Should I Move To Rhode Island? (Providence, Cranston: limo, new home, best schools)

[nnespoli7]

I am a high school senior and am thinking of attending Providence College next year.

I have never been to Rhode Island or any part of New England. All I know about Rhode Island is what I've watched on Family Guy.

I know there are a lot of Italian-Americans, which is good because I am Italian-American and I would like to live in a place with that cultural influence. Are Italians the predominant ethnic group, or are the Irish?

Is Rhode Island a good environment for a college student even though it doesn't have the glamour of Boston or New York?

What are some Rhode Island traditions?

Is it a good place to raise a family? I ask because I want the place I go to college the place where I spend the rest of my life. I've moved around a lot throughout the years and I want someplace to call home.

I would love to hear some answers from Rhode Island natives because I know almost nothing about your state.

Thank You.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

All I know about Rhode Island is what I've watched on Family Guy. .

It is nothing like what you see on Family Guy.

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

I know there are a lot of Italian-Americans, which is good because I am Italian-American and I would like to live in a place with that cultural influence. Are Italians the predominant ethnic group, or are the Irish?.

Italians are still fairly predominant, but less so than before. The city of Providence is like the United Nations, it has a blend of everything. Federal Hill is the traditional Italian enclave (and was HQ of the NE Mob), but even there that is waning. It still has all the restaurants and shops (Little Italy) much of which are Italian owned still. It just happens to have a lot of other groups living there now. The highest concentration of Italians are in the immediate suburbs of Cranston, Johnston and North Providence. You will see the most "Jersey Shore" in those places. Northern RI is probably majority French-Canadian, Southern RI tends to be more Yankee. The East Bay has the highest % of Portuguese.

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

Is Rhode Island a good environment for a college student even though it doesn't have the glamour of Boston or New York?.

It is limited. If you go to PC, you will find most of student life to revolve around the school itself (campus and off campus).

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

What are some Rhode Island traditions?.

Gaspee Day Parade, Bristol 4th of July Parade, Haven Bros. Diner after a few too many, trips to Scarborough Beach in the summertime, Del's Lemonade, hot wieners, pizza strips, Rock Point, Bess Eaton Donuts (oops I'm actually getting old). Just to name a few...

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

Is it a good place to raise a family? I ask because I want the place I go to college the place where I spend the rest of my life. I've moved around a lot throughout the years and I want someplace to call home.

It has a high cost of living and a poor economy. Most of the schools are mediocre (outside the more affluent towns). Government-wise the state is poorly run (thanks partially to it's Italian heritage), so it's future looks shaky. If you can overcome these things, then yes it's possible.

[AlfieBoy]

Originally Posted by nnespoli7

Is Rhode Island a good environment for a college student even though it doesn't have the glamour of Boston or New York?

There are roughly 41,000 college students in Providence, or a quarter of the population. Despite what another poster erroneously claimed, it's very much a college town, and the students are a dynamic, integral part of the fabric of the city. Though, PC doesn't seem to mesh well into that fabric, for some reason.

cite: List of colleges and universities in Rhode Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Snowball7]

PC is a very strong college for liberal arts. What's your major going to be ?
I have two family members who have graduated there, one was the first ever
female graduate, a lifetime ago. I would recommend PC for majors you would
get a B.A. in. If B.S., they are strong in some there such as social and political
sciences. The student body is fun and active, it's a "party" school if you want
to participate in that. It's also Catholic, strongly so, and has a high profile
basketball team.
Don't worry about what RI is and what it isn't... make your decision on the collegiate
level. Everything is so close-by here. There is a different culture between schools such
as PC and Brown. They are like oil and water in many ways. Also if your major is in
education, I would suggest RIC, and if it's sciences, I'd suggest URI. If
it's entertainment or civil engineering, RISD.. culinary ? J&W... and so on.......
There are other schools with their strong points. Tell me your major.

[QuilterChick]

Bryant College (my alma mater) is now Bryant University, and is an excellent college, nice campus and in a nice area of Smithfield RI. The emphasis is on academics; started out as a business college and now university. I would not expect Bryant to be high on the list of party schools; many leaders in RI past and current are grads. Three in my family also graduated from Providence College and are quite successful, PC is very well regarded. University of RI is also excellent; but as Snowball said, it is best to choose your school based on what you plan to pursue as your major. URI is located near the coast and has a reputation for being one of the best schools for pharmacy, as well as oceanographic studies and biology.

I would focus on my education first, don't forget you will be there, hopefully, for four years or five if you stay for a Master's ... which you should.

