hassysmacker
Well-known member
So I'm gonna be in Portland ME (never having been there), in the beginning of October.
So how about people share what they know about the city, cool shit, places where traveller kids/cool people hang out, any highly squattable areas, really anything, because I don't know shit about it!
So how about people share what they know about the city, cool shit, places where traveller kids/cool people hang out, any highly squattable areas, really anything, because I don't know shit about it!
oldmanLee
Well-known member
Couple of quick ones,Hassysmacker.First,if you get up there right now,got about two months before it gets bitchin cold.Next,Oldtown is pretty much a tourist trap,but fair spang territory.Couple of good non-chain coffee shops,co-ops.Work is a bit scarce(typical Maine economy)by what a bfriend told me last week.Diner food is the best,but unless you like some coffee with your cream and sugar,when the waitress asks if you wan a regular,ask for black and add your own.Bit of a problem with tweekers(same source as the work info),and some of the homebums are a bit on the rough and ready side.If you go out of town,don't go much further west thanAuburn/Lewistown,but you can head all the way north to the border and catch rides from the locals.Btu if you head north,and find yourself in a town called Meddybemps(near Calais,pronounced CalASS),be careful of a joint called The Donut Hole.Bunch of hard core old lobstermen and loggers hang there,and it can get interesting!
bote
Well-known member
good diner with the silver dollars in the morning out by the train yard. And for the colder months, heated bus shelters.
Some locals took me out to a burnt-out, abanded fort overlooking a cove/beach, it was beautiful but all UI remember is that it was 15-20 minutes out of town.
Anybody?
Some locals took me out to a burnt-out, abanded fort overlooking a cove/beach, it was beautiful but all UI remember is that it was 15-20 minutes out of town.
Anybody?
I hung out in Portland for about 2 weeks and had a blast... this was maybe 5 years ago though... I flew a lot of signs and made a LOT of money... met a lot of cool "alternative" people who were "down"... got invited to stay at a hippie house... did that... went on a cruise around the islands for free... all in all a fairly good time.
stove
Well-known member
I lived in Portland for 6 months a while back, but i had a car and mostly hung out with other climbers and stayed out of the city.
Bote: I can't remember the name, but I could drive you there. Got stoned a LOT at the fort...
Most/all of my friends have dissapeared, but there are still some fairly good folks in the area, and this time of year there will be TONS of gapers heading out to check foliage, so the hitching north shouldn't be too difficult.
the Great Lost bear has/had $2 beers monday/tuesday (good local ales, BIG glasses), but I dont remember how to get there anymore. It's near the rock gym...
Bote: I can't remember the name, but I could drive you there. Got stoned a LOT at the fort...
Most/all of my friends have dissapeared, but there are still some fairly good folks in the area, and this time of year there will be TONS of gapers heading out to check foliage, so the hitching north shouldn't be too difficult.
the Great Lost bear has/had $2 beers monday/tuesday (good local ales, BIG glasses), but I dont remember how to get there anymore. It's near the rock gym...
Some locals took me out to a burnt-out, abanded fort overlooking a cove/beach, it was beautiful but all UI remember is that it was 15-20 minutes out of town.
Anybody?[/QUOTE]
yeah, fort williams out on cape elizabeth. it's a neat place, but i'd suggest taking a ferry out to one of the islands in the harbor and checking out the forts out there. off-season tickets are $6, round trip, and a bit more to bring a bike.
(there aren't any bike co-ops right now where ya can borrow a bike, unfortunately, and if you come across one to borrow, get a lock, because bikes seem to disappear like crazy in this town.)
there are a few other abandoned forts/buildings in southern maine worth checking out, but most require a car to get to. for those interested in the underground, there are no stormdrains in portland (the peninsula is only 3 miles long and has two hills on either end - the east end and the west end - so not much of a drainage system is neccessary.) there are some old tunnels in portland, but access is difficult and you've got to know the right people working in the right shops.
...as for coffee (always important), check out the north star on upper congress at the base of munjoy hill. .50c coffee and free food from the employees if ya hang out a bit with yer pack. arabica coffee co. on free st. near the nick theater downtown has the best coffee in town.
