Comment by rpmadden on MIRI location optimization (and related topics) discussion · 2021-05-15T07:42:58.078Z · LW · GW

I pitched a particular campus near Providence, RI in an email to Alex which I think meets at least most of the criteria I've seen. I'll mention a few more general thoughts in favor of RI here:

• Great beaches, state parks, and hiking trails
• Less than an hour drive or train ride to/from Boston (same as I think you'd get from southern NH - Boston rush hour is going to be rough for driving regardless of which direction you're coming from)
• Providence itself is a decent city, although it doesn't have a big tech scene
• Multiple good colleges/universities within a few hours away (Brown is right in Providence)
• Less snow in RI compared to NH (NH snow tends to stick around longer too)
• Tick/mosquito control may be feasible for the property itself (https://www.bigbluebug.com/mosquito-and-tick-control), though this wouldn't help for anyone planning to hike all over the state (although if you stick more to beaches than hiking trails, it's not as much as a problem compared to NH in general)

I live in NH and have family in RI that I visit a few times a (non-plague) year. In general, RI has always seemed similar to southern NH to me both aesthetically and culturally (but with more ocean instead of lakes). So if MIRI were thinking about places in southern NH, I would think RI would have a lot of similar tradeoffs (besides maybe taxes, which I'd guess is better for business/property in RI but worse for individual/sales/income).