When I moved back to Maine in 2017 from living abroad for 15 years, I was able to purchase a small house on a lake. The water was so clear that I could see the sunfish and perch from inside and hear a pair of loons calling to each other at nightfall.
The process for me was easy - I have American citizenship, good credit, and a high level of education. I had the capital for a down payment, a car to open up more options, and stable full-time employment. It is easy for me to take these things for granted, having grown up with multiple layers of privilege. But many people in my community do not have some or any of these. I am deeply connected to the recovery community and watch people I care about struggle with congregate living in sober houses, working full time in low wage jobs, without transportation, healthcare or credit, and struggling to see how they will be able to afford housing in the future. The lack of affordable housing keeps people trapped in unhealthy cycles and presents a significant barrier for people trying to heal from addiction from moving forward.
Although my home is warm and safe (for which I am grateful), a consistent challenge is maintaining a supply of safe drinking water year round. In the winter, the pipes from the well sometimes freeze, stopping the flow of water entirely. In the spring, as catastrophic floods have increased, my well has flooded and been contaminated. The well pump and bladder have both had to be replaced, causing significant unexpected costs. I am grateful for the responsiveness of the local well technicians, who do everything they can to keep the water flowing, and to my neighbors who gave me a key to their house so I could easily access their well water to fill containers.