I agree, mostly but the Advanced Manufacturing program and the Materials lab are truly incredible.

That's a good point!

Respectfully disagree. Learning how to compete and dig in when things get tough are crucial life skills. Plus, winning IS fun. Losing motivates.

Income inequality.

If half of the patrons of Applebee’s would spend money Downtown you’d see a big boom. People visit Bangor for the struggling mall and chain stores, then complain about how Bangor is dead and leave.

The outdoor community is huge, Bangor Arts Exchange is cool, Bangor Greendrinks is fun, a ton of cool locally owned businesses. Bangor is great.

One complaint though... The city needs better food offerings.

Halifax would not have beat our New York in the long run. Halifax is one of the great natural harbors of the world. But New York has an overwhelming advantage. The Erie Canal. Because there is only a couple of places in the Appalachians that has good access to the Ohio Valley. And that gave New York a more than 50 year head start on any port that required railroads to get to the interior.

College coaches

It’s funny, we did the college recruiting circuit for lacrosse and the coaches would always tell the kids not to specialize, and to play multiple sports. They never saw a kid if he wasn’t at the showcases though.

It really comes down to what you value and what your current life priorities are. Obviously that changes over time as people grow up and start and family.

Bangor is pretty great if you value things like a place where your kids can ride their bike around the neighborhood. We have some great parks. We have an amazing library!!! There's an amazing kids museum downtown! There's lots of green spaces and trail networks and even a neat little walk way through downtown called Kenduskeag River Heritage Trail. The Brown Woods Network and Bangor City Forrest. And more adventurous mountains are not too far away. We have great schools with great sports programs and other afterschool programs. We have the Opera house that has some amazing theater productions and Cross insurance center that holds a lot of family friendly events. The summer is always filled with fun festivals and art walks and live music.

Obviously things could always get better... Bangor definitely needs more affordable housing!!!

Look for the good!

Is there a plan for passenger rail service to return to Bangor?

Same for hockey. Not AAU specifically but the bullshit “elite” teams that almost anyone with a credit card can join.

I’ve seen plenty of white parents do it too

Odd that you’d single out the fathers. My son was on a total of around 50 teams from 4 years old to college and there was no difference between genders when it came to parent drama. Mouthy moms putting booze in their coffee cups at 9 AM in the rink parking lot were lots of fun.

You might be able to reach out to your old therapist and see if they have any leads!

Okay. That's how it came across.

I wrote two sentences. I wasn't implying anything.

Plenty of cities have went and sought out businesses and attempted to bring then to their city. In fact big cities like Portland Boston Charlotte Philly ect have done just that. Bangor needs to get out of the old mindset and start moving into the mindset of how are we going to start helping to provide for our residents. Seasonal rentals and jobs aren't cutting it

Did you catch crabs while you were at the beach?

Problem is that government cannot just bring good paying jobs to an area. Businesses locate those jobs in the places they do for reasons. And increasingly the reasons important to them tell them to locate to places like Boston.

Seems like your comment implied that parents aren't toxic and don't apply too much pressure now though. Which is the case. Parents are still too focused on their kids win records and stuff.

Elmer’s barn maybe

Sure it has a lot less traffic. Make it as popular as Portland and you'll hate it just as much.

This is news to me. You've pointed me in the right direction.

Hopefully we can continue to increase maritime trade in such a historic port. We see little ships like the one in that article come into NYC all the time.

I moved to Old Town about a year and a half ago and have also wondered why Bangor is so dead; I love the running and biking and winter sport scenes here and proximity to Acadia and Baxter but it’s kind of a weird place to be if you’re post-college but under 40, seems like there should be more going on with the universities nearby. That said, my idea of going out is hitting the bagel place on the weekend so it’s not like I require much in the way of nightlife, more music venues would be cool though

You state the reason in your own words.

It's isolated from the coast and from southern tourism/vacationers.

Maine is a dead state. People come for the coast and for vacations. Portland is vibrant BECAUSE of it's proximity to things. You can live in Cumberland county and not be far from Boston from Portsmouth shoot from NYC.

Maine has harsh weather and is far from most things. Without tourism without a draw is doesn't have much.

Some will come for the beauty of the inland and more northern parts but let's be honest most want to be closer to the beach and city amenities