CaaaathcartTowers t1_je84pmr wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:29 AM

Lived at the intersection of Fox Point, College Hill and Wayland Square for 6 years and I loved it. I decided to leave Providence 2 years ago and moved to Oak Hill aka Providence without the cost. I cut my tax bill in half and the street parking is unregulated.

Renting/buying? Requirements: floor space? outside space? house vs condo? kids? pets? long vs short-term? Lively v quiet? Are you dead-set on Providence proper or would consider a nearby burb? Are you bringing a car? Two cars? Do you like the outdoors? Are you commuting north, south or Downtown?

Look, in the absolute, all the neighborhoods you've listed are mostly good and have a little bit of bad. Everything here is mostly safe.

Downtown/Jewelry: Fun, lively, no houses and expensive apts/condos. Parking is tough. If I was in my 20s and had money or cared about status or the Theater, I would live here.

Mount Hope/Fox Point/Wayland: Kind of similar, both have a mix of single and multi-fam houses and some proximity businesses nearby. Prices are probably comparable too. If I were middle/upper-middle class and dead-set on Providence, I'd live here.

College Hill: If I were rich or a Brown student ok with 400 sqf or roommates, I'd live here.

Federal Hill: Lots of entertainment, a zoo on the weekend. If I still partied a lot and was addicted to Italian food and late night pizza, I'd live here.

Before making a decision, figure out your budget and take a look at Zillow. That's going to beat any information you get from Reddit.

lunafranksmum OP t1_je86ydg wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:47 AM

Thanks for all this, your personal descriptions of the individual neighborhoods was exactly what I was looking for. I’m definitely most interested in the Mount Hope/eastern areas where it’s a bit more subdued. I’ve been keeping an eye out on Zillow in those areas, and most of 1bd/1ba are so pricey (2k-ish) even for older multi-family units, and less than half of what I see take pets! But hopefully we find something reasonable. Thank you again!

CaaaathcartTowers t1_je89ahm wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:07 AM

If you're looking for an affordable rental with a pet, you're going to struggle mightily in Providence. Look to Cranston, Pawtucket... East Providence and Attleboro (MA) aren't actually that bad, and you'll secure something fairly easily.