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I am moving up to URI for grad school full-time with my boyfriend later this summer. We are currently living in Jersey City and I work in NYC. Since my boyfriend and I are very used to city living, can anyone suggest an area we can look in that has a larger town feel since southern RI is pretty suburban and rural? Would Providence be too far away for a doable commute? Is N. Kingstown just a big suburban area or is there a town center, it was a suggested area as it is half way between the school and Providence.
North Kingstown is rural residential and family oriented, with a small village center, and certainly no different than South Kingstown or Narragansett. Wakefield itself has much more to offer- nothing wrong with that town. There are no urban areas between Prov and URI. East Greenwich is a nice, affluent town, with many boutiques, doctors and lawyers. Warwick and Cranston are suburban and abundant with aging commercial strips. Newport would really be your only more urban area; a cool little city by the sea but plenty of tourists in the summer.
I would pick Newport as well. A fun, walkable town. You have the bridges to deal with but they're not usually an issue.
Providence has much to offer i.e. restaurants, nightlife. However, commuting to URI from Providence would become a headache since you have to be on I-95 for a good stretch to get to school. With traffic tie-ups and snow in the winter, you would have plan for much extra time to get to and from. Also be aware of the 25 mph speed limits on roads around URI. Strictly enforced!!
I'm currently in the URI MBA program but am living in South Kingstown. I'm a RI native and am in the minority in that I don't consider going to Providence an "out-of-the-way" trip as most Rhode Islanders tend to think anything further then 10 minutes away is too far. I've lived in Providence and enjoyed it, but the commute to the URI campus in Kingston could definitely wear on you (and your car, as there is considerable construction always being done in addition to RI drivers). I'd agree with the other posters and suggest you check out Newport, it's a fun little area with a lot more going for it than Narragansett and other surrounding areas of the campus. Give me a shout when you move I'd like to meet a fellow grad student!!
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