Thinking of RI (Providence, Bristol, Portsmouth: houses, school rankings, living in)

[wklingel]

May be moving to RI -looking for place with country feel, antique houses, excellent high school. Suggestions? I've looked at Lincoln and Portsmouth -- how are these and compared to ...? Also, if living instead in East Side of Providence around Brown, which schools (private?) are best?

[Alphaman]

Used to live in bristol nice old homes on hope st excellent high school.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by wklingel

May be moving to RI -looking for place with country feel, antique houses, excellent high school. Suggestions? I've looked at Lincoln and Portsmouth -- how are these and compared to ...? Also, if living instead in East Side of Providence around Brown, which schools (private?) are best?

Country living is probably most associated with northwest R.I. (around Foster and Gloucester) and "South County" (everyone calls it this, but there is actually no "South County." South county is the area around South Kingstown) South County is generally considered more prestigious than northwest R.I. and has higher ranked schools. OTOH, parts of northwest R.I. are actually more rural. One other rural place: the far southeast corner of the state--Little Compton and (to a lesser extent) Tiverton. This place is tough for commuters, though, due to accessibility and schools don't rate as high as South County. If you REALLY want New England rural, you might also check out Westport, MA, just across the state line. Westport is about as rural as it gets in this region of the U.S. Schools there are just average.

Most prestigious private schools in the area are Wheeler School and Moses Brown. See also, Gordon School. There are numerous Catholic privates in the area, too.

[leorah]

I agree with professorsenator; Little Compton is a lovely town and homes are quite expensive. You might want to look at Barrington also.

[mr2448]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

Country living is probably most associated with northwest R.I. (around Foster and Gloucester) and "South County" (everyone calls it this, but there is actually no "South County." South county is the area around South Kingstown) South County is generally considered more prestigious than northwest R.I. and has higher ranked schools. OTOH, parts of northwest R.I. are actually more rural. One other rural place: the far southeast corner of the state--Little Compton and (to a lesser extent) Tiverton. This place is tough for commuters, though, due to accessibility and schools don't rate as high as South County. If you REALLY want New England rural, you might also check out Westport, MA, just across the state line. Westport is about as rural as it gets in this region of the U.S. Schools there are just average.

Most prestigious private schools in the area are Wheeler School and Moses Brown. See also, Gordon School. There are numerous Catholic privates in the area, too.

Please don't confuse Gloucester, Ma with the correct spelling of Glocester, R.I.

The Northwest/west communities of Scituate, Burrilville, Glocester and Foster are all rural with some suburban feel in limited areas. Horse farms and open spaces abound. All four communities have numerous 19th and 18th century homes. Mine is 165 years old in the Historic village of Chepachet (Glocester) which is in the historic register.

High school rankings would put Scituate first, followed by Ponaganset(Foster/Glocester regional school) and then Burrilville. Living in NW Rhode Island also allows you to pick nearby Connecticut private schools such as Pomfret and Marionapolis.

[Rnrboy]

...technically Gloucester is the correct spelling, since that was the name of the original town in England. Rhode Island spells it wrong, not MA haha

[mr2448]

Originally Posted by Rnrboy

...technically Gloucester is the correct spelling, since that was the name of the original town in England. Rhode Island spells it wrong, not MA haha

Actually Glocester, R.I. was originally spelled with the "u", but Americanized it in the early 18th century. It was done as a revolt against the King's English. We end words with "er", not "re". We leave out the "u" in words such as honor, color, etc. I would like to think we have the correct American spelling because settlers from Glocester, R.I. have gone on to settle in other states naming their towns Glocester. Maybe Gloucester, Ma was still filled with Tory's?

[Rnrboy]

You mean tories?

[mr2448]

Originally Posted by Rnrboy

You mean tories?

nope, Tory's

[dougnaie]

My daughter goes to Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic boarding/day school in Portsmouth, RI. We are in CA, but have visited quite frequently. Very impressed with the kids and the caliber of education. It seems that most of the day students are from Bristol, which is very charming, Jamestown, or Portsmouth itself. All of these areas seem lovely, although obviously I do not live there so cannot say with accuracy or experience. The homes surrounding the Carnegie Abbey golf club are amazing - waterfront...just stunning. You would be well served to head out and take a look around - worth the trip! Good luck.