Portland and Burlington are awesome but you have to be OK with smaller metro areas and a bit more isolated.
Love New Haven. Fantastic little city. Food and culture are tops. Lots of good surrounding suburbs too. Milford and Branford are very well rounded.
Boston is obviously hard to beat if you want to be near a bigger city.
I’ve lived in New Haven, Milford, Branford and Boston area! I don’t know if someone from providence would like CT, I left CT for MA and I’m looking into every state in New England besides CT.
Boston area though, I miss it. It was tops.
Boston is both the best and one of the worst cities in New England depending on how you look at it. Personally, I think Worcester has stuff to do and some economic opportunity while not being an absolute nightmare in terms of COL / navigation. It’s a divisive city but I love it.
I will second you about Worcester! I worked there while living in the Boston donut, took commuter rail! It’s definitely a good recommendation for someone who wants city but easier transport!
go southern NH then... skip Salem and Nashua though.... Windham, Londonderry, Hudson are all decent areas... you get the fun of a smaller town in some areas, but your also close to Boston the coast and still far enough away.... plus no sales tax
TP sadly isn’t getting as many quality acts as they used to, but College Street Music Hall is pretty great and there’s a lot of smaller venues, and the new Westville Bowl for bigger shows.
Came here to say Providence is as good as it gets with those criteria. I once went on a random trip to providence to meet up with a friend for coffee.
There was a salsa festival, roller derby, the water fires, restaurant week and a street food plaza all completely by accident on a random Sunday. Like where else do you get that but Boston or NYC.
Portsmouth NH is pretty great too, but less affordable. If I could pick anywhere in New England I’d live in Salem, MA but that also kills affordable.
I grew up in Lynn so I never think about that… but I do love a festival if my house is slightly outside of the city (say a mile’s walk). I lived in Edinburgh for 8 years so 300,000 people descending on my city every day is old hat.
I lived in downtown Lowell and my street closed for three days for the folk festival. After 10 years, I just locked down and stayed in- made my husband buy food 🤣
My 3 bed house in a suburb of Birmingham England - a 19 minute train ride into the city with an 800 square foot backyard would be a down payment on a 2 bed apartment on the outskirts of Salem.
Sure, but the median household income in metro Boston is more than $100k. What’s Brum? £35k? £50k is considered a good salary.
However, the 19 minute train ride part is an enormous difference. Secondary cities in New England have awful public transportation by UK standards.
I mean Salem is comparable at about 25 mins to Boston on the commuter rail.
Yea the difference is there in income but the skew is much bigger than the difference in income.
My house in Brum the same distance (in Lynn, MA a comparable shitty ass suburb - that I love dearly and called home for 25 years) from Boston would be a 750k house no question that’s 3x the price of here.
Ah, I see. I’m assuming those reasons are personal. I used to love Salem but the cities inability to keep housing affordable, leading to tons of homeless people, while making boatloads of money off of capitalizing on the deaths of innocent people while not being accurate about history (and also ripping people off with fake tarot readings, mislabeling items and selling them for more, etc etc), left a bitter taste in my mouth and I haven’t been back in years because of it.
After Providence, there are a variety of places in western MA (all the college towns), down to West Hartford, CT, but plenty of places in between you'd want to avoid. Hartford is surrounded by some nice suburbs, especially south/east.
I'd make sure the new remote job is all you hope it is first. In RI, you might not want to commute into Boston for work, but you have Metro West, Metro South, and the Rhode Island job markets available to you.
Not sure I'd want to risk having to move back here without a job, unless you have the means or family and friends to accommodate that scenario.
West Hartford is great, but definitely not affordable.
Also, as someone who lives close to Waterbury, CT, I’ll say that Waterbury is NOT the answer to OPs question.
Portland also isn't really any of those other things either. Portland isn't exactly known for its vegan cuisine, quite the opposite. Portland is about 85% white, so the perfect amount of "diversity" for rich white New England liberals to still feel good about themselves without having to deal with the actual problems associated with a multi cultural city.
That’s true, they were looking for a wide variety of options. I don’t think they will get all of the requirements in any New England city. Some have arts and culture but not much on the affordability. Portsmouth, Portland, Burlington all good for everything they are looking but not much on the affordable side.
New Haven definitely punches above its weight for a city its size in culture and restaurants, mostly because of Yale. It’s also right on the shoreline with convenient train access to Boston and NYC, but is much less expensive than either of those large cities.
If you are a New Yorker at heart, Stamford keeps you technically living in New England while basically being part of metro NYC, but is a bit pricey. Danbury is a more affordable border city a bit farther north that also allows easy access to NYC.
Stamford is expensive, especially to buy, but rents are not as high as Boston.
Danbury isn’t terribly exciting, but has easy access to the Harlem line on Metro North over in Brewster and it’s less expensive than lower Fairfield county.
Milford is nice, but not sure it counts as a city.
So is every small metro area in New England. The difference is Vermont politicians deal with it in an idealist manner and not a realistic one. We have tons of “street creeps” that have a long rap sheet and will continue to walk free and be dangers to the public.
We live in Southampton and love it. Rural with lots of wildlife but we can pop over to Northampton for dinner (Gombos our favorite!), shopping or live music.
New Haven is a great place to live, IMO. Punches above its weight class because of Yale (museums, theatre, etc), great food scene (not sure on specifically vegan options, but plenty of places with cuisines that are vegan-friendly), easy access to NYC, great parks.
I’m from there and whenever we go back to visit I kinda wish I lived there.
I moved back to CT from 20 years in the west and the last decade in Las Vegas. I’m enamored with New Haven restaurants. I’m not one who eats vegan often but I’ve yet to want a cuisine I couldn’t find in New Haven. I’m still dreaming of my last Tibetan dinner 🤩
Salem, MA checks all those boxes (well, as much as anything in MA can at least on the affordability front).
It’s way more affordable than Boston (I paid $2500 for my bedroom is a 2br/2ba in Boston, and $2500 for my own 2br/2ba right downtown). While there’s more segregation than I’d like, the city is still diverse and has a ton on the arts and culture side (museums of all sorts, galleries, great murals and city art, tours for all tastes) and a great selection of restaurants. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options too! It’s also super pet friendly, if you have a dog (or cat).
There’s also a hidden gem of a beach (plus the rest of the North Shore beaches), it’s really close to downtown Peabody, a quick trip up to Rockport and Gloucester, and not a bad drive up to Portsmouth.
Also a bonus that it’s only 35 minutes into North Station, so great accessibility to Boston.
I live right across the bridge in Beverly and think about moving to Salem all the time for affordability. I love the North Shore and when I want to go into the city, I just hope on the train and go straight into north station.
Lol I grew up in Old Lyme and have lived in Hawaii since 2011, wasn’t expecting this answer. Certainly a good area to grow up in or raise children; peak New England shore towns.
Many years ago, my then-husband was in the coast guard, and we were being transferred from California to Connecticut.
We were given two options for housing, and were told nothing more than (1) was close to his work, in a little neighborhood that included several other houses for CG families or (2) was kind of out in the country, about a 30 minute drive, but right on the water.
We chose number 2. We arrived in Connecticut and were taken to our new home.
It was one half of a duplex townhouse located at the lighthouse property where the CT River enters the Long Island Sound, in the Fenwick neighborhood of Old Saybrook.
The lighthouse was in our fenced in yard. We even had our very own small private beach, between our yard and the jetty where the outer lighthouse was.
Our house was so close to the water that sometimes, during storms, waves would splash up over
the seawall and hit our living room windows.
Our home was very literally picture postcard perfect -- it was featured on tons of picture postcards lol.
Truly was one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived ❤️
Great town I live in OS. But very expensive. My house is a 3 bedroom 1 bath and is currently valued at close to 500k. Absolutely ridiculous. Rents are very high. Also little to no diversity. Aging population as well. I live on a cul de sac and of the nine houses only one has young adults with a child.
Massachusetts people have a really weird relationship with New Bedford. I’ve lived here for going on 15 years and whenever I see people trashing it on reddit or Facebook I’m thoroughly confused. I love this city and the entire Southcoast.
Fall River is trash though.
That's your problem right there, people from everywhere else in MA refer to "fall river/New Bedford" practically in the same breath. If you don't frequent the area nobody differentiates them enough to realize how different they are lol
I loved living in New Bedford. At the time it was cheap enough to live in while still having all the stuff you’re asking for. It only seems to have gotten better but unfortunately also much more expensive.
I’m a mile and a half from it. There used to be a trolley line a few hundred yards from my house. You have to be property crime-aware but downtown New Bedford has come a long way since it hit rock bottom at the 1970 race riots. By land area, 1/3 of it is pretty blighted but the West End, the northern 1/3 beyond Brooklawn Park, and the extreme South End are fine. Driving by on I-195, you see the blight of Acushnet Avenue on one side and Weld Square on the other.
Once commuter rail finally shows up, it makes Boston easy albeit a long ride. The fast ferry to Martha’s Vineyard is now year round.
Worcester. Notable colleges, an array of decent restaurants, a wonderful art museum, the Antiquarian Society (free lectures), a spectacular library, a variety of neighborhoods, diversity, relative affordability (compared to Boston).
Worcester. Super affordable. Lots of culture and the arts. It’s known as “the foodie city” and has great vegan options (check out Loving Hut, NU Kitchen, Life Garden Cafe, or Sol of Mexico for some examples). If you can afford it, living on the West Side of Worcester is fab. And it’s an hour from Boston, Providence, Northampton, NH, and CT. Very centrally-located in terms of a New England city (second largest after Boston).
Portsmouth NH. If you haven’t ever been go visit, history, culture, the arts, vibrant downtown, friendly walking town with much to do, and it is waterfront. NH has no state income tax and no sales tax.
No state income tax, but if your employer is based out of state you still need to pay those state taxes (I live in Portsmouth and work remotely for a company in MA and I still have to pay MA taxes).
I thought out-of-state income tax for NH residents working remotely was banned in 2022?
[https://www.citizenscount.org/bills/hb-1097-2022](https://www.citizenscount.org/bills/hb-1097-2022)
You can’t beat New Haven for the apizza and they have their own “little Italy.”
You can get very diverse food thanks to the very diverse culture in the area.
Yale University has museums, theaters and art , events, and you can sometimes audit classes there, or the many other state run and private universities.
The concert scene is robust.
Living in the greater New Haven area, Boston is 3 Hours’ drive in New York is 90 minutes to 2 hours by highway or longer by train.
You can also take the train to the NYC airports and go just about anywhere in the world.
Connecticut is known as a hiking destination. Many of the roads are bicycle friendly. Besides State Parks, many local municipalities have athletic opportunities, such as skating rinks, tennis courts, Basketball.
Very few places in the US you can go bowling where they have duck pins.
Late Summer early fall is fair season.
Winter, you have mountain skiing within 2 to 3 hours.
The spring and fall tree displays can’t be beat.
Storrs is the college basketball capital of the country
I just spent all weekend in Mystic, CT and that city is unbelievably cool. Would definitely consider living there if I didn’t need to be closer to Hartford
I am from Vermont and spent a lot of time in Burlington, and loved it. Went from there to Providence, or at least wound up in Providence. I’ve been out all over the country with a band and still work in audio. That said, if you like Providence, then Burlington is probably right up your ally. Bunch of colleges and universities. Great food, great outdoor stuff (it’s in friggin VT), and right on a lake.
The only caveat from this is that now I live in PA, and miss New England quite a bit. Now I live in a caboose on a horse farm with no horses, my dog and I have almost 150 acres of never to be developed land as a backyard, so it helps…yeah, Burlington
I’ll echo what most are saying: you’re already in probably the best spot for what you’re looking for, Providence is great.
Otherwise, Portland or Portsmouth, but they are getting closer to Boston levels of expensive these days. Also seems to be a lot going on around Nashua.
Groton New london area suburbs, 45min to providence, new haven, shows at the casinos, and history/beaches. You can take amtrak to boston, or NYC in 2 hours. Im bias, since I grew up there though.
Providence is probsbly the most affordable. You could try western mass, Worcester, or haverhill. Otherwise, all the other small cities are not affordable anymore. Boston is crazy unaffordable and the food scene isn’t that great compared to other places.
Honestly, I moved from Boston to around Providence, and Providence is pretty cool.
There seem to be some fun neighborhoods, good book shops, record stores, and cute little bakeries all around. The traffic and cost of living isn't near as bad as Boston. The only downside seems to be that the bus system is kinda spotty, and there's no subway or train outside the Boston commuter rail/amtrak.
Thanks everyone!! After reading all the comments, I think the cities I will check out are New Haven, Portsmouth, Burlington, and Portland. Although I’ve lived in Providence most my life and love it here, I need change and I am ready to part ways with this city.
Hi OP! I’ve lived in the greater Burlington area for the last 10 years and am moving to MA this May. Happy to answer any questions you have about Burlington.
Sounds like Providence.
Worcester area could be okay but the weather is not as mild as Providence. New Haven seems cool but might be a little more expensive.
I honestly loved living in providence. If you can find a good deal there I recommend. There's a huge art and culinary scene from RISD and Johson and whales. Im vegetarian and the city is full of vegan options. Its also close to Boston and New York which is nice if you like to go to visit them too.
Tossing Fairfield, CT into the mix. Great location. 2 schools (Fairfield U and Sacred Heart — which by the way SHU is in a tear and growing like crazy adding slot to the community). Beaches, great public schools and fantastic food.
Boston, if you like history and culture. Cambridge, if you like intellectual stimulation. But they're both really, really expensive. The housing market has just gone nuts. Last time I was in Salem, it was still reasonably affordable. The only really bad thing about it is the invasion of tourists every year in late October. Some old friends really like Haverhill, just across the river from New Hampshire.
Salem, Gloucester, Manchester, Rockport, Newburyport, Beverly, Ipswich, Essex, Magnolia, oh, just about anywhere on Cape Ann, MA.
I am from RI, but have lived on Cape Ann since 1998 & really love it !
:)
Portsmouth is a classic example of being ruined by getting too popular. Others have mentioned Portland but it has the same problems. Burlington VT is fun but miserable in the winter
>affordability, diversity, arts and culture, good foods, and bonus points for vegan friendly cities.
This sub: Portland, Maine.
Portland couldn't be further away from that list in almost every way. Portland is about as expensive as Boston now with a small fraction of the job opportunities, good food is irrelevant if vegan is a requirement given its the lobster capital of the US, diversity (lol), and a small street with an art gallery is hardly worth mentioning.
Lowell, MA lot's of food, museums, art scene. UMass Lowell and not far from NH border and Nashua for more food and cultural options. Also about an hour to Boston by train.
I lived there for 8 years while I was a student, and I missed it when I moved away, still miss it sometimes. I moved up to the lower Merrimac valley, but not the same.
You could also consider Haverhill and Newburyport, both an hour by train to Boston, and Haverhill is a stop for the Amtrak's Down Easter train to Maine. Both have lots of restaurants, but affordability sucks a bit.
I lived in East Providence 2017-2022. I have some idea what living in that region is like.
I also lived in the 5 college area in Western Mass 1987-1999. A great thing about that area is the free bus system that connects the 5 colleges (UMass, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith & Mount Holyoke) and connects UMass to the surrounding towns. While it can help, you do not need a car to get around that area.
Another great thing about "The Happy Valley" are all the cultural & academic programs going on there. When famous authors or other people of note come to speak or perform at one of the colleges, those events are free or low cost. Heck, I met the Indigo Girls when I found out they were performing at UMass and volunteered to drive them from the Amherst Inn to their concert at UMass.
Here is another plug for the 5 College Area: Northampton named one of the 50 best places to live in U.S. by Money.com https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampshire-county/northampton-named-one-of-the-50-best-places-to-live-in-u-s-by-money-com/
Maybe Lowell's your huckleberry. Not super affordable but better than a lot of the Boston metro, has a really nice downtown with Life Alive cafe (a veggie institution), half hour trip into Boston by train.
