Moving to PVD from Boston fall 2023, how early is too early?

Submitted by IheartFredArmisen t3_z4ouy4 in providence

Hey, I tried to differentiate the title and be more specific as I'm aware that this -general- topic is posted here every other day. I have been researching the sub for threads on moving.

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I've started my research on neighborhoods to start looking in for moving. I'll be a Boston transplant (sorry), been in Boston for the better part of 10 years but I'm ready to live alone and without roommates. It's just not economically possible to do so in most parts of eastern Mass. I'm looking for 1-2 bed apartments for $1500. I'm planning on looking in Johnston, North Providence, East Side, potentially Cranston. Is it still possible to find 2 bedrooms for under $1500 in those areas? I'd consider looking further out too.

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I'd be looking fora 9/1 move-in date in 2023. I wanted to know if starting to look in March or April is too early? I was a rental realtor in the heart of Boston for a very short second and understand the insanity that student renter season is. (For the record, I'm not a student). However I did learn that some (Boston) student renters started their apartment search as early as March or April. I wanted to know if this would be too early in my circumstance looking in PVD. I'm trying to avoid apartment buildings altogether. I'm interested in units in multi-family homes and ideally with a private landlord. How far ahead do private landlords begin to post listings for their units? I understand some of them are older folks so just wondering if they begin listing 6 months in advance or three months.. or a few weeks.

Thanks for any advice.

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RandomChurn t1_ixs2esc wrote

I think you have a good feel for it.

I can recommend Fox Point, a fringe more blue-collar artsy neighborhood of the East Side (toniest neighborhood in Providence). It's where a lot of Brown grad students, hospital residents, and young professionals live. Walkable. Lots of coffee shops, tiny eateries and bars, parks, dogs, three good markets, bookstores, Brown, RISD, an art cinema, one or two breweries, between two rivers, bike path.

So: yes, there are a good number of owner-occupied tenement houses, just as many absentee landlords. Some airbnb's and suspicious-looking "group"-bought properties? But all of them with grad students who are leaving will empty for Sep renters, and they are usually asked to give landlords plenty of notice so you will want to start looking Feb-Mar.

Good luck 🍀

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixs89cs wrote

Thank you for this insight!

Great, I'll start looking intently starting in Feb/March. Fox Point sounds like a great neighborhood and location so I'll keep my eye on that area as well.

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FunLife64 t1_ixs9nm3 wrote

It doesn’t hurt to start that early but that price point will land you in grad student type audience homes in that area vs more professional oriented. Of course, there are grad students who are super quiet and/or much older than just out of college. But the general maintenance of the building will probably reflect it.

Given your desire to rent from a private landlord you’re going to have to really look hard for a long period of time. Some don’t post until the month before too.

You may want to look in the Hope Village area. Still East Side but further north if you’re going to Boston (and can avoid PVD downtown during rush hour). This area probably has more families vs grad students (my guess…I’ve never lived there). Lots of multi families.

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixsp21s wrote

Hmm, that's a good point about living more north of the city to jet out of PVD to get to Boston. I'm 30, so above the age of a portion of grad students. I'll be searching diligently starting early. Thanks for the advice.

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nodumbunny t1_ixt8jpq wrote

Why would anyone downvote this comment? Yes, if you need to get to Boston on a regular basis, you'll want to look at neighborhoods that are convienient for commuting. Will you be going to Boston for work on a regular basis? Or are you saying you'll need to get there to have a social life? (That might be why the comment is getting downvoted. There is plenty going on here.)

You don't say why you need a second bedroom, but you might not be able to get that for $1500. However, pay attention to the Sq. Ft. in the listing. A lot of the housing stock here is in 1, 2 and 3-family homes which have double parlors, or enclosed sunrooms, or small rooms that might not be considered a bedroom due to lack of a closet but could be used as an office.

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixtdezi wrote

I understand the downvotes, it's because of being a Boston transplant and also for creating another "I'm moving to PVD" thread. No biggie though, I get it.

I would be needing to commute to Boston 3-ish days out of the week. The rest of the time I'd work from home. Some social life will still be there but looking forward to finding/forming a social circle in the pvd area as well. The search for a 2 bed specifically is to have the second as an office/creative studio. I was also looking into 1BD units with enclosed sunrooms or 1 beds with other semi-enclosed spaces, as you did mention. I'm glad to hear that there's stock of some homes with these sorts of flex spaces in them.

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nodumbunny t1_ixtdvfp wrote

If you haven't already, search out and read some of the threads about commuting to Boston. Three days a week would deter me from moving to Providence. (I commuted to Cambridge five days a week for five years from PVD and it was horrible.)

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixthra7 wrote

I would not be commuting during peak hours. I can create my schedule and would change it to the best of my ability to work around AM and PM rush hours.

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FunLife64 t1_ixukkrn wrote

I’d just point out everyone’s situation is different and 3 days a week is much different than 5 days.

If you can have a much higher quality of life for the majority of a week, that’s much different than a higher quality of life 2 days a week.

Also, I have a job that I have west coast colleagues that I can schedule calls with on my drive at 5pm. I have to do those calls regardless, so I start my day later and end later. So being in the car for an hour wouldn’t be a waste of any time. That’s much different than if I was on a train doing crossword puzzles for 2 hours a day.

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nodumbunny t1_ixuu44x wrote

Crossword puzzles? I used to get the earliest train out of South Attleboro (back when it was open) so I could sit at a table and work using the wifi. If I was lucky I could work on the way home, too. (It was a demanding job and if I'm being 100% honest, that's part of why the commute sucked. There was no downtime. So that will differ for other kinds of jobs.)

It's also lucky to be able to take calls from the car and not have to a.) look at a screen or b.) take notes. That would not be true for a lot of people.

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FunLife64 t1_ixv98ud wrote

Yeah I get it…which is why I say it really depends on each person’s situation!

And yes I’ve seen plenty of people doing mindless things on the train…many people do have true 9-5 jobs.

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_ixwfvx3 wrote

Hey OP, you said you've been hunting early are you finding many leads currently out there meeting your criteria? That's probably your best gauge, but rent went up like 17% y.o.y. so plan accordingly.

The last time I saw $1500 being typical for a 2 bedroom was around 2017. I did see this on occasion a year ago (1600ish listing) and the small landlords tended to be aware it was below market and either filled it the first viewing or were open to multiple viewings and ended up having a line of 30 people on the weekend and it was more of a lottery to get. I do know people paying way below market like a 3 bedroom for $800, but those people tend to have a relationship with the owners and have just stayed at the place for a decade at decade ago prices. The vast majority of places go on the market near market rate, which according to zillow is around 2200 for the entire city. Also keep in mind that utilities have been running very high. Before the rate hikes last year, a 2 bedroom could run you close to $200 just for gas and electric in the winter (with gas heat). I had oil heat in 2014 and our 2 bedroom heating was something like 2k way back then, so I was thrilled to be splitting costs at those rates. Also budget commuting costs to get an idea of the full picture because all of those ancillary costs like gas or the train can rack up quickly.

1 bedrooms will be more manageable, but are still clocking in at more like 1700. I actually glanced for a friend recently and at just a cursory glance I was pretty horrified to see even Warwick and Cranston area looking for around 1700+ for nothing special.

Are you willing to do a studio or a loft? I understand the desire of a flex space in your home, but you may have to give somewhere on your desire to live alone so I would think about whether you'd increase the budget or decrease the space if it comes to it-- it's good you're looking into less desirable towns like Johnston. If you're willing to overlap leases for a good space you will have more options, but that can be costly.

