I was at a meeting in California. The meeting ended and a guy from the meeting went to my airport, boarded my plane. We got to Chicago and he was in line to board with me to Portland. I asked where he was going and he said he was from North Carolina but while he was on this trip his family “rented some cottages on a big lake in Maine.”

He was floored when I said “did they rent at (place)?” and nailed the name. He asked how I knew and I said “you said cottages on a big lake, and my family owns and runs those cottages.”

Small world.

A few years ago my wife and I were in New Zealand and took a small boat trip through the fjords. I happened to be wearing a shirt from a Maine business and a couple on the boat asked us if we were from there. Turns out the wife was the mother of someone my wife had dated in college (lol) and the husband was good friends with one of my coworkers. The couple and my wife then realized that they had all met at a contra dance years earlier.

I've got like six more examples off the top of my head but that one was certainly the farthest from home haha

When someone says, “I know someone from Maine,” I almost always ask what their name is. The times I have known the person or people they associate with are startling.

A few years ago my son was leaving a train station in Paris (France) and ran into a kid who was his middle school classmate in Maine.

I used to live in Japan. I befriended another American, from NY. Her boyfriend was also American, from Texas. His half brother visited, who lived in Maine. Turns out we had two friends in common, unrelated to each other. He was really good friends with my friend's sister, and also he knew a different friend who was an old coworker of mine. Maine connections are wild.

My partner’s daughter is in NYC for school. She was hostessing in the West Village one night and took a last-minute call for reservations. Recognizing the area code as that of our home state, daughter mentioned it to the caller. Caller asks daughter’s name. Says, “do you know so-and-so with the same last name?” Daughter is like, “Yeah, those are my parents.” Random caller turned out to be a long-time friend of the hostess’s mother visiting NYC for the weekend and that was the third restaurant she had tried that night.

Crazy thing is, I was working in NYC at the time ,and my partner had come down to visit for the weekend. So she got to meet up with her friend for brunch the next day. They hadn’t seen each other at home in years.

I was an exchange student and when I got off the train in Stendhal, Germany to attend a month long language course I just happened to run into Christoff the German exchange student that was at my high school in Maine two years previously

Went on vacation to Belize. Dad gets into a boat to go scuba diving, and on the boat there was another woman from Maine. She turned out to be the sister of one of my classmates, and her parents live literally around the corner from mine.

I was applying for a job in the country of Georgia and the person interviewing me went to the same church as my family growing up. I had Sunday school with his sister.

I was stationed at MCRD San Diego, Marine had a car with a Maine license plate, I said hello. Turns out my stepdad was his art teacher.

My father was stationed in PA during his final years in the military. The rest of the family had moved back to Maine, waiting for him to retire.

I had one of his old company shirts (forget which he was in, sorry). So I was wearing it while out with friends at the store and this guy comes up and asks if I was military and in said company. Thought he was going to be one of those guys who gives you shit for wearing the shirt if you aren't in. So I tell him no, my father was. Guy asks his name.

"You're Sargent's son!? No kidding! I'm up on vacation right now. Just talked to him last week! Holy shit now I see why you looked so familiar, I thought you were one of the privates!"

All the run-ins I've had are more like Two Degrees of Separation since they take place in the same country, lol.

But on a related note, I do have a tendency to attract people I once knew when I go out. I don't know what it is. But I've had run-ins with my old elementary school staff, Boys and Girls Club counselors, old friends and neighbors...hardly any of whom I remember.

Hi neighbor, I'm in NH but as the story goes...

In Hawaii on vacation with my husband & in-laws, we booked a guided horseback ride. It was us and two other small groups. My in-laws hit it off with one of the other couples, and they talked on and off the entire two hour trek. We get back to the ranch, and my MIL is talking about her horse, Ace, and how it was a nice name etc etc. She mentioned how she only knew one Ace in her life, looked over to my FIL and said, "Ya know Ace *insert last name*" That woman from the other group whips her head around and said, "Ace ____ from *town we're from*?"

