For those of us that live here it feels like the most expensive city.

Boston is right there my dude

Providence needs to abolish R-1 zoning. There is no legitimate reason why 2 & 3-family units shouldn't be able to be built anywhere in the city that currently allows single family houses.

Edit: I just looked at the current map and it's crazy how much R-1 there is directly adjacent to all 3 big universities.. https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/22.09.07-Official-Zoning-Maps-2.pdf

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Right there? Providence is cheap compared to Boston.

As opposed to not making any more housing at all, which will definitely help rent?

Exactly

These numbers are probably a bit misleading since they are using what appears to be city limits. Providence CITY is actually a VERY small land area - only 20 sq miles.

Scottsdale (also on this list by us) is 183 sq miles. Oakland is 78. DC is 70 sq miles.

You can live less than 5 mins away from downtown and not live in PVD.

Not saying housing prices aren’t high, increases, etc - but not sure this is the best way to look at it.

Wait it’s more expensive than Dallas? It was way easier to find something affordable here. I spent a year looking for a place in Dallas. 🥲

Dallas has way more new construction.

Not to mention New York is a few hours in the opposite direction. The northeast in general is just wicked expensive – with the possible exception of Philly, which somehow has Providence or lesser prices in many neighborhoods/suburbs despite being a major metro area situated directly between NY and DC.

The only thing that will help bring rent prices down, just like inflation in every industry, is price controls. You underestimate the sheer greed of unregulated capitalism.

Have you ever heard the expression "it's not what you say, but how you say it"?

so then what’s the benefit of leaving large parts of the city zoned only for single family units?

Providence is extremely affordable compared to both Boston and NYC which it’s in the middle of. Just saying something is expensive with little context like this article seems misleading

Yeah, but most of it is in areas where people are scared to live. (Deep Ellum, NE Dallas, Park Row… locals are still weary about Bishop Arts)

The total rent may be cheaper, but the price per square foot has to be higher. I couldn’t justify paying $1500 a month for a 500 sq ft apartment in a bad area with no view, and no washer/dryer. I was making $15/hr in 2020-mid 2021 so even if I could justify it, I couldn’t afford it. It was cheaper to stay in an abusive relationship, unfortunately.

I do miss gated complexes and parking garages though.

I don’t find this to be misleading, rent has gone way up in my 3 years here.

One of the reasons I will be moving, I don’t think what providence is asking for is fair for what is offered in job market, infrastructure and public transit (will miss the amazing food tho)

Yup it does feel that way. It is cheaper than Boston for sure but when hunting for apartments I find way to many in Providence that when looking at the price alone, makes me think I might as well look in Boston.

It feels like the most expensive city if you’ve never lived in any other city. I agree that Providence in 2022 feels a lot more expensive than Providence in 2019 (or certainly compared to much longer ago), but it’s by no means the most expensive in the country.

Totally agree with you but "cheaper than Boston" doesn't really say much these days either.

That’s right

Agreed on the Philadelphia front. It somehow evaded all the cost increases the other northeastern cities experienced. Even the cost of going out to eat and drink there is cheaper than Providence.

My partner's best friend bought a house in a nice working class neighborhood in Philly for like $200k last year, and that was in the midst of a record surge in real estate valuation nationwide. I don't get it! It's a great city and it's right in the most expensive corridor of the country, and yet it has small market or large midwest/southern city prices.

I think it's the local values of the people combined with having DC to the south and NY to the north an hour by train for people with extreme ambitions?

Whatever voodoo is going on there has me considering moving there at some point.

It’s not misleading to say rents have gone up, it’s misleading because Providence is so small as a land area, it’s basically like taking only the inner 25% of DC and calculating housing prices. For a city like Dc or Oakland, if you did a similar land area for Providence you’d be including East Providence, Pawtucket, etc.

You can live within 5 minutes of downtown Providence and not actually live in PVD.

Rents have gone up most places, yes, but to use this ranking is a bit misleading because it’s looking at such a sliver of this area (the Providence metro is considered to be most of the state). Usually housing so close to the downtown area of a city is more pricey, so this kinda makes sense that looking at only 20 sq miles will lead to a pretty high price.

It’s looking at city limits. So only Providence zip codes. Providence city is very small.

Dallas is 380 sq miles. Providence is 20.

A lot of it is the makeup. Philly is one big land mass. Boston has the ocean on one side meaning it cuts in half the land around it.

New York is similar, plus you have natural barriers the rivers/Manhattan being an island, etc.

I mean, have you actually looked in Boston?

You can rent a new construction one bedroom smack dab downtown Providence for $2000/month. That’d be $3500-4000 in downtown Boston.

I actually go to school in Philly and am surprised at how cheap it was compared to Boston where I lived between undergrad and post grad.

I found Philly to have a lot of similarities to PVD - both cities on the river, close to but not on the ocean, great schools/food/arts scene with a working class vibe and overshadowed by bigger cities somewhat close by

Yeah I often peruse zillow. Typically I find studio apartments under 2k downtown. I'm sure though your absolutely right comparable to size and amenities you get for the money

>According to a report from Zumper,

ok

That’s a very fair point and I agree.

I still think regardless of land mass, Providence has gotten really expensive. I also think within the city limits, providence has a very wide range of economic conditions. One would think some of the less desirable areas would decrease the overall average rent.

This also only looks at one bedrooms. This typically = apartment buildings. Apartment buildings in PVD are mostly downtown with a smattering of small ones on the East Side in Wayland Sq and a few of the loft buildings around PVD. There’s one bedrooms here or there within multi families, but it’s not a high quantity.

I and others are familiar staying in toxic relationships simply because it is affordable.

>I do miss gated complexes and parking garages though.

I almost chortled at that -- where the city sprawls over 300+ square miles like Dallas, yes but there's no city anywhere in the Northeast where you'd see this.

Closest would be an apt. building with a concierge and private parking garage, which you can find for a price here.

To add on to your point, you could combine Pawtucket, CF, north providence, and providence and still only be at 35 sq miles.

Philly is a county! We all call it a city but I reality it’s a county. It massive 143 square miles. For perspective RI is 1214 square miles. And there are blocks upon blocks in the north, west and south west that most people would never go to or drive through. It has also been losing population since the beginning of the 20th century. You just can’t compare it to anything on the east coast besides Baltimore.

Is there a guide to the different zoning designations.

Yes, but the salaries, amenities, and public transit pale in comparison. Providence is a very different type of city: medium, town and gown.

Work in a specialized in person field? Maybe one employer in the state or you commute an hour each way. Good luck if you want to switch jobs (but this problem doesn't exist in NYC or LA).

If my car gets totaled in yet another accident, I'm stuck navigating an inflated car market and inflated insurance just to get by (especially if you have that far away job).

I love it here and I relocated here a long time ago, but my friends in NYC, Boston, and LA have much higher salaries and career advancement is seamless.Providence feels like a choice you make over your career, at times. It used to be in part because it was an affordable place to settle down.

Providence is similar to a lot of small cities outside of the East Coast, but at 4x the cost. Many couples suffer the two body problem here, especially if both want to work locally and aren't in ed/law/medicine/academia.

It’s a relative thing, of course.

Girl, where?

I hope you’re doing better btw ❤️❤️

According to the actual Zumper report, it points out that part of the reason Boston usurped San Fransico is because of seasonal flows due to high density of college students. I’m curious how much of that seasonal flow could also be used to explain the same situation in PVD.