on $100k a year, leaving Grand Rapids

change
Providence, RI cityscape

instead of grand rapids

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

$652

pricier each month than Grand Rapids

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

31% more expensive than Grand Rapids(vs $1,620/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$145/mo more in state tax than Grand Rapids

vs 4.25% in Grand Rapids

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$652 less than Grand Rapids

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

04a house here

$528k

50% more expensive than Grand Rapids

vs $353k in Grand Rapids

05metro size

1.7M

vs 1.2M in Grand Rapids

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Grand Rapids only manages 151 of those.

Noticeably quieter than Grand Rapids. About 70% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

13% higher than Grand Rapids

vs 56/100 in Grand Rapids

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

·walk score®

96/100

1% lower than Grand Rapids

vs 97/100 in Grand Rapids

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

15% fewer than Grand Rapids

vs 20 nonstops in Grand Rapids

04 · see also

cities that play in providence's register:

compare providence with: