“The clichés about everyone in Rhode Island knowing one another are pretty accurate,” said Laura Afonso, a culinary influencer and lifelong Rhode Islander whose “Buns and Bites” Instagram account chronicling state favorites has amassed 161,000 followers on social media.
Many locals see that as a negative, Afonso said, but she loves it, because it makes the state feel communal.
“If you’re new here, be prepared to lean into the quaintness, the kindness, and the community of Rhode Island,” she said. “We are, in my opinion, a lot more welcoming than any other state in New England. And before you know it, you’ll be calling a 15-minute drive a long one!”
‘But they can say them very well.’
Michael Simpson, a professor of multicultural history at Johnson & Wales University, runs Hidden History Tours of Rhode Island, as well as “On This Day in Rhode Island History,” an X-based chronicle.
While Simpson knows that posts about pop culture, such as the Big Blue Bug (New England Pest Control’s supersized mascot stationed above Interstate 95 in Providence) are popular, he wants his audience to understand how much can be easily overlooked about the state’s history and immigrant communities of the past and present. For example, he said, Newport was the site of the nation’s first Black mutual aid society, the African Union Society, in 1780. And Rhode Island’s roots in religious rebellion and anarchic political action also infuse the state’s modern spirit, he said.
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Rhode Island’s diverse cultural heritage, including its indigenous peoples’ history, is apparent in everyday spoken words, he said.
“A born-and-raised Rhode Islander, they’re going to be able to pronounce about a dozen Native American words — Narragansett words specifically — in the place names throughout the state, but have maybe no understanding or concept that those are even native words,” he said. “But they can say them very well.”
Internationally acclaimed storyteller Len Cabral has practiced his art form for decades in Rhode Island, weaving African, Caribbean, and Cape Verdean folktales for families. He suggested that newcomers visit the state’s long-running music events, including the Newport Jazz Festival and Rhythm and Roots, and said he hopes real estate agents highlight the state’s rich cultural diversity, especially in Providence.
Cabral said he hopes newcomers can become aware of local nonprofit organizations that support connections and causes.
“The many art organizations throughout the state, especially in urban communities, could make an area more appealing to those locating here,” he said. And, he added, you can drive anywhere in the state in under an hour, from beach to country, as well as historic sites.
That convenience is a value the state government hopes will attract newcomers.
And they are coming, especially from Massachusetts.
According to US Census Bureau migration data, just shy of 13,000 Massachusetts residents moved to Rhode Island each year in 2019, 2021, and 2022. Some are in search of more affordable housing. As the median sales price for a single-family home in Greater Boston edges toward $1 million, the cost is roughly half that in Rhode Island: a record high of $494,000 in June, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Related: The wave of home buyers to Rhode Island hasn't crested
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“A lot of people make fun of the state because we’re small … but I think that our size is one of our most valuable assets,” said Matthew Touchette, director of communications for the state’s office of commerce. “You can drive around the entire state on a tank of gas.”
Touchette’s office works to attract new business, as well as to bolster tourism efforts, and the state is always looking for new residents, he said.
‘They want to get to know you.’
A quick stop can become a longtime home. Newsman R.J. Heim had only driven through the state when he decided to apply for a reporter job at WJAR-TV (Channel 10) 30 years ago.
“Out of 70 applicants, I got the job,” Heim said. “I was one of those transplanted new to Rhode Island people that you’re writing about.”
In three decades, Heim, who is now retired but operates a web-based radio station, became one of the most recognized TV broadcasters in the state. Heim said he settled into his first home on Providence’s East Side, where long walks through the neighborhood, combined with the nature of his work, helped him connect personally with other Rhode Islanders.
“If you’re creative, if you’re an artist, in whatever your palette may be, whether it’s canvas, whether it’s music, whether it’s grass-roots organizations and people making their own films. … It’s a place where you can flourish,” he said.
Connecting with native or longtime Rhode Islanders was a process. Heim perceived skepticism from locals that he might use the state as a “stepping stone.”
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Give the state two years, he advised.
“[Rhode Islanders] want to make sure you’re not just blowing through here,” said Heim. “They want to get to know you.” Put down the phone and get to know people, he said. “You’ve got to get out there and meet them and look folks in the eye and see who you connect and click with. And before you know it, you’ll call the place home.”
‘We’re creators of the scene and witnesses to the scene’
For decades, the otherworldly, comedic, foam-fabricated Big Nazo Lab creatures have been part of Rhode Island’s creative landscape (and well beyond that). But through the group’s format as a walking troupe, founder and artistic director Erminio Pinque has received a driver’s-eye view into what else makes local neighborhoods unique, too.
“We’re creators of the scene and witnesses to the scene,” Pinque said. “When a group of extraterrestrial aliens and robots, you know, comes down the street … we end up being kind of like pied pipers to lead people to different parts of town.”
Pinque said you can start walking in any direction and find food, shops, and people in dense concentration, in part due to zoning that compressed coexisting functions. Mill architecture, living spaces, and the “gray zones” between them create a “hide-and-seek” game and encourage a sense of discovery in the Providence area.
“You could have, like, a small factory next to a bar, next to a house, next to a school next to, you know, a veterinarian shop,” he said. “It’s wacky that way. And so I just think that it’s the kind of place where you get here, and you think of it as an adventure, that there’s still some underground.”
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Some of Pinque’s favorite local organizations lately include Avenue Concept for its mural work, the garden networks of the Southside Community Land Trust, the popular Gallery Night series, Fringe Festival, and the Wedding Cake House, an art residency space and bed and breakfast on Federal Hill.
What makes Rhode Island unique
It isn’t called the Ocean State for nothing.
Oyster farmer and restaurateur Perry Raso of popular Matunuck Oyster Bar in Wakefield, R.I., suggested that newcomers figure out the most direct path to the coast as possible.
“It’s what every Rhode Islander winds up loving most about the state, and whenever anyone leaves, it’s the number one thing that people miss the most about the state,” he said. “It’s really what makes Rhode Island unique.”
Lindsay Crudele, a Rhode Island native, can be reached at lcrudele@gmail.com. Follow Address on X @globehomes, and subscribe to our free weekly newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter.
