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I am considering a job offer in East Greenwich, RI. I will be paid well enough to live in EG or in downtown Providence. The job will be M-F 8-5 on paper, but will likely involve nights and some occasional weekend hours. A good argument could be made that it would be wisest for me to live in EG near the office, but Providence is not unreasonable.
I am moving from a well-known West Coast city that has a proper city center, where I live in a downtown loft and enjoy walking to restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, cinemas.
For me, the commute of 18 miles from Providence to East Greenwich seems short, and I could imagine living in either place, but am seeking advice. I understand that EG has far-above-average restaurant, coffee shop, and galleries options, but know also that Providence probably exceeds that.
Anyone have advice?
- what is the commute like from Providence to East Greenwich for an 8-5 M-F job?
- living in downtown/downcity Providence?
- living within walking distance of Main St, EG?
- additional lifestyle considerations that I haven't thought of?
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
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If you want to--in some small way--replicate your life in the Pearl, downtown Providence should be your choice. It's going to pale in comparison to PDX, but PVD is a charming city in its own right. In a few ways, I would say it is superior to Portland, though the scale leans to Portland overall. We are much smaller than Portland; the Providence downtown is not nearly as vibrant, but as I said, it is charming. At this stage, I prefer the size of PVD to what PDX has become.
Boulevard's advice is sound. One thing to note regarding walkability is that a developer is trying to attract a grocery store downcity, and has plans in the works to build a mixed use development as part of that goal (I imagine they will try to attract Whole Foods, but who knows, maybe it will be local chain Dave's).
There isn't (yet) enough housing downtown.
We're much closer to the ocean, but much farther from mountains, as you are no doubt aware. There are no views of snow-capped, dormant volcanos to be had.
If you do come, do a little schmoozing with Michael or Emily Powell before you do and convince them they really, really need to open a branch in Providence… Please?
I understand the impulse for people to compare the Pearl District to downtown Providence, but I don't think they are analogous neighborhoods.
I've been really happy with Providence, but it is still growing out of a slump that left pockets of real urban decay that don't exist in the Pearl District. (Maybe the Pearl District a generation ago...) There are multiple vacant storefronts in the heart of downtown. Are they filling? Yes. But, the amount of economic activity in downtown proper is significantly less than in Portland.
I actually think the Pearl might be closer in culture to College Hill, where there is multiple bookstores, good restaurants and lots of foot traffic because of the Brown/RISD students. I'd take a look on the East Side (which includes College Hill) in addition to downtown proper.
I've been really happy with Providence, but it is still growing out of a slump that left pockets of real urban decay that don't exist in the Pearl District. (Maybe the Pearl District a generation ago...) There are multiple vacant storefronts in the heart of downtown. Are they filling? Yes. But, the amount of economic activity in downtown proper is significantly less than in Portland.
As I said in my previous post, I've never even been to Portland, but wasn't the Pearl District like that as recently as 10 or so years ago? That's what a travel show or two that I've watched suggested.
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,782 posts, read 2,687,827 times
Reputation: 1602
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosscoast
I understand the impulse for people to compare the Pearl District to downtown Providence, but I don't think they are analogous neighborhoods.
I've been really happy with Providence, but it is still growing out of a slump that left pockets of real urban decay that don't exist in the Pearl District. (Maybe the Pearl District a generation ago...) There are multiple vacant storefronts in the heart of downtown. Are they filling? Yes. But, the amount of economic activity in downtown proper is significantly less than in Portland.
I actually think the Pearl might be closer in culture to College Hill, where there is multiple bookstores, good restaurants and lots of foot traffic because of the Brown/RISD students. I'd take a look on the East Side (which includes College Hill) in addition to downtown proper.
I don't think anything in Providence replicates the feel of the Pearl. That's why I said "If you want to--in some small way--replicate your life in the Pearl, downtown Providence should be your choice." The east side is nice but a little more on the suburban side. That's not the vibe of the Pearl.
The Pearl was more or less an industrial wasteland on the skids (with a few outposts such as Bridgeport Brewing and some true--not purpose built--loft spaces) before the mid 90s. By the end of that decade developers were constructing "lofts" and selling the condos at a healthy clip. I guess the builders saved $$$ on sheetrock creating such open spaces. It always felt a little forced to me.
I do think there is something of a Portland vibe to various parts of Providence, and have espoused that viewpoint on this forum. But it is an asynchronous resemblence; I don't really think the current downtown Providence is like the current downtown Portland. But the seeds are there.
Come on. Enough hyperbole. I'm not going to a little bit of taxes deter me from living in a place that has the lifestyle I want. Few people are.
Not arguing. If lifestyle is more important, that's fine. I like EG much better than PVD.
Just the car tax alone......$25,000 car:
$572 in EG
$1,500 in Providence
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