Life in a "Summer Town"

We've all got our favorite spots for summer vacation... Myrtle Beach, the Wisconsin Dells, or in my case, the Lakes Region of Maine.

I grew up going to one of the smaller "summer towns" up there every year.  Why do I call it a summer town?  Well, in the winter, the population drops dramatically to about 1000 permanent residents.  In the summer, it's a booming recreational area filled with tourists.  Hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and shops probably make 70-90% of their income in the 3 summer months.  Winter tends to be quieter, in large part because of the harsher weather.  Portland averages 60 inches of snow per year... and that's just the southern tip of the state.

While Portland is a larger city, I can't help but wonder what it's like for people who live in the smaller towns year-round.  I recently made a new friend, Carolyn, who's from a small town outside Rockport, Maine.  I asked her if we could do an interview for this post!

"Camden is known to be a town where the mountains meet the sea," she says about her home.  "There are numerous lakes, the ocean, and numerous hiking trails through the mountains.  Almost everything you could want!"

It sounds like paradise... depending on the season.  Of course, I'm not the only one who loves summer up there.  That's the whole point.  A lot of people do, and the tourism trend impacts daily life for locals.

"While tourists definitely brought a lot of activity to the town, it increased traffic - and crowded beaches were not my favorite thing during the summer," Carolyn remembers.  "I think some people really enjoy meeting others from around the country and world as they visit during the summer, while others prefer the quiet months and see an influx of tourists as a necessary intrusion."

She and her sister used to play a game in the summer counting how many state license plates they could find.  Most summers they got all 50, including Alaska and Hawaii.  As a kid, I remember meeting people from Great Britain there, too.

"It was just the norm," Carolyn says.  "I didn't have anything else to compare it to, so it just seemed regular to have an influx of tourists during the summer months.  Having lived in numerous locations since, I know how fortunate I was to grow up in an area that was the ideal summer destination for many."

Some restaurants or shops closed for the winter, but Carolyn looked on the positive side, saying it gave her something extra to look forward to every summer.

It seems to me like the region has found its own balance.  The small towns tend to change little over the years, but the beauty stays the same from season to season!