Can a non-resident store firearms in RI? If so, is there a place that provides  this service or is there a secure storage facility you'd recommend?

I'm considering a move to Westborough, MA but most of my guns are illegal in MA and all but four are legal in RI. I only plan on being in the area for five years.

In the off chance I move to RI, is Providence a bad place to live? I noticed that the real estate in Providence is cheaper than pretty much anywhere else in the area and the houses I'm seeing all look really bad, but I'm not familiar with that style of housing or area so I may just be judging them wrong based on what I perceive as nice.

Another question about HVAC. On the west coast, most houses have central heating/air or geothermal HVAC with a little vent in the floor or ceiling of every room and a thermostat somewhere in the middle of the house that controls it all. Does that not exist out there? I noticed that all of the properties I was looking at had old school oil heaters or baseboard heaters in every room. Is air conditioning in every house? I saw very few pictures of outdoor AC units.

I plan on renting for a few months and hopefully buying a multi family house so I can rent one side out and live in the other, then rent them all out when I leave the area and hopefully give the property to my daughter when she's older. I have a young daughter in East Greenwich, BTW.

Providence seems to have the most abundant supply of multi family homes; Westborough has a decent amount as well and that's where I'd be working. I'm not really seeing any multi family homes in RI outside of Providence.

Are there other areas you'd recommend, in either state?

As far as I know storing out of state firearms in RI is not illegal, but I'm not positive. I do not know of a place that you could store them at other possibly at a gun shop that you trust.

There are good parts of Providence, but they are definitely higher up on the price range. The houses you have looked at online that are less expensive and "really bad" as you put it are cheap for a reason. Bad neighborhoods are abundant in Providence. If you do want to buy a multifamily and rent out half of it, search the surrounding towns and cities. You may be paying a little more, but you will be a lot better off in the long run if you stay out of Providence.

You will only find central air conditioning on new houses. The vast majority of older homes have to rely on window units. Some homes are probably retrofitted with split systems, but those will definitely be on th upper price range and scarce.

Did you look for multi-family homes in Cranston, Warwick, West Warwick, North Providence, East Providence and other centrally located communities? There might even be some in East Greenwich. Providence definitely has the most, but I would never live in Providence even if my home were bought and paid for.

I asked on city data but there's a lot of infighting on that forum. I'm going out there on labor day weekend to check it out. My ex wife tells me that Providence is a dump and I should avoid it. I just want to see it for myself.