Photo Courtesy of Anna Hepler
WHY I CHOSE EASTPORT
"If you're thinking about relocating to Eastport, I think you should just do it. If you come out here, we want you to stay: we'll show you how we make do, and hopefully give you something so much more meaningful and rare than the pretty view."
Brian, Senior Staff Informatics Engineer
"If I had any worries about the move and how our son would settle in, they got quickly dispersed. He thrived in the small classroom setting at the Eastport Elementary School as it provided him with lots of individual attention... He has been learning about the local economy, and developed an environmental consciousness that I doubt would have been fostered to the same degree had we stayed in New Jersey."
Manuela, Co-owner Eastport Enterprises LLC
The community is full of surprises both in terms of the many cultural offerings available here, and the amazing collection of people that make Eastport their home."
Anna, Artist
DAVID BRASS, who relocated from Hawaii in 2006, says Eastport summers “are like the best family reunion you ever went to and winters are like being in a spacious lifeboat with a bunch of people you always hoped to be able to spend more time with.” Cultural richness, a warm and supportive community, and serene solitude when desired keeps David singing Eastport’s praises. He says he’s here “because everybody knows my dog’s name.”
ANNA HEPLER maintains a part-time studio in the island city. As an artist, she says the city is “a great place to work and think.” She appreciates the easy-to navigate daily life logistics and the quiet. The community and “non-consumer-oriented environment” has been a big perk as well: “amazing people—self reliant, creative, friendly and invested in the community. People are not consuming culture, they are making it here.”
DAMON WESTON grew up in Downeast Maine. He says he’s chosen Eastport as home “because of the pace of life; the caring and close community; the climate that’s never too hot or too cold; the easy access to the sea; the conveniences of urban life in a rural setting; the rich history to discover and our ever-growing access to local foods.”
BUTCHIE HARRIS’ family has been in Eastport since the late 18th century. He has worked in the herring fisheries, the aquaculture industry, and now operates a whale-watching schooner while doing other fishing related work to piece together a year. “This is a friendly community. You know your neighbors. You have disagreements, but usually you can work things out. There’s always someone to give you a hand if you need a hand.”
MANUELA
Co-owner Eastport Enterprises LLC
If I had any worries about the move and how our son would settle in, they got quickly dispersed. He thrived in the small classroom setting at the Eastport Elementary School as it provided him with lots of individual attention. I think we were very lucky that he had a particular teacher as his first teacher when he entered in 5th grade as she quickly recognized his potential, and that his abilities were surpassing those of his class mates. She said that he raised the bar for all her students regarding quality of work, work ethic and engagement in the class room. She made him comfortable in the classroom and in the school. Being involved as a parent was key. I got on the PTCO board and was involved as much as possible, staying in touch with the teachers and other parents. Our son also developed a great relationship with the EES music teacher, which displaced some of our son’s angst over leaving family behind in New Jersey...
COLEMAN
Co-owner Eastport Enterprises LLC
We were attracted to Eastport by it's quirky, eclectic mix of world class artists and creative types interspersed among a rugged traditional waterfront Maine community with astounding natural beauty.
My son has scored off the chart in statewide standardized testing and receives incredible one-on-one mentoring from fiercely devoted professional educators . He also enjoys a variety of unique learning opportunities through local businesses, organizations, workshops, volunteerism and other offerings within this rich community...
LORA
Journalist and writer
Originally I moved to Eastport from another region of Maine to take a job that did not involve telecommuting. Now I do telecommute from my home office to my place of employment, the regional community newspaper The Quoddy Tides, a very short telecommute indeed. However, it’s a trend that other businesses in the area are beginning to use to allow their key staff to work remotely and enjoy the benefits of a flexible work schedule. Axiom Technologies is one such company in Washington County that uses this model...
BRIAN
Senior Staff Informatics Engineer, Siemens Healthcare
So, to be heartbreakingly honest, the number one consideration when we moved to Eastport in 1997 was that we couldn't stand being in Newton, Mass., any more. This was more true of me than for Alice, but we both were tired of working constantly, only to keep falling further behind, and to be in a huge "community" where we felt lost and I felt surrounded by people whose priorities were all out of order. We wanted to go somewhere, almost anywhere - and we had the benefit of a friend who Alice knew through other musicians found Eastport for us. We could afford a house there -- something we feared we would never be able to do in Massachusetts. It was almost magic, then, to find ourselves out on the edge of the country and suddenly immersed in a community that would almost take over our lives...
JOAN
Freelance Database Developer
I moved to Eastport from Northern California in June 2018. I grew up in the Silicon Valley (when it was still orchards and agriculture), I worked for Apple Computer in their early days, and have been a freelance database developer for over 25 years. I have been able to continue to support my clients in California from 3,500 miles away! Reliable internet and teleconferencing makes doing business from afar very easy. I find the 3 hour time difference really useful - my clients can make a request at the end of the day, I get a jump start the next day and the work is done by the time they arrive in their office the next morning. And the view from my home office can't be beat - I work on my laptop at a picture window overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. The only downside to telecommuting in Eastport is that I'm easily distracted by deer, eagles, whales . . .
ANNA
Artist