$100k a year, no longer in Columbia

change
Providence, RI cityscape

from columbia

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

$534

more expensive each month than Columbia

Providence costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the providence entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,127/mo

37% more expensive than Columbia(vs $1,551/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$43/mo less in state tax than Columbia

vs 6.5% in Columbia

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$534 less than Columbia

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

04a house here

$528k

107% more expensive than Columbia

vs $255k in Columbia

05metro size

1.7M

vs 857k in Columbia

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Columbia has the edge here, logging 189 pleasant days a year. Winter shows up, though: 35 days below 20° vs Columbia's 2.

Things to do run about even with Columbia.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

15% higher than Columbia

vs 55/100 in Columbia

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

·walk score®

96/100

13% higher than Columbia

vs 85/100 in Columbia

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

70% more than Columbia

vs 10 nonstops in Columbia

04 · see also

cities that play in providence's register:

compare providence with: