Is this a larger corporate building? I've ran into small landlords that feel this way mostly because they get spammed with applications from people who mass apply to every listing.

Good advice already given in this thread.

Just fyi buildings with 6 or more units cannot apply for a street permit. So even if you were able to find a street that allowed overnight permit, you won't be able to apply for a permit.

Personally, I find downtown is a complete snoozefest, ghost town to reside since it's a lot of banks, hotels, and shops that close up at 5pm and few residents. It's not as bad as it used to be to live in, but you might find yourself isolated as it will be equally inconvenient for friends to visit from other neighborhoods unless they want to search for a meter. But, for what it is worth, I've never actually lived there so maybe someone can vouch for it being worth the premium.

Hey OP, I have a friend who scheduled a micro wedding and they googled terms like "city hall san francisco wedding photography" or looked up vendors featured on instagram with city hall. Those people are more likely to be flexible and agreeable with doing smaller time frames/simple packages. You may also have more luck on unconventional days (Fri, Sun, etc) or during off season because Saturdays during say, summer might go to bigger bookings. My friend in SF has beautiful photos for like $1500 (but winter 2021, so prices werent as steep).

Fwiw I'm planning a wedding out of state. Photographers there full day are generally around $7,000. Some sites have special sections for elopements and those prices are more around $2200-2500. It's generally one of the highest expenses for a wedding, but a lot goes into editing and such. You may find it worth it to splurge if you want a certain look for your photos, but if you aren't particular you may be able to get something very cheap. I think you will probably pay a minimum of $1000 if that helps (but I haven't looked at the market here specifically).

edit: look up terms like "elopement packages" "microwedding" when searching for a photographer and it should help you narrow down a bit

Not sure when this was, but prices are up a lot post covid/inflation hikes (not sure on this venue in particular). Just worth mentioning prices have exploded, so OP might be in a different ballpark.

Modern MBA has a good episode on the economics of self storage and why it's exploding as an industry.

Keep in mind that some high ceiling mill buildings can be a complete utility money pit, too. I haven't been in one but I've heard heating horror stories so add in even more expenses.

It seems that all the mill/new builds just seem to align on the same price. I had a friend who was looking and every studio was the same rate, so she just picked the building she liked. Expect to get a hike on renewal too, so if you're at the top of the budget, I'd reconsider.

What'd wild is I know someone who lives in one of these types of places and the building is a ghost town. If vacancy is this tight and they can't attract renters then when does that price stop actually being market rate?

I put in this PSA a lot, but I'd live here first. It sounds like OPs partner has only visited and not lived here and there's just a lot to figure out before jumping in. A lot of the empty new builds will also agree to a 6 month lease which gives OP time to figure out all of the small details that go along with wheelchair access in a new city.

For example,the west side has some of the worst plowing/shoveling that I have ever seen. A lot of places in PVD also have sidewalks that just disappear randomly and large swaths or North Providence aren't walkable in many areas or pitch black at night. It also sounds like OP has a lot of contingencies based on Medicaid which I cannot personally speak to-- MA might be the long term option if it is significantly more robust than RI (if its like most govt functions here).

Also sublet.com I find there's not a ton if overlap but they serve similar purposes.

The dog is going to make this pretty tough, not gonna lie, this place is just notoriously not dog friendly on rentals.

Not sure where your friends are coming from, but for a city, I would say were within the norm/on the cleaner side overall.

I've been in winter and had a great time as long as you aren't there to do anything like shops. Just be aware that if the ferry shuts down, you will need to find a contingency plan. When I went, there was one last ferry for the day before they were cancelled for weather (it wasn't snow but something else like high wind). March is still fair game here for crappy weather in a bad year.

I should also say I paid next to nothing for accommodations since it was off-season. It probably wouldn't be worth it if you are still getting charged $400+ a night.

In 2007, the districts didn't make the appropriate call and students were stranded on school buses in a snow storm. Several people were fired too over this debacle. So, these days, the school districts would rather play it safe.