Anybody?[/QUOTE]
yeah, fort williams out on cape elizabeth. it's a neat place, but i'd suggest taking a ferry out to one of the islands in the harbor and checking out the forts out there. off-season tickets are $6, round trip, and a bit more to bring a bike.
(there aren't any bike co-ops right now where ya can borrow a bike, unfortunately, and if you come across one to borrow, get a lock, because bikes seem to disappear like crazy in this town.)
there are a few other abandoned forts/buildings in southern maine worth checking out, but most require a car to get to. for those interested in the underground, there are no stormdrains in portland (the peninsula is only 3 miles long and has two hills on either end - the east end and the west end - so not much of a drainage system is neccessary.) there are some old tunnels in portland, but access is difficult and you've got to know the right people working in the right shops.
...as for coffee (always important), check out the north star on upper congress at the base of munjoy hill. .50c coffee and free food from the employees if ya hang out a bit with yer pack. arabica coffee co. on free st. near the nick theater downtown has the best coffee in town.
AmandaLynn
Active member
hey I know this thread is kind of old, but I figured I'd update it in case anyone uses the search bar and needs info for hanging out here.
food: There's a church on Congress st. that serves a dank breakfast everyday @ 11:00 at a shelter on prebble st. that serves breakfast every day @ 7:00(this is also a free clinic which apparently allows walk-ins with same day appointments!??!) Oh and thanks for the tip on North star Ani, I checked them out and it's still 50 cent coffee and I got kicked down some dank food.
money: no laws against spanging, busking or flying signs. decent-pretty good money on all three.
sleeping/squatting- there's a couple houses that look prime but I'm not staying in town long enough to find out. As for sleeping, check out the trail the runs along the back harbor. Lots of spots in the woods, but be careful there are a lot of agro homebums in town with camps back here. There's a little circular concrete building down the trail with a ladder to the roof make sure your up at first light here though. Stay away from the old railcars at the start of the trail-they have security who check every night. Cool old cabooses and shit though. Ladies if your in a bad situation the prebble street mission is a women's shelter if you really need a place. People are really cool in this town and lots of folks with medical cards(one who housed me up last night)
food: There's a church on Congress st. that serves a dank breakfast everyday @ 11:00 at a shelter on prebble st. that serves breakfast every day @ 7:00(this is also a free clinic which apparently allows walk-ins with same day appointments!??!) Oh and thanks for the tip on North star Ani, I checked them out and it's still 50 cent coffee and I got kicked down some dank food.
money: no laws against spanging, busking or flying signs. decent-pretty good money on all three.
sleeping/squatting- there's a couple houses that look prime but I'm not staying in town long enough to find out. As for sleeping, check out the trail the runs along the back harbor. Lots of spots in the woods, but be careful there are a lot of agro homebums in town with camps back here. There's a little circular concrete building down the trail with a ladder to the roof make sure your up at first light here though. Stay away from the old railcars at the start of the trail-they have security who check every night. Cool old cabooses and shit though. Ladies if your in a bad situation the prebble street mission is a women's shelter if you really need a place. People are really cool in this town and lots of folks with medical cards(one who housed me up last night)
Yeah, what the fuck? The homebums and townie runaway-type kids here have this town on LOCKDOWN. Me and my crew of 6 couldn't for the life of us find a street corner or busking spot that wasn't completely blown up. I have several verbal fights with older bums and younger kids telling me I was taking money from people who were raised there and deserved it, or some stupid shit.
It is not uncommon to see a nicely dressed teenage girl flying signs claiming to be desperate and homeless, and then see her get picked up by parents hours later. Seen it.
Apart from that shittiness, the beach/harbor is really cool. If you stay ninja, it's sleepable. Not too comfortable, but it's one hell of a pretty sight to fall asleep/wake up to. Don't sleep in the old railcars.
The hopout spot is also a hike from city in S.Portland. Pan Am Railworkers are super duper chill, but don't abuse that. Sunday and Monday there is almost nothing rolling through, and no money to be made in the nearest town.
AmandaLynn
Active member
dude I saw that shit too!!! Three high school kids in nice clothes posted up flying a sign across the street from us while we were busking. Walked over and asked them(pretty nicely) to move a few blocks away and explained why but they didn't get it. I gave up and saw them get picked up my a mom like figure a half hour later....wtf?
