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Hey everyone - my wife and I are looking to move from Danbury, CT to somewhere in RI. My wife got a job offer at Tiffany & Co in Woonsocket and I am a self employed photographer. We are 29 years old with a 1 year old son. We originally came from a small town in NH before CT and we were bored out of our minds, once we moved to CT it got better but the cost of living in fairfield county is out of control.
Where towns would be a good starting point to start looking for homes/apts in RI. We would like to live in a town with lots not do; beach, shopping malls, gyms and restaurants and of course, good schools.
Since your son is only one I'd forget the good schools for a few years since there is a very limited number of good public school districts around. If I were you, I'd start out renting on the East Side of Providence since that meets all the rest of your criteria. Beaches will be a short drive away but you'll be within relatively easy commuting distance (<25 min) to Woonsocket. You could probably get a decent 2 bedroom in a multi-family house in the 12- 1400 range. Since you're relatively close, you can drive here and look around first hand.
If schools are important (of course) and you're looking for a Fairfield County look and feel, I would suggest East Greenwich. It's about 35 minutes from Woonsocket and 30 minutes to South County Beaches. The Hill and Harbor district in East Greenwich is full of great restaurants, shopping, and recreation opportunities. If you like to sail or just hang out around the harbor and take pictures, you can't beat it in the summer. Goddard State Park is right across Greenwich Cove, too.
If you go with the East Side and stay, you will have to go with private schools (if you want good schools). Hope that helps!
If schools are important (of course) and you're looking for a Fairfield County look and feel, I would suggest East Greenwich. It's about 35 minutes from Woonsocket and 30 minutes to South County Beaches. The Hill and Harbor district in East Greenwich is full of great restaurants, shopping, and recreation opportunities. If you like to sail or just hang out around the harbor and take pictures, you can't beat it in the summer. Goddard State Park is right across Greenwich Cove, too.
If you go with the East Side and stay, you will have to go with private schools (if you want good schools). Hope that helps!
Don't completely discount the public schools in Providence. More East Side families are sending their kids to the neighborhood elementary and middle schools and have been very happy the education their kids receive. Also, Classical High School, a school where a placement exam is required, was rated the best high school in the state by US News and World Report.
Don't completely discount the public schools in Providence. More East Side families are sending their kids to the neighborhood elementary and middle schools and have been very happy the education their kids receive. Also, Classical High School, a school where a placement exam is required, was rated the best high school in the state by US News and World Report.
True that the east side middle school has certainly improved and Classical High has always ranked well, but both Vartan Gregorian and Martin Luther King elementary get some mighty low marks as elementary schools. I'm sure there are charter schools and possibly lower tuition (??) elementary situations on the East Side that might be better.
The thing is, the OP wants all the amenities of an urban area when the highest ranking elementary schools are mostly in the suburbs. East greenwich would be a lousy commute on I95, IMO.
Hey everyone - my wife and I are looking to move from Danbury, CT to somewhere in RI. My wife got a job offer at Tiffany & Co in Woonsocket and I am a self employed photographer. We are 29 years old with a 1 year old son. We originally came from a small town in NH before CT and we were bored out of our minds, once we moved to CT it got better but the cost of living in fairfield county is out of control.
Where towns would be a good starting point to start looking for homes/apts in RI. We would like to live in a town with lots not do; beach, shopping malls, gyms and restaurants and of course, good schools.
Thanks for the advice in advance!
Try elmwood or maybe olneyville or maybe near douglas ave
well, all of RI is close to the beach. so it depends on how close you need to be.
it also sounds like you would be wise to consider affordability and proximity to
highways so you can hop over to Woonsocket. Woonsocket is about as far
from the beaches as you can get in this state, so you'll have to decide what
is most important, a short communte to work or proximity to beaches.
East Greenwich is expensive, compared to places in Warwick and North Kingstown
which are very close by. Peace Dale (Wakefield) is very close to our best beaches,
and is affordable but a solid 40min commute to Woonsocket.
Warwick and North Kingstown are closer. It all depends on how far a commute
to work you can tolerate. There's also nothing wrong with living cheap in
Woonsocket for a while.
I think you should consider living in Lincoln or Cumberland. They are not close to the beach, but they'll be a short commute from work, a short hop to the city and its activities, and they have good schools. They may be more suburban than you want, but they're not totally sleepy and boring, and Providence is just down 146. Both are very nice towns, IMO. For shopping, you're close to Attleboro's Emerald Square Mall, the Lincoln Mall and not far from Patriot Place. Likely, you'll be going to the beach on weekends anyway, when a longer drive isn't an issue.
Actually, another really good option might be North Smithfield. Close to work and probably cheaper than Lincoln anyway - somebody else could probably give you more information on that one.
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