Ace's mother owns the building that our office is next to.

I was in a little bar called Cafe Pollux in Amsterdam Walked into the bathroom, stood at the urinal I said something along the lines "Jesus you guys see that dog in there" (there was a house dog who sat at the bar)

Guy in stall with Dutch accent replies "You must be from Maine"

I shit you not.

I once had a guy walk up the driveway where I was visiting in Mississippi because he saw the Maine plate and had to see if it was someone he knew lol

Well I was a New Orleans bartender for 20 years and I'm in the process of moving to Maine. I've made it as far as Virginia right now. So maybe I'll be a Maine bartender 2 years from now and someone from New Orleans can walk in and we can have a similar conversation about New Orleans.

I moved to Utah and a girl from the same town I'm from moved in next door. We've never met before and she worked at the same restaurant I did in highschool 20 years ago

This past weekend I was in San Diego for a friend's wedding. At the reception I got to talking to the brides side of the family who are all from the Midwest. At one point I said "wicked", as one does of course, and the boyfriend of the brides sister turned and asked if I was from New England. I said yes, born and bred Mainer, and he giggled and said he was from "a little town called Fryeburg". I told him I grew up about an hour north of there and he was floored. Said since moving away he's never met another person who'd ever heard of the place. It was cool!

My mum was in London, standing in front of Buckingham Palace, waiting for the changing of the guards. As one does, she got to chatting with the couple next to her about their trips etc, when they both realized they were from Maine. Towns were asked, Saco on our end, and the couple remakred their daughter was a teacher in Saco. Yup, my 3rd grade teachers parents 😆

I lived in New York for a few years. I started a new job, and on my first day I was talking to someone in the break room and I mentioned I was from Maine. She said, "oh, my son-in-law is from Maine! Maybe you know him!" I said, "yeah, it's a small state but we don't all know everyone, haha."

Then she said his name, and I said "wait...does he have a brother named David?" She said yes, that's his younger brother's name.

I went to the same high school as them - I graduated with his younger brother.

I can't make this up. I moved from Maine to Alaska when I was 14. When introducing myself to someone in class, a girl asked where I was from. I said Maine and she asked where. Of course this was before google so I figured there's no way she is going to recognize the town, why bother asking? So I brush it off and say the name and move on with my conversation. She says " no way, I grew up there!" Now I think she must be messing with me or trying to get me to be her friend. But by the end of the conversation we find out we shared a best friend. Crazy right? Yea, not as crazy as her coming into class the next day with A PICTURE OF ME! Her mom kept polaroids from her 6th birthday party, and there I was all frizzy haired and standing next to her. I had slept over for the party, and when she moved I had completely forgotten her. We became fast friends ( again). Didn't forget her this time though!

I was in Sedona visiting a friend and she had a get-together. We were all talking and a young man asked where I was from and I said Maine. We got to talking and he said he was a bicycle cop in OOB one year, I said I graduated with someone who did that. Come to find out, he knew him.

Happens all the time, that six degrees of separation in Maine is more like 3 lol.

I grew up in Washington County Maine then went to film school in Chicago. I came back to maine and was doing photo freelance for Bangor Metro Magizine and was assigned to be attached to the American Loggers film crew off the golden road at Tolos Camp. One of the film crew was my roommate in Chicago.

I took a trip to Disney world a few years back and was chatting with a security guard at the main entrance. It turns out he was from the same town as me, and not only that but he and I both coached soccer, and he coached my school’s rival team and I’d coached against him several times. It really is a small world

Ahh....welcome to the town of Maine.

It even starts before someone moves to Maine. Around thirty five years ago, my dad moved up from North Carolina to work. Before he left, was chatting with the elderly next door neighbor who said they used to summer at a particular inn. Turns out that place was a couple miles from where he worked. But it continued.