Don't make the location your first priority, that is a minor detail in planning your future. There are excellent colleges and universities all over New England; also look into Massachusetts colleges. Some of the best in the country, depending on budget, scholarships and so forth. (Isn't it getting late for you to send out applications if you are a high school senior?) Best wishes.

[NY Annie]

I understand you're trying to learn about RI from the people who live(d) there but the questions you asked are mostly the ones you can find the answers for online.

For the personal points of view regarding what it's like,

First, the tradition is not Bess Eaton donuts, uck, ptooie. It's Allie's Donuts on Route 2 at the EG/NK border - gotten on the way to the beach unless you happen to live near there, then it's on the way to work.

It's called East G or pronounced East Green - wich that's a long "e", like the color, not short "e" as in the place in England or Connecticut.

To my knowledge, the last place to get a cabinet is in Chepachet.

If you get accepted at PC, that's on the west side of Providence and there is a lot of off-campus housing - mostly triple deckers in the immediate vicinity of campus with a lot on the short strip of Eaton St immediately east of campus. Please do not pee off the balconies of the third floor apts. The police do watch these triple deckers for excessive partying and noise.

I agree with the above poster about picking your college dependent upon your intended major. PC is a good school, but so are many of the others.

You can never become a true Rhode Islander. For that, you have to be a swamp yankee - you'll learn about it. By the way, so few people could say the name of the road that runs to the north of the airport that they changed the name to Airport Rd. It's real name is Occupastuxet and it truly isn't difficult to pronounce, but it is if one is lazy.

There is a huge difference between the east bay and west bay, especially where the beaches are concerned.

A former governor of the state announced on radio from his limo during a major blizzard that he was "leaving Rhode Island and would be in Providence" shortly. It makes sense if you learn the reason behind the huge name to the smallest state.

[AlfieBoy]

I wouldn't recommend Bryant. It's "okay" if you want to be a bookkeeper or an accountant, but it's not much in the way of business school. I'm involved in the selection of junior financial types (granted, mostly quants), and, in the view of our hiring committee, which is pretty hep to what schools offer the best programs, Bryant isn't much better than RIC. It's for average students who can't cut the Stern School at NYU, or Brown.

[AlfieBoy]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

You can never become a true Rhode Islander.

LOL! I love this attitude, or, much more accurately, the mentality, of "the natives." Though, through the weird prism of "a native," you're probably right. In my observation, it's "the natives" who most hate the state and are the most miserable being here. Of course, they do nothing to change their world, they just seem to want to be miserable. The Negative Nancy Natives are a gloomful bunch. I avoid them, as I don't do well around people who hate where they are. They take "pride" in being natives, even as they seethe and stew in anger at living here. Very weird.

I tend to affiliate myself with newcomers, like myself, as we appreciate what the city (not the state) has to offer, and let the "natives" dwell in the recesses of society, unhappy with their lot in life.

[independent man]

Originally Posted by AlfieBoy

LOL! I love this attitude, or, much more accurately, the mentality, of "the natives." Though, through the weird prism of "a native," you're probably right. In my observation, it's "the natives" who most hate the state and are the most miserable being here. Of course, they do nothing to change their world, they just seem to want to be miserable. The Negative Nancy Natives are a gloomful bunch. I avoid them, as I don't do well around people who hate where they are. They take "pride" in being natives, even as they seethe and stew in anger at living here. Very weird.

I tend to affiliate myself with newcomers, like myself, as we appreciate what the city (not the state) has to offer, and let the "natives" dwell in the recesses of society, unhappy with their lot in life.

"Native" Rhode Islanders are pretty much what makes Rhode Island the Authentic Place it is. It's hardly, gracious (or logical) for us newcomers to proclaim our undying love for a place and at the same time despise the natives who where here before us. And, what's with this disdain for Rhode Island, the state?? It's a beautiful spot, populated with interesting, welcoming people. No less so than the Capitol City.

While, I agree us newcomers (I've only lived off and on in Rhode Island for 23 years) certainly flush fresh air and ideas through the state, we are not the begin all and end all. Let's not seem small and offensive (leave that to those who have left), thinking too much of ourselves and our impact on our wonderful new home.

[AlfieBoy]

I despise no one, mostly, nor do I worship In the church of those who, by dint of having been born here, wear their "nativeness" as some ring to kiss.

I do not affiliate myself with the state -- I don't focus much on the state as it's just not a part of my everyday world. I wish it well, but I concern myself with my little village, and I'm quite content with that and it is a lifestyle that is consistent with a Manhattan lifestyle, which also fit me like a glove.