Last year, during campaign season, someone said to me “we really do need more people like you moving into that section of town.”
It has stuck with me ever since. Our house is on 3rd Street. That’s right … 3rd Street. One of those lower numbered streets that gets a bad rap. People often look at us like maybe we were crazy to buy a house over here, and many Bangor residents tried to steer us away from this home when we talked to them about our plans. Despite the lackluster support, we knew this was the place for us to settle down.
You see, 3rd Street, and the entire West Side Village, is home to us. It’s where we spent our college days, working and hanging out with our friends. It’s where we announced our engagement at a house-party one cold winter night in 2004. It’s where we spent our time while we were figuring out life. So when the opportunity to buy a house arose, we jumped on it.
It’s shocking to me how much time I’ve spent defending this neighborhood to other people. As an adult, I can handle that. But imagine what it must be like to be a young person from this area. Navigating that moment when friends’ parents look down on them just a bit when they find out where they live. And believe me, it happens.
Just like any neighborhood we have unique problems that have to be managed, but there’s no shame in living here – or in ANY of the Bangor neighborhoods for that matter. This is one of the reasons I am running again this year. The School Committee should have representation from all areas of town and I think it’s time for the West Side Village to shine a little brighter in that way.