Providence or Boston? (apartment, rent, employment)

[Mr.Wax]

Hello, I am a 21 year old considering relocating to new england from Phoenix, either Boston or Providence. I plan on attending community college and am fine with working a low paying part time job. I am fine with living in the cheapest area possible short of a hood where being mugged is inevitable ,using the library for internet, basically living very cheap but still i'm wondering is boston one of those hard to survive places like san francisco or nyc? I have been to providence for two days and really liked it but i feel like a move to the more metropolitan boston may be more exciting. Pros and cons?

[GermanSpy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Wax

Pros and cons?

Boston is expensive but might offer a couple more jobs opportunities for you than Providence. Providence is expensive, too, but not quite as bad as Boston. You'll have a hard time in both cities to find employment as an unskilled worker. Unemployment is high in RI at the moment.

I usually tell people to have a job lined up before they move here but I'm not sure if that makes sense in your case.

I'd probably go with Providence to get a foot in the door. Check out Boston while you're here and work and then make the jump if you decide you do like Boston better.

I wish you the best of luck, I faced a similar decision ten years ago and it wasn't easy. Worth it though.

[beth98]

While Boston is more expensive, a low end job isn't going to have a significant difference in pay between the two cities to make up for that. Living in Providence might be more fun for you even though it sounds counter intuitive. It's not always fun to live somewhere if you can't afford to do anything. The extra couple hundred dollars you might save on rent could give you some money to enjoy yourself.

Either way I would suggest looking for a room and not a studio apartment. Most people your age in both cities live with housemates,it's much much cheaper, it's a great way to meet a few people, and not having to buy everything needed to set up an apartment saves you tons of money. I know your probably thinking, I don't need much, but you do eventually want something to sit on, and at least a dish towel and so on. It adds up pretty quick.

The winter in Providence is milder. It's still going to be cold for you but having lived in both cities, as someone who doesn't like the cold, the difference matters to me.

Boston is larger and has more to do. There are more people your age in numbers, but percentage wise the cities are probably about the same. I feel like the student areas of Providence are a bit more confined and it might be easier to meet people your age in Providence,

[Saltatrix]

Good advice. It sounds like your education should be the determining factor though. Maybe you are still figuring it out. There is more opportunity in Boston, and maybe you will get more than you expect. There are tradeoffs, but if you rent with others Boston may not be that bad if you look in less than the priciest hoods. Public transpo in the city is great, but if your a person who likes to get out of the city, likes to drive and see and do stuff, RI is better for that tenfold. But the average young RI'er can be less sophisticated than those living in Boston, generally speaking; those in RI that aspire for more tend to leave the state. The exception to this would be the youth-oriented art scene in Providence. My 2 cents for the day.