Moved here from NYC 20 years ago and never looked back- I love Providence! I've raised two kids here, used both public and private schools for two very different kids and both are doing great. Growing up in PVD has been pretty idyllic for them- running around with friends in the neighborhood, playing at local parks and playgrounds, enjoying walkable neighborhoods, always a lot to do and see, being a part of a diverse community. You can look up crime stats for the various neighborhoods, but some of that is misleading because it can combine very safe and unsafe areas in the same neighborhood. I've lived in two great family friendly areas- Elmhurst and the East Side (there are many nice neighborhoods on the East Side). Elmhurst is more affordable, but doesn't have the fun shopping areas of the East Side. On the other side of the city, it is a 15 minute drive to Brown- that's how big this city is! Coming from NYC I've learned to be mindful of potential crime, teaching my kids the same, and take precautions (security cameras are widespread here). Negotiating schools for your kids takes some work. The public schools have a history of problems and poor performance on standardized tests (and now under control of the state), but there are some publics that I have sent (or would send) my kids and there are charter schools that can be good options as well. There are also quite a few private schools with varying tuition (I think 18K to 43K)- financial aid is usually available. I'm middle class and was able to send my kids to two private schools with aid- one attended Community Prep for middle school and one went to Providence Country Day for high school. Of course, you can avoid such hassles and live in a town like Barrington, East Greenwich, Lincoln, Cumberland... but we like small city living!