How risky is it to move to RI with no job? (Providence: earthquakes, living)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Holly, the difference between RI and CT is that poor infrastructure, rundown neighborhoods, and lousy public school systems are primarily limited to the larger cities in CT such as Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, New London, etc. Also, CT has many suburbs, especially the ones which are part of Greater NYC, that offer:
Clean and manicured businesses, medians, sidewalks, town centers, etc.
Tons of amenities (shopping, dining, entertainment, etc.)
Smoother arteries and roads
Many professional, white-collar jobs
Tremendously-funded and highly-rated public school systems
A better proximity to both NYC and Boston
Milder, rhotic accent
Low crime rates
Some examples would be West Hartford, Norwalk, Milford, and North Haven. I call suburbs with all of these attributes "full-service suburbs" because they stand out as great communities in which to live and work, and they have so much to offer their residents. The more desirable suburbs in RI such as Cranston, Lincoln, Warwick, and E. Greenwich will have some of these attributes, but certainly not all. The rest don't even come close.
That's why I have always considered CT to be a better place to live and work, and RI a better place to hang out and go to the beach. More people see it this way than the reverse.
New Haven has great infrastructure , white collar jobs , its crime rate has dropped in recent years and its upgrading all its roads to Muti-Modal standards.
Those CT suburbs around NYC are also tremendously expensive when compared to RI. Much higher cost of living. But explain one thing to me - how does Connecticut have better proximity to Boston?
Most of CT is more centrally-located between Boston and New York City than most of RI. CT is also closer to NJ, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC. The CT suburbs of NYC are more-centrally located in the BosWash megalopolis than RI and most other parts of CT, but not nearly as centrally-located within this region as, let's say, central NJ or Philly.
On the other hand, RI is closer to Boston, Cape Cod, NH, ME, etc. If you were a salesperson whose territory covered the Northeast, then living in RI would probably not be your best bet.
Regardless, RI has great proximity to a lot of really awesome places; however, most Rhode Islanders fail to take advantage of this feat.
One of RI's largest employers, MetLife, is moving most of their Northeast jobs to Raleigh and Charlotte, NC, by 2015, so if you want a job with a large corporation, you may want to stay in Charlotte.
I love RI, but it's sad that all of the good jobs are leaving the state (Hasbro, MetLife, GTech, etc.). The state population is declining, too.
One of RI's largest employers, MetLife, is moving most of their Northeast jobs to Raleigh and Charlotte, NC, by 2015, so if you want a job with a large corporation, you may want to stay in Charlotte.
I love RI, but it's sad that all of the good jobs are leaving the state (Hasbro, MetLife, GTech, etc.). The state population is declining, too.
Good luck.
Those are other companies are going to follow suit, IMO. In 5-10 years, many of the major employers either headquartered or present in RI are going to close up shop and head south. At some point in the not-so-distant future, there's going to be zero corporate presence and far fewer people in RI. Very, very sad.
I agree with you that the people are friendlier out west for sure. But I just can't get used to that stupid cowboy theme and culture. It's 2013. No one needs to wear a stupid cowboy hat. Please. It doesn't look cool. It only makes a man look like a stupid redneck, from a New Englander's perspective. I wish it didn't exist. I've been living in Charlotte, NC now for 5 days and noticed a guy with a cowboy hat on in the grocery store. I didn't like it at all. Perhaps I have to get used to it though.
I'm used to being surrounded by Type-A liberal elitists. Down here, it seems like I'm the only one
Yea people are friendlier in a more superficial way. Anything beyond a greeting here and there, forget it. People to me are ruder in places like Cali and Oregon than they are in New England and whats funny is its in an indirect way but you can feel the negative energy all around you. I hated my time in those places personally and although I do not live in RI, I just happened to stumble across some post and was curious about what people in neighboring states to my homestate had to say.
The whole cowboy bs is just that, bs. How far is that Joe Arpaio type America going to go? Not far at all and I hope the mexicans take it all from them personally and make that part of the country Mexico because the white people there sure aren't doing anything special with it or making it worse. This includes Colorado, Arizona, Cali, Oregon, wherever else. The East is superior to the West, all day every day to me. This also includes FL too believe it or not. FL > CA for the record.
Actually, I'm very pleased with my Rhode Island upbringing. Looking back, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I have tons and tons of friends who still live in RI and, of course, most of my family still lives in "Nawth Praaavidence." Growing up, I attended to Catholic school, and I was in the same classroom with the same thirty or so kids for a decade. Then, the vast majority of us went on to the same Catholic high school after grammar school. Bonds like that are not easily broken, regardless of distance. I talk to my friends and former co-workers from RI all of the time, and I miss all of them dearly. However, RI is not where I want to spend the rest of my life, and it never has been.