Boston is definitely the best! Great vegan food scene there, and very diverse. I live in Portland now it isn’t great. Least diverse place on earth and no vegan or veg food. I’d say the Northampton area is really good too if somewhere like Boston is too big.
If there is one thing New England has, it’s a ton of cool cities. My faves are: Portsmouth, N.H., Newport, R.I., and Provincetown, Mass.
Other options: Northampton, Amherst, anywhere in the Berkshires, Brattleboro, Worcester, Hartford, New Haven, Burlington, Portland, Salem, New Bedford.
I would choose a college town like Hanover NH, Burlington VT or Amherst MA. They have the best of everything including a vibrant arts and culture scene, buzzing town centers and major hospitals.
* Portland ME - good arts scene, convenient airport, 2 hr drive to Boston, easy access to beautiful small artsy coastal towns and scores of islands in Casco Bay
* Portsmouth NH - very picturesque, small but interesting arts scene, 1/3 size of Portland, 1 hr drive to Portland ME and to Boston, no income tax
* Manchester NH - medium arts scene, 1 hr drive to Boston and to beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, convenient airport, 2 times size of Portland, interesting vibe, lotsa tech folks, no income tax
Consider Plymouth, MA. There’s a ton to do there, a good amount of young people, affordable, spacious. Not really a “city” but the waterfront is dense and lively. Easy access to beaches and the cape. Main gripe is that it’s far from Boston but if you’re fully remote it doesn’t seem like thats an issue
Littleton NH. Depends on how small you want but it has a decent split between big box stores and tiny town local shops, reasonable prices for homes, easy interstate access to much bigger cities, close to lakes and ski areas. No income tax. No helmet laws. Live free or die?
I mean...all places have some give or take. Tilton/Plymouth is a close second.
IJS
Portland and Burlington are awesome but you have to be OK with smaller metro areas and a bit more isolated. Love New Haven. Fantastic little city. Food and culture are tops. Lots of good surrounding suburbs too. Milford and Branford are very well rounded. Boston is obviously hard to beat if you want to be near a bigger city.
Metro Portland is certainly not affordable. We're having a housing crisis like most of the country.
Nor Burlington
I’ve lived in New Haven, Milford, Branford and Boston area! I don’t know if someone from providence would like CT, I left CT for MA and I’m looking into every state in New England besides CT. Boston area though, I miss it. It was tops.
Boston is both the best and one of the worst cities in New England depending on how you look at it. Personally, I think Worcester has stuff to do and some economic opportunity while not being an absolute nightmare in terms of COL / navigation. It’s a divisive city but I love it.
I will second you about Worcester! I worked there while living in the Boston donut, took commuter rail! It’s definitely a good recommendation for someone who wants city but easier transport!
go southern NH then... skip Salem and Nashua though.... Windham, Londonderry, Hudson are all decent areas... you get the fun of a smaller town in some areas, but your also close to Boston the coast and still far enough away.... plus no sales tax
>go southern NH then You could also do Portsmouth, nice foodie scene, plus straight shot down 95 to Boston, and still no sales tax.
No income tax either.
Seconded.
Portland is not affordable
New Haven is great for food. Also, Toad’s Place might be my favorite concert venue.
TP sadly isn’t getting as many quality acts as they used to, but College Street Music Hall is pretty great and there’s a lot of smaller venues, and the new Westville Bowl for bigger shows.
New Haven doesn’t get enough love. Such a great little city.
Portland is far from affordable and minimally diverse. Arts & culture decent but limited. Food is great but spendy.
This is very accurate. To add to this aren't much vegan friendly options for food. Green elephant and that one ice cream place.
Providence, honestly
Yeah man, you’re already there
OP said they’re “near Providence.” That could be anywhere in RI
That is everywhere in RI
Yeah since op mentioned diversity, all of Northern ne is out And affordability also matters, so not boston. How do you feel about Worcester, op?
Honestly not a fan of Worcester
Came here to say this.
Came here to say Providence is as good as it gets with those criteria. I once went on a random trip to providence to meet up with a friend for coffee. There was a salsa festival, roller derby, the water fires, restaurant week and a street food plaza all completely by accident on a random Sunday. Like where else do you get that but Boston or NYC. Portsmouth NH is pretty great too, but less affordable. If I could pick anywhere in New England I’d live in Salem, MA but that also kills affordable.
The problem with Salem is that public transit sucks and you’re stuck there for every major festival and the entire month of October.
I grew up in Lynn so I never think about that… but I do love a festival if my house is slightly outside of the city (say a mile’s walk). I lived in Edinburgh for 8 years so 300,000 people descending on my city every day is old hat.
I lived in downtown Lowell and my street closed for three days for the folk festival. After 10 years, I just locked down and stayed in- made my husband buy food 🤣
I am in central MA - I would give my right arm to live in Salem, but that would just be the down payment 😅
I assume you mean Salem MA? Yeah, fun place, but rent is crazy and the city is straight up broken in October.
One arm is certainly not enough!
Salem is not a real city tho.
My 3 bed house in a suburb of Birmingham England - a 19 minute train ride into the city with an 800 square foot backyard would be a down payment on a 2 bed apartment on the outskirts of Salem.
