East Side of Providence (East Providence, Barrington: condo, crime, houses)

[elisemarie]

How safe is the East side of providence?

Do a lot of families w/kids live there?

Are most people who live there affiliated w/Brown?

And finally, what private schools other than Moses Brown and Wheeler are available in the area? How would you describe the difference between MB and Wheeler?

We are a family of 4 w/2 young children and I just love visiting providence, Hope St area, etc. We are thinking of relocating and I was wondering if the East side should be on our short list. We have no affiliation w/Brown and it feels like most people are somehow realted to the University in that area.

Thanks for any insights!

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

How safe is the East side of providence?

Do a lot of families w/kids live there?

Are most people who live there affiliated w/Brown?

And finally, what private schools other than Moses Brown and Wheeler are available in the area? How would you describe the difference between MB and Wheeler?

We are a family of 4 w/2 young children and I just love visiting providence, Hope St area, etc. We are thinking of relocating and I was wondering if the East side should be on our short list. We have no affiliation w/Brown and it feels like most people are somehow realted to the University in that area.

Thanks for any insights!

Most of the east side is pretty safe (there are a few dodgy areas). I don't know if most people on the east side are affiliated with Brown but a high percentage certainly are. The east side is the most desirable part of Providence. If you're looking for a less urban and more suburban lifestyle check out Barrington, which has highly rated schools.

[elisemarie]

We actually like the urban feel of the east side (barrington is too suburban) but wondered about a)do families with young kids live there or is it not very family-oriented and b) would we feel like outsiders due to high Brown U affiliation?

Also - where are the dodgy areas?

[ProvGuy]

The East Side has lots of families I've seen with young children. Lippit Park is full of kids on the playground in the summer. I'm not sure if they're all related to Brown, but I doubt it, there's thousands of people there.

As far as neighborhoods go, most are top notch for an urban area. The Mount Hope area (where I live-bounded by Olney, Hope, Rochambeau and N Main) has traditionally been a higher crime area. Most of the bad blocks are between Camp and N Main though, and even there it's getting better. Avoid Pleasant Street and Doyle Ave near N Main, those are the two worst streets-drugs and all the great stuff that goes along with it. The corner of Camp and Cypress is also a notorious drug corner.

College Hill (south of Olney St, including Thayer, Waterman, Angell) is a lot of college students and the associated college student robberies late at night. The Summit neighborhood (north of Rochambeau, west of Hope) is a nice, more affordable family-oriented area. East of Hope and north of Olney is the "classic", tree-lined large old house area of the East Side. Fox Point (the area just north of 195) used to be a grittier area back in the day, but now it's mostly redone 2-3 unit houses densely packed.

[traceyr13]

I coached at Lincoln School on the East Side for years, and several of my kids lived on the East Side and loved it. I also rented a studio right off Blackstone Boulevard for a year (Slater Ave) and loved it. Of course, this was back in the late 90s, so I'm dating myself.

I think if you are going to live in Providence with a family, the East Side is the place to be.

[Hollytree]

Some of the best sections of the east side are east of Hope Street. The Blackstone neighborhood has beautiful houses on relatively large city lots for 500 to several million. The farther east you go the more expensive. Areas around Grotto avenue can be very pricey- some have water views of the Seekonk River. Wayland Square area is nice, slightly more commercial and more apts. but very convenient. Benefit Street and College hill areas are largely historic & close to RISD and Brown- houses range 500 and up. This area is walkable to downtown.
Fox Point area was largely Portuguese settlement for many years, now artsy and more student oriented. Many multifamilies have gone condo. Range 300k and up. Miriam Hospital (aka Summit) area more modest and affordable- range 300 up. Only real crime ridden areas are Mt Hope around Camp St., a traditionally black neighborhood now integrated by many college students and new condo buyers (mostly from Boston).
I, personally, would not send my children to any of the public schools. Most people with children who live here send their kids to private schools of which there are many, including a French American school. The Hebrew Day school is also popular. There used to be Catholic schools- think they're all closed down now.

[tepps]

Hi - I can't really speak for East Providence but right next door is the best community/school: Barrington. Here, you DON'T have to send your kids to very expensive private schools because the public schools are so good. Email me if you have any questions: tepps2@yahoo.com