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Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,962,945 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by 16 Acres
Give me some time and I will research the article for you. I can even remember where it was. It was in a section of East Providence. Give me a few nights time to find it for you. Now, whether is was Native or "brought" in, who knows. I believe even the article stated that. You can read it when I post it.
The only ones I kill are Poisonous ones that are near the house. In our case it is just Copperheads. They are the only Poisonous ones we have in this area. If they are way out in the woods, I leave them alone. Also, easy for you to say, the one I killed last month I almost stepped on. What I am trying to tell you is that I was about 3 Foot away from a trip to the Hospital. They won't kill you, but if you get bit, you better make the trip.
You must think I just fell off the turnip truck. I know a Copperhead when I see one.
Since you think copperheads are "poisonous", yes, yes I do think you stepped off the turnip truck. They aren't poisonous. They're venomous.
And who knows? People that know the fauna of RI know, since there are no, and have never been, copperhead populations known to occur in Rhode Island. No a single historical record in the state.
Will people claim to have seen them? Sure. They're wrong. They most likely saw watersnakes, just lie the nimrods that swear they see cottonmouth in CT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 16 Acres
By the way, if you don't like the word "Poisonous" that's what we call them around here. Don't expect us to change our culture for your sake.
And if you still don't like it, you may want to tell the University of Virginia:
You can call them that and come across as ignorant. Or call them what they are, venomous. We were told to refer to them that way too when I worked in KY as the locals didn't understand the correct term and our superiors thought it would be too difficult to educate the locals.
Sad to see that blog call them wrongly, but it is Virginia... they're probably speaking to their constituents. At lease the herp society in Virginia calls them the correct word:
Rare snakes are the least of our worries in Little Rhody. If you worry about something dangerous to your health, worry about Lyme disease.
They wouldn't be "worry" at all anyway, and its too bad we don't have a healthy Crotalus population as that would help with lyme as they prey on a primary vector in the disease.
Last edited by timberline742; 05-21-2019 at 03:44 PM..
Thank you everyone who commented. I appreciate the time you took to respond.
One thing I've learned with the travel I've done all over the US, Canada and Europe, is that there is no perfect place. Every place I've been and lived has had pros and cons.
Although I grew up in NH, I've lived a good portion of my life in Newburyport, MA. If costs were not an issue, we would likely still be there, but my husband retired and it's a hard place to live on one income. Was the weather great? I grew up in NH so am used to hard winters, but was I a fan of winter weather - not really. But give me a beautiful NE Spring, Fall or Summer any day of the year and I will take it.
We now live in a suburb of Charleston, SC and I've got @ 10 years before I retire, but we're starting to wonder if we will we stay here, and taking time to explore other places. On the surface, living in the south is great - lower costs for some things like RE and Property Tax ($1,600/year) are great, but in all honesty, other items are the same or more than they were in MA like groceries and utilities. And sales tax and income tax are very high.
The weather in winter is great - still cool but no snow and ice to deal with - but brutally hot and humid (in a suffocating way) late May/June - Sept/Oct. And then the hurricane season starts. We've evacuated 3 times in 4 years, which is no picnic and quite expensive and disruptive, especially with an older dog.
Of all the new things, I've had the most trouble adjusting to the critters. I've almost gotten over my fear of "Palmetto bugs" (flying roaches), and the alligators don't bother me, it's the Copperhead snakes that still freak me out - on porches, under garbage can covers, in the street, in the driveway, on the patio. I've had to learn to watch everywhere I step, and have given up gardening, because they love to sleep under the bushes and anti-venon medicine isn't cheap!
The pay here is atrocious ($12/hr is considered "good" pay for a professional white collar job), even with COL being quite high, as is violent (gun) crime - robberies in broad daylight, arguments "settled" with shootings....
Yet I love the people here - so welcoming and friendly. Baggers in the grocery store actually carry your groceries to your car and load them in - all with a smile. The sun is almost always shining here, neighbors will bend over backward for you, the food is great and it's nice to be able to plan outings not wondering if the weather will cooperate. There's lots to do here and most any store you could want within a 15 min drive, and a nationally ranked teaching hospital 7 miles away. Downtown Charleston is beautiful and charming with a great amount of history and a fun place to take company. There's a good airport 30 minutes away, and some of the most beautiful sunsets you will see anywhere.
So like I said, good and bad - as anywhere. Yes, there are many other states to consider, but I am a NE girl, and although I love CA and CO, I will likely always live on the East Coast due to family and friends being here. We didn't really "zero in" on RI, we were trying to learn more about it. We've been to Newport many times and enjoyed it, Bristol for a day trip and loved it, and have been to Waterfire, which is one of my most favorite things ever. Hauntingly beautiful. Really moving.
Is RI perfect? I'm sure not, so want to hear it all. Does it have lots of good points? Seems to. So I want her hear more. Yes, NE and the East Coast have many beautiful states - each with their own set of considerations. ME is beautiful, and we really like Portland, but it's a bit isolated, brutally cold in winter, and is 2 hours from a major hospital. VT doesn't have great health care and is isolated, winter is long. I love the NH seacoast (Portsmouth) but it's extremely expensive - talk about high property taxes, and not very reasonable RE. MA - well same issue - yes it offers a lot, but it's very high COL, same with CT, and on down into the mid-Atlantic states that get pricey due to the people from DC in VA and MD. NC is far from the ocean, and has some of the same problems as SC (crime, low pay). Savannah GA is interesting and pretty but crime ridden, and the one-season (hot and humid) of FL doesn't interest us.