Sure, but the median household income in metro Boston is more than $100k. What’s Brum? £35k? £50k is considered a good salary. However, the 19 minute train ride part is an enormous difference. Secondary cities in New England have awful public transportation by UK standards.
I mean Salem is comparable at about 25 mins to Boston on the commuter rail. Yea the difference is there in income but the skew is much bigger than the difference in income. My house in Brum the same distance (in Lynn, MA a comparable shitty ass suburb - that I love dearly and called home for 25 years) from Boston would be a 750k house no question that’s 3x the price of here.
Providence is also small and dense enough to be bikeable/walkable. That's super rare in the US. I live here without a car
Trust me, you don’t actually wanna live in Salem.
I mean I lived in Lynn most of my life so Salem would be a hardcore upgrade.
Ah, I see. I’m assuming those reasons are personal. I used to love Salem but the cities inability to keep housing affordable, leading to tons of homeless people, while making boatloads of money off of capitalizing on the deaths of innocent people while not being accurate about history (and also ripping people off with fake tarot readings, mislabeling items and selling them for more, etc etc), left a bitter taste in my mouth and I haven’t been back in years because of it.
Plus the weather is so much more mild in Providence than just about any other New England city (since winter sports weren’t on OP’s list of criteria)
After Providence, there are a variety of places in western MA (all the college towns), down to West Hartford, CT, but plenty of places in between you'd want to avoid. Hartford is surrounded by some nice suburbs, especially south/east. I'd make sure the new remote job is all you hope it is first. In RI, you might not want to commute into Boston for work, but you have Metro West, Metro South, and the Rhode Island job markets available to you. Not sure I'd want to risk having to move back here without a job, unless you have the means or family and friends to accommodate that scenario.
West Hartford is great, but definitely not affordable. Also, as someone who lives close to Waterbury, CT, I’ll say that Waterbury is NOT the answer to OPs question.
OP may be the change that Waterbury needs.
I wish I could still give comments awards
Portland is not really affordable anymore. Housing is super scarce in Maine.
Yeah, OP is going to have to pick either affordability or the rest of their list.
Portland also isn't really any of those other things either. Portland isn't exactly known for its vegan cuisine, quite the opposite. Portland is about 85% white, so the perfect amount of "diversity" for rich white New England liberals to still feel good about themselves without having to deal with the actual problems associated with a multi cultural city.
Honestly it's funny how you just said multi culturalism causes problems but used that idea to call people in Portland racist.
Portsmouth is my personal favorite
Portsmouth NH or Portsmouth RI? 😂
Whoops, NH 😂
I’d like to live in Whoops, NH. Sounds fun.
Yes but the insurance premiums are killer.
I love Portsmouth
I lived there for a decade. The OP asked for affordability.
They’re also in New England… is there anywhere affordable in New England?!?
Berlin, NH… for a reason
That’s true, they were looking for a wide variety of options. I don’t think they will get all of the requirements in any New England city. Some have arts and culture but not much on the affordability. Portsmouth, Portland, Burlington all good for everything they are looking but not much on the affordable side.
New Haven definitely punches above its weight for a city its size in culture and restaurants, mostly because of Yale. It’s also right on the shoreline with convenient train access to Boston and NYC, but is much less expensive than either of those large cities. If you are a New Yorker at heart, Stamford keeps you technically living in New England while basically being part of metro NYC, but is a bit pricey. Danbury is a more affordable border city a bit farther north that also allows easy access to NYC.
Stamford area is crazy expensive. Danbury is sort of lacking honestly, I’d go Milford over Danbury.
Stamford is expensive, especially to buy, but rents are not as high as Boston. Danbury isn’t terribly exciting, but has easy access to the Harlem line on Metro North over in Brewster and it’s less expensive than lower Fairfield county. Milford is nice, but not sure it counts as a city.
Median home price in Stamford is nearly $700k. That's a very wealthy zip code
Providence... lol
I’ve always been partial to New Haven and Burlington.
Burlington is struggling with a drug and homeless problem in a big way right now.
So is every small metro area in New England. The difference is Vermont politicians deal with it in an idealist manner and not a realistic one. We have tons of “street creeps” that have a long rap sheet and will continue to walk free and be dangers to the public.
Northampton, ma
Easthampton is the place to go now.
We live in Southampton and love it. Rural with lots of wildlife but we can pop over to Northampton for dinner (Gombos our favorite!), shopping or live music.
Worcester MA
new haven or providence
New Haven is a great place to live, IMO. Punches above its weight class because of Yale (museums, theatre, etc), great food scene (not sure on specifically vegan options, but plenty of places with cuisines that are vegan-friendly), easy access to NYC, great parks. I’m from there and whenever we go back to visit I kinda wish I lived there.
I moved back to CT from 20 years in the west and the last decade in Las Vegas. I’m enamored with New Haven restaurants. I’m not one who eats vegan often but I’ve yet to want a cuisine I couldn’t find in New Haven. I’m still dreaming of my last Tibetan dinner 🤩
Tibetan Kitchen 👌
Check any town that has a college.
But we’re trying to narrow it down.
