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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja24tjl wrote

Reply to comment by rckblykitn14 in My partner and I are thinking about moving to Rhode Island by temporaryCognition

We're trying to move somewhere cheaper than the west coast but still has snow. Is Connecticut cheaper than Rhode Island?

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rckblykitn14 t1_ja24vha wrote

I doubt it. CT has a reputation for being a super expensive place to live even moreso than here.

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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja24xth wrote

Wow I guess you have to pay a lot for a coastline

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redd-this t1_ja38h37 wrote

Lol you guys aren’t the only ones that figured out it’s cool to be an hour from beaches and mountains. Demand high + supply low = pay to play, friend.

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paulmish1 t1_ja3h4gw wrote

Exactly. RI is expensive because people want to live here. It's pretty awesome.

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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja4aaq1 wrote

I'm from Maui so I'm just trying to look for something familiar. I can't afford staying there because of how much everyone wants to "play" on Maui but it looks like it's the same everywhere on the mainland.

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devinmarieb t1_ja2vpld wrote

What are you actually looking for though? RI and CT have opportunities that range from being a 5 minute drive from a small city, to living in suburbs, to living quite rural. If you want to be within a 10 minute drive to a downtown as well as close to the water, yeah, that’s going to be expensive. I live just over the border of the Providence line (I own) and I occasionally look at Zillow for funsies and it’s crazy to me that I could theoretically rent my house for 2300 which is the rate in my neighborhood (I pay 1500 for my mortgage, bought in 2021). New England is an expensive place to rent in. We have a shit load of great colleges that are geared toward (let’s be real) rich white kids, and their parents will pay $$$ to rent for them, driving up prices. We have low crime, great schools, good hospitals…and in RI, you’re like an hour-ish from Boston, one to two hours from Cape Cod, three hours from NYC, and can drive to New Hampshire or Vermont for weekend mountain getaways, or up to Maine for a foodie weekend in Portland. Sorry for the long post, but I think it’s probably worth understanding that New England is not some secret place no one knows about. It’s a huge rich person summer playground depending on where you are. It can still be quite affordable in a lot of areas, but it’s going to be incredibly hard to find those opportunities from the west coast, because as someone else mentioned, everything here is “I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy.” And just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ve lived in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and now Rhode Island. If you think you might be moving to New England for the long haul, RI is, imo, probably the best investment just because of how centrally located it is from the major cities in the northeast. Much much easier to be here if you have the ability to WFH from one of the major cities.

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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja482gu wrote

I'm from Maui so both the rents going up for rich white people and the I know a guy who knows a guy makes sense to me. Eventually we're interested in buying a house that's maybe suburban to rural. That's where I would prefer to live. I would bite the bullet and live in the city though. From what you've told me I might be better off renting for a while and just visiting a lot of the areas I'm interested in before just buying a house.

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devinmarieb t1_ja4oke3 wrote

Yeah for sure. I’ve lived in 5 states (Colorado too) and two other countries on two other continents. New England isn’t my absolute favorite, but it does have a quaint vibe, and if you have even middle class money, it’s wonderful. RI is just south enough that winters aren’t terrible (we barely got snow this year). If you’re young, living right near downtown Providence or in Newport might be super fun, but if you consider buying in the future, there’s so many cute small towns that are still not far from everything. Honestly in the summer, all the cute little villages in the small coastal towns are just as popular as “the city.” IMO, one year is not enough time to do everything and make a decision about staying long term or not. Like I said, Boston, the Cape, NYC, the mountains and coastal Maine are all things you’d probably want to check out too.

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rckblykitn14 t1_ja2522r wrote

Maybe like, Delaware or Maryland might be cheaper options? I'm not sure, I've never looked at properties there but they definitely get snow. I feel like New Hampshire is expensive. Maine might be cheaper, but super rural for the most part. Portland (Maine) is the only area I know of that's fairly populated hut I think it's also pretty expensive.

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Upuser t1_ja2urjh wrote

Eastern CT is pretty affordable. Can find places for rent easily under 1500

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Dismal_Exchange1799 t1_ja3fyym wrote

You can move to Philly if you can deal with the crime and grime. Houses and rent are pretty cheap here. My partner and I have a very large 3 bed 3 bath for $2,400.

I’m currently trying to relocate to either Boston or Providence. But I feel like Philly was a good starter city to get me outta the south. Once you make friends and network here it’s easy to make friends in surrounding states because the northeast is so small. It’s not my forever place but there’s things I do love about it.

There’s a great access to NYC, Baltimore, NJ, and beaches. A New England road trip is only a 4-5 hour drive which isn’t bad either. If its all you can afford— I would suggest it. Save money, get better jobs, and then make the move to New England.

After moving to Philly, I started working in and making NYC money. This goes a long way in Philly. It’s allowed me to save money for wherever I’m gonna permanently settle.

The crime stats are gonna blow you away, but if you’re not involved in a gang or drugs you’ll be fine. It’s very localized violent crime between people who know each other. Don’t move to North Philly.

I’m on to better things but Philly has been an experience let me just say that. I’m glad I moved here because there’s truly no place like it. Can’t stay forever, but I’ll always appreciate it being my stepping stone.

Just wanted to add that the metro area here is huge so you don’t have to live right in the crime and grime. There’s plenty of smaller areas/towns surrounding the city. Check out Manayunk.

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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja4bbmt wrote

This is really useful to know because I do like the idea of being on the outer edges of the city. I was in gang territory in SF and they kept to themselves. But knowing that the commute is so short is helpful. I've been considering Atlantic City for the same reason. I just want a place where the weather is better than Portland OR but it sounds like literally anywhere is better.

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Dismal_Exchange1799 t1_ja4e0xe wrote

I’m glad it was helpful info for you! Flourtown, Germantown, and Cherry Hill (that’s NJ) are some other nice ones.

I quite like Atlantic City. Way less hectic than Philly, but you still have that great location.

I hear you on Oregon. Either way, moving to the east coast is a great idea. Just a matter of where fits you best.

I’m originally from Florida and moving this way improved my quality of life ten-fold. Most states have great healthcare, great proximity to other cities/nature, tons of top-notch schools, access to immense history/art, and you can find higher paying jobs here.

If you were able to handle SF crime/HCOL, I think you’re good in this general area then.

I wish you luck on finding your new home! Feel free to message if you need any other advice. It’s not easy but so worth it.

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temporaryCognition OP t1_ja93iwh wrote

Thanks that's super encouraging! A lot of online videos spin it like if you don't end up in a perfect part of New England you're just gonna drown in crime and misery so it's nice to hear that things are more normal than that. I'll definitely message you if I have any questions :)

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