About four years prior, my grandfather took my dad up to UNC to watch an exhibition game between UNC and the damn NY Yankees. My grandfather had been in radio, and was friends with one of the scouts for the Yankees and introduced him, went for supper after the game. Flash forward to about three months after dad moved up. He’s been coaching skiing and is at a sports dinner at the end of the season. Is seated next to the guest speaker. Who happens to be that scout from the Yankee he met before. Stump Merrill.

We were stationed ( husband in Military)in Germany, met a German couple and invited them to dinner. They said they had been Maine. It ended up that they had pictures in their scrapbook of the restaurant that I worked at all through high school.

Another time I was driving through the night to Tennessee, stopped at a lonely rest stop off I-81 in Virginia, pull in, only other car there Maine plates, 2:30am we both have Maine Black Bears sweatshirts on

His brother was my chemistry teacher

I went on a Caribbean cruise and the comedian said at the start of her show that she was from Maine...I screamed from the audience. She promptly made a quick joke that if someone else from Maine was on the ship then the state must be empty. After the show I went to say hi and quickly learned she actually knew my cousin, they both did stand up at the comedy connection in Portland.

not as far flung but on a college tour at UConn i was chatting with the tour guide after and he asked where i was from and when i said Maine he said he only knew one person from Maine. Turns out it was a kid that I went to high school with

Very disappointed I didn’t get to read someone replying to a small world comment “that was me! Small world yet again!”

Had a friend visiting from AZ, we’re watching TV and Chopped came on. It was an episode with someone from Maine, he jokingly asked if I knew them, since we were talking about this very thing earlier in the day. I’d gone to school with him 😂

When I first came here from California, people were always asking if I knew someone they knew who was living in California. I thought they’d lost their minds. Now I get it.

I flew back from Sarasota in May and had a flight from Sarasota>Atlanta>Portland.

The owner of the DQ I worked at as a teenager was on my flight.

1.3 million people live in Maine. 1.3 million people live in Dallas Texas. I’m My mind it’s more probable that you would have something in common with another Mainer than it would be to even find another Mainer outside of Maine. We’re a rare and special breed.

ANOTHA NOTHA TIME Go to my buddys bachelor party, drinkin on Cape Cod all weekend, we got to Nantucket on Saturday, go to Cisco, mobbed, packed, stand in line for food, guy in front of me has an electrician tshirt, I'm like yo do you know so and so he goes Yeah that's my brother, well come to find out I had dinner with this guy and his whole family like 8 years previous

As always Can't go anywhere

I have a weird one. I was walking down a sketchy sidewalk in Orando, FL at dusk when a guy popped out of some shrubbery and asked if I wanted to drink with him in the bushes. I politely declined but we talked for a couple minutes and I mentioned that I'm from Maine. He said that an ex-girlfriend of his lives in Porter which is the town next to where I grew up, kinda surreal

Wasn't New Orleans settled mostly by people from Maine and Quebec?

"Cajun" is just a shortened version of "Canadian"

This happened to my family while we were in Yellowstone. My dad was wearing a UMaine shirt and a lady stopped him and asked if we were from Maine. He responded yes and what our hometown was. Turns out she was from the same town! Literally took us traveling to Yellowstone NP to meet people that probably live 20 mins away. Haven’t seen her in my hometown since then either lol

I moved to North Little Rock, AR and randomly landed a job working in a school. The assistant principal and I struck up a conversation one day about living in the north vs. living in the south—my accent was pretty novel there, as you might expect. She asked me where I was from originally so I told her I was from Maine. She got excited and said she loved visiting her cousins in Maine and visited every few years. She thought I was crazy when I asked her cousin’s name, and sure enough, I knew the cousin. She was a former coworker. The only one not shocked was me! Lol

Years ago I went to Ireland to visit my sister and when I was going through customs in Ireland on my way back the woman checking my passport was from one town over from my family and knew of my mother who worked as an Ed tech in that town’s high school!

Met a woman in the navy across the country in Washington state who lives 10 minutes from me in Maine..

