We celebrate Bangor this weekend with the National Folk Festival. But other riches lie beyond our city’s limits. We asked NEWS writers throughout the state to tell us why they live where they live. Below you’ll find their stories about Belfast’s gothic architecture, blueberry barrens in Washington County, good neighbors such as Earl Dean of Pittsfield and the easy, peaceful feeling of back roads in Penobscot. These are the lifestyles that add music to Maine during the rest of the year. Welcome to our towns.

– Alicia Anstead

I’m a traveler. At 44, I have a list of countries visited that, coincidentally, also numbers 44.

After a whirlwind lifestyle in my 30s, I am a now a relative newlywed. My husband and I settled in Machias last December, bringing our furniture from 50 miles away to the house in a snowstorm.

My husband had lived quietly in Maine nearer a city for more than 20 years. I sought a place far more rural and rugged. I was drawn Down East largely because the coastline and foggy, overcast days reminded me of western Scotland, where I had last lived before coming to Maine three years ago.

I feel challenged but comfortable living in Washington County, by all numbers the poorest county in Maine. Our incomes aren’t what we could earn elsewhere, but we have an affordable 1890 house with tin ceilings in five rooms. Before coming to Machias, I had never seen a tin ceiling.

The people are few here, and wonderfully genuine. Best of all, everybody knows your name and your personal business. I don’t mind.

That the arrival of high-speed Internet service in Machias coincided with our move here was an unexpected bonus. E-mail keeps us connected to our families and anything beyond Down East.

I don’t mind getting spotty reception for the cellular phone when I drive 3 miles out of Machias. By then, I’m surrounded by long, rural roads that pass blueberry fields and dense woods. Driving 8 or 10 miles from one town center to the next is how we live out here.

Some mornings, Hubby and I drive 6 miles just for a cup of coffee at the White House Restaurant in Jonesboro. We have adjusted to that, and it’s worth the trip and time. We see the local folks, catching what the real Down Easters consider the conversation of the morning. For many, it’s the weather, or the way the blueberries are coming around.

It’s a long way to anywhere from here. But we account for that as we plan our time outside work. Going to Bangor, 90 miles and about two hours away, involves making a list of stores we need to visit. We count on doing little else on that day.

The nearest Wal-Mart, in Calais, is 45 miles away. Going to Calais, for me, means the chance to cross the bridge into St. Stephen, New Brunswick. There I can steal a meal at Tim Hortons, that great Canadian quick-food chain for soups and sandwiches.

My husband can’t see why I’m drawn to Tim Hortons or even to St. Stephen. I attribute it to the international traveler in me that gets excited by a visit to another country, however close to home.