and have been trying to experience New England! If you haven’t been to Mount Washington yet I highly recommend checking it out! I bet you’re super close! Also YES TIRES ARE #1 😂 love it 🥰

When it’s extra cold, you also want to keep your windshield wipers in the up position overnight so that they don’t freeze down where you can’t use them

I love your attitude-don’t let some uptight yankee ruin your vibe. (Last time I checked, New England is still part of America, and as a tax paying citizen I can move to any state I want, including the states that make up…New England 🤡) People can be rude. Please keep up the good content ❤

I love Maine and New Hampshire! My son lives in Augusta ME and I spent two months there, from October until December. It was beautiful! I would love to move there 😁❤️

So glad you’re ignoring the negative comments and are not keeping your mouth shut! Great tips. Thanks so much.

Thank you! Great lessons about winter distractions that I need to work on.

I keep a snow shovel in my car too because I got stuck in a snowbank once and had to borrow someone's shovel to shovel myself out while they were standing out in the cold, lol.

Maine is my favorite state and dream of living there one day. I was born in upstate NY but have lived in Northern PA for the past 27 years so I am very used to the snow and cold…I would much rather deal with that then to be in scorching heat! I take a vitamin D supplement in the winter to help with the winter blues. I found your channel searching for motivation from people that have made the move but I also really enjoy watching all the places that you visit… Watching your home decorating tours are also fun to watch, esp. your thrift store finds! It’s so cool to not only see what you buy but hearing about how you can use it in your home decor..I’m looking forward to more or your videos!

moving to New England has been my lifes dream since I was a kid! So excited for you!

As a Texan that married a Mainer, I have the best of both worlds. Warm winters in Texas and enjoyable summers in Maine. Personally, I could never live through a Maine winter without whining for the full 4-5-6-7 months.

Really enjoyed this. Such a great personality. Thank you

I can't wait for the snow ❄ I love winter 🎄

Happy to hear you’ve been enjoying New England! It’s not for everybody but I do think it’s one of the best parts of the country to live in. You literally get a little bit of everything. I’ve also visited Maine a few times and it’s definitely a very unique place!

Hi Meg! I always love your videos. I moved to Maine April 2021 and found you just prior to my move. I too work in the hospitality industry - an Innkeeper - and absolutely adore Maine life and New England culture overall. As I was watching this I was thinking "Oh shoot, I have to run to Renys and get salt for the car and more wiper fluid." Thanks for the tips! I also like to find vintage goodies at my local thrift shops and love your idea for yourself this winter. Last winter I toyed with the idea of making a quilt to pass the winter blues. I have all the fabric and such so that might be good for this year! After watching this I thought you may enjoy doing vision boards and such - you seem like you would really get into that! Also, do you have a salt lamp? Easy to find on Amazon and so so good for winter blues!!

As a Texan who has been in Maine over 30 years I would not move to the Sebago area and Biddeford/Saco would not be a friendly choice either. I have been in the Belgrade lakes area this whole time and found it very friendly despite being a flatlander. I am also married to a Mainer and my children are Mainers so maybe that has helped me to be accepted into the distinct tribe. You have to embrace Winter and get out there and do Winter activities. Snow shoe, ice skate, learn to ski, go tubing. Get out there and enjoy to Winter outdoors.

You are an ‘upper’. You could do bonsai that little plant behind you. (I don’t know whether it’s real or not)inspired me to inspire you to do bonsai.

I used to live on the coast of Texas then outside dfw but moved to northern Utah a while back. Looking at moving to Maine and think living here has been a good transition to east coast winters. Seasonal depression is a real thing. Glad to come across your channel.

What a great idea of thrifting and reselling Meg! Love your style. Please sell on line, I’m in Nebraska!

Good for you girl! Live life. I am currently living in Boston,MA moved here from NYC, been in Boston for 10 years now looking to move to either Washington State or New Hampshire. I've visited NH three times already, but for few hours. I would like it if you would vlog your day to day in NH to show us the beauty of the state. My reason on wanting to leave Massachusetts is to pay little to NO taxes. Before i start selling my stocks to gain the profits i'd like to be doing so while living in a state were i would pay zero no no taxes on stocks etc; - Plus Boston is too expensive now.

As a native Mainer, I can say North Conway NH is beautiful! I just spent Columbus weekend there! However, you will find the winters there have more snow than where you were in Maine. Snowfall amount differs throughout various locations in Maine. The closer you are to the coast the less snow. Inland, in mountainous regions, you really get hit!

Thank you, Mag! I live on the gulf coast of Texas in a tourist town. Some people here are not nice to the tourist ... even though this is how the town makes its money. I was wondering if the people of Maine are open to outsiders? You're an inspiration to me!

Yes to keeping a shovel in the car along with a blanket and other stuff already mentioned. I never learned to down hill ski and am too uncoordinated to cross country ski but I do like snowshoeing. Lots of places to go. Embrace the winter! NH and ME keep the main roads well plowed and sanded and it’s usually just the day of and day after a snowstorm that driving can be sketchy. Have good tires and AT LEAST a front wheel drive car! I’m enjoying your videos!

You are such a doll! Great great video!! ❤

I'm a Pennsylvania native but the summers here are unbearable. I've always loved Maine and can see myself retiring there.

Awesome video, thank you for posting!!

Meg get yourself a material car cover it will definitely help

You're living my dream!! Lol.

