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Old 05-12-2014, 11:08 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
35 posts, read 51,190 times
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I have been trying to move to Boston, but the housing prices are wicked steep! I am considering Providence as an alternative, but am having a hard time figuring out which neighbourhoods I ought to look in. I am a young, single female so I'd like somewhere that is at least somewhat safe. it doesn't have to be a ritzy part of town, just somewhere I don't feel like I have to walk around clutching pepper spray. I"d be looking to rent a studio or one bedroom, hopefully for under 1000, but let me know if that's not possible. Also, I don't have a car so I would be walking/biking/using the bus so access to public transportation is important!

If you don't know anything about housing, but you do know things about Providence, I"d love to hear them too! I am hoping to move to a place where I can get involved in theatre, that has good walking and biking, that is liberal and hopefully environmentally oriented. I've heard Providence is a neat town so let me know what you think!

Thanks,
B.
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Old 05-12-2014, 11:24 AM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,030,077 times
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For me, single female, I cannot recommend the Elmhurst neighborhood in Providence. You should be able to find a one or two bedroom apt in a 2 or 3 family home. Look on Rankin Ave, Hilltop on the other side of Smith street. There are several houses that will work for you and I'd be pretty sure you could find one for under $1000. You will not have every amenity you could want, but you would most likely have basement access for storage and also for a washer/dryer. We lived on both those streets and I loved it.

The 57 Smith Street bus runs frequently and about every 15 minutes during rush hours. You have several small restaurants/take-out places, laundry, bakery, convenience stores within walking distance. It's only a mile from downtown and I often walked home from work during spring/summer/fall.
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Old 05-12-2014, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
35 posts, read 51,190 times
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Thanks so much! That helps a lot.

I am super low maintenance and have lived in all kinds of places so I"m not too picky about things.
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Old 05-13-2014, 12:02 PM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,030,077 times
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The way to find those rentals is to check the Providence Journal ads - most will be listed as Elmhurst - but beware of the streets. Huxley is the furthest east you want to go. There are threads in this forum that delineate the streets in Elmhurst you want and those you want to avoid. I lived there for about 10 years and truly loved it.
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Old 05-13-2014, 01:57 PM
 
7,903 posts, read 4,563,702 times
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Agree. Elmhurst is a good, safe choice.
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Old 05-13-2014, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
35 posts, read 51,190 times
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Ok great thanks! It can be complicated trying to move to another state while you're not there! I did that when I moved to Austin and it was…interesting: ) I'm a tough cookie, but RI will be hundreds of miles from anywhere that is familiar to me so it would be nice to end up in an ok place. Thanks!
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Old 05-13-2014, 09:33 PM
 
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Hey, it's you from the City vs. City thread! I gave you some advice there. I live right outside Providence and didn't recommend it because I got the sense you were looking for a bigger city, but if a smaller city is OK with you, Providence is a great choice. I moved here six months ago for a lot of the same things you're looking for and have been really happy with it. Terrific arts scene, quite liberal, people are serious about the environment. I'm not so sure about theater, to be honest -- I haven't really looked into it.

Here's where you want to live, and I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it yet: Fox Point. From my experience, that seems like where most of the young, hip people settle. It's safe, it's cool, Wickenden Street is one of the best scenes in the city -- fun, bohemian, laid back. My wife actually wasn't sold on Providence until we visited Wickenden. I've found people in Providence to be friendlier than in Boston, and I bet you wouldn't have much trouble meeting people there. There's a waterfront park and you'll be right by the East Bay Bike Path, which will take you to some of the state's most-striking towns. Bristol and, for you, particularly Warren are great destinations when you want to take a ride. You can walk (or bike) to one of Rhode Island's three Whole Foods and all around the East Side, which is most people's favorite part of Providence. Brown and RISD are nearby for two of America's hippest student bodies and all the cool stuff that goes along with them.

From what I've seen, rents are respectable, and I honestly don't think you'll pay much more than you do in Austin. The one caveat is that the unemployment rate is the highest in the country. But you know, people find jobs. It's not like Spain or anything.

Oh, because you'd targeted Boston but were turned off by the expense, it's worth mentioning that a big advantage of Providence is the ease of access to Boston. I go by car -- it's not that bad! -- but if you lived in Fox Point, the train station would be very bikeable, and it's an easy trip from there.

Last edited by boulevardofdef; 05-13-2014 at 09:43 PM..
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Old 05-14-2014, 05:25 AM
 
7,903 posts, read 4,563,702 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boulevardofdef View Post
Hey, it's you from the City vs. City thread! I gave you some advice there. I live right outside Providence and didn't recommend it because I got the sense you were looking for a bigger city, but if a smaller city is OK with you, Providence is a great choice. I moved here six months ago for a lot of the same things you're looking for and have been really happy with it. Terrific arts scene, quite liberal, people are serious about the environment. I'm not so sure about theater, to be honest -- I haven't really looked into it.

Here's where you want to live, and I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it yet: Fox Point. From my experience, that seems like where most of the young, hip people settle. It's safe, it's cool, Wickenden Street is one of the best scenes in the city -- fun, bohemian, laid back. My wife actually wasn't sold on Providence until we visited Wickenden. I've found people in Providence to be friendlier than in Boston, and I bet you wouldn't have much trouble meeting people there. There's a waterfront park and you'll be right by the East Bay Bike Path, which will take you to some of the state's most-striking towns. Bristol and, for you, particularly Warren are great destinations when you want to take a ride. You can walk (or bike) to one of Rhode Island's three Whole Foods and all around the East Side, which is most people's favorite part of Providence. Brown and RISD are nearby for two of America's hippest student bodies and all the cool stuff that goes along with them.

From what I've seen, rents are respectable, and I honestly don't think you'll pay much more than you do in Austin. The one caveat is that the unemployment rate is the highest in the country. But you know, people find jobs. It's not like Spain or anything.

Oh, because you'd targeted Boston but were turned off by the expense, it's worth mentioning that a big advantage of Providence is the ease of access to Boston. I go by car -- it's not that bad! -- but if you lived in Fox Point, the train station would be very bikeable, and it's an easy trip from there.
Great post! No question, if you're after a hip scene, Fox Point is WAY more hip than Elmhurst. Because Brown and RISD are WAY more hip than PC and RIC! Elmhurst is very nice, but not particularly cool.
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Old 05-14-2014, 09:17 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
35 posts, read 51,190 times
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Thanks! Yes, I still think Boston would be amazing, but just so expensive. I hadn't really considered Providence for a while because a few people told me it was this awful place! But now I've heard much better things about it. I DO really want the big city scene, but I'm just not sure I can afford it. Seems like Providence is well-situated though close to Boston and semi-close to NYC.

I wonder what it would be like to commute to Boston from Providence for work? Is that something people do? I used to commute by bike/bus/walk from Boulder to Denver so I don't imagine it would be too different. Of course, more convenient to work in Providence, but we'll see where I can get a job: )

Thank you so much for your help! I"ll probably have more questions soon haha
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Old 05-14-2014, 09:25 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,940 posts, read 36,716,568 times
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Honestly, I live in Boston, but I'm also considering Providence... not sure the big city scene is all that. It depends on what you're looking for. I don't know about now, but 10 years ago the music scene (especially the underground scene) was better in Providence than Boston. I ended up down there a lot. The grass roots arts scene is as good or better. Yeah, things like sports are better in Boston and its bigger, but you know.

Yes, people commute from Providence. I worked with several people in Cambridge and Boston that commuted, mostly people did the train. It's a haul, but not so bad (they seemed to think) when they go used ot it.
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