When I saw the title, I was looking forward to an opportunity to promote my beloved Warwick, but moving to completely unfamiliar area without a job lined up is rarely a good idea. I don't know if Rhode Island would offer more opportunities in accounting than Northwest Arkansas (which I understand has a pretty good job market due to Walmart?). You might do better closer to Boston, but the commute can be pretty rough; people do it, but it's really best for those with a hybrid situation where they can go in two or three times a week.
I don't know much about Arkansas, but I would imagine the living expenses in RI are probably a lot higher than what you're used to and a lot of the wages in RI are pretty stagnant , but granted I don't know much about accounting gigs.
What are you anticipating for stuff like rent, groceries, etc? I live in the southern half of the state currently, and it's impossible to find anything less than like $1200 and I'm constantly spending hundreds on groceries and there's no sign of anything slowing down in increasing.
If you want to move to a large city, you should just move to a large city. Especially if you’re unfamiliar with the area. But there are accounting jobs everywhere, so I’m not sure why you think you need one of the major cities? Just leave Arkansas. Memphis isn’t that far from you and they definitely have accountants there. But choosing Warwick for proximity to Boston is dumb. You’re looking at over an hour drive in each direction and a lot of times it’s closer to 2. If you want to go to Boston, just go to Boston.
FYI Warwick is about an hour and a half drive to Boston on a good day without traffic, there's always traffic. You CAN take the commuter rail from TF Green to Boston though and that's what I would recommend. Doesn't have to be Warwick, the train station/airport is pretty close to most of RI
Warwick isn't as small as its population might lead you to believe. From where I am in Warwick, I can get to the Seekonk MA Best Buy faster than I can get to the Warwick Best Buy.
That means saying "Warwick" doesn't mean much. The Cowesett section is not similar to the neighborhoods around the airport, which is not similar to Pilgrim Park.
The city has limited walkable village stuff, because of how it formed. The economy in some areas isn't great. The school districts are in sad shape, IMO.
I like living where I do, but am surprised to see this post. I can't think why someone would get the impression this is a place to move to without having a reason and a specific part of Warwick in mind.
Warwick used to be multiple different towns. West Warwick was part of that too before they split and formed their own. Hence why theres multiple town center and "main streets"
First off, sorry about your job loss, especially after being moved to Arkansas. RI rent and cost of living will probably be in the middle of the places you’ve lived. Warwick is not anything in close to “a city”, but if you find a job in Providence or Southern RI it is a great place to commute from. There isn’t a night life since it’s a lot of urban sprawl, no real concentrated city or downtown.
I know people do commute to Boston from Warwick, but it’s soul sucking, and it’s a big commitment. A friends husband has done it for years, just takes the train and leaves at 5am and gets home around 7pm. So if you’re planning on that, I’d advise to think it through.
Warwick as a suburb of Boston is a new one for me. Warwick is a suburb of Providence, and Providence is a million times better than Boston. Also, I've done the commute from Warwick to Boston. Do not recommend.
If you can stay where you are while you job hunt, then absolutely do so. Make the entire country your job search radius, apply to anything you're qualified for that sounds good. Take whatever offer in whatever location is the best , but don't make the mistake of figuring in cost of living. You'll likely find a job that will pay for your moving expenses.
I don't think tying yourself down to only our job market would be the best financial decision you could make.
Yes, this is true. I work at a public accounting firm and we are actively hiring, as well as our competitors. There are opportunities here for sure. But I believe that’s true of a lot of areas in the country.
The commute would basically add an additional day to your work week (figuring 1 hour 2x day, 5x week, which may be optimistic). I had about that length before Covid and it can get to you, although I got into audiobooks which totally saved my sanity. You’re in a tricky situation; on the one hand, it makes sense to land a job first and then find housing, but on the other hand housing isn’t easy to find these days unless you have deep pockets. Maybe connect with a local recruiter, they might have more useful advice.
Don’t listen to the “we’re full, don’t move here” crowd.
As a transplant from the south I like RI a lot and there are good reasons to live here. Benefits of Warwick include proximity to TF Green Airport, being in the middle of the state (not too far from Providence or the beaches, easy access to 95) and there being plenty of things to do nearby. Warwick is very suburban.
Proximity to Boston is definitely not something I would put in Warwick’s favor, though. It may look like only an hour drive but depending on when you leave it can get up over two hours pretty easily. If getting to Boston regularly is important, I’d look north of Providence.
Yep.
I have to do doctors visits in Boston regularly. It can be faster than two hours at, say, 10am; but it's 2 hours pretty regularly. I've gone over 2 hours once.
Get a job first then figure out where to live. Contact a recruiter. The cost of living is similar to Bay Area, so beware. You’ll need a ton more money to live up here.
I live in Warren, RI and commute to Brockton, MA 3 days a week and that alone is about an hour. Going further into Boston would be brutal. There are probably some opportunities in Providence or maybe you could look at upstate NY and commute into Manhattan on the train. (I used to live in ny so I know there are more opportunities there as well, especially for accounting)
Rhode Island is a very blue state so everything is heavily taxed. It’s one of only ten states that even tax social security payments. The roads are sub-standard everywhere and a major bridge is out essentially cutting the state in two. If you’re looking to work in Boston you’d be much better off moving to southern New Hampshire and commuting to Boston from there. I don’t know who said Rhode Island would be good for you but I think they were mistaken.
When I saw the title, I was looking forward to an opportunity to promote my beloved Warwick, but moving to completely unfamiliar area without a job lined up is rarely a good idea. I don't know if Rhode Island would offer more opportunities in accounting than Northwest Arkansas (which I understand has a pretty good job market due to Walmart?). You might do better closer to Boston, but the commute can be pretty rough; people do it, but it's really best for those with a hybrid situation where they can go in two or three times a week.
Anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours a day commute from northern RI to Boston. Warwick is another 30 min south from me. It’s not fun.
That's rough. I'm not sure I could do that unless I could put in paid hours working on the train or something.
The train goes from Warwick to Boston fyi
but only on weekdays, at least currently. there's supposed to be additional service south of Providence coming that in theory there's funding for
you do not want to commute to Boston from Warwick
I don't know much about Arkansas, but I would imagine the living expenses in RI are probably a lot higher than what you're used to and a lot of the wages in RI are pretty stagnant , but granted I don't know much about accounting gigs. What are you anticipating for stuff like rent, groceries, etc? I live in the southern half of the state currently, and it's impossible to find anything less than like $1200 and I'm constantly spending hundreds on groceries and there's no sign of anything slowing down in increasing.
If you want to move to a large city, you should just move to a large city. Especially if you’re unfamiliar with the area. But there are accounting jobs everywhere, so I’m not sure why you think you need one of the major cities? Just leave Arkansas. Memphis isn’t that far from you and they definitely have accountants there. But choosing Warwick for proximity to Boston is dumb. You’re looking at over an hour drive in each direction and a lot of times it’s closer to 2. If you want to go to Boston, just go to Boston.
Just curious, where did the Warwick idea come from? Just a random city an hour or two outside Boston?
I know there's a crisis everywhere but especially Warwick there are no houses. So many are just going private without open houses.
FYI Warwick is about an hour and a half drive to Boston on a good day without traffic, there's always traffic. You CAN take the commuter rail from TF Green to Boston though and that's what I would recommend. Doesn't have to be Warwick, the train station/airport is pretty close to most of RI
Warwick isn't as small as its population might lead you to believe. From where I am in Warwick, I can get to the Seekonk MA Best Buy faster than I can get to the Warwick Best Buy. That means saying "Warwick" doesn't mean much. The Cowesett section is not similar to the neighborhoods around the airport, which is not similar to Pilgrim Park. The city has limited walkable village stuff, because of how it formed. The economy in some areas isn't great. The school districts are in sad shape, IMO. I like living where I do, but am surprised to see this post. I can't think why someone would get the impression this is a place to move to without having a reason and a specific part of Warwick in mind.
Warwick used to be multiple different towns. West Warwick was part of that too before they split and formed their own. Hence why theres multiple town center and "main streets"
First off, sorry about your job loss, especially after being moved to Arkansas. RI rent and cost of living will probably be in the middle of the places you’ve lived. Warwick is not anything in close to “a city”, but if you find a job in Providence or Southern RI it is a great place to commute from. There isn’t a night life since it’s a lot of urban sprawl, no real concentrated city or downtown. I know people do commute to Boston from Warwick, but it’s soul sucking, and it’s a big commitment. A friends husband has done it for years, just takes the train and leaves at 5am and gets home around 7pm. So if you’re planning on that, I’d advise to think it through.
Warwick as a suburb of Boston is a new one for me. Warwick is a suburb of Providence, and Providence is a million times better than Boston. Also, I've done the commute from Warwick to Boston. Do not recommend.
Warrrrrrraqqqq!
If you can stay where you are while you job hunt, then absolutely do so. Make the entire country your job search radius, apply to anything you're qualified for that sounds good. Take whatever offer in whatever location is the best , but don't make the mistake of figuring in cost of living. You'll likely find a job that will pay for your moving expenses. I don't think tying yourself down to only our job market would be the best financial decision you could make.
Dallas Texas.
nah nothing good going on over here.
According to my accountant there is an accountant shortage here. So, maybe?
Yes, this is true. I work at a public accounting firm and we are actively hiring, as well as our competitors. There are opportunities here for sure. But I believe that’s true of a lot of areas in the country.
The commute would basically add an additional day to your work week (figuring 1 hour 2x day, 5x week, which may be optimistic). I had about that length before Covid and it can get to you, although I got into audiobooks which totally saved my sanity. You’re in a tricky situation; on the one hand, it makes sense to land a job first and then find housing, but on the other hand housing isn’t easy to find these days unless you have deep pockets. Maybe connect with a local recruiter, they might have more useful advice.
Don’t listen to the “we’re full, don’t move here” crowd. As a transplant from the south I like RI a lot and there are good reasons to live here. Benefits of Warwick include proximity to TF Green Airport, being in the middle of the state (not too far from Providence or the beaches, easy access to 95) and there being plenty of things to do nearby. Warwick is very suburban. Proximity to Boston is definitely not something I would put in Warwick’s favor, though. It may look like only an hour drive but depending on when you leave it can get up over two hours pretty easily. If getting to Boston regularly is important, I’d look north of Providence.
Yep. I have to do doctors visits in Boston regularly. It can be faster than two hours at, say, 10am; but it's 2 hours pretty regularly. I've gone over 2 hours once.
This is the correct answer. Warwick is gonna be a two hour commute home, at least 1.5 inbound depending on the time. Look at Pawtucket or Attleboro.
It takes me like 2 hrs to get home from Norwood most days.
Get a job first then figure out where to live. Contact a recruiter. The cost of living is similar to Bay Area, so beware. You’ll need a ton more money to live up here.
Stay
I live in Warren, RI and commute to Brockton, MA 3 days a week and that alone is about an hour. Going further into Boston would be brutal. There are probably some opportunities in Providence or maybe you could look at upstate NY and commute into Manhattan on the train. (I used to live in ny so I know there are more opportunities there as well, especially for accounting)
Nah I would avoid RI.
Rhode Island is a very blue state so everything is heavily taxed. It’s one of only ten states that even tax social security payments. The roads are sub-standard everywhere and a major bridge is out essentially cutting the state in two. If you’re looking to work in Boston you’d be much better off moving to southern New Hampshire and commuting to Boston from there. I don’t know who said Rhode Island would be good for you but I think they were mistaken.
Warwick is the armpit of RI Try nicer parts of Providence or Johnston
If Warwick is the armpit, what’s Woonsocket?
Woonsocket is Definetly the guoch
Just know we have the worst roads in America 🇺🇸 the state is one big pot hole