Looks like you got the budget advice already, so I'll spare you that bit. I've found the sweet spot to be seriously looking at apartments (i.e. going on tours) 4-6 weeks before you actually move, so in your case, in mid-April throughout May for a June move. I find it helpful to be casually scoping out neighborhoods and prices before that as well.

Boston prices'll do that

Start looking casually now just to get the idea of neighborhoods. In terms of seriously looking at and touring apartments, 4-6 weeks ahead is usually the sweet spot.

Providence has a lot of students, so June-August is a very competitive start time, and prices are pretty high. When it gets closer, you might want to check out individual realty websites rather than the big collection websites. I got lucky and found a nice apartment before it got posted to Zillow

no worries, just wanted to clarify. I didn't expect to see a noise discussion on here and figured i could at least lend a bit of expertise

I'm well aware of how sound and the decibel scale work. 3 dB represents the minimum noticeable increase in sound level outside of a controlled research lab. 60-70 dB is pretty typical for a city, which isn't great for annoyance thresholds, but in terms of sleep deprivation, that usually has more to do with structural insulation of residences. I don't have the measurements for other cities, but I imagine a place like NYC averages at least 70 dB if not higher.

Thanks for the link. 5 minutes is pretty short for these kinds of measurements, but I imagine they were limited by the sheer scale of the project. I'm not sure what they mean by "combining" daytime and nighttime noise levels, but their measurements aren't actually that loud. Most of them don't exceed the maximum allowed by the code, and the ones that do exceed it by less than 3 dB.

Did they actually do any measurements? Providence has noise limits in its code of ordinances. Unfortunately, because of how highway noise regulations are structured federally, highway projects often go through despite being too noisy. It's a little complicated, but it generally comes down to noise barriers being infeasible to construct or not be worth the money.

That budget is about right for 2br/1ba, so bite the bullet

Check out Zillow and other listing sites. You may need to increase your budget by about $200-$400 to find anything like what you're looking for around Providence

Unfortunately I don't have the time to be tutoring nowadays, but you may have some luck with Fiverr or lessons.com

Hotpads is always my go-to

Providence is pretty nice, but very small, so you're never that far away from the station. I usually Uber for the convenience, but you can certainly drive/bus/bike/walk there pretty easily. For figuring out where to live in RI, it's more about what kind of neighborhood you want, and mainly which colleges you want to be close to (they're everywhere). I learned that the hard way when I lived next to PC.

What? no, just pay it. it'd be another thing if you weren't actually speeding or if the officer tried to get you on something worse than what actually happened

Hotpads is great, but it won't help with the pricing. Housing is just getting expensive. A quick look shows Woonsocket prices range from $1200/month to over $2000/month for 2-bedrooms, with most of them being around the 1500-1700 range.

I haven't really done any events so I'm not sure about pricing. I usually just stop by to casually browse games

Untapped is also great for board games and other TTRPGs. Fun place

Untapped Games has tons of supplies, and I know Foolproof brewery does weekly DnD but I'm sure there are others too

Hotpads. They gather stuff from Zillow and apartments.com and probably some other sources.

The commuter rail really isn't bad. Make sure you know your train's schedule, and either buy a ticket in advance or have money with you.

While in Boston, the trains are fine (except maybe the orange line? Not sure what its status is right now), though they're generally packed (green line) and very noisy (red line). It's honestly easier to walk most places if it's close enough. Make sure you don't miss the last commuter rail train.

Oh, I don't know when they added these, but there are these kiosks where you can rent portable batteries to keep your phone charged. Saved my butt the last time I went into Boston

Filled out! Thanks for reaching out, this is a really cool idea!

Specifically the organ? Not sure. But a piano teacher should be easy enough to find. Hell, I'd do it if I had the time.

Try hotpads. They're my personal go-to. To be honest, 1200 a month by yourself is pretty low, and searching with a roommate would make it a lot easier. A cursory search suggests you might have luck in Pawtucket, Woonsocket, or West Warwick.

I unfortunately won't be sticking around the area for that much longer, so I can't really join a band right now. That said, as a 24-going-on-25-year-old guy with a ton of musical education and experience, I thought I'd give you my 2 cents.

I've been playing piano since I was 5, clarinet since I was 10, and singing since I was 16 (plus a couple side instruments here and there). I've done a handful of accompaniment and music directing gigs as well, both for theatre and rock bands. I went to college for, among other things, music, but honestly that's incidental to most of my musical expertise.

If I've learned anything from all my experience, it's that talent isn't a thing, and you should ALWAYS just go for it. People like to be a little gatekeep-y around who gets to call themselves a musician. But the bottom line is music theory is a really helpful tool for creating and communicating musical ideas - but not a requirement to get good at music. If you're interested in learning it, there are a ton of resources. If not, don't worry about it.

A post like this is a good start if you want to get some musicians together - I'd encourage you to keep it up. If it doesn't pan out (or even if it does), spend some time experimenting musically on your own. Sing some stuff, write some stuff, train your ear. Record yourself, nothing fancy, phones are fine. Maybe learn a little bit of piano or guitar. Whatever direction seems cool, go for it in whatever way you have access to.

I hope you find something that works for you, and I wish you luck