I went to Maine. Why? My husband transferred here for his job in 2013. We moved from Long Island, New York. We have lived here since.

It is indeed “north,” about a five-hour drive from Long Island to York County, Maine, when you plan your trip properly and don’t leave during the life-draining rush hour.

I love Maine’s dress code. It is casual and relaxed. People can go to work and feel comfortable without spending a month’s pay on an entire outfit just to impress and climb up the ladder to the next job that will require even more expensive clothing.

I remember my grandfather’s closet. I was always confused why everything looked the same and why my grandma spent so much time ironing and going to the dry cleaners. He worked hard, six days a week. He took the train and the subway into work for years at Cartier on Fifth Avenue. He’d leave before we awoke and he’d be home at 8 p.m., making a modest income. He spent his Sundays off at the beach.

For grad school, I took the train and bus to Queens College. There was always congestion, always anger, always people never quite satisfied with life.

In school, I was a number. I’m back in school again at the University of Southern Maine and people actually know my name. It’s also a casual drive from home, and when I get to school, there is actually parking.

Beer? Yeah, I like beer. I think I consumed the most amount of beer around and on the Great South Bay. (That’s in New York.) I still like beer. I actually have a kegerator at home. My kegerator, vacations, a reliable vehicle, investing in a retirement account, these are all things I likely wouldn’t have been able to afford in New York if I were buying fancy clothes.

I don’t miss the popularity of my hometown, Massapequa Park. You may know the name. Their baseball team was recently in the Little League World Series. There is a laundry list of famous people from Massapequa that is so long it requires its own Wikipedia page. Or you may have heard it mentioned in a variety of movies or TV shows. There’s even a Friends episode, “The One in Massapequa.”

You’re just a number in Massapequa, a number that needs nice clothes to stand out. But I’m not here to bash New York, my hometown, or Mrs. Adams of the New York Post. I do miss the memories, I miss the food, I miss the diversity, I miss family and friends, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

However, I am here to defend Maine. In one day, I can be on the ocean in the morning, hike in the woods in the afternoon, have dinner in Portland and be back home for the evening. I am glad to drive to work without stress in a car that I know won’t break down. I am thrilled I could afford a house and property. I love that my kids were born here, and I am proud to call Maine home.