Mount Pleasant or Elmhurst would likely make your commute a little easier, but Fed Hill is much more active (lots of fun bars, restaurants, etc. and you can walk or bike to downtown). Depends on the lifestyle you're looking for – if you don't mind a quiet residential area that's a little bit removed from the action, I'd look at western MP or Elmhurst. If you want to be right in the heart of everything, I vote Fed Hill or even parts of the West End.

Providence is small compared to the Twin Cities, so it's easy to get around if that's a concern. We live in Elmhurst and often go to places over on the East Side. It's never more than like 15 minutes via car, or 25-30 via bike/scooter. The bus system is also pretty good for a city this size, although they're having a labor shortage right now that's affecting service (hopefully that's resolved by the time you move here!).

I live by Armory Park off Westminster st (West side) in Providence ...decent area affordable rent...some good restaurants, coffee shops etc in the immediate area and an easy walk to Broadway and Atwells that have tons of the same. I used to live near near Bryant too years ago and you could make it from here in 20 minutes or so on most good days.

My girlfriend and I moved to Providence this summer and currently live in Federal Hill. I'd check out the Mount Hope area too. I would avoid East Providence and West Side.

FYI in RI you can work with a real estate agent for free when searching for apartments. We worked with Lauri Lee and she was great: https://www.residentialproperties.com/real-estate-agent/409/lauri-lee. A heads up that they will likely just show properties whose landlord pays them for bringing you to their property, but Lauri was open with us and even showed us places that wouldn't give her a payment.

As far as Federal Hill goes, I'd say it's fine. You have Little Italy on Atwell's, plenty of places on Broadway, and it's close to downtown. It's hit-or-miss in regard to how nice & safe the streets are/feel since there's a lot of gentrification underway. I personally feel safe at day and night, though my girlfriend says she feels safe, but not comfortable walking alone at night.

Hope you end up finding a place and good luck with the move!

Lived in Smith Hill area and took back roads to Bryant. Smith Hill may be sketchy for some but it was not so bad when I lived there. It was probably under 30 minutes even with the red lights. Mount Pleasant will put you even closer of a drive using back roads. The highway gets really congested in the morning so I'd avoid that.

One thing I’d say about Federal Hill: when I was moving to PVD, I’m super grateful that I went to look at places/neighborhoods. The places in federal hill seemed good, but we’re in not well maintained buildings, sketchy people living in them (they are mostly multi families).

Providence and the East Coast are different than Minnesota housing wise. Most Providence options are in multi family houses with 2-4 units. Who your neighbors are above/below really make a difference. and how the building is managed. There are apt buildings but less common.

Just something to be cognoscente pf

I would look in north providence too if I were you. It will put you halfway in between campus and the city. Cutting providence completely out of your morning commute will definitely be beneficial.

Pretty much anywhere will be within a 30 minute commute so you're good there. Apartments have been crazy hard to find so prices are up but you should be fine with a $1500 for a 1 bedroom. In fact I think you should try to find cheaper than that. A year ago my old landlord was showing my old apartment in the Armory, a nice 2 bedroom, for $1200.

The east side is nicer but more expensive and you might have a longer commute to Bryant versus the west side. Providence is a small city so while there are neighborhoods with more or less crime, it's kind of equal risk all around. Federal Hill and the Armory are affordable, close to rt 10 and 6 so you can avoid 95 (the main artery and source of traffic) depending on where you're going, and there's a lot you can walk to, especially restaurants and the Columbus Theater. Mount Pleasant is a little more sketchy.

The biggest thing you're going to want to figure out is parking. There's no overnight street parking in Providence unless you have a residential pass, and even then I believe you have to get the vehicle off the street for snow. It's a pain in the ass. If you find off street parking it's good to see what it actually is because I've lived places that cram you all in without assigned parking which can lead to neighbor conflicts, scratched cars, etc. One place I looked at expected you to leave your keys so that people could move your car to get out. Make sure it's a sane situation.

Hope that helps! And I'm sure others will chime in on anything I'm out of date on.

Edited to add: If you like Italian food, Federal Hill is heaven.