RI is a great place to grow up; it's far from the best place to live, work, and raise a family as an adult.
I can't tell you how many people around my age I know whose parents are from NY, NJ, PA, IL, etc. who would have loved to grow up in those places among their grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins. A lot of people "from FL" will tell you that they're from NY, NJ, MA, etc. when in reality they were born there, but haven't lived outside of FL in over 30 years! Most people who grow up in FL are not proud to be from FL, and many have more hometown loyalty to the hometown of their parents or, if they're lucky, their birthplace. Usually, hometown allegiance holds more weight when the person was at least born there!
Most people I've met down here in FL who are between 25-35 are transient and rootless in nature. Quite a few of my colleagues who were raised in FL have never lived in the same house and/or the same city for more than five years at a time. You'd be hard-pressed to find a person who was born and/or raised down here who lived in the same house for their entire life. I only know two people in their twenties, like myself, with whom this is the case. In fact, these two co-workers of mine are good friends with each other and me!
However, I'm glad that you "fit in," or so other Rhode Islanders let you think... I could easily direct all of the things you directed at me right back at you: "FL was so mean to me," "I didn't fit in there," "I couldn't make it there on my own as an adult," etc.
I lived in FL. I like some aspects of it but my take on FL is that the more stable people seem to be in the older pockets of Pinellas County and even some who lived in St Pete themselves seemed to not move around as much.. Manatee County seems to attract more transiency and Brandon might as well. Mainly the areas with mostly malls or newer commercialized communities. I still would take it over California though. In St Pete, the beach culture is a big thing too.. people know they will never get a deal where they can live right near the beach for cheaper money and less traffic so they stay. FL is very transient oriented though and Sarasota/Bradenton I think has more transient issues than St Petersburg by 3 times the amount or seems this way.
I have been a "rootless" person because of circumstances.. I had a mom from MA, had the accent but kept moving around and even more as she got older and now shes out West not returning.. I would hate to be her and I am willingly looking to move back home and replant roots. That is where I'm at now but I was one of these rootless types at times in my life but in reality, I shouldn't have been taken out of my home as I hated it more each time I moved or most times anyhow or the location got worse each time.
I no longer live in RI, and I am certain I will never move back to RI during my lifetime. If, God forbid, my parents can no longer take care of themselves and/or live on their own without assistance, they will be more than welcome to move in with me wherever I may be living, or they can move in with my brother. I am certain they'd rather move in with me, regardless of where I end up.
Yes, I am a disgruntled former RI resident, and there are many things I dislike about the state. I'm not going to keep reiterating that. However, despite what you all think, I do have a vested interest in the state. It is where I was born and raised; it is where my parents, my brother, much of my extended family, and nearly all of my childhood friends still live and probably always will.
If I end up moving to TX from FL; a move I've been considering for quite some time now to be around more young, educated, white-collar professionals; I won't really be affected all that much if S. FL gets swallowed up by a huge tsunami, obliterated by a major hurricane, or becomes a war-torn Haitian province. My connections to S. FL are superficial and shallow-rooted unlike my connections to RI which are deep-rooted.
To the guy from Manhattan, if you end up moving away from RI after a few years or a few decades, your connections to the state will never be as strong as mine are. RI is to you as S. FL is to me. If you end up hating RI, you would be able to move away and never look back or worry. Well, it's not that easy for most of us. Those of us who grew up here will always be connected to the state, whether we like it or not.
That is the reason why all of us former residents, QC included, post on the RI forum: Because we care about the state and the people who still live there.
Don't get it twisted.
While it is superficial and shallow in FL, I think California takes it to a whole other level. I think if picking between the 2, you could probably find more true friends in FL IF you can find people who stay and not move back to their home areas. Transiency is a big problem in Florida but I have met some cool people there though.
So continually advising people not to move to Rhode Island helps our state how?
From how people type here, it seems like Rhode Island and Oregon have a lot in common or the whole "Come visit, but don't stay" mantra seems to apply anyhow. Both seem business unfriendly as well and only give the natives the top treatment before all. Well thats fine, I plan to stay in MA anyhow for good or go north to NH, VT one day, not South so RI will never get me as a resident anyhow. Never wanted to move to the place.
IT depends upon your net worth, and upon how much demand there is for the work you can do, along with how expensive a lifestyle you insist upon having. Me, I could go anywhere, if I had a grand in cash and an old, small motorcycle in the back of an old van. I've lived in a van before, and a mere $10 cash for odd jobs, on craigslist, will do me fine when i choose to (or have to) liven in that manner.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I could easily direct all of the things you directed at me right back at you: "FL was so mean to me," "I didn't fit in there," "I couldn't make it there on my own as an adult," etc.
