And there is a Whole Foods in Swampscott, right?
There have been several supermarket threads, so I don’t want to start on that tangent. However, I am not a trader joes or whole foods fan. When in the Boston area I prefer shaws/star market or wegmans.
There’s is a crime element everywhere. Usually the more impoverished areas. In Providence like all cities there’s an area or two to avoid. But it’s so avoidable. There’s some drug dealing near the bus stop and burnside Park. The city is moving the whole bus area to a new location on the other side of the train station. But it’s not that hard to avoid.
Providence is not a big city. Especially the neighborhoods. And if you’re talking about condos on the east side. It’s leafy, walking and biking. But it’s not Chicago San Fran or Boston in terms of size. The whole state has 900k people. That smaller than parts of these cities. Lol.
I had mentioned East Greenwich RI, which is about 20 minutes south of Providence. It has a lovely historic downtown, a small bay with a harbor, and a beautiful state park. We also have a locally owned supermarket chain called Dave’s Market, which is fantastic - better than Whole Foods, IMO. Although East Greenwich is further south, it’s right off I95, so very accessible. One hour to Boston (non-rush hour) and 3 hours to NYC. There are several train options to Boston. The MBTA terminates at Wickford Junction, which is nearby, so you can get on the train there to South Station or Back Bay, or from TF Green Airport. Or take the Acela from Providence - 40 minutes. Did I mention that we have one of the best small airports in the country? We do - lots of direct flights to the south and midwest, and easy parking. It takes all of 20 minutes to park and get to the gate, no matter what time of the day. Many people who live in the Boston area use the RI airport because it’s soooo much easier than Logan.
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In like EG too. It’s closer to airport but I would choose Bristol or Wickford outside of town for retirement. East G is a big town and more home vs condo oriented than the villages mentioned above.
Bristol is very charming. Great downtown, access to water, good dining.
Wickford is very nice. East Greenwich might be a bit boring IMO for a retiree. There are also homes outside of Newport but still very close to town. Bit of a hassle traffic wise in the Summer, but there’s lots of open land and the daily traffic isn’t nearly as bad as some of the places mentioned.
Also someone mentioned Swampscott, a nice town but without the charming downtown that so many others have in this area. If I were going to pick a landlocked sea town ( one which you have to travel thru several not so nice towns before you hit a highway, I’d go with Marblehead. Very tiny downtown, a bit congested but historical. Going thru Lynn/Salem is an issue with both Swampscott and Marblehead. Also, Manchester by the sea is lovely though pricey. The downtown is very sweet (but small). There is a train and the beach is excellent. Essex is another town to investigate if you don’t need to have a downtown.
During the winter I think you’ll want to have a downtown, however. Also having something going on locally/downtown means you can meet people as opposed to the burbs where people often meet thru school.
@kiddie - Down the road if you visit some of the mentioned towns, please give us your “trip report” 
Best of luck with the search.
We just spent some time in Wells Maine. There is an
Amtrak station there.
A very interesting thread with a lot of food for thought. In same situation as @kiddie. Daughter and her soon-to-be husband work in Boston (remotely until at least June) and are buying a house in Salem within walking distance of commuter rail, moving out of Cambridge because they will never be able to afford to buy there. The western suburbs (Wellesley etc.) are absolutely out of reach and in any case, the kids are not suburban types. We are thinking of leaving New Jersey when I retire and moving close to them. MA is a high tax state but NJ is the worst of all time re taxes esp. if you’re in the NYC commuter belt so anything else will be better. With Covid, out-of-city real estate has turned into a very hot commodity; no one wants to live in an expensive box if there are no compensating entertainment or cultural amenities available. Also, with the 5-day workweek pretty much gone, people have a lot more flexibility in where they want to live.
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This thread was started pre-covid! I’m sure some things have changed…most notably the cost of real estate!
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I hope that public transit systems will continue to operate well in NE cities. Ridership is way down. Not only is real estate more expensive but the cost of commuting will probably increase because monthly fees will have to go up. Far fewer commuters and subway/T travelers.
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OP here. Yep, with Covid we stopped any serious looking of where to move to near Boston. Our suburban NJ house has gained in value over this past year (not that anybody is using our commuter rail to get into NYC right now.) However, the houses in the Boston suburbs have also skyrocketed in cost.
Our current thinking is that when we make the move (not sure when), we will sell our NJ house and rent something in MA instead of buying. This will give us a chance to “try” out a town and see how we like it. Also, rent is low right now compared to buying.
In terms of towns our latest thinking is right around the 90/495 jointure, like Hopkinton or Westborough.
It has been a strange year, with Covid, there were so many times I wished I could easily visit my daughter (we didn’t see her for 6 months last year due to lockdown). I am sure she would have been less lonely if we lived a short car ride away. Also, so many of the things we were going to do in retirement, were not possible and some no longer have any appeal (like spending more time in NYC).
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I hadn’t thought about it this way but yes, access to a metropole is not as important a consideration for us as it was in the past. But I still don’t want to have to drive everywhere. One thing about MA 'burbs is that they’re dense and there is a lot of public transport (unlike NJ). I have a family history of macular degeneration and I don’t want to retire to a place where I am car-dependent.
It is very hard to find apartments in suburbs and exurbs near Boston. I have lived in a coastal town north of Boston for 30 years, sold my house pre-COVID and went to a seasonal due to lack of options. Now my seasonal is almost up and there are no options in town at all for rentals. COVID has really changed the market. And due to that change, I am willing to pay more: but no supply. Much easier to find a vaccine than an apartment.
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That sounds like a tough challenge. Best of luck finding some good options.
From what I have seen, apartment rentals are still low right now and seem to be plentiful. I think finding a house to rent would be more difficult
Or just off the water- Topsfield, Boxford, Danvers, Rowley, etc. All cute towns and not quite as expensive. I live in one of these towns and we absolutely love it.
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@kiddie what do you mean by “rentals are low”? Are you referring to price? They are lower-priced and plentiful in the city but not outside the city. p.s. I am not looking for a house.
I guess coming from the expensive tri-state area and having a kid who lives in Boston proper, the rents I see for 2 bed 2 bath are under $3,000 - a few are advertising specials (month free). I consider that low.
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