You can try to see if fiber is in your area, but I don't think they're any cheaper. Spectrum has the monopoly on cable, as far as I know. Other options are the dls, satellite, or mobile, which your prices, speeds, and reliability will vary depending on where you live.

And yeah, Spectrum sucks like that. I can't wait to ditch them if/when fiber ever comes to my town.

I don't have much advice other than you're not alone in this struggle. Even finding friends is hard. I work from home, and most of my interests and hobbies are either indoors or niche, so it's a massive struggle to meet people in our age range with the same interests.

I like how most of the answers here are different yet equally plausible

Understandable. Generally ticks like to hang out on shrubs and tall grasses (where they can jump onto people/animals that walk by). I've only encountered ticks on my property when dealing with the tall weeds that grow along the edges of the woods, never just hanging out on my lawn. They kind of like wet/shaded areas the most. So as long as long as you take precautions in areas like that you'll be fine. But it's also a good idea to get in the habit of doing a "tick check" everytime you come inside. It takes a little while for the buggers to really latch on, so routine checks are a good habit.

depends on your lawn I would imagine. Lawns generally don't get that tall during May to be tick infested, and I mow over any leaf litter to mulch. My backyard is surrounded by woods, so I'm going to have ticks around regardless. Lawns in more suburban/urban areas are less likely to have a problem.

but yes the taller the grass the more ticks it will attract.

I've read anytime between late winter to early fall will work, early spring being a good time due to it being cool/wet and because seedlings are slow to start. I think it probably depends on the kind of clover too?

That's what I plan on doing for my backyard. Doing a trial run of clover and wildflowers around the areas I don't need to mow.

I'm a fan of No Mow May.

Too close to the water. Can't build within like 250ft of the lake shore. The plot wasn't wide enough away from the shore to build anything on.

Yeah unfortunately most of what you're asking (relating to building) is reliant on which town you'd want to build on. Your best bet is to research which towns you'd want to move, and then consult a lawyer or code enforcement. Make sure everything that you'd want to do is possible before buying. Some towns have funny ordinances.

Don't be like the guy who bought land next to my family's camp wanting to build a cabin, only to find after the fact that town regulations didn't allow it. 🤭

The trust thing is definitely possible too. My family's camp is in a trust, and neither my grandmother's kids nor us grandkids can sell it until only one of us is left to inherit it.

Gotcha. Sadly I can't really offer any more advice. Everyone I know who uses a heatpump only uses them as backups, and for single rooms. The price hike in electricity has had people wary to use them as a main heatsource too.

I can sympathize though. I'm working on (slowly) finishing my basement too, and more than once thought "if only that dang boiler wasn't in the middle of the room." haha

I'd install the heat pump and keep the oil as a backup for a few years to test it. See how much you use it and how you like it.

I've considered doing the same (I hate how loud the boiler is). I use a pellet stove as my primary heat source in the living room, and it's kept my house warm enough that I only used 170gl in 10 months (includes hot water in the summer). I'd like to eventually add a a heat pump or two as backup, and eventually get rid of the boiler.

I'd advise not to do anything drastic that can't be undone easily or cheaply.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but my mother is obsessed with Moses Dyer (Last Dark blend)

kind of a bummer to hear. I assume not even affordable housing?

Clifford Park in Biddeford is actually a lot bigger than I expected the first time I hiked it. The back trails are really nice and quiet for being so close in town.

Best advice I can think of is research what kind of trees they primarily live in, and try to avoid large groves. The nests are kind of easy to spot, since they can take over whole trees.

I'm pretty sure they're mostly coastal too? Last I heard at least. So it could depend on where you're planning on staying.

They're awful at my mother's house (Hope), she can't even hang clothes out to dry or they'd get covered in caterpillar hairs and they break out in awful rashes. I've only seen a few in my area (Augusta), but not anywhere near as bad.

Not the first time someone has tried to mine the area. My family owns land there and remembers when Knox Nickel tried the same thing.

Sounds like the people of Warren are very much against. https://knox.villagesoup.com/2023/02/16/mining-faces-overwhelming-opposition-in-warren/

Great Kingdom Emporium in Oxford (right next to the racetrack) has all kind of stuff in that general vibes. It shares a building with the flea market, so it's a great place to stop and spend a few hours picking through stuff.

Thermo set to 50, but pellet stove keeps the main area around 60-65. Bedroom is generally around 50-55, but I like it cool when sleeping (and I have two cats to use as heaters haha). I usually just layer with double sweatshirts around the house. A lot cheaper that way.

Funny enough I was working in a tax office while I was building my comics sidejob. Definitely don't want to go back to that haha.

my side hustle turned into my fulltime job (coloring comics), and now I'm trying to figure out what to do for a new hobby/gig

Pellet stove is another thing I'd recommend, if a wood stove isn't an option. Doesn't require a big chimney like a woodstove, pellets are relatively cheap, and you can let it run for a lot longer without needing to load it (24hrs+). It won't heat the whole house but definitely a main area.

That sounds amazing! Makes me wish I learned the elvish languages from my roommate in college. She had many of them memorized.

to add on what everyone else has mentioned, look at how much you use other appliances, especially the dryer. Depending on its wattage and how frequently you use it, it can very quickly add up (on top of everything else). I try to use mine as little as possible to save.

I have a 1200sqft house that's heated with oil and a pellet stove, and even though I only use around 400kw in the winter, the jump in price still hurts.

You should check out Fedco Trees https://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees/ They do a lot of growing trials throughout Maine, and focus on plants that thrive here. Great prices and varieties too!