This is something I noticed about New England. Regular, non-traveler kids posting up with signs and trying to make money. You explain to them why there needs to be distance between flyers, and they don't get it. Or they get pissed and make up some story about how their parents are crackheads.
In Portland, ME that same girl told me she "used to ride trains" and "live on the streets".... her being the whopping age of 17 and all. I made up a railway that was "local" and asked her if she used to ride it. Naturally, she did. Ooglism in New England is an epidemic.
In Portland, ME that same girl told me she "used to ride trains" and "live on the streets".... her being the whopping age of 17 and all. I made up a railway that was "local" and asked her if she used to ride it. Naturally, she did. Ooglism in New England is an epidemic.
ghostsymposium
Active member
is anyone going to be in portland september/october? i'm moving there in like a week and don't know anyone yet and would love to chill!
shwillyhaaa
Well-known member
i cant stand the fake spangers
make me wanna kick something
go home and let your mommy make you mac and cheese
leave this shit to the people who actually enjoy ALL of the lifestyle
i also noticed in olympia wa how going to sallys to eat at dinner time was the "thing"
spanging was the "thing"
sitting on the curb being piss drunk carrying a backpack the "thing"
next week theres gonna be a "Transients R' Us"
make me wanna kick something
go home and let your mommy make you mac and cheese
leave this shit to the people who actually enjoy ALL of the lifestyle
i also noticed in olympia wa how going to sallys to eat at dinner time was the "thing"
spanging was the "thing"
sitting on the curb being piss drunk carrying a backpack the "thing"
next week theres gonna be a "Transients R' Us"
Eatgarlic
Active member
portland maine is a cool little town. but yeah, it's little.
Most of the folks living in the city that I met are pretty nice and friendly. I also ran into a few groups of nice travelers while I was spending more time buskin and what not.
I had no problems busking and sometimes I made really good money if there was a cruise boat lettin' out rich fucks to swarm the town. I have had to yell at a few tourists for not tipping me when they take my picture while i'm busking, though.
Maine is fucking beautiful, if you can get into the woods go for it, go see some lakes and mountains and the ocean and shit!
and yeah, I have seen lots of younger "non-punk" kids spanging or flying signs, which makes sense to me because from what i understand, maine has a large population of working class/poor/homeless white people, like a lot of other cities of course.
When I asked my friend who is from Maine about why there are so many nutty folks in the city proper, he informed me that its the city in maine with most of the social services for people with mental illnesses, etc. so it makes sense that they would all be concentrated in one place.
and if you are gonna be in maine in October for real, hit me up, I will be up near Belfast but I'd like to try to hang out at some point, since I haven't seen you in a while!
Most of the folks living in the city that I met are pretty nice and friendly. I also ran into a few groups of nice travelers while I was spending more time buskin and what not.
I had no problems busking and sometimes I made really good money if there was a cruise boat lettin' out rich fucks to swarm the town. I have had to yell at a few tourists for not tipping me when they take my picture while i'm busking, though.
Maine is fucking beautiful, if you can get into the woods go for it, go see some lakes and mountains and the ocean and shit!
and yeah, I have seen lots of younger "non-punk" kids spanging or flying signs, which makes sense to me because from what i understand, maine has a large population of working class/poor/homeless white people, like a lot of other cities of course.
When I asked my friend who is from Maine about why there are so many nutty folks in the city proper, he informed me that its the city in maine with most of the social services for people with mental illnesses, etc. so it makes sense that they would all be concentrated in one place.
and if you are gonna be in maine in October for real, hit me up, I will be up near Belfast but I'd like to try to hang out at some point, since I haven't seen you in a while!
parsonskeith18
New member
Theres a little spot off the rails by mc d's in d-town portland maine. Every now n again I'll meet up with someone there. Best of luck
Eshwhy Eskay
Member
Hey, we got a farm going in Portland, Maine. We're close to the Rigby yard. We got a youtube channel and facebook page that hasn't been updated in a minute. It's pretty crazy in the summer, a lot more chill in the winter. We always make more room. Hit us up if you're around.
https://www.facebook.com/EswhyEskayAFarm
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeNAL9-u-jJVHTYFo4lWNAA
https://www.facebook.com/EswhyEskayAFarm
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeNAL9-u-jJVHTYFo4lWNAA
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Camille Bratton
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