When I made the decision to relocate to Maine, I ended up having a lot of conversations with friends that included the phrase “No, the other Portland.”
That said, making the transition from “Social Media Professional” living in Brooklyn to “Social Media Professional” living in Portland has been a surprisingly easy one. As a new addition to the Kemp Goldberg team, I’ve been asked to put together a blog post about my first few weeks here. So now, in the voice of someone who is decidedly “From Away,” allow me to present to you the story of Wow, I Live In Maine now… in Gifs.
1. Social Media, yes, it exists here
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As social media becomes less of a “nice to have” and more of a “wow, yeah, we really, really need to get on that if we want to cut through the noise,” you’d be hard-pressed to find an agency that doesn’t want to offer it as a capability. Being strategic when it comes to online storytelling is the new norm, and I’m excited to get to work with Kemp Goldberg’s clients on that front.
Job: check.
2. Space for new ideas
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In direct relation to the above, there is something to be said for getting outside of the places where “everything has been done.” When looking for new trends, professional trend-spotters head to the outskirts of town, not the established cool neighborhood. As an outsider, Portland strikes me as a city with potential, where the barrier to entry is not so high that people are afraid to try new things.
3. Restaurants
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“Did you know that Portland has the most restaurants of any U.S. city per capita?” is an actual sentence I have repeated to several friends. Note, I haven’t fact checked this but it seems about right given the sheer number of places within walking distance of my new apartment. Hello, El Rayo, goodbye Gueros.
4. Cost of Living
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Speaking of apartments, I’m not going to say that the rent here is cheap, but it is certainly an improvement on Brooklyn.
5. Local food in general
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In Brooklyn I belonged to a CSA that drove vegetables from Vermont to NYC every week. This was considered local. I’ll just let that sink in.
6. Also, Beers
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Sixpoint Sweet Action will always have a special place in my heart, but Maine’s booming craft brewery scene is enough to keep a beer aficionado happy and busy for years.
7. Dogs!
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My dog has found his happy place, and it is Quarry Run Dog Park. After years of sidewalks and gravel-filled lots, he’s earned it.
8. The Great Outdoors
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Before I came to Maine, I knew that stand-up-paddleboarding was a thing, and I knew that yoga was a thing, but it never would have occurred to me that one could do yoga while also standing up on a paddleboard. I may have a lot to learn on this front, but I need to burn off all of those beer calories somehow. Let’s hope it’s a long summer.
9. The (Relative) Quiet
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This morning I awoke from a peaceful slumber to the soothing sounds of two seagulls literally having a street brawl. But hey, it beats sirens at all hours of the night.
10. The People
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The first thing that happened when I arrived in Portland is that a police officer helpfully directed me to the best place to park my U-Haul, so as to not disrupt traffic. The conversation would have gone differently in Brooklyn, and probably cost me a big ticket. For a state that has a bit of a reputation for surliness, everyone has been unfailingly kind to me since my arrival. I may always be “from away,” but I’m certainly happy to be here now, at Kemp Goldberg, in Portland, and in Maine.
Michelle LeBlanc is a social media specialist with over seven years of experience in the field. She comes to Kemp Goldberg Partners by way of New York City, where she was previously part of the team at Kwittken + Company. Her experience ranges from B2B to B2C, including work with American Express Global Corporate Payments and helping to launch Proctor and Gamble beauty brand SK-II in the U.S. on social media. She also has significant experience in the event space, heading up social media strategy for a variety of marketing conferences at IIR USA, where she also lead podcast, webinar and video production projects. Michelle holds a B.A. in Communications from Framingham State University in Massachusetts and she is pleased to be back in New England for this next chapter of her life.
