Ready For Water In 2019

Rhode Island

There’s an advantage to being America’s smallest state. In Rhode Island, no one is more than a half hour’s drive to the ocean or bay. The close proximity to the coast is a major draw for those seeking to purchase real estate for sale in Rhode Island.

The Ocean State is a region of coves, estuaries and some 100 beaches set along 400 miles of shoreline. Narragansett Bay, New England’s yachting capital, is home to more than 30 islands.

Rhode Island has no shortage of affluent coastal towns, many under the radar with deep historic roots. South County, in the southwestern part of the state bordering Connecticut. is a popular second home destination that spans the ages, from period homes to modern beachfront estates. Golf courses, fishing and a long sandy coastline lure summer home buyers, many from Boston and New York, both less than 2 hours away.

A dozen miles off the Rhode Island coast is Block Island, a popular outpost of rolling hills, walking trails and dramatic bluffs, all of which have been well-protected from over-development.

Rhode Island has a history of playing a role larger than its size would suggest. It was the first of the 13 colonies to renounce allegiance to the British Crown. At the turn of the 20th century. Newport, on the southern tip of Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay, became an international symbol of Gilded Age wealth and a playground for blue bloods.

This city by-the-sea was the summer home to some of the country’s wealthiest industrialists. Families, such as the Astors and Vanderbilts tapped the great architects of the day like Richard Morris Hunt and had palatial “cottages” built that embodied their elite status. Newport reflects more than three centuries of architecture and comprises the country’s largest collection of colonial architecture. Today many of the homes are museums that form the foundation of Newport’s tourism industry. For residents and summer home owners, Newport, with its international regatta and yachting races and renowned music festivals, continues to epitomize the good life.