Should I Move To RI? (Providence, Warwick: unemployment, income, property tax)

[Hollytree]

That's probably the worst case scenario for heat- oil heat and a big uninsulated old house.
You also have to keep in mind that heat is not the only factor on an annual basis. Water & electricity are probably cheaper here than in VA and unless you are really spoiled, you don't need AC for more than a few weeks out of the year. I know people in Fla & Tx who pay much more than we do for utilities. Personally, I love having the windows open to get fresh air & a breeze.

[eastcoastgrl]

that's one of my big dislikes about it here is that i have to run the a/c so much, i didn't have it growing up and miss the actual air!! i would love to open some windows. by the time you shut if off here, it's almost time to turn on the heat! i'm just trying to get a realistic view of the cost of living up there, it's all well and good to say i can't wait to move back home, but i don't want us to get there and be totally shell-shocked!!!

[GermanSpy]

Originally Posted by eastcoastgrl

ok, so divide that between 5 months, (nov-march) ? and you get appx. $540 per month. does that sound right? that is pretty hefty. and we'd be looking at older homes, not as well insulated. ok, thanks for the info.

Yes, that would be my estimate for a house from around the 70s with a relatively up to date heating system. If you're getting into an older house, something built before WWII, for example, and your heating system is ancient, too....I'd say you pay about $5k in oil every year.

Also, who knows what's happening with heating oil prices.
I'd suggest looking for a place with gas heat installed.

Good luck.

[MissScarlett76]

Just to add a little to the other replies...

If you're looking for something more rural, the southwest part of the state in Washington County is good. Hopkinton, Hope Valley, Charlestown, etc. If you want something semi-rural but not way out in the boonies, Exeter/West Greenwich is an excellent choice.

I grew up in North Kingstown, which is also in Washington County, and the people are super friendly around here. The schools are excellent, and I can say that because I have a child with a learning disability. As for how nice the people are in Rhode Island, you pretty much get out of them what you give. If you're outgoing and friendly, that's what you get back.

I would stear clear of Providence. Yes they have been rebuilding it, and there is a lot to do, but the crime rate is probably the highest in the state.

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by MissScarlett76

I would stear clear of Providence. Yes they have been rebuilding it, and there is a lot to do, but the crime rate is probably the highest in the state.

Well, obviously it would be since its the only urban area in RI.

Why do you keep poo pooing on Providence in multiple threads??

[Irishguy21]

Dont bother moving to RI. The taxes are some the highest in the country. The school system isnt good at all. The state has closed down schools because they cant afford to keep them open. But yet they can buy brand new trucks for state workers every year. The roads and briges are some of the worst. If you do move here the people are unfriendly. You say hi to someone and they give you wierd looks. We get taxed for everything here. I have a 1998 Jeep it cost me $60 TWO YEARS AGO. They just raised the vehicle tax and now I had to pay $130. Me and my wife cant afford it here like many other people have said and we are moving out of here as well. Oh yea they just raised the the price on speeding tickets as well another way for the state to rip you off. If you come to RI get use to alot of stuff that where if they cant tax on they raise the prices on other things just to get more money out of you.

[Marie Elena]

I was born and raised in RI and I just hate it. I left when I was 20 and went to the West coast. I have lived in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon and I love Oregon the best. Right now I am back on the East coast and I like it here in Maine but the winters are too cold and long. Rhode Island is the armpits of the U.S. Connecticut is not much better. I love Oregon because it has the coast, desert, mountains and the valley. I wish I would have stayed there; now it is too expensive to buy a house or land. Virginia is cheap I guess maybe like West Virginia? My son lived in West Virginia and I saw the houses at the time were cheap. Every place has it downfalls and good things. But Rhode Island is "Pittsville".

[INNYRI]

We lived on Long Island before we moved here, and trust me, the people are friendlier here. Well, at least they are on a superficial level. It's harder to really get to know people and make new friends, because it seems like most people have lived here there whole lives and have extensive networks of friends and family already. Of course, that's true of many people on Long Island, too.

[INNYRI]

Make that "their" whole lives. Here, there, everwhere.

[POhdNcrzy]

RI is NOT "Pittsville" aka "The Pits". No way, no how.

RI is a gorgeous, beautiful state with all the uncrowded beaches, forests, ponds, trails, some of the best fishing and sailing in the world, many sunny, mild days of beautiful weather, etc. Also you are pretty close to many wonderful high-quality cultural and entertainment events, including NYC and Boston. Many great universities close by, including in RI.

Overall, I would say, the more you are struggling economically, the more you will dislike life in RI. The cost of living is punitively high here. If you are wealthy you can have an absolutely amazing lifestyle here.

Now, mind you, I sure understand why people say they hate RI.

Many people here are cloistered, ignorant, grumpy morons, basically Swamp Yankee rednecks.

There are ignorant, uneducated minorities here from poor backgrounds and from all over the world. Many come to RI and end up just as rude, dumb, bleak, and myopic as some of the locals.

There are urbane, sophisticated and intellectual people in RI as well. (From all ethnic backgrounds.)

Notably, the so-called experts claim there are more neurotic people in RI than many other states. I think this is very true.

RI breeds neurosis. Hard to explain why in just a paragraph or two. Mostly probably due to the socioeconomic culture and socioeconomic history of RI. RI used to be heavy into manufacturing and Cold War defense-contracting stuff, but those two big industries packed up and left RI decades ago. Difficult government bureaucracies and high tax rates stifle the economy and prevent businesses from moving to RI or "opening up a shop" here. Lots of poor people, a significant contingent of exclusionary wealthy and very wealthy, then mix in a rather tenuous middle-class (actually lower middle-class but "putting on airs"). Too many people who have never left the small town or suburb they grew up in. Disparate people in disparate settings makes it somewhat too heterogeneous and jumbled-up. No concensus is ever reached, the dysfunctionalities are enduring, and the Rhode Island civilization progresses along at a stunted pace. When you live in a place like that, you are likely to become neurotic.

It's good to know yourself well and have a strong personality in order to best negotiate life in RI.

I try to not let all the neurotics get to me. I do the stuff I like to do, even if it's not part of the "Rhode Island ways" and Swamp Yankee customs that so many defer to here. When they get grumpy, I try to laugh. When they get stupid (happens a lot), I stay smart. When they offer me their crude, primitive, persecutory energy, I try to let my conscious, expanded, liberated and beatific energy shine through, as the sunlight vanquishes the darkness.

I think RI is actually slowly pulling its collective head out of it's a**, one day at a time. This state is too beautiful, too uncrowded, too sunny, too well-situated to fester forever like a rotting gym sock at the bottom of a dumpster in West Warwick.

Interesting people with money will continue to move here. And, if I haven't moved away in the meanwhile, I'm gonna try and get my fingers around some of that money, just like any good American would.