If you live and work in Lewiston-Auburn you realize really quickly that we’ve outgrown the stereotype as the underdeveloped twin cities that have been economically stagnant for decades and are devoid of an attractive culture. All an outsider has to do is visit to see the economic and cultural awakening that has happened and continues to happen here. I have folks from around the world come and visit L-A and they are universally impressed with our past, present, and future.

That excitement is often truncated by Portland, though – the seemingly shiny city on the hill that encompasses everything Lewiston-Auburn lacks and could only dream of. There has long been rhetoric that Lewiston-Auburn should strive to be more like Portland. But should we? To be fair, Portland does have its perks. It has almost as many restaurants per capita as New York City. It has wonderful museums, shopping, and of course a nice looking bay with some pretty islands. But Portland is beginning to show some flaws – flaws that are troublesome and worsening.

Take the cost of living, for example. Portland is way above the national average, and it doesn’t stop there either. The homeless population has hit record highs, overflowing shelters and local parks. Water rates are climbing as pipes continue to burst; some people are arguing that the entire water infrastructure is about to collapse. Residents have to buy special trash bags and are not able to use plastic bags. And of course, Portland has the highest crime rate in the state.

As a consequence of these realities, many are choosing to relocate to outlying areas and commute to Portland for work. The problem is not enough of them are relocating to L-A and that failure rests entirely on all of our shoulders. Not just the city management or elected officials – all of us need to work to change this, and soon.

We are losing out on bringing some great new blood to our cities to the likes of Standish, Gorham, Windham, Sanford and so on. Residents in Portland want to move somewhere with their middle class incomes, families, and dreams. That somewhere needs to be here.

Let’s negate some of the big arguments against moving to L-A. First, commuting time. It takes about the same amount of time to drive from Windham or Gorham to Portland as it does from Auburn to Portland. It takes longer if you live in Standish, Raymond or Sanford. Another big difference is the quality of the road – would you rather go at an even speed down the interstate for a couple of bucks, or stop and go over rutty secondary roads? The smart motorist pays the couple bucks and makes it up on lower maintenance and fuel costs.

Second, housing prices. L-A has everyone beat! People can purchase or build beautiful homes here at about half the price they would pay for a home in Portland, or even Standish, Windham, or Gorham for that matter.

There’s a lot to be excited about in moving to our twin cities verses other towns. Many people work in Portland and choose to live here with good reason. We’re a tightly knit community with a whole lot to offer and we’re continuing to define our own culture. It’s easy to get know folks, our downtown is bustling and growing every season, we have shopping, skiing, boating, great schools, hospitals, and first-rate colleges.

This is the new Lewiston/Auburn, prepared and attractive, inviting all of those who seek to relocate. We’ve cultivated a community and experienced prosperous economic development. It’s now each and every one of our responsibility to broadcast that we’ve grown up and we’re open for new citizens!

That includes you, real estate agents. Please advertise in the Portland market and encourage people to relocate here for all of the reasons I’ve cited. The message extends to the numerous – and I mean numerous – economic development agencies located here as well. Please focus your efforts on promoting Lewiston/Auburn as a bedroom community with its own culture and livelihood. Everybody else, too, should advance this conversation.

Offer a $50 gas card to all new home seekers that spend the afternoon looking at homes here. Let’s break down the commuting myth by paying for their first year of commuting on the Turnpike. Area businesses should offer all new homeowners who relocate here gift certificates to their businesses. The return on investment is gigantic! Lewiston and Auburn should set a goal of 100 new families each annually, imagine that many new families moving to our cities and the impact that would make on our economy, our schools, and the relief it would provide to our existing, overburdened taxpayers.

We must market our strengths and celebrate what we’ve become. We’ve failed to do so for too long. Auburn, for example, has a wonderful grant to offset moving costs for all new Auburn citizens. Yet how many folks know about this? How many full-page ads, TV commercials, or Internet banner ads have the LAEGC or Chamber of Commerce purchased in the Portland market? It’s the best of both worlds here: we have everything we would need in our day-to-day lives and we’re still a reasonable distance from Portland. We are not Portland, but we are Lewiston/Auburn, and our community and continued growth has put us well on our way to be shining cities on the banks of an iconic river.