February 2023 by Peter M.
We have lived in Dexter just 18 months after moving back to Maine following living near relatives for several years in Florida. I was born and raised in Bangor, so of course I was aware of Dexter, though I hadn't spent any time here before moving to southern Maine for decades. But we are here now and we really love Dexter for its small town ways and friendliness. It is Maine after all, the way life should be.You can find most of what you need locally: there is a Hannaford with its pharmacy; Reny's great department store, which reminds me of lost stores like Zayre's; Ace Hardware, the best hardware chain; a few banks/credit unions; Family Dollar; auto service shops; library, post office, a few restaurants -- well, you get the idea. Once in a while we go to Bangor or Waterville to hit a few other stores/businesses not available locally. And as someone who worked in the service industry most of my life in Maine, service is still more efficient and friendly than say, Florida.There are plenty of hills here in town to exercise your legs and get you puffing, and for the winter or for other forms of exercise, there is a 24/7 gym across from Reny's. And while I am singing Dexter's praises, I will add that they sponsor outdoor free concerts in the summer, and also in summer the local ice cream shop and restaurant awaits you on the shore of the lake where you can relax or swim.In the interest of balance, I guess I should point out less positive aspects of living here. Thankfully there are few of them. I find the winters are a bit more severe here than they were all those years in southern Maine, obviously, And I won't bring up Florida winters for comparison, because we have decided we prefer cold, brutal winters to hot, brutal summers. Plus as a lifelong Mainer, I don't feel the cold like I did the heat. Also, the local hills make it harder for us to ride our bikes, and the local trail is overrun by ATVs on weekends. And you have to take your trash and recyclables to the transfer station yourself -- how retro! (I don't see tht as a negative but I recognize that some people may.) And let's see, it is sometimes more difficult to find people to come and do work for you, such as carpenters or electricians, as they are either very busy or disorganized. There was more competition in the Portland area or Florida, I think.But those are small things in the scheme of life. Overall we are very happy to have settled here. In fact, I could go on with more positive reasons to live inDexter, but it wouldn't be fair to not let you discover some of them for yourself!