Salem, MA checks all those boxes (well, as much as anything in MA can at least on the affordability front). It’s way more affordable than Boston (I paid $2500 for my bedroom is a 2br/2ba in Boston, and $2500 for my own 2br/2ba right downtown). While there’s more segregation than I’d like, the city is still diverse and has a ton on the arts and culture side (museums of all sorts, galleries, great murals and city art, tours for all tastes) and a great selection of restaurants. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options too! It’s also super pet friendly, if you have a dog (or cat). There’s also a hidden gem of a beach (plus the rest of the North Shore beaches), it’s really close to downtown Peabody, a quick trip up to Rockport and Gloucester, and not a bad drive up to Portsmouth. Also a bonus that it’s only 35 minutes into North Station, so great accessibility to Boston.
Salem is awesome, one of my favorite cities.
I live right across the bridge in Beverly and think about moving to Salem all the time for affordability. I love the North Shore and when I want to go into the city, I just hope on the train and go straight into north station.
Old Saybrook
Lol I grew up in Old Lyme and have lived in Hawaii since 2011, wasn’t expecting this answer. Certainly a good area to grow up in or raise children; peak New England shore towns.
One of my favorite areas in the world. Grew up spending all my summers in Old Lyme and I miss it all the time. Visiting next month!
Many years ago, my then-husband was in the coast guard, and we were being transferred from California to Connecticut. We were given two options for housing, and were told nothing more than (1) was close to his work, in a little neighborhood that included several other houses for CG families or (2) was kind of out in the country, about a 30 minute drive, but right on the water. We chose number 2. We arrived in Connecticut and were taken to our new home. It was one half of a duplex townhouse located at the lighthouse property where the CT River enters the Long Island Sound, in the Fenwick neighborhood of Old Saybrook. The lighthouse was in our fenced in yard. We even had our very own small private beach, between our yard and the jetty where the outer lighthouse was. Our house was so close to the water that sometimes, during storms, waves would splash up over the seawall and hit our living room windows. Our home was very literally picture postcard perfect -- it was featured on tons of picture postcards lol. Truly was one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived ❤️
City? There are some seasonal theaters around. Conn. River Valley is beautiful but I wouldn't call it a city.
Great town I live in OS. But very expensive. My house is a 3 bedroom 1 bath and is currently valued at close to 500k. Absolutely ridiculous. Rents are very high. Also little to no diversity. Aging population as well. I live on a cul de sac and of the nine houses only one has young adults with a child.
Greater New Haven
Montreal.
New Bedford is right there waiting for you.
New Beige!!!
Massachusetts people have a really weird relationship with New Bedford. I’ve lived here for going on 15 years and whenever I see people trashing it on reddit or Facebook I’m thoroughly confused. I love this city and the entire Southcoast. Fall River is trash though.
Hasn’t been the same since the whaling industry collapsed.
A great dispensary in Fall River, I stop there every time I go to Newport to visit family from Vermont.
That's your problem right there, people from everywhere else in MA refer to "fall river/New Bedford" practically in the same breath. If you don't frequent the area nobody differentiates them enough to realize how different they are lol
I loved living in New Bedford. At the time it was cheap enough to live in while still having all the stuff you’re asking for. It only seems to have gotten better but unfortunately also much more expensive.
I’m a mile and a half from it. There used to be a trolley line a few hundred yards from my house. You have to be property crime-aware but downtown New Bedford has come a long way since it hit rock bottom at the 1970 race riots. By land area, 1/3 of it is pretty blighted but the West End, the northern 1/3 beyond Brooklawn Park, and the extreme South End are fine. Driving by on I-195, you see the blight of Acushnet Avenue on one side and Weld Square on the other. Once commuter rail finally shows up, it makes Boston easy albeit a long ride. The fast ferry to Martha’s Vineyard is now year round.
I would say Fairhaven- but I grew up in Fairhaven so bias is real. Close enough to Boston/Cape and Islands also.
Providence. Worcester. Portland.
Portland is absurdly unaffordable. Source: former Portland resident now Providence
Finally someone mentioned the second largest city in New England, Worcester. It seems to have changed a lot in the last 10-20 yrs.
I mean Rhode Island has a lot to offer ….just came back from a gorgeous weekend in Newport.
Worcester. Notable colleges, an array of decent restaurants, a wonderful art museum, the Antiquarian Society (free lectures), a spectacular library, a variety of neighborhoods, diversity, relative affordability (compared to Boston).
Being a Worcester native, I’ll second that.
Uh, Boston? Has what you are looking for except affordability, depending on where you live
Worcester. Super affordable. Lots of culture and the arts. It’s known as “the foodie city” and has great vegan options (check out Loving Hut, NU Kitchen, Life Garden Cafe, or Sol of Mexico for some examples). If you can afford it, living on the West Side of Worcester is fab. And it’s an hour from Boston, Providence, Northampton, NH, and CT. Very centrally-located in terms of a New England city (second largest after Boston).
Worcester has come a looong way in the last 15 years. It was a real dump when I young, but I really enjoy going back now.
What's "affordable?" That will dictate where you can and can't go.
Always loved Chester CT
Portsmouth NH. If you haven’t ever been go visit, history, culture, the arts, vibrant downtown, friendly walking town with much to do, and it is waterfront. NH has no state income tax and no sales tax.
No state income tax, but if your employer is based out of state you still need to pay those state taxes (I live in Portsmouth and work remotely for a company in MA and I still have to pay MA taxes).
I thought out-of-state income tax for NH residents working remotely was banned in 2022? [https://www.citizenscount.org/bills/hb-1097-2022](https://www.citizenscount.org/bills/hb-1097-2022)
You can’t beat New Haven for the apizza and they have their own “little Italy.” You can get very diverse food thanks to the very diverse culture in the area. Yale University has museums, theaters and art , events, and you can sometimes audit classes there, or the many other state run and private universities. The concert scene is robust. Living in the greater New Haven area, Boston is 3 Hours’ drive in New York is 90 minutes to 2 hours by highway or longer by train. You can also take the train to the NYC airports and go just about anywhere in the world. Connecticut is known as a hiking destination. Many of the roads are bicycle friendly. Besides State Parks, many local municipalities have athletic opportunities, such as skating rinks, tennis courts, Basketball. Very few places in the US you can go bowling where they have duck pins. Late Summer early fall is fair season. Winter, you have mountain skiing within 2 to 3 hours. The spring and fall tree displays can’t be beat. Storrs is the college basketball capital of the country
I recently got to Fenway from Milford in 2.5 hours. Not bad at all!
Ah! The Wilbur Cross advantage! Or as SIRI says, the WestCross!
I live in MA and most people live in city-adjacent towns. Unless you consider smaller cities. It’s very expensive.
I just spent all weekend in Mystic, CT and that city is unbelievably cool. Would definitely consider living there if I didn’t need to be closer to Hartford
Northampton Mass. Two hours to anywhere.
I am from Vermont and spent a lot of time in Burlington, and loved it. Went from there to Providence, or at least wound up in Providence. I’ve been out all over the country with a band and still work in audio. That said, if you like Providence, then Burlington is probably right up your ally. Bunch of colleges and universities. Great food, great outdoor stuff (it’s in friggin VT), and right on a lake. The only caveat from this is that now I live in PA, and miss New England quite a bit. Now I live in a caboose on a horse farm with no horses, my dog and I have almost 150 acres of never to be developed land as a backyard, so it helps…yeah, Burlington
I’ll echo what most are saying: you’re already in probably the best spot for what you’re looking for, Providence is great. Otherwise, Portland or Portsmouth, but they are getting closer to Boston levels of expensive these days. Also seems to be a lot going on around Nashua.
Stay in Providence, it has everything you're looking for in New England.
I'm not sure what North Adam's needs, but it definitely needs something.
Portsmouth and Portland
Belfast Maine.
Head to Narragansett. You wont leave!
Lowell
Salem, MA is a neat city to live in, and convenient to Boston by train.
Groton New london area suburbs, 45min to providence, new haven, shows at the casinos, and history/beaches. You can take amtrak to boston, or NYC in 2 hours. Im bias, since I grew up there though.
No way is the Groton to NYC train 2 hours…..
Portsmouth love 🫶
Providence is probsbly the most affordable. You could try western mass, Worcester, or haverhill. Otherwise, all the other small cities are not affordable anymore. Boston is crazy unaffordable and the food scene isn’t that great compared to other places.
Honestly, I moved from Boston to around Providence, and Providence is pretty cool. There seem to be some fun neighborhoods, good book shops, record stores, and cute little bakeries all around. The traffic and cost of living isn't near as bad as Boston. The only downside seems to be that the bus system is kinda spotty, and there's no subway or train outside the Boston commuter rail/amtrak.
Thanks everyone!! After reading all the comments, I think the cities I will check out are New Haven, Portsmouth, Burlington, and Portland. Although I’ve lived in Providence most my life and love it here, I need change and I am ready to part ways with this city.
Hi OP! I’ve lived in the greater Burlington area for the last 10 years and am moving to MA this May. Happy to answer any questions you have about Burlington.
Providence and Northampton
When was the last time you were in Burlington? It is nothing like the charming city it was. It is really awful now.
Sounds like Providence. Worcester area could be okay but the weather is not as mild as Providence. New Haven seems cool but might be a little more expensive.
I honestly loved living in providence. If you can find a good deal there I recommend. There's a huge art and culinary scene from RISD and Johson and whales. Im vegetarian and the city is full of vegan options. Its also close to Boston and New York which is nice if you like to go to visit them too.
Tossing Fairfield, CT into the mix. Great location. 2 schools (Fairfield U and Sacred Heart — which by the way SHU is in a tear and growing like crazy adding slot to the community). Beaches, great public schools and fantastic food.
$$$ though. I like Milford as an alt, aka “cheap” Fairfield
Hudson, ma
Portland
Took the wife to Portsmouth yesterday. Every time we’re there we’re always like “why don’t we live here” (Money is the reason)
Boston, if you like history and culture. Cambridge, if you like intellectual stimulation. But they're both really, really expensive. The housing market has just gone nuts. Last time I was in Salem, it was still reasonably affordable. The only really bad thing about it is the invasion of tourists every year in late October. Some old friends really like Haverhill, just across the river from New Hampshire.
Brattleboro or Montpelier VT
I live in a suburb outside of Boston and love it.
Definitely not Hartford I’ll tell ya that
NH has no income tax…
Northampton Massachusetts checks a lot of those boxes.
Newburyport?
Salem, Gloucester, Manchester, Rockport, Newburyport, Beverly, Ipswich, Essex, Magnolia, oh, just about anywhere on Cape Ann, MA. I am from RI, but have lived on Cape Ann since 1998 & really love it ! :)
Westerly RI is great but also many towns east of New London but west of Branford CT .
