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I think it's important to distinguish between first time buyers and those selling and moving.
For example, if one of those multi-generational home owners in Jamestown sold their house and then bought a more expensive property, most likely they could afford to do so since they would have more money to put down. A first time home buyer dependent on their own resources (how most of us started) would have trouble.
However more directly to the OP's question EG vs NK. I think of the issue as EG being more urban vs NK which is quite rural.
Regarding Jamestown, the issue is children, now as adults wanting to stay in town and buy their own house and raise a family, can't afford to buy (or even rent) where they grew up. They are first time buyers and do have trouble and have to leave town.
However more directly to the OP's question EG vs NK. I think of the issue as EG being more urban vs NK which is quite rural.
I don't really think of most of NK as being rural. And EG (which has a much smaller footprint) isn't particularly dense outside of the Hill and Harbor and my '60s-vintage suburban neighborhood, which is adjacent to the Hill and Harbor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by independent man
I'm not quite sure what's happening in Jamestown. Property values used to be comparable to Little Compton, EG & Barrington. Then in the last 12 months or so, house prices have gone crazy high leaving those towns in the dust. One theory is it has just been discovered by NY & Boston vacation and full time retirement buyers who see it as living on a "convenient island" as opposed to a typical high end suburban town.
In that vein, I bet it has a lot to do with its location -- right next to Newport with easy access to everything Newport has to offer, but with none of the traffic, congestion and other tourist hassles.
Regarding Jamestown, the issue is children, now as adults wanting to stay in town and buy their own house and raise a family, can't afford to buy (or even rent) where they grew up. They are first time buyers and do have trouble and have to leave town.
Very true. Also likely true in a number of other towns. Of course, when the parents die- if they are homeowners- there might be an inheritance. Life long term renting is not a good financial strategy for most- unless you live in a big city. RIHousing makes it fairly easy to buy. I don't know why more people don't utilize it.
I wish I could have had homeowner parents and an inheritance- would have been a lot easier than having to work my way up!!!!!
Maybe these ex-Jamestownites are the RI'ers who should be buying in what affordable places there are left and improving the neighborhoods- we still have too maybe neglected areas as ormari and sansonik often attest.
So many buying in RI now are from out of state- much pressure on the market from NY CT and MA.
I don't really think of most of NK as being rural. And EG (which has a much smaller footprint) isn't particularly dense outside of the Hill and Harbor and my '60s-vintage suburban neighborhood, which is adjacent to the Hill and Harbor.
NK is still more rural than EG although EG is still a small town (although the sprawl is getting worse in South County). Does NK have a downtown at all?
NK is still more rural than EG although EG is still a small town (although the sprawl is getting worse in South County). Does NK have a downtown at all?
Wickford is really the downtown. And that's one of the biggest historic villages in the state. I'm not arguing that NK isn't more rural overall, though.
Very true. Also likely true in a number of other towns. Of course, when the parents die- if they are homeowners- there might be an inheritance. Life long term renting is not a good financial strategy for most- unless you live in a big city. RIHousing makes it fairly easy to buy. I don't know why more people don't utilize it.
I wish I could have had homeowner parents and an inheritance- would have been a lot easier than having to work my way up!!!!!
Not Rhode Island -- in fact, quite far away culturally -- but I immediately thought of Glendale, Queens, which I used to live near. Very working-class neighborhood, and to my knowledge it always has been. The exterior of Archie Bunker's house as seen in All in the Family was shot in Glendale (though Archie was supposed to live in Astoria). The residents of Glendale are still almost universally blue-collar types. Bankers and lawyers never lived there and aren't moving there now. And yet -- and this is a huge reason why I left New York -- the houses there now cost $650,000, $700,000. I frequently found myself wondering how these people could possibly afford them.
I got a hint when I hired a plumber who lived in Glendale. He told me he inherited the house and is fixing it up himself -- he said he could never afford the neighborhood otherwise. I'm sure the same is true in a lot of places with ballooning real-estate values.
Areas of both towns can give you a sense of community, so lets focus on good schools & decent house. While, by RI standards, taxes are considered high in both towns, the better argument probably can be made in favor of EG. The main reason is the good public school system (and there are only a few in the state). Since you have a toddler, but considering schools, I'm guessing your looking for a long term relocation. As for buying a decent house for $500k, it's possible in either Hill & Harbor or Wickford Village depending on your definition of of "decent". Which will likely depend on where you're coming from.
If schools weren't a priority issue, you might consider some of the older established areas of Warwick itself like Cowesett, Potowomut or Governor Francis Farms. $500k would land you a decent house by almost any standard with lighter property taxes.
Thanks for the post. We've been looking in Warwick, E.G. And N.K. for the past few months. We are hoping this is where we'll live for awhile and our daughter will be able to grow up in a safe neighborhood with kids her own age. I think it's a bit of a challenge taking a leap of faith on which school districts will be top rated by the time it starts to really matter (6th or 7th grade). That's ten or so years away, but if we can find something we like in E.G., we'll pull the trigger and pay the taxes. I'm not familiar with 'Hill & Harbor', I've probably looked in that area but aren't familiar with the name.
All I can say is it's definitely a sellers market right now. We put an offer in on a house that's been on the market for almost a month and the seller wasn't inclined to budge much at all. His prerogative but frustrating, nonetheless!
I live in East Greenwich about half a mile from the North Kingstown line, so I suppose I'm qualified to weigh in on this.
They're both very nice towns, as everyone acknowledges. East Greenwich has a reputation of being wealthy, and it is, but something I really like about Rhode Island is that no town is entirely wealthy. (I saw a list of the highest-income towns in each state and Rhode Island's highest-income town had the lowest income of any of them -- and I consider that a good thing.) There's some cheap housing down the hill in the Hill and Harbor District, and the neighborhood I live in is decidedly middle class.
That said, East Greenwich is more consistently wealthy than North Kingstown. Once you cross the town line driving south on Post Road, things quickly get considerably more downscale, with a trailer park, loads of abandoned buildings and even a few flophouse motels until you hit Wickford Village. Now, North Kingstown's highs are more or less as high as East Greenwich's. There are McMansions in Saunderstown to rival most of what's out west in EG, and if you don't count that due to vulgarity, the housing in Wickford is just gorgeous. But the lows are also lower, and there are more of them.
If you're concerned about commutability, most of the state's job centers are up north, and while there are parts of North Kingstown where you can get there faster than parts of East Greenwich, on average EG will be the better location -- which is only logical considering it's further north. NK is better located for warm-weather leisure activities in Newport and South County.
Honestly, if you like Main Street, I'd focus on East Greenwich. I live just a few minutes away -- the real-estate agent who sold me the house tried to sell Main Street as walkable, which it is not unless you really love to walk -- and honestly, being able to pop over there anytime I want is awesome. I also love Wickford a lot, and while it's even more beautiful, it doesn't offer as much in terms of stuff. There are only a handful of real restaurants in Wickford, for example, while Main Street has a ton. You'll also get the more-prestigious schools in EG, though North Kingstown's schools are frankly underrated. I know multiple parents in NK who are very picky about that sort of thing and have been very happy there, from elementary to high school.
Actually, kids in Potowomut attend East Greenwich schools, so a house there is a great opportunity to take advantage of what EG's taxes pay for without actually contributing yourself. (Oddly, Potowomut is connected by land to EG but not to the rest of Warwick, making it effectively more associated with EG.)
Cowesett is possibly my favorite residential neighborhood in the whole state. It's where I thought I was going to end up before I happened to find a house in East Greenwich first. The elementary school there is very good, but things get spottier at the middle-school and high-school levels. I can't recommend Governor Francis Farms, which I looked at extensively when I was buying. It's quite nice but I found it hugely overpriced for what it is and where it's located.
I'd put it at least in the top five, but yes, East Greenwich is not unquestionably the most-desirable town in the state.
Great post, thanks. Not concerned ach about 'commutablilty' as being somewhat close to the airport. That's one of the main reasons we're not looking at Westerly ( which we love), well...that and the schools. We really like Cowesett, I'm so proud that I've finally learned how to pronounce it correctly(!), but again the schools are a bit of a concern. I've even heard mixed things about Cedar Ridge Elementary tho who really knows?!
I didn't know that about Potowomutt and going to E.G. Schools. I'll have to look more at that area.
I don't really think of most of NK as being rural. And EG (which has a much smaller footprint) isn't particularly dense outside of the Hill and Harbor and my '60s-vintage suburban neighborhood, which is adjacent to the Hill and Harbor.
My mom used to live on Fletcher Road in North Kingstown until 2 years ago. It's kind of semi-rural. I don't quite understand why a couple of elderly retirees picked somewhere that remote. I prefer walkable. Wickford is the only part of North Kingstown like that. I'd probably pick walkable to Main Street in East Greenwich where you can easily hop on I-95.
Does TF Green ever create a lot of airport noise in East Greenwich? It looks like you're 3 mile short final to runway 5 there. I think I've always landed in the other direction on 23. At my mom's old house, the only noise I ever noticed was the air show at Quonset.
Does TF Green ever create a lot of airport noise in East Greenwich? It looks like you're 3 mile short final to runway 5 there. I think I've always landed in the other direction on 23. At my mom's old house, the only noise I ever noticed was the air show at Quonset.
I very rarely hear airplanes -- maybe one every few days -- and I live pretty far northeast, i.e. closer to the airport.
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