Thinking of Moving to Providence. Insight Requested.

[Hollytree]

Originally Posted by ormari

My response was directed to Hollytree, though there was information there for the benefit of all readers. It was in regard to her ridiculous, insulting statement that I am an "urban pioneer," with the implication being that I live "amongst the savages." To my ears, that's a rather distasteful, conceited, and bigoted notion, though perhaps Hollytree meant something otherwise.

Then I reiterated my general position on Providence neighborhoods, one which I've stated in other threads and which apparently runs contrary to Hollytree's belief. My position is that reasonable, open minded people choose to live in neighborhoods of Providence that are not on the East Side [gasp]. And, since the subject of the art scene was a topic of discussion in the thread I listed some neighborhoods where I know artists are active. I did not make an explicit recommendation to the OP about any of these neighborhoods. I do, however, think at least some of these neighborhoods are worthy of the OP's consideration.

Would I live in any of these neighborhoods? Yes, though I do prefer some over others.

I believe Hollytree has previously said she wouldn't send her children to any Providence Public Schools. I find that to be a little too elitist, but caveat lector.

Methinks thou doth protest too much- especially taking the term "urban pioneer" personally and amplifying it to "live among the savages"!!! I admire urban pioneers- they are risk takers- whether you personally are one or not is irrelevant.

The underlying point I was making, which I will try to make once again, is that someone with a family who moves to a city such as Providence with a list of criteria and a relatively low budget needs to realize that they are not likely to get all their criteria satisfied- they will need to drop something off their list and most parents don't drop "good schools" off their list. Never once did I imply that were "no artists" in the areas you mentioned. Highly ranked or even good ratings for schools in Providence are rather scarce- I am simply going by available ratings. If you want to imply that most Providence Public schools are fine, then you will be going against even the Dept. of Ed ratings.
I really hope this is clear.

PS- You seem to quite easily form excessively negative opinions of others who don't agree 100% with your worldview and that is not being "open-minded".

[ormari]

^We clearly have a communication failure. Perhaps it is due to my lowly public school education.

You put more faith in the school rating system than I do. I only relayed what friends, who are normal people, tell me about their experience in Providence. I said I had no first hand experience in the matter. Do you?

I am glad to learn you did not intend 'that' particular connotation to 'urban pioneer', but I assure you that many, many people use that phrase as code. I didn't take personal insult at the phrase, but I do think the phrase insults many individuals who live in our neighborhoods. There is a difference. You are of course free to use it at will.

I'm not the subject here, but as to whether I form negative opinions of people who don't share my viewpoint 100%, I think that's laughable. At least I hope so. I believe in spirited debate, frequently learn many valuable things in exploring 'opposing' viewpoints, and change my mind when persuasive counter-arguments are made against my viewpoint. I have positive opinions of family members and good friends whose political viewpoints are contrary to mine, for instance. I would not maintain friendships with people about whom I have 'excessively negative opinions.'

There may not be anyone on the planet with whom I agree 100%, but I have positive opinions of a great many people. And along those lines, I have positive opinions of people in a lot of neighborhoods of Providence, many of whom are short changed by the propagation of undeserved stigmas.

[ormari]

Originally Posted by boulevardofdef

The level of lead exposure in a municipality is really nothing to worry about. It's a function of older housing stock. If you move into a home built before 1978, your children are equally likely to be exposed to lead, no matter where the home is. You should always get that home inspected. If it fails, you get the place completely repainted or you don't move in, and that's true anywhere. If the lead-poisoning rate is higher in Providence, that means more people in Providence have to do this and/or aren't doing it, but that doesn't mean you're more at risk if you take precautions.

It is one of the problems that all of the old cities have to deal with. Friends of mine who were in Somerville, MA had one child that had elevated lead levels, though strangely their other child did not.

[sandsonik]

I tend to think the original poster is probably aware of the problems of lead paint, having lived in areas with high lead paint exposure previously.

Personally, I don't see how anyone living in a city can be called a pioneer. The fact that thousands of people live alongside them, and that millions of people have lived there for a few hundred years before them seems to negate the idea that they are pioneering. There are no brand new neighborhoods in Providence. Is this some trendy new buzzword I haven't heard yet? Oh well, OP has 'pioneered' before.