Mainers like to say you’re not a “real Mainer” unless you were born in Maine, which I was. And by their strictest standards, I still don’t qualify because my dad was from Massachusetts. But I can tell you the reason why Mainers are so obsessed with who’s from here has to do with keeping Maine the way it was—because lately the state has changed a lot.

In the past five years, as 126,400 new residents (mostly remote workers from big cities) poured in—growing the population to 1.4 million people—the line between local and outsider has become even more pronounced. The state welcomed noted restaurants like Twelve and Aragosta at Goose Cove , and James Beard-winning ZU Bakery , and grew its award-winning convoy of breweries and food trucks (go to Belleflower and Mr. Tuna ). All of

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