Love watching these videos! Please keep sharing with us. I get what you’re saying about Maine. I’m in Dayton, Ohio and I add fish oil I get from Costco. My doctor told me it helps with my depression BUT didn’t know about Red Krill! 😊I’m so looking forward to seeing your thrifting videos!! I love snow too 😊 ❤

Your videos are so helpful and I love your personality! We are thinking of moving to New England so I’m soaking up all your advice!

Hey, Just came across your page. Neat stuff. I'm originally from the mass region and moved up to Maine about 2 years ago. after staying for the summer up here in Maine. Where I live I'm about 10- 15 minutes from the Canadian border. I love it Talk about quaint little towns. Lol, I never knew how small-town areas could be. I always thought I lived in a small town. But I found out otherwise when I moved up here. I was no stranger to winter. But Gosh 6 hrs makes a heck of a difference apparently. My first winter in Maine the dead of winter averaged -15 degree days. It was brutal but again I'm used to the cold hah. New Englanders sure are an interested bunch huh? Glad to see you're adjusting well. As for New Hampshire. If you haven't noticed it. their claim to fame is "Live Free or Die" and they can't stand mass politics because it's slowly pervading into NH politics. I always joke that us Mass-holes are the meanest friendly bunch of people you'll ever meet.

I really like your videos on your impressions of new places, small and big, hopefully you get to do more, even after several years it's not uncommon to discover new things about a place and its people, however small, it can be quite interesting to hear about. Thanks for sharing and doing it a relaxed, down to earth, calm way.

I love thrift shop finds too...and Maine abounds in these small little nooks & crannys ... NH too!

Hi Meg. I don't know how your videos came up on my RU-vid feed but it did today. Maybe it was something about moving to New England. I only watched 3 of your videos, your first one when you came up by yourself on the road trip and then the one when you moved to Maine and finally the one when you moved to NH. I'm 66 and grew up in Baltimore and then moved to Metro Boston and finally to a small town of 1000 just south of the White Mountainsin NH lakes region. So I was interested in your thoughts and tips. A couple of comments/ideas came in mind. One winter tip is that a remote car started works great. Heat your car's interior up for 10 minutes and it makes removing icy snow very easy. Totally unrelated to that, you should take a trip to Canada for a long weekend (if you have a valid passport). Crossing the boarder is easy and driving through Quebec which is mostly French is like going to another country. (ha, well it is). I highly, highly recommend Quebec City. It is so beautiful and different than US cities. It's about a 6 hour drive.....Okay changing subjects again about US states and people, very Southern Maine and Southern NH are becoming almost distant suburbs of Boston. I am not super familiar with Southern Maine but people and outlooks are quite different in NH once you get to the White Mountains and north verses Nashua, Manchester and even up to Concord. I live in the lakes region of NH and there is tremendous growth occurring and the locals are not happy with all the Massachusetts people moving up here. It really started in earnest with Covid when people could work remotely. There is a clash between the old yankee's and the newer wealthier Southern New England people. Very interesting dynamics. All in all I love NH and New England and I will take the winter's anytime over months of heat and humidity. Enjoy! Gene

keep the shovel in your car. i had to dig my car out of a drift last year at 2:30 a.m. coming home from an overtime at work. I'm soooo glad i had it...

welcome to the North!

Meg sure is pretty cool! 😊

❤

Don't rethink the shovel in your car. Leave it coming from a current Buffalo NY resident

I love the xmas detail on your round mirror. Did you stencil that on with temporary paint? I'd love to try this in my home. Please advise. Thanks!!

Im currently trying to move to Saco/Portland area and am having a hard time finding housing so I feel you. Im also moving up alone lol.

So currently I live in Dallas, Texas, and I am planning the same type of move to Maine very soon but I’m sure my very small town out here so I’m used to Motown living where things close at like 7 o’clock or they used to before they found their place on the map literally like six years ago but Texas is become so overrun by Californians and Floridians that is just getting ridiculousand I would be coming with my sister who is very excited for snow again because originally we’re born and raised in Denver, Colorado till I was 10 so it’s bit like we have never lived in a cold state. Lol

Does Maine have lots of storms as far as the ocean, how is crime vs Dallas Tx, huge change by the way. I’ve been considering a move for about 6 years now but am afraid of such a change/culture shock.

Hi Meg. I was wondering what/how you work remote? We are planning to move to Maine and start a family. But I am worried about finding work. Got any advice?

The comments of keeping people out are so unnecessary. Most working class and middle class people are moving around a lot. I’m being pushed out of my home state but I’d never blame the person moving here to settle down and raise their family. My annoyance comes from short term rental “investors” who contribute to a scarcity of available housing. People need to relax. The housing crisis is nationwide and working people/families are not to blame. We’re all trying to get by just the same.

Would new england be good to move to from Ireland

Thanks Meg. Sweetie, need more detail- not fluffed over. ❤

My two boys and I are wanting to move to the New England area Arkansas. Is there any advice or recommendations you have as how to go about this?

What town in NH did you move to?

Can you give me heads up on housing as I want to move there. I work from home.

Hey I’m thinking about moving my family there we be welcome seeing that we are people of color will it be hard to find a job .etc

Do you think you'll settle in NH and buy property? Im converned about the property taxes and cost of utilities (coming from Nashville, TN...).

Where are you working currently?