I need info on Providence (apartment, to rent, crime rate)

[aj2007]

So how is Providence? I checked on serveral websites and it says that crime is at a low. How would you say crime is compared to say New York? I keep reading how liberal the city is but is it really gay friendly? What is the average price for a studio to rent and to also buy? What are some are the best parts of town? How is the shopping,resturants,and grocery stores? Finally are tech jobs in demand in RI?

[skytrekker]

Providence is quiet liberal- and has a great gay scene- many bars, 2 gay baths;

Crime is above the national average according to City Data info- In 2006 it was 426- with the national average 323. NYC is of course far larger- so making a comparison would be difficult.

The east side around Brown University is the most popular area of the city- but downtown has been revitalized and has much to offer. Some great places to eat, from modern to classical Italian, and Portuguese.

Shopping downtown at Providence place offers just about everything from Macy's to Cheesecake Factory & More.

I will let the locals elaborate further on your questions.

[ProvGuy]

Crime-rate keeps going down, but certain neighborhoods are still high crime. Overall though, it has a low violent crime rate when compared to other cities its size.

Liberal-very gay friendly. Lot's of gay bars, gay restaurants, gay coffee shops, gay strip club, gay bathhouse, gay bowling and softball league, the mayor is gay, etc. Lot's of houses on the east side have rainbow flags and people are pretty open-minded.

Studio price-it depends on the neighborhood. You can rent a room in a shared apartment for around 400/month. There are a few 2 beds on the East Side for 1000-1200/month right now, so a studio I would guess would go for around 650-1000. Check out craigslist to get a better idea, I'm sure there are deals to be had. One thing I have noticed is that there aren't too many 1 beds and studios, mostly 2-3 beds.

Neighborhoods-Federal Hill has excellent restaurants, close to downtown. East Side has three main street-type areas, college kids, families, etc, lots of historic homes and buildings and of course Brown University and RISD. South Side and West End are predominantly hispanic and have lots of locally owned small restaurants and bodega type places. Downtown has a large mall, an up and coming retail strip on Westminster St, lots of bars, clubs and good restaurants.

Shopping, etc.- Like I said before, there's a huge mall right downtown, but it's not a typical mall, it's built with street front entrances and has a large parking garage above and behind it. It has Nordstroms, Macy's and JCPenney as its major anchors. There are a number of smaller retail strips throughout the neighborhoods as well, primarily small main street type businesses and restaurants. Providence is well known for its excellent restaurants as well.

Grocery Stores-we have Stop & Shop, Pricerite, Save a Lot, 2 Whole Foods, and ALDI and a local place called East Side Marketplace. The South Side and West End have lots of smaller local markets as well.