Old_Way_4860 OP t1_j47uxty wrote on January 13, 2023 at 7:46 PM

So I did some research and found quite a bit of apartment under $1,500 in Providence - even pretty close to downtown. Is there any catch here? For comparison apartments in downtown Boston would probably rent out for at least $3,000.

Can you clarify please? and can you also point to the better areas of PVD/mark on the map areas to avoid?

MapPVD

Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j48v3sv wrote on January 13, 2023 at 11:38 PM

Few ideas:

max 1 bed means many of these might be studios (but im unfamiliar with this app)

Areas like South Providence, Broad street/south of Broad, Olneyville, and parts of Smith Hill can be hit or miss and some areas are super loud/bustling. These zipcodes sometimes also have astronomically high car insurance to account for and some other costs associated with risk assessment. I've never lived in Boston, but I guess similar risk assessment to like a Roxbury or Dorchester.

I would never recommend someone live downtown unless they needed to be steps from the commuter rail or worked next door. It's extremely inconvenient to host friends there since parking sucks, most of the businesses close by 5, and a lot of it is just underutilized relative to the other neighborhoods everyone lives in.

Finally, what is listed and what you can actually rent has a valley between it. A lot of listings out there that need to be taken down, have 50 emails already, or a 30 person open house. So a lot of these affordable units have steep competition and are more like a raffle. Eventually, the price peaks and the competition filters out, but you'd need to get closer to 2k to see units that have vacancy for more than a weekend.

Old_Way_4860 OP t1_j49u4c3 wrote on January 14, 2023 at 4:09 AM

That's a really great comment, thanks bud. Appreciate it.

*I don't really want to live downtown. Was just surprised you can actually find apartments for $1500. It's from apartments.com btw.

So if I get this right, pretty much anywhere in PVD and the nearby towns is legit? I'm talking mostly about crime and things like that. I think I'm fixated on moving to Providence just want to make sure I choose the right area!

Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j4by08j wrote on January 14, 2023 at 4:58 PM

I'm being vague. I tend not to paint the area with a broad brush especially as I have a lot of friends who live all over, but again a similar crime profile to Boston and greater Boston probably. We have low crime, but there are areas that have experienced shootings, car theft, muggings, and property crime happens to some degree all over. I've had multiple friends have their homes broken into multiple times, but at the same time it's not super common. It really is a mixture of location and luck. I would suggest you look at the post around the same day as this one as this poor man who wants to move immediately due to some very unfortunate circumstances of being a victim of violent crime because I feel like it gives more of a range of experiences.

Also to balance it out, I would say that $3000 would be insane here as there really isn't a lot of economic or social opportunity here with median incomes at like 60k. It seems like maybe you're looking to make the jump from Boston? Boston or NYC seems to be near the only examples where people don't feel swindled, even coming from other large cities. I have heard of people here moving to even LA or Seattle because the costs are getting similar but they get much more value in their salaries and social life.

So that's what I'd say. Rent has mostly doubled from where it was even three years ago and with that in mind, I'd wager how much you're willing to go above if it continues to increase each year (also budgeting some of the highest utilities and insurance in the country). I did a major move ages ago that I would have never done financially if I was going to be at the top of my budget. I would also consider whether you would need to switch jobs any time soon away from your WFH job and make sure that your field is very much wfh because salaries here are low and jobs infrequent.

So it's legit in many ways yes, but the networking, 20 something social scene (im older now but it used to be lonely), and job opportunities are nowhere near the cost of rents if those are factors you need to consider.

edit: you will also probably do several apartment applications before actually getting offered a place. It's just that competitive

edit 2: the post was actually on Rhode Island. I dont know if I can link it but the guy also describes how hard it has been to lock down something in that range so ymmv

Old_Way_4860 OP t1_j4cozum wrote on January 14, 2023 at 7:56 PM

Well noted. Thanks for all the info bud, I appreciate it!