Where exactly to live in Federal Hill? (Providence: low crime, home)

[sh1977]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are moving to Providence and are trying to figure out where to live. I've seen some threads but nothing is specific enough. I've heard that Federal Hill can be hit or miss in terms of the streets one lives on and I wanted to know if anyone had a good idea of which streets are the safer/cooler ones. I work from home but also like to frequent cafes and eat out, and I like things to be walking distance (6 minutes is too long) ;-)

I found something on Africa St., another place on Penn St. about a block from the Ridge Street playground, another on Broadway closer to Vinton, and one on Vinton. Any advice on these streets? What about America st.?

I'm away and trying to narrow down my choices, so it would be very helpful if I could get a sense of the neighborhood and the better streets in Federal Hill.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks.

[HopeStreet]

I have a friend that lives in that neighborhood so I reached out to him for advice. If you want walking distance to cafes and restaurants, then the places on Africa, America, and Vinton Streets (plus Broadway) are probably more up your alley as they are closer to the shops on Broadway and Atwells Avenue. The neighborhood is a little rough but low crime, with Broadway, Africa St, America St, and Vinton St being more gentrified that Penn St. It is also hit or miss depending on the block. Check out Kenyon, Courtland, and Almy Streets as well.

[sh1977]

Hopestreet,

Thanks for your last post and sorry it's taken a few days to acknowledge it. We're really loving a place on Courtland and Broadway, but are now just concerned about the neighborhood and how safe it is. We will be on the 2nd floor, but we're wondering how safe it is to walk at night, lets say to/from restaurants. The other neighborhood we are looking at is Wayland Square, but places there are more expensive and we haven't found anything as good yet. Is there a vast difference between these two neighborhoods? Would we be sacrificing a lot to live in Federal Hill vs. Wayland Square? We will both be commuting to Massachusetts for work, so I'm wondering if distance to highway is an issue. Providence is small, but I don't know how bad traffic is getting out of Wayland Square in the morning.

Any other details would be great.

Thanks so much.

[Hollytree]

http://www.providenceri.com/police/crime-map


You can check this for current info or by dates as needed.

To get from Wayland Square to the freeway you'd go to the entrance to 195 (195 to 95) at the end of Gano St in the morning would probably take 5-8 min.

[RunawayJim]

I used to live on the eastern end of Federal Hill near the intersection of Dean and Federal Streets. I found it to be safe (though my neighbor's car had the window smashed in one night, nothing stolen... because of where his car was parked, it seemed as though he was specifically targeted).

I'm, personally, a MUCH bigger fan of Federal Hill than Wayland Square, but I prefer neighborhoods that are a bit more rough around the edges. There's a great community of people on the Hill and in the whole west side in general.

Safety wise, the areas closer to downtown are probably safer, but what HopeStreet said is pretty accurate. I'd probably avoid Penn St. Look at Federal Street as well.

As for traffic, you're probably gonna have a more difficult time getting out of Wayland Sq than Federal Hill. 195 to 95 will be crazy backed up, while getting on 95 from the Hill will be backed up, but it will break up sooner (it generally breaks up after 146, exit 23).