I wound up in Portland mostly because it was a central location to the people in my life — just about three hours from family in Vermont, central Maine, southern Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Close enough to make it an easy drive for a weekend visit, but not so close that dropping by was convenient.But I must admit, I didn't love Portland at first. I didn't know anyone when I first moved here and Portlanders seemed like a fairly exclusive bunch (although I think that's a New England trait more than a Portland one). Plus, I couldn't find a job. After a few months of searching, I finally got a job working in a restaurant for the summer (which turned into a two-year gig) and experienced my first summer in Portland getting thrown around by tourists. If you don't know what Campers Weekend is, consider yourself lucky.
And while I've since moved on to life as a nine-to-fiver, my restaurant stint continues to keep me connected to the thriving food scene here (as much as anything can thrive in this economy, that is). Life as a weekend warrior has expanded the people I can hang out with and in the last year I've discovered that Portland, and Maine in general, has pretty much everything I want.
Living right in town has given me access to all the things I want in terms of city life: I can pretty much walk or bike to bars and restaurants, but don't have to deal with typical city hassles like long commutes and traffic jams. And the best part about Portland is that it's easy to escape from. I can jump in the car and find all sorts of outdoor adventures from skiing and hiking to canoeing and just lounging on the beach. It's the combination of all those things that keeps me here and while the onslaught of summer tourists can be frustrating at times, I guess it's only fair that I share a little.
_Leischen Stelter
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Related:
Exploring deep within, Olive Café, Letters to the Portland editor: May 1, 2009, More 
- Exploring deep within
Hannah Holmes, the Maine-born, Portland-dwelling science writer, naturalist, and friend to all animals has turned her lens deeply inward in her latest book, The Well-Dressed Ape: A Natural History of Myself .
- Olive Café
Solid tastes at Olive Café
- Letters to the Portland editor: May 1, 2009
Is Rick Wormwood an inbred Maineiac as some would speculate?
- German birthday cake
Tuesday's gift from Portland's Choral Art Society to German composer Felix Mendelssohn, on the occasion of what would be his 200th birthday, will be one of his greatest works (Elijah), and one of their biggest undertakings.
- A mighty wind
This past Earth Day, President Barack Obama, speaking at an Iowa wind-turbine factory, delivered a gusty peroration. "The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st-century global economy," he said. "America can be that nation. America must be that nation."
- Photos: Stetson Wind in Maine
Photos of Stetson Wind in Washington County, Maine
- Classic retro
Opened 20 years ago on an odd bayside corner, the Back Bay Grill looks seasoned rather than old.
- Teach a woman to fish...she'll never want to leave
The cluster of small shacks that comprise Jim's Smelt Camp in Bowdoinham look like a tiny shantytown; were that it was so — I would move right in.
- As the Pro Jo turns
A full-page advertisement that ran on page A7 of Monday's ProJo featured an illustration depicting a workshop of flinty Amish craftsmen busily building what the headline called an "Amish mantle and miracle invention" that helps "home heat bills hit rock bottom."
- Light that failed
How has Maine's term-limit law, restricting legislators to eight consecutive years in office, been working since it was approved by voters in 1993?
- The rain in Maine
If you're planning a trip to Vacationland this summer, be sure to bring your galoshes — the "gay storm" that's been satirized all over the Internet rolled into Maine last week.
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, Maine, Portland, Paul Reubens, More
, Maine, Portland, Paul Reubens, Chris Gray, Franklin Arterial, winter, Great State, Less
