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We're currently living in Newport (but have only been here for 3 months) and last night we drove through downtown Westerly, had never been there before and it looked darling with the xmas lights on the trees. Seems like there are some similarities and differences between Newport and Westerly.
Please compare these two locations. Here are some topics of interest to me but feel free to include any details that come to your mind. How do they compare in terms of:
Quiet vs bustling
Historic atmosphere
Experiencing the ocean
Attitude of residents
Tourist presence
Food and dining
Age of people you'll see there
Housing (styles, lot size, neighborhoods, property types, etc.)
Isolated vs connected and convenient
General feel / vibe
What it's like to live in each
Who would love living there, what kind of person?
Are they both "one-of-a-kind" or are there places you find similar to each?
Newport is an internationally known tourist destination and in the summer is packed with tourists, but maybe you haven't been there long enough to experience how packed. It's beautiful, expensive, and has a small middle class population. Both cities have no shortage of history.
Westerly is a much quieter and more middle class area. Newport's poor are mostly confined to the subsidized housing in the Broadway area. Westerly's are more integrated. Newport's house prices have become very high and Westerly prices have been on the rise.
Generalizing about people, their attitudes, and "general vibe" is fraught with problems because so much depends on who YOU are and what you like. What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? Are you young, old, conservative, liberal, single, married with a family, etc etc Medical care?
Fortunately, you're close enough to Westerly to make repeat visits!
Newport is an internationally known tourist destination and in the summer is packed with tourists, but maybe you haven't been there long enough to experience how packed. It's beautiful, expensive, and has a small middle class population. Both cities have no shortage of history.
Westerly is a much quieter and more middle class area. Newport's poor are mostly confined to the subsidized housing in the Broadway area. Westerly's are more integrated. Newport's house prices have become very high and Westerly prices have been on the rise.
Generalizing about people, their attitudes, and "general vibe" is fraught with problems because so much depends on who YOU are and what you like. What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? Are you young, old, conservative, liberal, single, married with a family, etc etc Medical care?
Fortunately, you're close enough to Westerly to make repeat visits!
This is a great observance. We have family living in both Westerly and Newport and we love both towns.
Newport is definitely a destination tourist town and during the summers it is packed. My favorite time to visit is during the winter after the holidays when it becomes sleepy. My aunt and uncle who live not to far from the main area had resorted to mopeds to get around and avoid parking hassles during the summers.
Westerly which we also love for its sleepy coastal town vibe would be where we would choose to live if we moved back permanently. It gets busy during the summer but nowhere near likes in Newport.
In my opinion, Westerly is a more practical place to live than Newport because one is not required to cross any bridges (and pay the necessary tolls) to access Westerly. Additionally, I-95 and U.S. Route 1 run through or are near Westerly, making the city more accessible within the greater region.
Removing Providence from the equation, I would rather be closer to New London than Fall River and New Bedford because Connecticut is much healthier than Rhode Island and (southeastern) Massachusetts, both economically and socially.
Westerly and its next-door neighbor, Charlestown, have more oceanfront beaches than Newport and the other towns on Aquidneck Island, and the South County beaches are generally regarded as superior to those located on Narragansett Bay.
South County is more ecologically and geologically diverse than Aquidneck Island. Also, it is more wooded and has more small-town charm (off the beaten path). The hills of nearby southeastern Connecticut are really beautiful and very accessible from Westerly.
Both Newport and Westerly will have friendlier-than-average residents, by Rhode Island standards, because there are many transplants in both cities.
In my opinion, Westerly is a more practical place to live than Newport because one is not required to cross any bridges (and pay the necessary tolls) to access Westerly. Additionally, I-95 and U.S. Route 1 run through or are near Westerly, making the city more accessible within the greater region.
Removing Providence from the equation, I would rather be closer to New London than Fall River and New Bedford because Connecticut is much healthier than Rhode Island and (southeastern) Massachusetts, both economically and socially.
Westerly and its next-door neighbor, Charlestown, have more oceanfront beaches than Newport and the other towns on Aquidneck Island, and the South County beaches are generally regarded as superior to those located on Narragansett Bay.
South County is more ecologically and geologically diverse than Aquidneck Island. Also, it is more wooded and has more small-town charm (off the beaten path). The hills of nearby southeastern Connecticut are really beautiful and very accessible from Westerly.
Both Newport and Westerly will have friendlier-than-average residents, by Rhode Island standards, because there are many transplants in both cities.
To each his own. But, living near & liking Newport, I can say many of those who live there wouldn't consider living in Westerly (outside of perhaps, Watch Hill). People who love Newport, love Newport above & beyond all else. Almost like a city of cult.
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