To the editor:

A little nightlife is not a bad thing, nor is a little variety. In fact, it is the stuff the makes for a thriving and growing community.

I love Bath. It is where I have chosen to live and work, but thriving and growing is not what comes to mind when I think of the city.

I am a 26-year-old professional constantly trying to convince myself that Bath (and Maine in general) is where I belong. I moved to West Bath four years ago after graduating from Maine Maritime Academy.

Living and working in the area has afforded me many things. I am close to my family. I have a reasonably secure job. I have some privacy on a few acres outside of town, and the 3:30 p.m. Bath Iron Works commute is the biggest traffic jam I have to battle.

That being said, every time I make the decision to stay, I also make the decision to give up certain things. I give up professional development. I give up professional variety. I give up public services. I give up nightlife, and (most frustratingly) I give up friends.

A year ago a friend of mine moved from Bath to Massachusetts to take a job because Bath Iron Works was laying off engineers. He lived in Bath for less than two years before he left.

A month ago, another friend took a transfer to Seattle so that he could promote and enjoy a more social lifestyle. He worked in Bath for less than three years.

Last week, a friend closed her business for good and moved to Connecticut because her business was unsustainable in Bath. She was here less than a year.

It is obvious that I am a minority in Bath, not because of my race but because of my age. I am usually the youngest person in a restaurant or store by at least 20 years. The majority of my coworkers are my parents’ age and those who aren’t all choose to commute from Portland.

I have nothing against the older generations. They have critical knowledge and experience. But I am the future. My friends are the future.

But what future will there be for Bath, the Mid-coast and Maine if we all have to move to find jobs and opportunity?

Now, one of those friends mentioned was a mug club member at The Black Barnacle. And the rest of us? We all have shared a few meals and some pints at the pub.

But this letter isn’t about revoking a liquor license. It is about giving us yet another reason to leave.

So the city of Bath, and other area administrators, should consider their options carefully before they further reduce opportunity and choice, especially in a time when variety is being diminished rapidly for purely economic reasons.

Sarah Weippert
West Bath