Happy to be ‘stuck’ in central Maine, thanks | Letter

Augusta resident writes letter criticizing Press Herald article on Maine’s cost‑of‑living crisis

In a letter to the editor of the Press Herald dated September 18, 2026, Augusta resident Stanley Abraham expressed disappointment with a recent feature titled “As life in Maine gets more expensive, young people struggle to keep up.” The letter, posted on the newspaper’s website, takes issue with the article’s portrayal of a neighbor’s feelings about living in central Maine.

Abraham, who left Portland several years ago because of rising prices and limited job prospects, said he found the report “quite rich” for attributing a sense of being “stuck” to a neighbor’s experience. He clarified that the article seemed to imply the neighbor’s frustrations stemmed from friends in more desirable areas, rather than from the neighbor’s own circumstances.

“I think some people want to live in Maine, even up here in the central part of the state,” Abraham wrote. “It’s a great place to live, with great people.” He added that it was disappointing the feature ignored that possibility, noting that the final line—“Maybe, for now, he is stuck”—was particularly offensive.

The letter was published on the Press Herald website under the “Featured Letter” and “Letter to the Editor” tags, and can be read in full at the newspaper’s online archive. Abraham’s remarks highlight the tension between Maine’s growing cost of living and the experiences of those who choose to remain in or return to the state.