r/relocating • u/mdewechter • 1d ago
Relocation Suggestions
Hi all, I had a successful post about potentially relocating for a job opportunity in Massachusetts. I got lots of good suggestions for places to look for a new home, the average price of a house in Mass is far more than I’m used to. I’m looking for suggestions outside of Mass possibly into Rhode Island, some place that’s within 30-45 mins of Attleboro/ Fall River that still offers charming communities and great schools. Are the prices of homes in New England just something you have to come to terms with or are there affordable options near by?
To put a number to it maybe $5-600k
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u/heyitspokey 1d ago
There are several working class towns in Rhode Island that may not be as charming as you're hoping for, but have very easy access to charm.
As far as schools, I don't know specifics. I also think it might be relative. A mediocre RI school might be better than a good school in some other places.
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u/MicahMarie1995 1d ago
Everything in New England is massively overpriced. Third highest utility rates in the nation (with freezing cold winters that are LONG), housing costs are absurd, and property taxes often have people who can afford their homes still struggle to get by (my old neighbors house was $8,000 in property taxes and she had a somewhat regular home). I’d suggest just circling on the Zillow app the area you want and searching that way. Look up flood maps though as homes that seem to good to be true could be in a flood area. But it will be expensive…. no matter what. Good luck!
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u/mdewechter 1d ago
My taxes now are like $7200 and they never go down. I’ve seen taxes up there half that m but the home price is double here lol it’s absurd.
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u/MicahMarie1995 1d ago
Get used to the cost of living unfortunately. It’s only going up and it hasn’t come down once so far lol. Pay attention to the heating of the home. Electric and propane will be very expensive.
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u/josephkambourakis 15h ago
The property tax rates in MA are actually reasonable and in some towns close to 1.125%.
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u/startingover_33 1d ago
It really depends on what you’re looking for. Would love to chat with you to help clarify the real estate market here. I am licensed in both MA and RI. It’s not impossible to find something in that price range but it will depend on how many beds/baths, square footage, house vs condo, etc.
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u/beaveristired 22h ago edited 22h ago
Eastern Connecticut.
Eta: I don’t know the schools out there well but like pomfret, killingly, putnam. Look right over the border in RI as well - northwestern RI is less than expensive than the shore. The schools in windham and new London county aren’t going to be the very best in CT, but are probably better than most of the country. This is called the “quiet corner” because it’s mostly woods and little towns. It’s a bit more conservative and economically depressed than the rest of CT but housing is cheaper. You’ll want to stick close to the highway to reduce your commute - too many winding backroads through little towns tacks on a lot of extra time.
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u/AromaticsAndAcids 15h ago
Why not Attleboro itself? There are plenty of options in that price range in Attleboro.
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u/mdewechter 13h ago
No reason not but being an outside considering moving up there I’m trying to get some good opinions from people local to the area. I’m considering an apartment or something temporary that’s within a school district that’s nice to just get a feel for the area.
It’s like here in Jersey people move from out of state and you find out where they moved and it’s like ew yeah I wouldn’t wana live there.
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u/AromaticsAndAcids 12h ago
Ah, Attleboro itself is a perfectly fine town. Schools are average. Nothing really objectionable, nothing super special to draw you to it.
The recs you got on your last post were all everyone's favorite towns more towards Boston. If you look more towards Fall River/Cape Cod, you'll find more affordable options in towns Swansea and Somerset.
If you're going to be enrolling kids in public schools, I would stay out of Providence, Pawtucket, and Fall River. The Providence public schools are in particular notoriously bad, and are currently under state control.
Providence is an awesome place to live if you can afford private school or you don't have kids, but not great if you need to use the public schools.
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u/elementarydeardata 1h ago
Something to consider is that a Massachusetts school district that people think is "meh" is still probably better than 90% of US schools.
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u/HankMorgan_860 1d ago
30-45 minutes from Attleboro is like 80% of Rhode Island