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lestermagnum t1_j74n0y9 wrote

It’s fairly walkable and pretty liberal. The public transit is kind of bad (just unreliable buses). But there’s a lot of work being done to the public transit system these days, so hopefully it gets better.

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Amaliatanase t1_j777pd4 wrote

As an addendum....public transit within Providence is kinda bad....you can take public transit (train or bus) easily to Boston or NY, which is a big plus compared to some other cities.

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boop-snoot-boogie t1_j7cefut wrote

The usefulness of being off the northeast corridor cannot be understated. Amtrak and Commuter Rail service is still at the mercy of freight throughout, but it’s the best there is in the US. 30-40 mins to Boston, 3-4 hours to Manhattan is pretty handy.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j74n6q2 wrote

Thank you, this is so helpful!

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lestermagnum t1_j74nl5s wrote

Also it needs to be said that there is a housing crisis here in Providence right now. Apartments and cost of living are wildly expensive compared to the average salaries.

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DunDirty t1_j74zi7w wrote

By pretty liberal, he means like the most liberal possible. Elorza started literal communist programs to redistribute wealth.

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RandomChurn t1_j765r2y wrote

Coming late to the conversation and whoa, guess it depends on neighborhood (because of course it does!) but I gave up driving decades ago and walk everywhere.

I don't even take buses because I just walk. My doctors and my dentist, walkable. Three grocery stores (counting the new Trader Joes), walkable. India Point Park, walkable. As is downtown, RISD museum, Avon theater, Trinity, Performing Arts Center (Broadway shows), Waterfire, the mall, bus and train stations, etc.

I live in the Fox Point neighborhood on the East Side. Dozens of small eateries, cafes, bars, shops -- all I need 🤷‍♀️

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Ghostwriter2057 t1_j77a05i wrote

I grew up in the South in a small town like what you describe. I initially moved to NYC, then ended up in Providence on/off for years. I have not regretted the decision. Because of family, I made the mistake of moving back for a while to North GA. Um, I ended up relocating again in 2021 because the level of crazy there is even worse than I remembered.

People say you need a car in Providence. It depends on what your actual lifestyle is. Having moved here from NYC where public transit is everything and lived down south where a car is paramount, I've only owned a vehicle here a few times. I've lived in Cranston, Providence, and East Providence. It gets more challenging to be without wheels the further away from downtown you reside since Kennedy Plaza is the main bus hub.

The only thing that might be off-putting is the cold. It was -10 degrees last night, for example. Beautiful when it snows, though. People are generally friendly. The ocean is right there. They even have a bus that goes to all the beaches. Yes, it has bad parts like any other place in the country. But I have traveled a great deal.

I am not a fan of Philadelphia or Baltimore because I feel they have way more urban problems than Providence does. Providence honestly feels more hopeful in terms of character and atmosphere, especially in the summer and fall. In autumn it's almost magical. And it doesn't remind me of NYC or the south whatsoever, which is awesome.

If you do decide to relocate to Providence, though, keep in touch. Feel free to message me privately if you have other questions.

Later.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7b8xqj wrote

Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed answer. I’ll definitely message you when I get closer to my final decision :)

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nice-noodles t1_j7bgbug wrote

I also moved to Providence from NYC for cost of living and quality of life reasons. My work is 90% remote, so I just go to NYC a few days every month. My husband works a remote job based in Boston, and he commutes there once or twice a week. We have a car, but sometimes we go months without using it, since everything is walkable in our neighborhood (Federal Hill). We just walk 20 minutes to the Amtrak/Commuter Rail station. I’ve never taken the bus here since the one time I wanted to take it to visit a friend who lives a bit more outside the center of things, the bus I wanted to take was cancelled. If the weather is bad, we just take Ubers if we are going out or need to go to the train station.

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Ghostwriter2057 t1_j7fshjq wrote

Oddly enough, I take Uber in all other cities except Providence. It just occurred to me. lol

When did you relocate from NYC? And what part (if you don't mind my asking).

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nice-noodles t1_j7fz7wi wrote

I lived in a few neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan during my 15 years in NYC: Tribeca, the Financial District, and most recently the East Village. We left when things shut down for COVID in March 2020. We lived with family on Long Island until Sept 2021, when we moved to Boston for my husband’s work. Then we moved to Providence last October.

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Ghostwriter2057 t1_j7gh5p7 wrote

Nice! I moved there in 2000 ("small-town girl in the big city" aesthetic) & left for a while after 9/11. I returned for several stints over the years for work. I've only ever resided in Brooklyn or Queens. I've worked and volunteered in those areas of Manhattan, though.

But I will say that I commend you a great deal for living on Long Island, especially during COVID. I hope it was okay out there. Too many areas on Long Island give me either a "Blue Velvet" or a "Black Hole Sun" vibe.

Hope to see you around. :)

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nice-noodles t1_j7godb2 wrote

Yeah, re: LI, our immediate neighborhood was ok. My husband’s family has been there since the 70s and they know a lot of the other families. But just a few minutes away, and I would see big old Trump flags and all that MAGA stuff. The plus side was that the woods and the beach were nearby.

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Ghostwriter2057 t1_j7hf18b wrote

Thankfully, I stopped visiting long before that era of politics. I am glad you had a safe haven out there!

I remember the day my kids were playing out at one of the nature reserves & a well-off woman approached to chide me about my children getting dirty. Her kid was a toddler wearing some uncomfortable designer outfit that cost more than all of our outfits combined. I watched her manhandle the child to keep him out of the sandpit.

Every time I visited, there was some variation of this type of nitpicking interaction with the affluent except at the private school one of my kids attended in Freeport. Before that school was a public school where some of the parents were Goldman Sachs & Fortune 500 types. It was even worse.

I am a pretty chill person, but some of the residents tested the limits of my patience with snobbery in ways I have not experienced elsewhere. lol

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Pleasant-Champion-14 t1_j76tyqc wrote

If you have never relied on a car , you will find Providence easy to get around. It is very walkable and the busses are ok. Most naysayers here have a car and cannot conceive of an existence without one. Just find a location that is centrally located to a neighborhood, yeah it is expensive, but you are going to save a lot of money by not having a car. Bonus: Providence is on the commuter rail to Boston, so it is great to take advantage of that city. Also RIPTA goes to Newport and the beaches so you can get your nature fix pretty easily. Providence is a great little city without a car.

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zRustyShackleford t1_j78gb3z wrote

Book an Airbnb and spend two weeks there.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7cd868 wrote

Great suggestion ! I plan on doing so in the next couple months :)

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bpear t1_j7cdkre wrote

The bus system really isn't so bad. Some lines run often. If you live off Broadway (really nice, walkable area surrounding that road) for example the bus there runs every 15 minutes so even if one's late it's not the end of the world.

That brings you right downtown. Once you need to start transferring it can get annoying. But the transit app has live tracking and is super helpful.

I have a stop right out front of my apartment so I just check the app before bothering walking out.

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theovertalker t1_j752vhc wrote

So it’s settled, Baltimore it is!

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bpear t1_j7cc70x wrote

https://www.walkscore.com/RI/Providence/Fox_Point

https://www.walkscore.com/RI/Providence/Federal_Hill

If you find something in federal hill, Fox point or downtown you will definitely find it very walkable. I sold my car when I moved to federal hill.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7cccqo wrote

How have I not yet come across this website ? This is so useful thank you so much ! :)

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bpear t1_j7ccp11 wrote

You're welcome! Honestly I think your best bet would be to get some Airbnbs in different neighborhoods until you find one you really like. You can do monthly rentals there too usually with a discount.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7cf8ci wrote

Im planning on doing so in the next couple months. I’ll keep an eye out for those monthly rentals, thank you !

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shittster420 t1_j76ww0t wrote

I live on the east side and it’s absolutely walkable, it’s 2 miles long and about a mile wide and really has everything you’d need. Like people said the public transit is meh, but you can bike around fairly easily.

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nice-noodles t1_j7bfr6k wrote

I live on the eastern edge of Federal Hill on the west side, and it’s super walkable here too.

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hobomom t1_j74q684 wrote

Walkable? Depends on what you want to walk to. Most of the city feels more suburban than urban to me, and in some of those areas you can accomplish many of your errands on foot. So there’s probably a coffee shop, a drugstore, maybe a supermarket, likely some bars and restaurants. But it’s not like you’ll be walking everywhere. You’ll want a car for most other things. It’s not walkable in the way a larger city is.

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Amaliatanase t1_j7785zg wrote

Compared to most cities in the US Providence feels super urban. I lived in Providence for decades and currently live in Nashville and most of Nashville (within the city limits) feels like North Providence or Warwick, but with less sidewalks. This is the norm for cities in the South (Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville), Texas and a lot of the West. If OP is moving from the South, which they said they were, Providence will be far more urban and walkable.

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DialJforJasper t1_j7545dm wrote

I would say that you absolutely need a car in Providence.

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boop-snoot-boogie t1_j7bp45a wrote

I’ve never understood this sentiment. I only own a car here in case I need to leave Providence and go somewhere that isn’t off the train, which happens maybe a couple times a month. Otherwise, the thing just sits there, depreciating.

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DialJforJasper t1_j7bv4qn wrote

RIPTA sucks and Providence is too small for a subway system.

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boop-snoot-boogie t1_j7c3fyw wrote

Few things:

  • Providence used to have an electric trolley system, as did most US cities at the time. Oil and automotive lobbies "fixed" that as the last century went on.
  • While related, walkable and transit-oriented are two different things. When most errands and trips out your door can be done on foot - you live in a walkable place.
  • RIPTA is fine. You can get downtown in under 20 minutes from most of the city - from there you can shop or run your errands downtown, or transfer to another line and get most places in the state, or hop on the train, or get to the airport. It's not perfect, but it's totally usable for most things.
  • If you must use a car, there's Uber, Lyft, Zipcar, etc.
  • Bikes exist.

Point is, there are just as many options for getting around here as there are flimsy justifications for car-dependence - it's more of a personal choice and it's largely informed by what neighborhood you live in and your habits/lifestyle.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7cd0tq wrote

I have a car (it’s on its last legs), I just don’t want to rely on it for everything. For example, where I live it is literally impossible to walk anywhere :(

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lightningbolt1987 t1_j76ee5j wrote

Only downtown and fox point can you really live without a car without having to rely on lousy busses. Philly and Baltimore offer more of the deeply urban, walkable, with subways, etc. while being more affordable than Providence.

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daymanahhhahhhhhh t1_j76yt89 wrote

Only parts of it are walkable, it’s liberal and specifically conservative democrat, and the public transit is ok at best. So maybe not as great as you’ve heard but i do think it’s better than where you are now based on your comment.

It just kind of depends on how much money you earn too. If you’re a great earner then you’ll definitely be able to live in a nice walkable area.

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Llfeofjerm t1_j7c8s1n wrote

Bad public transit ( just bus services that can be delayed or infrequent) but very liberal and walkable. Such a quirky and unique city. I couldn’t see myself living anywhere elss

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j7cddoc wrote

I love to hear that ! The transit thing isn’t a necessity for me as I do own a car (albeit on its last legs) but walkable and liberal would be a dream for me! Thanks for the info :)

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boston02124 t1_j7ip4yb wrote

Liberal yes. Walkable yes, depending on the neighborhood. Public transit is ok. Buses that go downtown and the Amtrak/MBTA commuter rail is the public transit system. You can get downtown easily and to Boston, New York, and the airport fairly easily. If you need to get to other parts of RI, that’s not always so easy. The neighborhoods close to downtown are super walkable. I have a car I need for work. If I didn’t need it for work, I’d get rid of it.

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misterpeanutsman t1_j79a3sq wrote

coming from living in several actually walkable east coast cities, this place is only somewhat more walkable than miami. insomuch as they both have sidewalks.

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j79aaac wrote

Which walkable east coast cities do you speak of ? :)

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misterpeanutsman t1_j79azgb wrote

even portland was more walkable than here. but if the super north isn’t your cup of tea (and you don’t have a pre-existing sports rivalry to not move there) philly is what you’re looking for.

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bpear t1_j7cc39z wrote

If you live in federal hill (and parts of the West end close to federal hill), Fox point, the jewelry district, or downtown I'd say it's extremely walkable.

Federal Hill has a walk score of 93, Fox point has a 94 and downtown has a 99

https://www.walkscore.com/RI/Providence/Federal_Hill https://www.walkscore.com/RI/Providence/Fox_Point

It definitely depends on the neighborhood

I've been to Portland Maine and from what I can tell just the downtown area is walkable. The rest of it doesn't have much goin without driving somewhere.

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[deleted] t1_j74m7c5 wrote

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iLoveBear3000 OP t1_j74mqel wrote

Thank you! As for the liberal thing I guess i should add that I’m from the south, I’m really just looking to live somewhere where people have a more tolerant/progressive mindset, haha. Unfortunately in my quest I haven’t really found any cities that meet my criteria and ALSO have a good public transit system. Thanks for answering my question.

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timebiscuit t1_j74n9ur wrote

Baltimore/DC perhaps?

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Dt74104 t1_j74nj38 wrote

The only person who would suggest that is one who has never lived there.

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Hawks47 t1_j74o825 wrote

I moved from Chicago and it checks all your boxes. Just a lot bigger than Providence and big cities come with big city problems. Good luck!

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