Possible to live in Providence with no car? (to rent, to buy)

[KentuckyBlueMoon]

Hi!

I will possibly be spending a year out there for a national school exchange program. Everywhere I have always lived has required a car. Poor public transportations and everything is so spread out. Is it possible to live in Providence without a car? Is it necessary to have one or is there pretty good public transport? ANY help is appreciated.

[Hollytree]

Yes, if you live downtown, in Federal Hill or on the East Side you can make it without a car. There are RIPTA buses and trolleys or if you locate close in enough it is a walkable city. Unfortunately, there are no good food markets downtown (the last big ones have been closed for awhile), but the Hill has plenty of food and so does the East Side. Also Peapod service delivers for $7 if you do a big shopping. A bicycle or scooter would be nice if you can have one. There are lot of students from Brown U, J& W, and RISD who live here w/o cars.

[KentuckyBlueMoon]

Great! Thanks a lot for the response. : )

[Alt Dach]

Huh? They eat at school,have pizza delivered and drive mom's Mercedes at home.
You can exist in Prov. without a car but whether that "living" is a matter for debate.

[Daniel L.]

I recommend getting a bike. It's definitely doable living there without a car.

[GermanSpy]

Getting around in Providence without your own wheels is a non issue. The problems start when you decide you want to go somewhere else in Rhode Island once in a while. While there are a couple bus lines going down the main arteries be prepared to spend a long time on a bus. You'll have easy access to Boston/NYC via train though.

So yes, like the others said, living in Providence without a car will most of the time be quite allright. The thing with groceries though can be quite a hassle. Hollytree mentioned Peapod delivering for 7 dollars. While that's true, that also requires you to spend at least 100 dollars on your grocery shopping. If you want to buy less, the fee increases. Also, there's a minimum order amount, I believe it's 50 or 60 dollars. So Peapod isn't for everybody. You do have a couple Whole Foods fairly close to Downtown though. But since you live by yourself getting groceries might not be a big priority for you anyways.
Have fun on the hills with your bike.

[leighland]

Try to rent in Wayland Square. You can walk to Eastside Market no problem, even in winter, and there are buses around to take you to other buses to get around. Make sure you have laundry in the building tho'.
If you are a student, you could live closer to Brown/RISD and still have many of those benefits.

[ProvGuy]

If I didn't work in Mass I'd ditch my car. You'll be fine without one as long as you live near work and aren't lazy. I rarely use mine other than for work.

[nate14ri]

live on the east side or federal hill and you can ride your bike everywhere no problem.

[Garris]

Originally Posted by leighland

Try to rent in Wayland Square. You can walk to Eastside Market no problem, even in winter, and there are buses around to take you to other buses to get around. Make sure you have laundry in the building tho'.
If you are a student, you could live closer to Brown/RISD and still have many of those benefits.

Wayland Square is indeed the easiest place to do this. 2 supermarkets, pharmacy, MD offices, bookstores, cafes, etc. If you have a bike, you can pretty much access the whole city. I know 2-3 people living in PVD without a car quite happily.

PS: There actually will be a market coming to downtown shortly. Work is already under way at the space on Weybosset.