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Thanks for the responses so far. I am basically familiar with the city but not intimately or recently and my friend is from upstate NY. Yeah, Wayland is pretty far from downtown, closer to the river I think? I'm guessing a lot of Brown and other students live without cars but that's a little different than an independent adult. I'm also guessing the public transit system is not good but I've always driven in Providence so have no idea.
Holly has good advice. Simply put, the best place to live in Providence without a car is probably Wayland Square, not downtown. Your guess about the public transit system is Providence is correct.
Thanks for the responses so far. I am basically familiar with the city but not intimately or recently and my friend is from upstate NY. Yeah, Wayland is pretty far from downtown, closer to the river I think? I'm guessing a lot of Brown and other students live without cars but that's a little different than an independent adult. I'm also guessing the public transit system is not good but I've always driven in Providence so have no idea.
Depends on how you define "good". RIPTA is the local transit system. Some manage to get around with it OK, depending on when and where they need to go. If one is coming from a larger city like Boston, they will probably find it lacking. It's mostly used by the low income population. Those with the means, generally choose to drive.
My friend is returning form working overseas and wants to live in downtown Providence. He is looking to (temporarily) live without a vehicle until the car market gets back to somewhat normalcy. From what I know about Providence I wouldn't consider this easily doable. I'm just looking to see if there is anyone here who is living or has lived successfully in Providence without a car in recent years.
Like I said, this would be a temporary (likely 6-12 months) situation. I guess the important things would be access to a grocery store and other essentials. I know Prov has buses and Amtrak is available as well, just not up to speed on some of the other details.
I don't mean to pry, but why wait to buy a new car? You'll likely pay list price, but interest rates are only going to get higher. I just bought a new Mazda and two of my coworkers just bought Kias. At .9 and 0, it's free money.. And the quality and dependability of new cars has never been better. Getting around by surface bus sucks in any city. Both my nephews drive for the T and they'd slap me harder than Will Smith for saying so.
Last edited by PureBoston; 04-05-2022 at 06:10 PM..
My friend is returning form working overseas and wants to live in downtown Providence. He is looking to (temporarily) live without a vehicle until the car market gets back to somewhat normalcy. From what I know about Providence I wouldn't consider this easily doable. I'm just looking to see if there is anyone here who is living or has lived successfully in Providence without a car in recent years.
Like I said, this would be a temporary (likely 6-12 months) situation. I guess the important things would be access to a grocery store and other essentials. I know Prov has buses and Amtrak is available as well, just not up to speed on some of the other details.
And though it may seem counterintuitive, Providence is tailor made for a car. Yes, the roads and drivers are Third World, but there's no traffic and plenty of parking.
I'm not the one waiting to buy the car so your question is not my business, nor germane to this post. And I believe my friend has the resources to buy a car without relying on bank financing, so interest rates would not be relevant to the decision.
I'm not the one waiting to buy the car so your question is not my business, nor germane to this post. And I believe my friend has the resources to buy a car without relying on bank financing, so interest rates would not be relevant to the decision.
Well you're certainly not one to mince words. Riding around Providence for a year on a RIPTA when he's got cash for a new car? I'd certainly advise my friend against it. Seriously, why?
Last edited by PureBoston; 04-05-2022 at 08:22 PM..
It should also be made clear that there is no "real" grocery store in Federal Hill (I could be wrong, but since you failed to answer my question on that I assume not), a statement you made which could also be misleading to the OP. Over and done...
Well, depending where one is, one can get some supplies from Venda Ravioli, Tony's Colonial, Antonelli's, a few small bodegas. Urban Greens, Tony's meat market, Price Rite on Valley, Fearless Fish might be within striking distance. No huge supermarkets, with every brand and gadget in the world, but certainly enough choices that one should never go hungry.
There was supposed to be a Rory's Market opening on Washington Street downcity this winter. Did that ever happen?
Well, depending where one is, one can get some supplies from Venda Ravioli, Tony's Colonial, Antonelli's, a few small bodegas. Urban Greens, Tony's meat market, Price Rite on Valley, Fearless Fish might be within striking distance. No huge supermarkets, with every brand and gadget in the world, but certainly enough choices that one should never go hungry.
One could get by from day to day, but most would eventually need to hit a full service grocery store. I suppose it could also be supplemented by delivery.
Well, depending where one is, one can get some supplies from Venda Ravioli, Tony's Colonial, Antonelli's, a few small bodegas. Urban Greens, Tony's meat market, Price Rite on Valley, Fearless Fish might be within striking distance. No huge supermarkets, with every brand and gadget in the world, but certainly enough choices that one should never go hungry.
There was supposed to be a Rory's Market opening on Washington Street downcity this winter. Did that ever happen?
Thanks for spelling it all out Sandsonik. That's what I was thinking but I get so tired of being second guessed every time I write anything. Don't know about Rory's market but I do know that some I195 parcel buildings are supposed to have new supermarkets in them- of course that's a long way off.
On another note, I've never found public transit in Providence to be bad compared to other places I have lived. Of course, it may have devolved since I used buses.
It may be that "the friend" of the OP wants to be able to walk to the Amtrak station downtown, but that hasn't been stated, so who knows?
Holly has good advice. Simply put, the best place to live in Providence without a car is probably Wayland Square, not downtown. Your guess about the public transit system is Providence is correct.
I plugged Wayland Square into Google Maps and checked getting to places by bus. There are several routes and the service is pretty frequent. Things like Providence Place and Amtrak aren’t a big deal. There’s a bus to the big box stores in Seekonk. The hospital district at RI Hospital works. Whole Foods and Stop & Shop are kind of expensive. You can connect and get to an Aldi and a Market Basket to control your food cost without it killing you.
I have one bus route walkable from my house that runs every 30 minutes. That’s kind of normal “average” bus service in the United States. I could get by without a car but it would chew up a ton of time. Wayland Square is way better than that. You can get to an awful lot of places in less than half an hour.
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