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Come on btown, you live in a pretty damn gorgeous metropolis of 7.6 million. Does your heart melt to defend Providence as a major city? With what major professional sports teams, economy, airport, & anything else that defines a large city in modern days?
Providence is a a satellite town of Boston, it's standalone in the essence that it's a state capital & it's a bedroom community in the essence that people drop what they're doing to go to work, shop, dine, use he facilities, schools, sports events, & everything else of Boston. Now granted that doesn't mean Providence lacks any of those amenities but size & scale. Providence is a safer version of Wilmington, Delaware on steroids.
Baltimore, it has it's own economy, it's own nucleus, it's own leisure, it's own professional sports, it's own cuisine, it's own airport, it's own everything. It's more like a San Jose or Fort Worth or something than a Fort Lauderdale or Wilmington.
Aside from professional sports, I'm not sure how Providence doesn't have the things you listed? People do go to the much larger Boston or NYC (NYC more so in my experience) for kicks, but I'm guessing people in Baltimore probably do DC or Philly to do the same. It definitely has its own airport, suburbs, leisure spots, downtown, economy, and cuisine (snail salad, wowzers).
Aside from professional sports, I'm not sure how Providence doesn't have the things you listed? People do go to the much larger Boston or NYC (NYC more so in my experience) for kicks, but I'm guessing people in Baltimore probably do DC or Philly to do the same. It definitely has its own airport, suburbs, leisure spots, downtown, economy, and cuisine (snail salad, wowzers).
It's routes are pretty regional too. Then there's the fact that PVD is connected to Boston via rail, that's got to be a convenience. Then again, MARC does connect BWI to Washington & Baltimore.
For your other points though, how would Providence be different than say San Jose or Fort Lauderdale though? I'm not making an argument at this point for Baltimore- I haven't really lived there to know but it just rubs me off as a socially isolated place in regards to Washington. Providence, not so much.
Points taken OyCrumbler- I suppose Providence & Baltimore do have the similar relationships.
The thing is, when I'm in Baltimore- I feel like maybe a minority of the people even care for Washington. Out of like the nearly 2.8 million there and subtracting the cross commuters, there's literally over 2.2 million people that have little to nothing to do with Washington at all. Providence in this regard feels more like a San Jose or something. I don't know- but they do call the NFL team the New England Patriots for a reason.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 12-07-2012 at 06:37 PM..
The Baltimore metropolitan area has 2.7 million people, a little more than twice the population of the Providence metropolitan area (1.2 million). The larger Washington CSA that Baltimore is in has 8.7 million, the Boston CSA were Providence is located is pretty comparable at 7.6 million. Wikipedia has Baltimore to Washington at 41 miles, Providence to Boston at 50 miles. Besides the (expensive) Amtrak intercity trains, there's more commuter rail service between Baltimore and Washington than between Providence and Boston. My guess is that even though Providence is smaller it's more of separate city than Baltimore is, but I'm just inferring that from what little I know.
Ooohh NO to Baltimore. One of the most depressing towns ever. Friends of mine just bought a rowhouse there (cheap, I will say that, but you get what you pay for). Little Italy, I think. The city is full of angry homeless types and crime is rampant. RAMpant. Drugs visible everywhere. I grew up in the Bronx and got my a** out at the first opportunity-- Baltimore gives me flashbacks to that environment. Not sure why Baltimore has so many boosters on here. I understand where John Waters got his information after several visits. NO THANKS.
Providence, on the other hand, is lovely. I actually prefer it to Boston-- smaller, more interesting vibe. I am gay and its no secret that Providence is very gay friendly. Love their Fire Water celebration as well. I would consider living there if it weren't for the New England winters.
How is baltimore losing this? I understand baltimore isnt the most popular city but has its own unique culture and deserves to be in the ranks of philly and D.C.
Baltimore is like DC's underachieving sister with a drug problem. She is always in and out of rehab, can't keep herself looking good, and lives in the shadow of her much more successful sibling. Between DC and Philly, Baltimore will always be in last place. Philly gets the funky, artsy, blue collar but taken seriously points, DC gets the powerful, upper middle class, boutique points, Baltimore gets to be the scary, "what happened?" cheap heroin scoring points.
Providence is a a satellite town of Boston, it's standalone in the essence that it's a state capital & it's a bedroom community in the essence that people drop what they're doing to go to work, shop, dine, use he facilities, schools, sports events, & everything else of Boston. Now granted that doesn't mean Providence lacks any of those amenities but size & scale. .
This isn't necessarily true. There are many people in southern Massachusetts, in addition to a lot of people in Rhode Island, who go to Providence for these things rather than Boston....
I don't see how Providence or Baltimore can be remotely considered "bedroom communities" to any other city. Sure, they are both part of huge urban CMSAs, but so what. They are not giant suburbs.
The Baltimore metropolitan area has 2.7 million people, a little more than twice the population of the Providence metropolitan area (1.2 million). The larger Washington CSA that Baltimore is in has 8.7 million, the Boston CSA were Providence is located is pretty comparable at 7.6 million. Wikipedia has Baltimore to Washington at 41 miles, Providence to Boston at 50 miles. Besides the (expensive) Amtrak intercity trains, there's more commuter rail service between Baltimore and Washington than between Providence and Boston. My guess is that even though Providence is smaller it's more of separate city than Baltimore is, but I'm just inferring that from what little I know.
Providence has more tham 1.6 million in its metro, which double would be 3.2. Baltimore is only 40% larger than Providence, and IMO Providence seems more independent, while Baltimore has metros siphoning commutors from it, Washington DC, and some cities in the Philly CSA like Wilmington and such. It is intergrated into a greater region, while Providence is more independent. Mostly due to Connecticut to its west being nearly empty in the Eastern areas.
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