RI seemed like a great middle ground. Winter, yes, but perhaps not as brutal as ME. Things to do? Seem to be. Beauty? Absolutely. Proximity to Boston and NYC is a big plus. I miss being near a big city for occasional trips. And Providence seems like it's got a lot of possibility. The few times we visited it felt homey and comfortable - human scale. Sort of the way DC feels to me. Jobs and schools would not be an issue in retirement.
Being able to live in a low crime area, not far from friends and family in MA and NH, take trips to NYC, the Cape, MV, Nantucket, Block Island, tour the Newport mansions at Christmas time, drive 1/2 hour to take in a Patriots game, take mass transit into Boston, have a small airport nearby, go into Providence now and then for events and to take advantage of the foodie scene I've read about take advantage of the trails in the area, go sailing... So is RI worth consideration? I think so. I am under no illusions that Providence is like Boston. I wouldn't want it to be, and it's not nearly Boston's size. I'd like to judge it on its own merits. If someone is going to compare it, compare it to like-sized small cities like Wilmington, NC, Savannah, GA, maybe Richmond, VA.
So please keep the comments coming. I'd like to learn more.
OP, I'd recommend somewhere in the East Bay (Bristol, Warren, Barrington). Or, if your budget allows, the nicer parts of the East Side of Providence.
Note that the East Side of Providence is not East Providence.
Thanks for all the comments. We plan a trip out to look around. I remember really liking Bristol and I think it was also Barrington we liked.
Our life is pretty simple. We like walking our dog on paved trails in a safe area. We like going to the movies and out to dinner now and then. Love being able to eat outside in nice weather. We like browsing in second hand shops, love browsing in bookstores. We absolutely love the ocean and love going sailing (someone else sailing the boat - we don't yet know how to sail), my husband loves to fish,, and we both want to kayak. We like walking along the water, i.e., Cliff Walk and on the beach. We like tennis - both playing (not formally) and watching. We love music and outdoor concerts, and the occasional foray to a museum - have yet to visit RSDI. We're big animal lovers, and would love a place that is dog-friendly and that does some work in animal rescue. We like going on house tours and garden tours - love architecture. And are big sports fans - we miss the Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots.
We're pretty much small town people - @17K is the perfect size for us, but we like being near a bigger city for more offerings and good health care (this part is important since we both have some health issues). My ideal living situation is somewhere that is very self-contained (has a pharmacy, a bank, a library, shops, restaurants, police, fire, pet food store, etc.) that is within commuting distance of a larger city, and has the feeling of a small town. It would have history, not be too expensive, and the surrounding countryside would be aesthetically beautiful. We love being able to visit nearby towns. It was fun when we were in Newburyport to go to Portsmouth for the day, or Newbury or Amesbury to pick apples (we also love farms and organic/local fresh food), Essex for fried clams or chowder, Hamilton or Wenham for the garden centers, Ipswich for events at the Crane Estate, or West Newbury to a farm to cut down our Christmas Tree.
We're not big shoppers, but do like having some stores around - Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Staples (or other office supply store), Home Depot or Lowes, Costco and some place to buy clothes (I like Talbots).
We had looked at the Cape (MA) and although we love it there, it seemed everything needed work, and it didn't seem like a year round place to live. Plus the hospital there I not that great.
I don't think we have the budget for the East Side of Providence - we need to stay under 400K. We don't mind a small place though (1,100 - 1,500) and would be ok with a little cosmetic updating. The main criteria for us is safety (low crime) since I often walk our dog at night alone.
We'd like to narrow it to a handful of towns to check out when we visit, so thanks for the suggestions, and keep them coming.
Au contraire ^^^^ Cape Cod Hospital is excellent. Most people would be hard pressed to find anything decent, however, anywhere on Cape Cod for under $400K. Dang it. Except for the last 14 years or so, I was a RI'er; and I'd be living on Cape Cod if it were affordable; never has been for the average middle income family. You just about have to inherit something on the Cape to be able to live there.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,962,945 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71
An escaped pet?
Released, escaped, or accidentally transported. One of the former two most likely, accidental transport of pitvipers is uncommon in the U.S., that mostly happens with arboreal species that get into car undercarriages.
Not native. Not occurring here. Never documented here, even historically.
As I said.
Unless people want to double down on being wrong and say RI has alligators and boa constrictors too, not knowing what that statement means. Of course, anyone remotely familiar with Northern Copperhead habitat knows there isn't an acre of it anywhere near East Providence, I mean, seriously people. Learn something about the wildlife we have before opening one's yap.
I don't know how many times I have to say it, or the other professionals have to say it. RHODE ISLAND DOES NOT AND NEVER HAS HAD COPPERHEADS.
But hey, whatever.
There are populations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, but Rhode Island does not have the proper habitat to support copperhead populations. “It was not a wild snake from an unknown population. There are no copperheads living in Riverside,” Perrotti said.
The comment section is gold with ignoramuses being wrong and posting false information, but that's always the case with these things. I saw them! No, no you didn't. I especially love the "cottonmouth" sightings... when the closest population is in VIRGINIA!
Last edited by timberline742; 05-21-2019 at 07:33 PM..
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Except for the last 14 years or so, I was a RI'er; and I'd be living on Cape Cod if it were affordable; never has been for the average middle income family. You just about have to inherit something on the Cape to be able to live there.