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixwlkiz wrote

I have been looking right now, even though I'm planning to move later next year.
I've been seeing some $1500 2BD on the outskirts of the city. Probably a couple dozen or more, some are nothing special, but some seem pretty nice. I'm not looking for brand new appliances and finishes, I'm used to old units in multi-family homes. I get you on the 30+ applicant lines out the door for $1500 2BDs. I'd consider lowering my expectations and look at 1BDs as well. I like lofts but I understand the money it takes to heat and cool them and that's a large deterrent. I currently live in a whole house (single floor, 2 bed bungalow with a semi-finished basement & non-finished attic) split with one person. The utilities get max ~$400 in the winter for gas, electric and internet combined, split between 2 people has been $200 max pp in the height of winter and height of summer. Utils probably went up $40 in the peak seasons this year though since things have gone up. We had an energy audit and our home (built in 1950) is pretty well insulated. I just cannot live with a music producer anymore.. I am truly wanting to have my own space, a sanctuary in which I can sleep peacefully and actually get to bed at a decent bed time. Also, the landlord is a distant family member. He rents it to us cheap but the catch is we have to leave for 6 weeks every summer so he and his family (who live on the west coast) can come and use it as a summer home. While it seemed like a great deal in the beginning, I'm going on year 4 of this and it's getting tiring having to uproot every year and find somewhere else to live for those 6 weeks.

I wanted to know what you meant by overlapping leases? And how it would be costly but may yield better options?

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_ixwquhz wrote

I'm not sure what you mean by the outskirts of the city. Oakhill? South Providence? Feel free to dm me and I can provide more context if you aren't familiar with the area. Areas north of Roger Williams park (edge of Cranston), some parts of Chalkstone, Federal Hill, Olneyville, and Broad Street (edge of Cranston) are all known to be notoriously loud especially in the summer. I would even suggest spending time around Fox Point as I lived there many moons ago and had disrupted sleep between the construction and close together houses (loud neighbors building next door/yard next door fought a lot). There are far more bars and fun businesses around there these days and it's a great place to spend time, I just hated living so close to all of that noise and I've seen some similar complaints on here from people who are sensitive to noise.

I'm not saying it can't happen I'm just saying that is really below market for a 2 bedroom and I'd caution you to do your due diligence on those places or you might end up in another unbearable situation or with a slumlord. Last week I saw a drawing of an apartment at 1550 get multiple emails-- no address and it was a sketch. It's worth mentioning that the $1500 2 bedroom places, if they aren't a scam, are probably in higher crime neighborhoods so that's something to keep in mind if that's something you are uncomfortable with. I had a friend who rented a 3 bedroom for over 2k and had a lot of stress with her kids because of a number of shootings in her neighborhood.

These are not new renos either at those prices-- your average old multifamily is getting turned into condos or posted for 2300 in Providence. Complete dumps I was paying infested with mice in fox point a few years back were reposted at double a year ago. Modern units are 2500+.

So, what I mean about overlapping leases is that I had a few months notice on my last place. I started searching right away and had time on my hands. I lost multiple apartments I applied for simply due to competition and got a place I really liked and paid on two leases for two months in order to get the place I wanted at a good price.

Anyways, I don't mean to sound pessimistic, I've just lived here almost a decade and were undergoing unprecedented gentrification. Prices aren't that far behind Boston and your best bet is to know someone or post on Reddit when the time comes or Nextdoor. Think about your "must have" list at the end of the day and what you're willing to budge on. Feel free to dm me specific spots as I know the city very well.

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Dextrous456 t1_ixuiw4o wrote

A coworker just had luck renting at US Rubber in Olneyville. I've heard mixed reviews from people, esp about thin walls, but it's a large place that seems to stay rented. And the price is right. You might also look at mill buildings in Pawtucket and Central Falls.

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Ill-Ad-944 t1_ixw765m wrote

rubber lofts is horrible, do not live there lol

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IheartFredArmisen OP t1_ixwg066 wrote

I do like the idea of loft living however I did do it once in undergrad for a summer and I do understand the $$$ that is heating and cooling a loft. It never quite gets to the temp you want in extreme temps, despite paying a crap load for it. I've also learned that many loft buildings are poorly managed overall. I will be looking in Pawtucket nonetheless.

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nodumbunny t1_ixvcg3w wrote

Mill buildings in Central Falls or Pawtucket would be a slightly better location for commuting to Boston than Olneyville.

OP, I don't think you'll find a two-bedroom in your price range, but some of these have a loft type arrangement that could provide office space.

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