ggreen

You've gotten some great advice here.

My sister just lived in Portsmouth for three years while my BIL worked in the area, choosing it over Middletown and Newport for the great elementary schools and reasonable housing stock. True Portsmouth itself doesn't have a "downtown", but it's easy to go to Newport for that, and being at the north end of Acquidneck island, you're closest to going elsewhere, like Providence or Boston. Traffic in Newport in the summer can be a headache, to say the least.

Bristol is very nice but I don't know anything about the schools. Tiverton and Little Compton are lovely towns, but neither is known for its schools. I believe Little Compton doesn't even have a high school. One factor in this (and Newport) is that people with summer properties are reluctant to pay school taxes since they don't live there year-round. Without the funding, school quality goes down. This happens not infrequently in coastal NE areas.

It's true that many people send their kids to private schools, and there are a lot in the area. Many opt for public elementary, then private high school.

While you're in the Newport area, look to stay in a hotel or motel in Middletown. Prices are much more reasonable than Newport, and you're in prime position to visit places in the area such as Bristol, Wakefield, etc. The Marriott Residence Inn is a brand new property and was quite nice when I stayed there recently, one mile from downtown Newport.

psy_dr

I just have to say that I've posted many times on the fodors boards for suggestions on trips and I must say that of all the travel boards, fodors has the most helpful people. Just recently I posted this same question on another travel board and I have not received one response. It's amazing.
You've all been quite helpful.

As for housing --- we're looking to spend between $600,000-800,000. We'll know more when we go up there, but we were hoping this would afford us a comfortable home (4 bedrooms, 2 baths) with a large kitchen & family room and possibly in-law quarters in the back. I'm not sure if you call it in-law quarters in New England, but it's like a small house on your property, behind the main house with 1 room, 1 bathroom and a mini-kitchen. If this is too much to ask for, maybe then a house with a finished basement that we could turn into in-law quarters. I'm assuming RI homes have basements.

I have so much to learn!!! Needless to say I have NEVER lived where it snows. I was born & raised in Miami. I do go on vacation (skiing) and I love the snow, but I know it's completely different living in cold, wet, snowy climate. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

cheryllj

psy_dr: Good luck with that snow thing. I was born in RI and I love it there, but the long cold winter and snow keep me from wanting to live there now. It's lovely in the summer, though.

milemarker0

If that's your price range, you'll be able to find something in any RI town....check out:

www.riliving.com

to get an idea of some of the houses you could get.

Yes we call them in-law apartments, but they are usually in the house somewhere...or connected, usually not a separate house...we call those "carriage houses" in the older homes.

Hubster

I live in FL, but grew up in NE. If I were to relocate to the NE coastline it would be between Newburyport, MA and Portland, ME.

cybor

psy,
You will be able to find a decent place in your budget range just about anywhere in RI. Not too much on the water - but close.

As for snow goes, Aquidneck island (Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth usually get a very minimal amount of snow. Our winter ends sooner and starts later than most places in NE.

Go online to check where the snow belt starts - it's about a bit west of the 95 running North and Northeast.

There's also many mini climates around here as well, due to gulf streams.
The nice thing is if one wants snow for skiing etc. you don't have to go far.

ggreen

My sister and I grew up in NE. I still live in the northeast, whereas my sister has lived here only reluctantly, because of the climate. It's not so much the cold but the damp (cold + humidity). She preferred her two years in coastal MS - which is waaay too hot&humid for me LOL. Just make sure when you are looking at houses that there is a strong heating system/good insulation, and you'll be fine.

South of Cape Cod, there typically will not be a lot of snow right on the coast, because we still have the Gulf Stream here; there's rain instead. Even a few miles inland can make a big difference in the amount of snowfall! It's likely you'll need a shovel or two but not a snowblower.

Spring and summer are nice, and of course fall with the leaves changing colors (and then needing to be raked up LOL). Nice sea breezes along the coast in summer, and hot but not compared to southern FL!

When my mother was househunting in southeastern MA and RI, we found a number of houses with a second *kitchen*. From what I understand, this is a common fixture for the many Portuguese families in the area: the MIL kitchen. It would be relatively easy to take the plumbing, etc. to convert to an in-law apartment!

BTW, you can probably find a lot of local papers online. For certain, the Providence Journal is online; also try googling "town + newspaper", i.e., "Portsmouth RI newspaper". Yankee is good to get a feel for classic NE, but won't give you the weekly blow-by-blow.

canyonjane

Since you are considering Rhode Island, I am going to suggest that you extend your stay or make another visit to our fair state and tour Block Island. The school is K - 12 with very small classes and the students increasingly gain admission to competitive colleges. Housing is expensive, but there is nowhere to compare to Block Island for true coastal living. You might decide it's too rural and too small town, but crime is as low as it gets, the library is excellent, there is no place on the island that isn't beautiful (even the dump has a great view) and everyone knows everyone else. If nothing else, you'll have a great time visiting the island! News can be found at blockislandtimes.com.
Jane

GBelle

Is a job location any consideration you'll need for your move? If you telecommute, consider the availability of high speed internet connections. Not all New England towns have the fiber optic high speed stuff yet.

psy_dr

Thanks again for the wonderful and useful information (i.e., towns, snowblower & fiber optic internet, etc). As I said before, I wouldn't know where else to get such great info.

As for our professions, I'm a psychologist & a faculty member & researcher at a local university and my husband is a firefighter & paramedic. Jobs will definitely be a deciding factor in where we end up.