I was in Copenhagen in the 1980s and stopped to watch a street magician. He was speaking American English and when he asked for a volunteer I somehow convinced him to pick me. He was from Lewiston, I was from Bangor.

Grad school in NYC —> researched in a lab with a bunch of super nice postdocs and fellow grad students —> one of the guys (and he wasn’t from Maine) went to Maine for vacation at one point.

After he came back and we were chatting about his trip, it turned out he’d stayed a couple nights in the town where my mom and brother live! He even went into the library where my mom works but she was off that day. Weird coincidence.

So many in multiple states, does not surprise me anymore.

It's a small world

I went to Great Bear for a once in a lifetime fishing trip. It's so remote up there that even tourist are in short supply and one of the people who booked at the same lodge was the father of my best friend from middle school. They moved away before we started high school.

I also live in New Orleans and through my job I have met so many people who vacation in my hometown in Maine

We call it the small town of Maine. FB has been interesting seeing random connections you have in common.

We met someone in Ireland who knew people in common with us from Maine.

I used to visit my dad in Tennessee during the summers. One of the guys he was stationed in Memphis would come over with his kids and hang out sometimes. Turns out he went to highschool in Maine and was best friends with my moms sister.

I went to the Indy zoo and saw a classmates from my graduation class (73 ppl) and a girl a year ahead of me and the dad who I knew well growing up. I was in Indy for 1 day.

Whenever I meet anyone new traveling and say I am from Maine there’s always at least one person we both know.

Yup! I ran into some women from Maine on a trip to SC and within 3 sentences we found people we knew in common.

For anyone with a Maine connection Its 3 degrees of separation tops. Often less lol

Lived in Montana for awhile, and was flying home for Christmas. Cute girl sat next to me , and we started talking. She mentioned she used to go to York every summer as a kid , and mentioned the name of a campground my family owned. We started comparing stories , and realized she dated my brother for a week twenty years prior.

Just moved 6 hours from my previous location. 350 miles. Multiple states, to a small town that I've never heard of.
I was having a ladder delivered. Guy shows up just before 7 AM, but I have no clue who's in the yard, so I go out to greet them. Quickly becomes apparent that he's delivering, and so the confusion starts wearing off. Once it does, a new confusion sets in... This guy looks damn familiar. I just can't shake how hauntingly familiar his face and speech patterns are.
So as the business transaction winds down, I can't stop myself from pointing out that he looks extremely familiar. He chuckles and says "Must just have one of those faces. I only moved here a year ago, so I doubt it,"
But mid way through him saying that, something clicked, I was sure I knew this guy.
I say "Did you move from (our old state)?" But I'm thinking to myself that even if he did, it doesn't explain how I know this guy.
But sure enough, he responds "Woah, that's crazy. Yeah,"
And then it really clicked.
He worked at the same company that I had just been at for years.

Another time I'm checking into a Marriot outside of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, guys in front of me had Molnlycke jackets (Swedish firm that bought a medical foam manufacturer here) asked them if they knew my friend working there, they indeed had just had a meeting with him the week before

Was in D.C. on vacation and ended up running into a Boy Scout troop from Maine.

All. The. Time. My wife says that Maine is just a small town that's really spread out.

My favorite was when I was working a job with two women I didn’t know and we all realized at the same time that we used to live on Swett Rd in windham throughout different years of our lives.

Maine is a small Town

Get used to it. It happens more the older you get.

On a beach in St. John (watermelon cay)… no one there, just us. Beautiful schooner anchors offshore and woman swims in. She’s from Oquossoc. I’m a UMF student. Twenty three years later— I’m at a party in Oquossoc, there she is (we look very similar, and I think this is why I recognized her). Introduced myself and asked if she remembered meeting me. We drank martinis and chatted up. We’ve been friends for 6 years now.

I was at a concert in Las Vegas, because I moved there recently with my now husband and I met a couple there who were from Portland, not too far away from where I was born.