on $100k a year, leaving Chicago

change
Providence, RI cityscape

from chicago

Providence

ri · metro 1.7M

a dispatch from

providence

RI

41.82°N

71.42°W

Providence is what a college town looks like wearing a former industrial capital's old leather jacket. Brown and RISD pour creatives in by the thousand, Federal Hill has been feeding them red sauce since forever, and on summer nights WaterFire literally lights bonfires up and down the river. It's cheap enough that Boston refugees actually stay. The state capitol has the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world, and you'll be told within an hour of arrival.

metro1.7M

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$44

more each month than Chicago ran you

Almost a wash on cost. The case for Providence is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the providence entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,127/mo

2% cheaper than Chicago(vs $2,170/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$87/mo more in state tax than Chicago

vs 4.95% in Chicago

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$44 less than Chicago

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$528k

45% more expensive than Chicago

vs $365k in Chicago

05metro size

1.7M

vs 9.3M in Chicago

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Chicago barely cracks 153 pleasant ones.

Noticeably quieter than Chicago. About 98% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

10% lower than Chicago

vs 70/100 in Chicago

Closest outdoor draw: Acushnet Cedar Swamp State Reservation, 23.8 mi.

·walk score®

96/100

4% lower than Chicago

vs 100/100 in Chicago

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

92% fewer than Chicago

vs 217 nonstops in Chicago

04 · see also

same energy as providence, different zip code:

compare providence with: