Don't move to the rural parts of New York state. Its hickville USA and no better than rural parts of Southern states in terms of open-mindedness. Also, don't count on getting a job in rural New York unless you know somebody and medical care? Can you say crap? The taxes are also some of the highest in the country for absolutely no reason, causing many retirees to have to give up their houses due to decreased income on retirement even when they own their homes. Its so beautiful, but goddamn. This is especially true around the Catskills. I think the only reason to live in New York (and this could be contested, everybody's got their own opinion call me bitter) is New York City if you like it and perhaps Buffalo. Many of the people living in Albany are ex-New Yorkers (meaning New York City) and love living in Albany because its not New York City and the rest of the population are immigrants (its true), but Albany is a sucky place. Troy is a good place to live if you want to get stabbed. The Catskills is also a great place to live if you want to get speared by hitting a deer with your car at night (this almost happened to me so many times, no joke). The Catskills are notoriously haunted due to being one of the first settlements in the U.S, so everybody has a good ghost story. The towns are small with not much commercialization and it takes you like thirty minutes to get anywhere and two hours to get to the nearest city in any direction.
Honestly, Rhode Island is a great place to live. Its so beautiful and surrounded by ocean (on two sides). There's many places to visit like Bristol and Newport and so many lovely museums. There's Waterplace Park in the heart of Providence, which is a lovely park that surrounds the river running through the city (in Summer there's Water Fire where they light wood catchers along the river and let you go out in gondolas to explore and there's food and fire dancers, etc and there's music performances in the park during the day). There's a giant mall right next to that park, and near the mall there is an open air ice skating rink. There's Roger Williams' Park and Zoo with a giant botanical garden and butterfly preserve. I can't express to you how gorgeous Roger Williams Park is. There's historical mansions on the East side of Providence, with placards telling you about famous people who used to live there. Thayer street is a bustling street full of trendy cafes and there's a wonderful historic movie theater called the Avon on it that shows independent and foreign films. Naragansett Beach is beautiful and iconic. In the fall, you can go to the many farms and orchards in Rhode Island and go apple picking that will become a must do activity for your future family every year. Rhode Island boasts the most pretty leaf colors during the fall with so many species of trees and foliage, so beautiful that its become a running joke for Rhode Islanders about New Yorkers coming over to go "leaf peeping" in our beautiful state. Rhode Island has a high population of Italians, so our Italian restaurants and bakeries are to die for and authentic. Rhode Island, especially Providence on the East side, has an eccentric and unique art scene. Unfortunately, Rhode Island has had one of the worst problems with unemployment, but if you have a specific degree then you might be in luck. The last time I lived there, which was 2008, unemployment was among the highest in the country if not the highest in the country at on the high side of 14%. Of course, that was during the recent recession so things are definitely better. Just secure your job before moving there. Benefits include some of the best healthcare providers, hospitals (including one of the best children's hospitals), and mid-line housing costs. The average three bedroom house in a college neighborhood (meaning a good neighborhood) is $180,000. Speaking of colleges, Providence is very much a leafy college city with Brown University, RISD, and others in the city center. This means there are many events to attend if you're into it and many fun clubs to go to with events like bubble and laser parties. Providence is also convenient to Boston and New York City, which are both a relatively short train ride away. The weather is pretty mild in the summer except for a couple of weeks in the height of summer but the Winters are oh my god. There can be so much snow or little snow but its breakingly cold from about November to April. However, the beautiful and mild Autumn in Rhode Island makes up for this in my opinion, with clear crisp air, clear light blue skies, and rustly orange, gold, deep red, and even pink leaves. There are also so many woods to hike if you're into that. Crime rates are eh. There's crime just like any other place, so like, definitely lock your door and you might want to put your car in your locked garage. College students can be vandals, so you might get your car keyed (a long thin scratch line on your car's paint job the length of your car) if you live in a college neighborhood or your fence kicked in. Rhode Island is very Democrat. People are so friendly. If you're in an elevator you will be talked to with a big friendly smile. People talk to you on buses (not always welcome). If you frequent a non-chain restaurant you will quickly become family and they'll memorize your order. I'd say the only downside to Rhode Island is some of the accents, like the Cranston accent that sounds like the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. My biggest motivation for not moving back to Rhode Island is the idea of having to suffer through another Cardi's Furntiture Store commercial for that reason. Since Rhode Island is so small, there is a great sense of community like we're all living in one big city but its a state. Everything is so close by, like you could go to for a day trip to Newport or go see the Air Show (a once a year event) near Bristol, too, regardless of where you live in the state.
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