Good observations. I think what makes that area so unusual is that it used to be priced accordingly-- so it was a bit of a mixed bag, but affordable so you were used to dealing with some of the homelessness and poverty. Now, it's like it's become Williamsburg and priced accordingly with extremely high rent and 600k starter homes. So I think some of the people have no idea what to expect when they're moving in (if they're new) and maybe the abject poverty that is adjacent to the area is jarring at those obscene prices. I will admit that I am unfamiliar with what sounds like a rushed implementation of this program at the armory and how that has changed things recently, but it sounds like maybe stuff has gotten fairly challenging.

I think a lot of the homeowners in the area who have been there for a few decades have seen the area change over the years from what was "hard to have a mortgage approved" to bordering on upper middle class and might be able to shrug it off more, but maybe not. It's a weird place.

People are so excited to see their real estate values go up,up,up here, but we are in for a rough ride as inequality and need ramps up.

I mean, yeah that's got sketch vibes, so I'd tread lightly because this is probably going to be the first but not the last red flag. I lived somewhere once where something seemed off when we signed and it was a nightmare of a year including when we tried to get our security deposit back. So I'd cautiously proceed-- all the LLs I mentioned were by the books and protected themselves, but this is way different. Also, this gives me "if I don't like you and your gf I will also do sketchy things to push you out" vibes since they've sort of given you that playbook. I'd go off of whatever vibes you get tomorrow, but when I lived in buildings run where they were outspoken about sketchy stuff like that they were usually pushing boundaries a lot (avoiding their taxes, not providing stuff on the lease, stiffing maintenance workers, not providing/deducting security deposit like legally required).

Also good it would be lower because 2600 that area is....high. I would avoid Rochambeau and Camp intersection possibly too (feel free to dm me as you proceed with this process). Also you should know that in RI they can't ask for last months rent too-- it's weird to me how many people move here from MA and buy and then ask for more than 2 months up front when it's illegal.

I saw one place asking for 3 months (first, sec, and last) and the owner seemed nice, but I later saw they listed and sold only a few months later. If I had fallen for that, I probably would have never seen that money again once it changed hands-- glad I went with my gut and picked a different place.

Tbf, this is the time frame that a teacher was killed in a hit and run a few years back in PVD leaving after school activities: https://www.abc6.com/mount-pleasant-high-teacher-killed-in-hit-and-run/

It is a cash grab first and foremost, but it can both be a cash grab and an issue with people not paying attention during after school events. My teacher friend was hit by a drunk driver leaving her school lot at 3pm (thankfully in her car).

Hell, I drive over 10+ speed bumps getting home every day which have all been installed in the last 3 years because while I'm a good driver, the bad drivers here ruin it for the rest of us. It's like we're the speed bump capitol of the world.

This guy is right about 31 triggering it. I used to drive through one multiple times a day near my house and at least 10 times it was triggered by someone speeding in the opposite lane closest to the camera. I never once got a ticket for those, although it was stressful.

Do not buy. I feel like that is the go to financial situation, but a total risk if you absolutely do not know the area and are apprehensive about the culture already. You'll be dropping at least 700k on a hunch and if you are that financially well off, you can probably afford to rent for a year while you evaluate where you will actually be happy living here.

The women I meet in Portsmouth have all been married for 20 years. I met several young single guys on dates who drove up to Providence for any and all dates. They didn't have amazing things to say about Newport either other than they drank a lot at bars (but this was several years ago so maybe things have changed). You will be driving up to Providence for probably most dates/young person activities, just fyi. Some locals will consider that long distance for a relationship, as absurd as that sounds, so it may limit your options for relationships.

The thing about these types of places is that they never have planned openings-- just randomly people leave after like 5 years and something gets posted one day online. These places are never, ever corporate buildings its always small LL who maybe do it because they're laid back and don't have a high mortgage, just want to checkout with low turnover tenants, or they're just balancing costs with low passive income to play the equity game/live for free in building.

