East Greenwich or Middletown (Providence, Newport: lease, lawyer, neighborhoods)

[seattle2east]

Hi all, my family and I have the opportunity to relocate to the Northeast. We've narrowed it down to Rhode Island. We are looking at East Greenwich and maybe the Newport/Middletown area. We looked at Barrington also but it seemed a bit too quiet. We have 3 children who will be in elementary school. Any input regarding these areas? The public schools seem to be well regarded in East Greenwich...that will be important. We would consider private if reasonable (5k-8k) per year, and there seems to be a few in Middletown. We liked the access to "historic" downtown/shopping, proximity to beaches and water and the nice neighborhoods in both areas.

[JC1981]

I think a factor would be where you will be working. To get from the Newport/Middletown area from the West Bay would require either going over the bridge or a commute on I195 - both of which can be long, especially in the summer (traffic can be awful).

My vote would be for East Greenwich. I grew up in the area and it's very nice, especially for a family. The schools are ranked among the best in the state and is a very safe, quiet area. While there isn't much more going on than in Barrington, I think it's easier to get to other places than from the East Bay.

[Saltatrix]

East Greenwich has more charm than Barrington; both are towns where an young dr or lawyer and his family might feel at home, which for RI isn't saying too much. For a less upscale suburban vibe, I would opt for the Middletown, Newport area, if you don't have to commute to Providence for work. Newport is great to live near, and Middletown has a lot of commercial development, a lot of beautiful old farmland, and a lot of residential areas in between.

[seattle2east]

Thank you so much for the input! We've decided to head to EG but we've leased instead of purchasing right off the bat, just to make sure it's the right place for us!