Are there any Baltimore or Pittsburgh area transplants living in the Providence area? We are considering moving and I have some questions!

Submitted by marissarae t3_115gjoh in providence

Background: I lived in Baltimore for 12 years, 7 of which were in Locust Point, which I loved (aside from package theft and generally higher than crime rates than average, good for Baltimore city but not overall.) 1.5 years ago, my husband and I moved to the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh to be near my family, but we are about 25 miles from the horrific East Palestine train derailment contamination site and our water comes from the Ohio River. My husband has family in southern RI and Worcester, so Providence or anywhere south of there is on our short list of options for moving.

If there are any Baltimore or Pittsburgh transplants, maybe you could tell me how Providence, Bristol, Cranston compare in terms of traffic, available jobs, weather, crime, food scene, music scene, possible culture shock things I haven’t thought of, and do you like it overall better?

Also, I’d be starting from scratch making friends in my mid-30s. (Terrifying.) Has anyone had luck doing that? Are people pretty friendly in this area in general?

Our other option would be to go back to Maryland (probably suburbs this time) where we still have friends and professional connections, but higher crime, noise, etc. and neither of our families are there.

Thanks for any thoughts and advice you have!

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JMS79 t1_j91zury wrote

Literally moved to Rhode Island last year after living in the Baltimore area my entire life (30+ years). I work in the city and live south in Warwick. Traffic is much easier than dealing with the Beltway everyday. My same distance commute that I had in Baltimore is cut in half living here and that includes a 10 minute walk from where I park in Providence. But if you are north, west or east traffic in the mornings/evenings can be a bit heavy if heading towards Providence. The only bad thing is the roads are absolute pot hole filled everywhere up here.

As for crime, it’s a city so there is crime but mainly property crime. Violent crime I’d compare it more to like Dundalk, Middle River or Essex if that helps with a comparison to Baltimore. There are people from here who might make it seem like it’s hell with crime, but living in Baltimore and traveling to other cities I’ve seen what crime really can be.

Food scene is pretty dang good up here. I spent my first 2 months living downtown and there were plenty of options and still didn’t even try half the things I wanted to try from peoples recommendations. For a small city the food scene is more like a bigger city.

Climate i can’t say much but this winter has been abnormal and closer to a winter in Baltimore, minus an insane cold snap 2 weekends ago.

Overall it’s nothing like I expected and really love the state and the city of Providence. When it gets warmer I can’t wait to try quite a few new things outdoors and get out to a bunch of places to eat that I haven’t tried yet.

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marissarae OP t1_j94gski wrote

Thank you so much for your detailed response! That’s really awesome to hear! I’ve only been to RI in the summer and the beach traffic was pretty heavy when we were there, but it’s good to know that’s not the norm.

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yajanikos t1_j9a7tdl wrote

I commuted to Baltimore a bit for a hotel project I worked on. This answer makes me so happy to hear you are happy with your move here so far. Welcome!

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JuciestDingleBerry t1_j91nzqv wrote

Speaking to Rhode Island in general, and especially Providence, food is amazing. Crime rates are higher in Providence but as someone who is in Providence all of the time I have never seen anything with my own eyes, and I've been fortunate enough nothing has happened to me. No car break-ins or anything like that. Food and music scene is phenomenal, great arts scene, Providence is a very creative city. It's smaller than either Pittsburgh or Baltimore though so I think you will be missing home a bit. I am not from Pittsburgh or Baltimore but I hope this helps anyway

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marissarae OP t1_j91v4ky wrote

Yes, it definitely helps! Thank you for responding :) . I think we are ready for a smaller city as long as the food is still great and there are some fun things to do, which seems to definitely be the case! I think this is maybe our lead option. I love hearing about people really enjoying where they live.

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JuciestDingleBerry t1_j922lsm wrote

Also for what it's worth, it is very walkable and the Amtrak train station provides access to Boston, NyC City, and other cities in the Northeast Corridor!

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iCaligula t1_j93gadd wrote

My wife and I moved from Baltimore to Providence in our mid 30's - and now we've been here a decade. Compared to Baltimore, crime and traffic here are non-existent. We've lived downtown and on the East Side and we walk to jobs in and around downtown (at first I worked remotely after keeping my Baltimore job for the first 8 years we lived here.)

One plus for moving to Providence was the number of direct flights back down to Baltimore, making that working remote arrangement much easier. Another plus is that flying is not always required, Providence is located between NYC & Boston right on I-95 so driving is pretty quick and easy (though you'll soon realize that people in RI rarely leave RI.)

Summers are 1,000% better in RI due to lower humidity and temperatures. Nightlife is more artsy and less alcohol-fueled anarchy. (Therefore the cops don't arrive in riot gear to disperse crowds.) Not sure if its just that I'm no longer in my 20's/early 30's - but the cops here actually seem to care about people and don't come off like a para military outfit.

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marissarae OP t1_j94hfm6 wrote

This is really great to hear! Yes, we lived in the neighborhood next to fed hill while in Baltimore and we would just totally avoid going that direction when it was at Patrick’s day weekend, Santa con, etc. when people were puking by 2pm. Lol. Artsy sounds amazing!

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ceramicferns220 t1_j92bjmt wrote

I used to live in Baltimore (near Fell's) in the mid-2010s and just moved to RI a year ago. I honestly love it. I live in Cranston and everything you need is within 15 minutes! Providence is small enough of a city that it is walkable. The winters in NE are cold but bearable although the cost of heat is kind of nuts. The driving here is nowhere near as bad as in Baltimore although still not great haha. Food scene is 200x better than in Boston though not as good as DC. Crime I luckily have not had much experience with (my house and car in Bmore was broken into 2x in 2 years), so I'm very conscious of locking everything all the time and not leaving my car in the driveway (though all my neighbors do...) I'm also in my early 30s making friends, through group fitness mostly, but most people are very friendly here! The only culture shock I can think of is the number of people who have their windows tinted so dark (even tho technically illegal). It's really hard to see what other drivers are doing and I'm very cautious as a pedestrian when crossing the road.

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marissarae OP t1_j94h2dx wrote

I’m so glad to hear you love it! All these responses are very comforting :)

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UntraceableCharacter t1_j94lcm0 wrote

I’m a Philly transplant and I moved here for school 14 years ago, intending to move back home. If that’s worth anything.

Lived in Warwick, providence, currently Cranston.

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Automatic-Attempt-81 t1_j923v00 wrote

Moved here from MA and have lived in PVD for 6 years now. Food is amazing, very walkable city, but it’s small and not busy by any means. You can find stuff to do for sure.

Lots artsy stuff going on which is cool, which is why they call it the “creative capital”. Housing is expensive in the city, but they’re building some new complexes so we will see if rent stabilizes.

Crime isn’t bad depending where you live. I think South Providence is rough, but downtown/east side/fox point are nice. West end has gotten nicer too. All things considered i love it here. I’ve moved/traveled to many places in the US and I always found the food here to be the best. Good luck!

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marissarae OP t1_j94hklc wrote

Thanks so much for responding! I didn’t think to ask about specific neighborhoods— it’s good information to have!

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glassandcats t1_j95pxkm wrote

FYI Providence is about 20min from Barrington or Cranston, probably 30-40min from Bristol.

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bungocheese t1_j91zizl wrote

Not from PA/MD but I hope I can give some perspective. As far as job, it depends on your industry. If you are in healthcare, tech, finance, engineering etc there's work, but not much general industry. People aren't overly friendly but when you find friends they're usually very loyal in new England. Crime isn't that bad, random crime is very low, especially if you're in your 30s and mind your business. Weather is similar to PA maybe slightly less snow. Our housing is very stretched and expensive right now though.

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marissarae OP t1_j94hr2x wrote

Thank you! I just got my MBA so I’m hopeful. I’m still working remotely for my Baltimore job, but that probably won’t be forever, so it’s good to know there are finance jobs there.

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glassandcats t1_j9334hy wrote

Mid 30s Pittsburgh transplant here. I agree with what most people are saying. Food scene is incredible. Crime in Providence is definitely higher than the suburbs of Pittsburgh but I think Cranston or Bristol would be comparable to North Hills (I’m originally from the South Hills if that matters). I lived in Providence for over 11 years and only had my car rifled through once (nothing taken but also nothing of value was in there). No packages taken either. Your car insurance will go up because the drivers are terrible. Everything is so close, it’s nice to be able to get into Providence in 20 mins from the suburbs vs 40 or more to Pittsburgh from the suburbs. Weather is usually snowier in the winter but similar otherwise and so much more sun which is one of my favorite things. Feel free to DM if you have more specific questions!

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marissarae OP t1_j94hzqz wrote

Thanks so much! I’ve only been to Bristol once, but I thought it was great. 20 min to downtown vs. 40 does sound awesome!

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leavingthecold t1_j939upf wrote

Never been Pittsburgh and only briefly passed through Baltimore but let me assure you the smaller city of Providence is way cooler and " safer " than both of those places.

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marissarae OP t1_j94i1pf wrote

Thank you! It seems that way, especially from all these positive responses.

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