A lot of these things are done through networks of their friends or colleagues before going to market-- I've lived in buildings where I happened to be the only person who didn't know the owner ahead of time. As housing gets more difficult, I feel like this gets more common. I have a friend who has a multifamily that was like 150-200k, so she only charges 1600 for a 3 bedroom to a local family. Could she charge more? Yeah, but she's an awesome person and she isn't fixated on maximizing her investment since she's happy with some side income, helping a good family, and living in the other unit.

So my only advice is to sort by new, spend time like a full time job, and be the first to contact. I actually saw multiple extremely cheap/updated places (like 1500/2bed) and viewed them, but I wasn't always fast enough. Also, if you work locally and have a community here already, chances are you have a whole network to draw from if you need help.

Oh and look before you need to move. It's worth having an overlapping lease. My current place was listed 5 days before the lease started-- If I had to be out of my current place by end of the month, I would have already committed somewhere hastily like musical chairs. Having time gives you options-- don't expect a great place and flawless lease overlap.

The most interesting/politically disruptive candidates here are on the lowest levels (state rep, state senate, council). This is because these candidates can represent the views of their small neighborhoods and are often the biggest community presence. Once you go to mayor or state level positions, the leadership gets a lot more milquetoast because all of the vote gets split, it attracts career politicians, low turnout, and the opinionated candidates on both ends don't appeal to enough voting blocks to win majority.

Check out the twitter of some local general assembly members to see some great commentary and ideas. If you watch capitol TV, you'll see some excellent politicians whose hands are just usually tied by decisions made upstream.

It's important to note that scheduled ubers still can cancel and there are some horror stories out there-- their TOS guarantees nothing. The only guarantee that OP will get there in time would be to spend that $150 on a hotel room near the airport/shuttle if this flight is really that important.

How competitive are Brown's salaries when compared to other private and R1s?
I assumed the prestige + competitiveness in academia/higher ed is a lot of the draw and that maybe the salaries weren't amazing for the CoL difference unless candidates are in hard to staff fields or famous academics. I'd be interested to know from someone with more insight. Like even high 5 figures here isn't comfortable with a family anymore.

Also, the private school tuition is next level. It's like sending your kid college for 13 consecutive years. I think 35-55k a year is unheard of for Texas, but it's the going rate here, OP. The only "affordable" private high school is Catholic.

I would avoid lofts unless you have a few non-negotiables: dogs, modern finishes, air conditioning.

If you can live without the above, you will probably find a better living situation at a lower cost. A lot of the housing stock here is mutlifamily, which means you could share 0 walls vs several paper thin walls in a loft and a loud hallway. Worse yet, the big management companies are likely to calculate a "market rate" rent adjustment on renewal since you're just another rando to the management office.

Yep, there has never been an easier time to be a terrible landlord and still increase the rent.

Alternatively, I live in a super chill affordable apartment and have always had this luck with the exception of one place. It's a two way street, so I try to be helpful and it seems like neighbors have the same idea. The only time I've had not great neighbors was in the poorly run apartment, probably because people treated poorly are going to treat the living situation just as poorly.

There absolutely are too few people involved. That being said, a lot of people who do advocate are also the most demoralized when they continue to see glacial change.

For a recent example, let's take the school closures (moving kids out of buildings and redistributing them to other schools throughout the city). The response has been universally negative from the community. Meetings have been nearly shut down from outcry and hours of public comments heard from concerned families who want the normal procedural protocol from the city (the state can avoid this because of the mandate it has over the city right now). Most likely, things will be business is usual so for those people it feels like the status quo is pretty fixed, but hopefully those people continue to be involved and advocate.

Another recent example would be the rate hikes many people took off work to speak against. They were pretty much rubber stamped and while we could argue it was necessary in this economic climate, for those people it felt like there was never a debate to be had.