So many different options and challenging to give my own perspective without knowing your preferences. Do you prefer suburban style development or more urban. If urban, how urban? Do you have cars? What is your price range? Answers to these questions will help for a more informed response. I also suggest taking some time to come down and explore the area. You are very close and have time.

Bought a place in East Providence/Rumford a few years ago and like it a lot. Bit more bang for your buck then the East Side of Providence but still an easy commute to downtown or Rhode Island Hospital. There are some nice/ relatively affordable new rental options on College Hill/Wickenden that would be very close to the hospital as well.

Edgewood is a great kid friendly neighborhood but doesn’t have a lot of rentals. East side is a good place to start esp with littles.

We’ve lived in the city for many years so we could definitely do urban but would also be thrilled for some green spaces or a yard. Having a toddler to tote around, I would love to not have to deal with some of the usual stressors of city living like parking, but maybe that will be easier in parts of Providence. We do have cars.

East providence is probably your best bet, it’s pretty cheap and would fit your distance requirements.

Downside is that the school system is at best mediocre, but you have a few years before you need to worry about that!

Just curious about why you'd consider the EP schools at best mediocre? I've never lived in the area, so I'm curious since most parents I know there/prospective parents tend to find the schools a huge selling point (especially with the new high school).

Like not as well regarded as say Barrington, but not one of the districts that gets mentioned negatively in any way.

I rent on the East Side after living in Boston for 15 years. Both neighbors above and below me are on multiyear fellowships at local hospitals. It’s city living, for sure, but there are tons of young families around. There’s a tot lot on Morris that seems pretty perfect for the wee ones.

Was about to say, the new Highschool is a plus

I would second EP especially with the desires like a yard and ease of parking.

I will say that the new builds on Wickenden and College Hill are probably at 95th percentile on rent in the city-- probably a minimum of 3k for a 2 bedroom and the new ones above Trader Joes are as high as 5,200 (according to someone's post on here). So compared to Boston it'a not bad, but if OP's husband is only getting paid as a resident, there are much better deals to be had in the city.

10 minutes from the hospital can vary greatly during traffic. I would avoid the east side of the bay as getting over the bridge that’ll be under construction for a year is a horrible commute. The area immediately surrounding the hospital is kind of dicey. As mentioned in a previous comment, the Edgewood community in Cranston is pretty close and is mostly professionals. It’s close to Pawtuxet village, Roger Williams Park and the highway.

I’ll also vouch for East Providence. I bought over near Pierce Field almost 2 years ago and the town and neighborhood is nice and close to green spaces and the bike trail and walkable to the city. It’s ideal. The new high school my son goes to is awesome and we will be updating the other schools too. Also let’s keep Metacomet green 🙏🏻

Edgewood is great; is also close to roger williams park. stay on west side of the bay bridge traffic can be a disaster. Pawtuxet village may work for you too.

I admit I’m a harsh judge of schools.

As for EP specifically, their academics and student progress are really not great, especially their middle schools, some elementary schools are decent but others not so much.

I also have a lot of close friends in school/city management and the ones that work in EP describe such ineptitude and uncaring management it’s amazing.

When we were looking for houses, EP was quickly ruled out because of the schools. We spent a lot of time visiting, researching and it just kept landing near the bottom.

Other than that it’s a nice community though!

Maybe the new high school will help, because the sorely need it!

Elmhurst is a great option in PVD for families with kids. We’ve been here for 10+ years and the number of young families continues to grow (at least in our corner of the neighborhood).

Biggest downside is schools. For elementary we’ve done parochial. Friends have done same, as well as some in public and others charter. Oldest is now at Classical

Check out the Oak Hill neighborhood of Pawtucket. Just over the city line from Providence on the East Side. Because it’s technically Pawtucket, housing prices drop sharply, but is very nice with TONS of young families!

No. East Providence is not 10 min drive from the hospital when that bridge gets backed up.

Yes, Edgewood is really nice. Patuxet Village is too, if not too far.

And during traffic you can use allens ave and Narragansett parkway to get there if the highway is jammed. They go right through to eddy and the hospital

Not 10 min from hospital with traffic though….

I wouldn’t even hit the highway if I lived in Edgewood. I worked on Atwells Ave and live in Warwick. I just took Warwick Ave straight into the city and cut through the neighborhoods of traffic sucked.

Exactly!!

I second Edgewood.

Agree!! Edgewood is a good spot

Thanks for your honesty!

I will admit that the school complex out here confuses me. I grew up in a part of the country where you just went where your family happened to live, with no charter or private options offered. My home school has a similar ranking to this niche page, but in addition to the daycare we had we also had a steady stream of ivy league admissions and ranked one of the most diverse schools in state. I will say that our district was very supportive of staff and admin and my teachers spent their entire careers there-- so it does seem like it's good you heeded that managerial warning.

I guess I'm just always trying to share that kids are pretty adaptable. I will admit we lacked some AP classes, but my friends just got credit by getting books and self studying.

Not trying to change your mind-- I sincerely hope you are happy with your district! Just trying to soothe some nerves of people my age who might not know some of the more successful graduates of lesser ranked public schools.

I second this. Elmhurst is excellent and exploding with new young families

My wife commutes to the hospital daily, starting in her fellowship, and I do it regularly for daycare dropoff/pickup. Not for nothing, with traffic there’s no such thing as a guaranteed ten minute commute to the hospital unless you live in like, the Jewelry District or maaaaaaybe Fox Point

I’d echo this. Edgewood (Providence or Cranston — we share a zip, 02905) or Pawtuxet Village (Cranston) or even Gaspee Point (Warwick) are all close enough to downtown to be easily commutable (no highway) but very family friendly.

Look at the East side. I’d also look at Barrington which is very nice and a short drive. Bristol similarly but a slightly further drive. There are also some nice areas of Warwick and Cranston.

Metacomet was sold to a private developer years ago. Too late. The same person who was a driving force in a new high school and the money for fixing Waddington and Martin was the city council person KMG boomers attacked. The same boomers btw who were against the new high school. Let’s create more green spaces through the East Providence Land Trust, Metacomet is long gone…. be happy less than half is being developed.

I live in the Edgewood section like others have mentioned and on my street alone we have like 10 kids under 3, including my own 2.

I love the area. Feel free to ask questions if you’d like

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My wife and I recently moved into the Oak Hill neighborhood on the Pawtucket/East Side line. Absolutely love it over there. Very family friendly.

We lived on the east side during residency. Welcome to the team!

Except for downtown really Providence is the kind of city where you can park and walk if you're willing to do so. Like, Thayer St. is a pretty popular spot, and parking on it directly is tough--but there are several side streets to use, if you're willing to walk an extra few minutes. It's not like a big city where you can be SOL.

OTOH it's also not like a big city where you may have a metro or a quasi-functioning bus system.

I would say the East Side of Providence. Wayland Square area has a decent amount of families and is walkable to a few parks. Also walkable to grocery stores, restaurants, parks, etc. There are also part-time preschools that you can walk to as well. Depending on traffic, 10-15 minutes to the hospital.

Source: we moved there with a newborn and had our second child on the East Side. We lived off Butler Ave. We moved to the suburbs for better schools but really miss the East Side.

If you are used to city living , then upper south providence or dexter park in the west end are totally fine, and you will find a lot more space for your dollar. There are mostly young families and artsy old people living here despite what you hear from Rhode Island residents who would never step foot in this part of the city. The proximity to pretty much everything Providence has to offer is very convenient, you have the easiest access to 95, you have plenty of mom and pop shops, you have tons of yuccie popups and breweries, and you don’t need to deal with hordes of students everywhere. Also, 3 public high schools including one of the best exam schools in New England. Yes, it has a homeless shelter that closes during the day, and many organizations offering social services which is the main reason for the stigma.

90% of the time my commute to near the hospital is 12 minutes.

Second this. If you can find a rental near Hope St, you'll be good to go.

Warwick or Cranston.

OP, frankly everything in Providence will feel very close after living in Boston. The question might be: which part of Boston would you live in if you could? When we moved, we knew we wanted a Jamaica Plain kind of vibe (walkable, shops, mix of people, parks, restaurants, still central to everything) and found it on the East Side of Providence near Pawtucket border. A lot of nice family neighborhoods people are recommending here would be far from retail shops and not very walkable.

FYI, I highly recommend Meeting Street Early Childhood Center (just south of RI Hospital). Great program, excellent teachers, decent price (compared to similar caliber programs).

Came here to say this! Elmhurst gives the opportunity to be close to the city but still tucked away in a residential neighborhood at a more affordable price tag. You’ll be more likely to find places with yards and driveways here. They may be on the smaller side but if you’re coming from Boston you may not mind. There’s a nice park and splash pad for kids!

Yup, I live in the East Side and the housing stock is 1, 2 and 3 family homes - my street has all of these and lots of kids. (There were not a lot of kids when mine were little, but there are now, so it can be hit or miss.)

If you want to be able to avoid the highway to and from the hospital, look at the part of the East Side closer to Fox Point and/or College Hill and proximity to the Point Street Bridge. If you don't mind using the highway, look in the part of the East Side near the Rochambeau Library; west of Hope Street will have cheaper rents.

I note people are advising the north part of Edgewood, but one caveat would be that there are a lot of absentee landlords renting to Johnson & Wales students. This can also be true of the Fox Point area, but College Hill is still convenient to the Point Street Bridge, and has fewer absentee landlords and therefore rowdy students.

Thank you so much!

https://theroyaleresidence.com/units.html

This building is a 3 minute drive from the hospital.

Pretty easy walk to the pedestrian bridge, India point park, etc. Nice area to live for sure. Right in the jewelry district.