can you live in Kingston without a car? (Providence: apartments, for rent)

[maryp3177]

Hi, my husband and I are planning to start graduate school next fall and the University of Rhode Island in Kingston is one of our options. We're doing our relocation research early (we now live in Albuquerque, NM).

Currently we live about 2 miles from the University of New Mexico, where we both work. I walk most places or take the bus and my husband is very much into bike riding. We have lived in Albuquerque for 11 years without a car (and Albuquerque's public transit is pretty bad) and would like to know if we can do the same in Kingston?

Are there decent (clean) apartments for rent around the university? Is the closest grocery store accessible by bike or walking? How about general "things to do" - do you need to have a car to do them?

Any help you can offer is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[GermanSpy]

Originally Posted by maryp3177

Any help you can offer is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Kingston is not really a very big town. It's also quite spread out. You can find a couple necessities on the URI campus but I'd think you want to have a car in South County. It's actually quite rural, public transportation is so so. Especially during the winter months you'll have a very hard time trying to get around by walking or bicycling.

Keep in mind that URI has a satellite campus in Downtown Providence. It depends on your degree but you might be able to do some course work there. Might be easier to make it in Providence without a car.

[Kax]

I graduated from URI and DEFINATELY think you will feel stranded in Kingston without a car. Kingston is a very pretty and quaint, but also very rural, and you will need a car at a minimum to get groceries! The URI campus has a CVS pharmacy, a few small chain and Mom and Pop restuarants, a few campus related stores (books, sweatshirts, etc.) and that's about it! Plus Rhode Island is such a small state with so much to offer that it would be great to be able to check it all out on the weekends!