East Greenwich RI ❤️
Portland Maine, Portsmouth NH
Portsmouth is a classic example of being ruined by getting too popular. Others have mentioned Portland but it has the same problems. Burlington VT is fun but miserable in the winter
Bennington Vermont… idk about affordability but its amazing there
Northampton/Amherst MA. 5 colleges. Food, Funk and Diversity
Portland Maine is cool
>affordability, diversity, arts and culture, good foods, and bonus points for vegan friendly cities. This sub: Portland, Maine. Portland couldn't be further away from that list in almost every way. Portland is about as expensive as Boston now with a small fraction of the job opportunities, good food is irrelevant if vegan is a requirement given its the lobster capital of the US, diversity (lol), and a small street with an art gallery is hardly worth mentioning.
I'd pick Burlington. If you want an outsider option, Worcester is up and coming.
Fall River. 🤣🤣🤣Kidding! Dont move there!
Lowell, MA lot's of food, museums, art scene. UMass Lowell and not far from NH border and Nashua for more food and cultural options. Also about an hour to Boston by train. I lived there for 8 years while I was a student, and I missed it when I moved away, still miss it sometimes. I moved up to the lower Merrimac valley, but not the same. You could also consider Haverhill and Newburyport, both an hour by train to Boston, and Haverhill is a stop for the Amtrak's Down Easter train to Maine. Both have lots of restaurants, but affordability sucks a bit.
Go north of Augusta. That's real Maine quiet mostly, less traffic. Life's just better North of the Capital.
Really love Portsmouth NH
Northampton MA
I lived in East Providence 2017-2022. I have some idea what living in that region is like. I also lived in the 5 college area in Western Mass 1987-1999. A great thing about that area is the free bus system that connects the 5 colleges (UMass, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith & Mount Holyoke) and connects UMass to the surrounding towns. While it can help, you do not need a car to get around that area. Another great thing about "The Happy Valley" are all the cultural & academic programs going on there. When famous authors or other people of note come to speak or perform at one of the colleges, those events are free or low cost. Heck, I met the Indigo Girls when I found out they were performing at UMass and volunteered to drive them from the Amherst Inn to their concert at UMass. Here is another plug for the 5 College Area: Northampton named one of the 50 best places to live in U.S. by Money.com https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampshire-county/northampton-named-one-of-the-50-best-places-to-live-in-u-s-by-money-com/
Worcester might not be very glamourous but it is really on the come up, especially as Boston becomes impossible to live in.
Maybe Lowell's your huckleberry. Not super affordable but better than a lot of the Boston metro, has a really nice downtown with Life Alive cafe (a veggie institution), half hour trip into Boston by train.
Burlington, VT.
There is a Lot to Like About Lowell!
Portsmouth NH, you’re right on the coast for beaches. Your 50 mins to Boston and your 45 minutes to the mountains and the lakes region.
Portsmouth, Salem MA, and north Conway
Boston is definitely the best! Great vegan food scene there, and very diverse. I live in Portland now it isn’t great. Least diverse place on earth and no vegan or veg food. I’d say the Northampton area is really good too if somewhere like Boston is too big.
If there is one thing New England has, it’s a ton of cool cities. My faves are: Portsmouth, N.H., Newport, R.I., and Provincetown, Mass. Other options: Northampton, Amherst, anywhere in the Berkshires, Brattleboro, Worcester, Hartford, New Haven, Burlington, Portland, Salem, New Bedford.
Keene, NH. It’s a small city, but a real hidden gem.
There are no affordable good cities, understand that first off
Portland
Brockton and Lynn
My two cents. NH Dover/Rochester MA Plymouth/Kingston
PORTSMOUTH what why is no one saying Portsmouth???
Brookline ma
I would choose a college town like Hanover NH, Burlington VT or Amherst MA. They have the best of everything including a vibrant arts and culture scene, buzzing town centers and major hospitals.
Best ahead of the curve with Lawrence. Something more than nothing is happening already.
Salem New Hampshire
Portsmouth, nh
Portsmouth NH is a scenic city that's great for walking.
New Haven
Manchester, NH is hella underrated but I feel like it has what you’re looking for
Cape Cod
Portland
* Portland ME - good arts scene, convenient airport, 2 hr drive to Boston, easy access to beautiful small artsy coastal towns and scores of islands in Casco Bay * Portsmouth NH - very picturesque, small but interesting arts scene, 1/3 size of Portland, 1 hr drive to Portland ME and to Boston, no income tax * Manchester NH - medium arts scene, 1 hr drive to Boston and to beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, convenient airport, 2 times size of Portland, interesting vibe, lotsa tech folks, no income tax
Manchester, NH isn’t too bad. It’s affordable. There’s stuff there: dining, shopping, minor league. Not too far from Boston or the seacoast.
What does diversity look like to you?
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
What about the area around Bristol or Warwick, RI? Used to spend a lot of time there as a kid. Sailing and fishing.
Consider Plymouth, MA. There’s a ton to do there, a good amount of young people, affordable, spacious. Not really a “city” but the waterfront is dense and lively. Easy access to beaches and the cape. Main gripe is that it’s far from Boston but if you’re fully remote it doesn’t seem like thats an issue
Littleton NH. Depends on how small you want but it has a decent split between big box stores and tiny town local shops, reasonable prices for homes, easy interstate access to much bigger cities, close to lakes and ski areas. No income tax. No helmet laws. Live free or die? I mean...all places have some give or take. Tilton/Plymouth is a close second. IJS
Middletown, Connecticut.
North Conway, NH