on $100k a year, leaving Raleigh

change
Providence, RI cityscape

if you left raleigh

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

$588

more each month than Raleigh ran you

Providence costs more than Raleigh, and you'll feel it. The upside has to come from somewhere other than your budget.
landable, recorded on the providence entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,127/mo

28% more expensive than Raleigh(vs $1,663/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$124/mo more in state tax than Raleigh

vs 4.5% in Raleigh

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$588 less than Raleigh

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

04a house here

$528k

20% more expensive than Raleigh

vs $440k in Raleigh

05metro size

1.7M

vs 1.5M in Raleigh

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Raleigh gets 201 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. A real winter, not a brutal one: 35 days under 20°, vs 3 in Raleigh.

Noticeably quieter than Raleigh. About 55% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

9% higher than Raleigh

vs 58/100 in Raleigh

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

·walk score®

96/100

1% lower than Raleigh

vs 97/100 in Raleigh

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

56% fewer than Raleigh

vs 39 nonstops in Raleigh

04 · see also

if providence appeals, also worth a look:

compare providence with: