Viola Davis

Would second this. I'm in the eye care field (I work farther south in RI) and if you're looking for an eye care provider in Providence, Dr. Bhaghat is a fabulous choice. I've gone to continuing education lectures that she's given and she's truly at the top of her game clinically and a lovely person to boot.

On a similar note, whoever you choose, I'd stay away from larger, high-volume practices like Koch. Particularly if you have diplopia concerns, you will really need individualized care that is best gotten at a smaller private practice.

Yes, that's an optical only; no eye doctor on-site.

I believe a lot of offices use Indeed; google jobs will aggregate from multiple sites when you search for a specific job title as well.

Lots of medical offices are looking for assistants, technicians, and front desk staff for positions that can be trained on the job (ie, not requiring a degree or certification in the field).

I'm in the optometry field and as a whole across the country, we're hurting for technician staff! Sales experience is always a plus for hiring managers in any people-facing industry, as you already have people skills (which can't necessarily be trained) whereas skills related directly to doing the job can! Just some food for thought.

City Hall in Providence is beautiful, so especially if you're able to have someone take pictures there I'd say do it.

I prefer Westerly as it's slightly less touristy-trappy than Newport hence my rec. :) I also love the vastness of Misquamicut compared to Easton's Beach or 3rd beach. To each his own, however.

I'm going to go against the majority of folks and say no to Newport in high summer. Gets very busy/touristy, which I find to be very unpleasant.

Newport-adjacent Jamestown or Middletown are, in my opinion, preferable to Newport. Middletown has the added advantage of being near enough to Newport to enjoy their beaches without being right in the middle of Newport insanity. The other recommendation I'd give is Westerly/Misquamicut Beach.

In that case, definitely time to seek care from another ophthalmologist if you don't want to continue with Koch.

If it's been there for months, it probably does need excision (by an ophthalmologist who does that procedure). Were you initially sent to Koch by your primary eye care provider? If so, give that provider a ring and see if they can do themselves (if they're OMD) or if they can refer you another ophthalmologist to have the procedure done.

I love firstly Frog and Toad and (close) secondly Craftland for all my RI-themed artwork needs. My partner and I have gone (admittedly) a bit overboard with our PVD artwork and have had to make a concerted effort to mix it up lol.

I also especially really like The Strange Worlds of When Providence Series, which I believe Craftland (and also maybe Frog and Toad?) also sell.

I've tried the Warwick City Dog Park twice and had weird experiences there. The regulars were very unfriendly and "cliche-y" and none of the dogs were really playing? The sand is annoying as well.

Seconded. Used them this past spring and could not be happier.

Bathrooms/changing areas will be challenging and/or unaccessible at that time of year as well. :(

Central Library in Cranston in the bomb. I moved to Cranston this past summer and easy access to this branch is legitimately one of my favorite things about my new house. :)

Would agree the list this year wasn't particularly compelling. I've always liked to use it to try restaurants I'd not been to yet and. . .meh on any that made the list in that category.

However, my husband and I did New Rivers last spring during restaurant week. Definitely on the pricier end of things, but the restaurant week menu made it feasible. Would be a really nice atmosphere and a cozy place to have dinner on a cold January night. Sarto is usually a good bet as well.

Politelli Family Dental in Warwick is excellent. First dentist I've actually liked in my 30-some years of life.

The Guild in Pawtucket allows dogs inside. They themselves serve some smaller bites and occasionally have larger-scale outside vendors doing food pop-ups. I think they might get around the restaurant rules because they don't have a full-service kitchen.

If you were gone over the holidays, the water in the pipes might have frozen slightly if no one else was using water in the building/home. Run the tap for a bit continuously (a minute or two) and it should clear back up. Do so before alerting your landlord in case this fixes it. The same thing happened at my workplace over the long Christmas weekend. :)

Pawtucket has been "up and coming" for a long time. Lived there for about 3 years before relocating to Cranston for job reasons. I have a huge heart for Pawtucket. Like any larger "city" (quotation marks because, RI) there are good parts and bad parts. Oak Hill is basically the East side whereas other areas are still solidly blue collar/middle class. I lived near downtown and never felt unsafe. Pawtucket has a great brewery and burgeoning art scene and a lot of the mill complexes and downtown building are being utilized in fantastic ways (Guild Brewery, Lorraine Mills, Hope Artiste Village, Still On Main). Plus, the Boston/Providence train station will finally be open this January!

My biggest gripe about Pawtucket would be walkability. The downtown still has work to do in terms of attracting both businesses and patrons. There are otherwise pockets of cool things to do and see throughout the town, but they're hard to access without a car unless you live directly in that area. For example, I lived close to downtown Pawtucket so I walked through the Slater Mill National Park quite a bit, but then hopped in my car to go anywhere else. Because although the walk mile-wise wasn't awful to some of the amenities I listed previously, the streets you'd take to get there were busy/crowded with poor accessibility for pedestrians (the walk from the area by Tolman school to Quality Hill is downright treacherous given the students population that traverses through that area daily).

As others have stated, schools are a consideration if you're planning to have a family and send them to public schools. But regardless, I personally love "the bucket". No, it's not the sleek east side of Providence (aside from Oak Hill, perhaps). But if that's what you're looking for, the majority of Pawtucket probably isn't for you. I think it gets a worse rap than it deserves.

You definitely don't want to skimp on actual eye care, so definitely call around to different private practices that are well-regarded. You only get one pair of eyes and so many eye diseases can be virtually symptomless and require a caring and expert provider to diagnose and treat them! Oftentimes optometrist offices will have a "private pay" option for an eye exam that's usually around $100 or so. As long as your prescription isn't complicated, as a lot of folks have said, you can use your glasses prescription at whatever optical you so desire.

That being said, a community health center like Blackstone Valley Community Healthcare or Providence would be something to look into if cost is a concern.

If it's any consolation, once you get an appointment you'll have the best DMV experience of your life. I hope they never get rid of the appointments; it's like if you ensure 100 people don't arrive simultaneously you'll get faster, more expedient service!

Three best (and inexpensive) places to explore (but still escape the winter cold): (1) Providence Athenaeum, (2) Roger Williams Park Botanical Gardens, (3) Providence Public Library

Three favorite vintage shops: (1) Rocket to Mars, (2) POP Providence, (3) Nostalgia Antiques and Collectibles

Three favorite cocktail spots: (1) East End, (2) Needle and Thread, (3) Slow Rhode

Royal Bobcat often has a small jazz quartet playing on Friday/weekends!

Whisk Me Away is always the answer. Their cheesecake in particular is **chef's kiss.**