[njbchbum]

we live in jersey and have vacation homes in maine and the villages - it is the best of all worlds! we are inundated with tourists all summer since we live just a mile from the beach - traffic, restaurant lines, traffic, crowded stores, traffic and rude people from new york who have no idea how to drive nor care how they drive because they are in a rental car since they take subways when in ny! it's everything that old orchard beach and the rest of the rt 1 corridor is in maine!

in maine we live at the base of the mountain ranges in the lakes region - popular for boating, fishing, hiking, hunting and skiing - none of which we do but which we enjoy watching others do! our little town has less than 1,000 residents between columbus day and memorial day, a popular ski slope, no police force, and the truant officer retired years ago and was not replaced! town office is run by one and a half ladies all year 'round! we're fortunate that the next town over is a county seat and has a hospital, movie theatre and 2 grocery stores. we're about 60 mins from portland and 90 mins from kennebunkport. it is the only place i want to be in the fall - even if the tourists have left my jersey shore town!

and then there is the villages - where i only want to be in the winter. have spent too many winters with the cold, snow and ice; and have outgrown that at my age!

but when it comes to retirement - as long as my husband is alive we will stick with what we have. should i outlive him, it will be a one way trip to someplace close to wilmington, north carolina or hilton head, south carolina - great spots for seasonal changes and little to no snow. seasonal tourists i have learned to cope with and how to avoid.

i thoroughly get the wonderful family reunions in the big houses along sandy beaches - my folks owned an oceanfront cottage on the jersey shore. we always reunited after labor day when it was no longer rented to tourists! where would i go in maine - probably close to gorham, windham, sanford so i would have easy access to those rt 1 beach towns and rural living with modern conveniences.