It's too far north. Im a college student from Connecticut currently at Umaine and I would never consider staying up here. Yeah, its a reasonably nice place, but theres no community outside of school or church. Its really difficult to meet people because a lot of mainers arent super social. At the very least they are very disinterested in having a relationship with someone whos relatively liberal and from Connecticut. And thats not to mention the pretty limited choices in employement. I don't think I know one person from out of state who wants to stay in the area after school. So yeah, nothing really against Bangor, but I want to live someplace a little more diverse.

I havent tried the t-shirts specifically, but the stuff ive gotten from quince has been great and held up well. They have great modern basics at great prices.

Depends on the plastic bag. They do take a lot less energy and resources to make, and can potentially last an insane amount of time. So a good quality plastic bag that will last is a great choice. Cheap crap that's made to be thrown away is always a bad choice.

I really like my gillete safety razor, its holding up well and has no rust after a year living in the shower

Bioresins are specifically not made of petroleum, and yeah its coated in a paint, just like most stuctures open to the environment are.

If you can afford it I would look into moving to Orono or Old Town as well. Theres a lot of apartment rentals with very high turn over because of the school, and they generally are relatively affordable. I'm assuming you arent a college student, but if you can get onto the Umaine housing and sublets facebook group you can get a feel for the market up here.

Not quite BIFL, but I have a pair of Timberland boots that look a lot like that. Love them.

Levis are great for the price. They have a few lines though, so levis premiums are the ones that last a long time. They also have different denim types. So yeah, skinny jeans will never be bifl. But heavy gauge ones are gonna last a while. Unfortunately its hard to tell from the website.

Depends on the use case, I think in a lot of cases leather will degrade over time if not taken care if properly or under very heavy use, which some belts are.

LL Bean is a littly over rated in my opinion. They are definitely good quality stuff, but a little overpriced for what they are. A lot of the stuff I have hasn't lasted super well. Despite being in northern Maine where bean boots and an LLbean flannel is practically the uniform they aren't my go to. I don't own any Patagonia, but my gut feeling is thats the better choice.

I have an Eddie Bauer jacket that I love. Its not showing any signs of wear after about three years. It's a pretty light shell, I'll wear it to about 30F, so in northern Maine thats not exactly year round. I would say probably not quite as good quality as some of the more premium brands, but you'll definitely get your moneys worth and many years of wear.

My work bought me Tims and two years later im getting a new pair. I work in research, and dont do a ton of heavy work, mostly just wearing them around while im at work. Not even full time. My Doc Martens have been through a hell of a lot more and are holding up better, and I don't even think they are super high quality either. Its entirely possible that the womens line is lower quality, but if i have a choice I'm gonna go with something else next time. Also, with professional work boots you're probably gonna pay for the ANSI rating, which you don't really need. I would say pass on the Tims.