Time for a Change – Moving to Maine

by Tami Banner

My husband and I have always seen things a bit differently than what’s considered “normal.” We tried to fit in. However, wanting to homeschool, have a large family on a small homestead, and living simply? Well, that isn’t easy to come by. 

We’ve lived in 5 different states. We wanted to find the right fit for our lifestyle. To find a community who also have the same simple goals as we do. Although we’ve moved many times, we have learned a lot about parenting, ourselves as individuals, and as a couple.  So much so that the desire for a homestead was adamant. There was no way we could make that possible in Washington.  We both loved it there for many different reasons and tried to figure out creative ways to make it work. However, in the end our lifestyle didn’t match up with the economy there.  So we began our very selective search for a new home. Moving to Maine was where we landed.

Moving to Maine

We’ve been in Maine for almost 5 months now!  Two of those months were in an Airbnb as we searched for a home that would meet the needs of our large family. We found the most adorable farmhouse in Farmington.  A bit of land with river access, but still close enough to town for amenities, and a huge homeschool community.  It was perfect. 

Sight unseen we put in our offer and anxiously went through escrow. We moved in and expected to occasionally wave to our neighbors as they left for work like we were so used to. But it was completely different. We were greeted by our neighbors, who brought us dozens of fresh eggs, a pile of home canned goods, and a wealth of knowledge of our new house and the property.

Finding Community

I started joining local groups for the community and specifically homeschooling and slowly started reaching out for local knowledge on where to find goods to make our house more homey. There was a flood of responses on local shops, items wanting to be gifted to us, homeschool families to meet, tradesmen, resources, and more “welcome to our community,” than I could count. I was overwhelmed, I’ve never lived anywhere with so much care for others. I’ve always wanted that, but was never able to find it, until now.

The few months that we have been in Farmington, feel like years. We feel like we belong in this community that genuinely cares about their neighbors.  They give and support one another sheerly out of the kindness of their heart. I feel confident knowing our kids will not only have local homeschool families supporting them but the whole community guiding them and encouraging their passions. We truly feel we have found our village!  We are excited and motivated to become active members of the community and look forward to learning and growing our roots here.