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IMO, Pittsburgh is a city that can stand on it's own merit much more than Providence can. I have spent a lot of time in Providence and there are huge swaths that are very undesirable.
I would take Pittsburgh by a long shot and I have never been there.
I've kind of been slowly gathering that feeling - that Providence might have swaths of undesireable areas.
I'm sure all cities do to some extent...but some cities also have decent enough many positives to overlook it - i.e. NYC, etc.
I'm very interested in Pittsburgh, and somewhat interested in Providence. The plus of Providence seems to be more in its proximity and location to other places, whereas Pittsburgh seems to stand on it's own...is what I'm slowly gathering through this thread and others like it.
(I'm the original poster - I'm actually interested in both cities)...
^ i've heard that from more than a few people, that Providence has some pretty bad areas. When i've been there i did notice a little sketchiness a couple times, but nothing too bad. The interesting thing is, if you look at crime statistics for Providence, from 1985 until now, it's never actually been that high (well, kinda high from 1985 to 1991 but still better than many other cities were back then). Maybe it's one of those cities that has hoods that look run down, but for the most aren't aren't all that bad in terms of crime? I guess it's also the worst in Rhode Island which is a pretty sleepy state otherwise...so that might skew perception for some.
Rhode Island has had one of the highest unemployment rates for in the country for quite awhile. I have a lot of experience with Providence and I do not think highly of it. Take that for what it's worth. It certainly has some cool sections like the areas around Brown University but the entire west side of the city is borderline slum. It's not really dangerous, it's just not great.
I've kind of been slowly gathering that feeling - that Providence might have swaths of undesireable areas.
I'm sure all cities do to some extent...but some cities also have decent enough many positives to overlook it - i.e. NYC, etc.
I'm very interested in Pittsburgh, and somewhat interested in Providence. The plus of Providence seems to be more in its proximity and location to other places, whereas Pittsburgh seems to stand on it's own...is what I'm slowly gathering through this thread and others like it.
(I'm the original poster - I'm actually interested in both cities)...
I suggest you go to the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut boards and ask this question. You'll get a lot of frank answers from the locals.
I suggest you go to the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut boards and ask this question. You'll get a lot of frank answers from the locals.
I frequent the Rhode Island board...but few posters on there. I was also frequenting the New Hampshire board and saw everyone there had aversion to Manchester.
So, I have a hard time differentiating what is a person's rural vs city perception, and what is the reality of a city.
For me, I use to live in NYC for a few years and loved it. But I also want to be a home-owner. Providence looks like it could be a similar life to NYC (convenient, etc.)
But if lacks the cool parts of NYC and more of the other side of NYC...then it seems like Pittsburgh in its entirety might be an overall better city.
I frequent the Rhode Island board...but few posters on there. I was also frequenting the New Hampshire board and saw everyone there had aversion to Manchester.
So, I have a hard time differentiating what is a person's rural vs city perception, and what is the reality of a city.
For me, I use to live in NYC for a few years and loved it. But I also want to be a home-owner. Providence looks like it could be a similar life to NYC (convenient, etc.)
But if lacks the cool parts of NYC and more of the other side of NYC...then it seems like Pittsburgh in its entirety might be an overall better city.
You can't compare a major metro city to one that ain't. Even though Pittsburgh has lost over half of it's population over the years, it's still a major metro city. Things like pro sports teams, hospitals (both quanity and quality), colleges, etc. are what define major metros more than size or population.
Look at cities like Vegas or Phoenix for example. Seriously, what does Vegas offer that's so unique besides the Strip? Or Phoenix with it's golf courses. Other cities in the sunbelt like Tampa, same thing. They're very one dimensional, and to me, boring. Unless someone likes swimming everday or playing golf.
If you like NYC, move there. If you can't afford it, move to Pittsburgh. Making 'day-trips' will get old after awhile, and you'll make less an less trips as the years go on. Then, you'll be stuck living in Providence.
I personally would never move to a city because of it's close proximity to another. And it's not like Providence is across the GW Bridge or Holland Tunnel.
Can't speak on the walkable areas, but the median home price in Q1 2009 for Pittsburgh is $108k and for Providence is $166k. That's a huge difference that I didn't take into account in my selection of Providence earlier. I think I'm leaning Pittsburgh now in terms of if I really had the choice as opposed to which I think I'd like better. This makes it an even tougher call. I don't think Boston weekend trips are worth 54% higher home prices. At least not to me. I'm glad you asked this question.
Good point. I wonder if that has changed at all a year later. Big difference though.
I've kind of been slowly gathering that feeling - that Providence might have swaths of undesireable areas.
Providence has always kind of been that way, but it's getting worse. Their mayor was put in jail for having mob connections which led to massive corruption. They only just now passed a law which bans prostitution. Before the ban, there was an open loophole which allowed prostitution if it occured indoors.
A coworker of mine lives in Providence and travels up to Boston everyday for work. While he was walking out of a bar he was jumped by a gang and nearly beat to death for no reason. Luckily he's in good shape...while he was getting kick-circled he somehow mustered the strength to get up and run. He was chased ten blocks and then hid behind a car for an hour while his attackers searched for him.
He told me something similar happened to a friend of his a few weeks earlier. He was leaving a bar, felt himself get hit, and then woke up surrounded by police.
According to him, downtown is going to hell. Whenever I've been there I've had a blast...but that's only been a couple of times.
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