The last 20 years with my former spouse have been difficult to say the least and I am so happy to be free of her oppression. I waited for the finalization of the divorce last fall to ask the new Ms. Choctaw to marry me.
The next step is of course to get my three sons away from their mother's daily "routine".
My future bride and I have just bought an estate in Northern Maine and am moving her up there this week. She starts her new job, in the same field, at the end of this month. The estate is over 4,000 sq ft and over 50 acres.
From here in Pennsylvania is about 750 miles or 10 hours at a brisk driving pace.
I will split my time between Maine and Pennsylvania until the near the end of the school year and take my sons up to Maine for the 1 month I get them in the summer.
At that time they will have to make a decision as to whether they want to stay up there permanently or not. I want them to stay with me but at the same time I am leaving that decision totally up to them, with the exception of my 8 year old which is not legally old enough to make that decision. I am not sure what my ex will want to do about that. My oldest is a senior and will be 18 this April. I already spoke with him about staying with me and starting a woodworking business since he enjoys that kind of thing so much. I told him if he makes a living doing what he enjoys, he will never "work" a day in his life. What better gift could a father have knowing that his sons are decent, honest and respectable people earning a living doing what they enjoy.
We will see what happens over the course of these next few months.
The estate is currently being rented by the Chief of the State Police who also happens to be a Colonel in the Army. This is a great way to start off on the right foot in getting to know some good people up there.
The estate contains an attached guest suite with a full kitchen which my future bride will be using until we move into the rest of the house at the end of this spring when the Colonel and his family will move away while he attends the War College.
Anyway, here are some photos of a "drive-by" when we were up there visiting back in October.
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Cool beans...my mom's family is from the southern tip of Maine. It's a really lovely state and gets really remote feeling the further north you get. We used to go there every summer and it was always really lovely. Never spent a winter there but it is definitely really snowy there. Now you just need to get a condo in Florida to winter in.
Great move and advice to your son.
Hope you are really happy there you have all the factors for it to happen.
Big house and looks like lots of mowing around the house (one of my bugbears living rurally on acerage)
50 acres is a lot to look after - are you going to put animals (cows eg) on it.Therefore how is the fencing condition?
The red building is the barn/workshop area? or is it the self-contained accommodation.
Fantastic workspace for a business, with local supply of timber for your trade I suppose!
Good news mate
The red building is one of the nicest barns I have seen. If I didn't mention in the original post, it was recently re-timbered on the inside. The workshop area is in the barn on the left side. You may be able to make out a sliding door on the front left. The workshop area is insulated and currently heated by a wood stove with provisions to be heated by the wood boiler, also in the barn.
The guest quarters, or in-law suite if you prefer, is attached to the house on the North end, on the right side in the photos.
I have been thinking about setting up a saw mill on the property since the lumber business is a lucrative one up there. This way I can have an additional income from that ever present industry and even be able to buy the wood I want for cheap. These things will happen in good time I suppose. I will move the remainder of my things up there at the end of the spring, to include my workshop, and hopefully get fully settled before the next winter season.
Just West of Houlton. As far as the winters in Pennsylvania, they are unpredictable. A snowmobile is a foolish purchase in PA but in Maine, you can count on snow, every year. I have some great new photos of the house after the last snow storm. I will put them up sometime.Originally Posted by Skunk_438RCAF Go to original post