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Hi, there. I am not trolling; instead, I am simply warning the OP that life in Rhode Island is very different from life in other regions of America, especially major Western cities such as Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, etc. Most of the Western United States is newly developed and, as a result, very modern and well-connected to the rest of America. Unless you have lived in both an insular, traditional New England city, such as Providence, for example, and a large Western metropolis, you would be unaware of the nuances that make each type of city/metropolitan area distinct. Some of those nuances can make one's life inconvenient or even miserable, especially for those who work graveyard shifts, have young children at home, etc.
Expounding on the joys of “Anywhere USA” as opposed to very quirky Rhode Island is your prerogative here. Been there done that. I prefer a place with authentic character. Much of the western America , beyond landscape, only differs in the taste of vanilla.
Native Rhode Islander here - look at the zip codes: 02916 is Rumford, 02915 is Riverside, 02914 is East Providence. Rumford (at least in my day) was considered the "nicer" section. You can drive through the entire state in an hour, so unless you are commuting from Newport, nothing is that far away. Pawtuxet Village would be nice too.
Unless you are originally from New England, a relocation from Denver to Providence would present an enormous culture shock to the average mainstream American. For the record, Denver is a modern American city with all of the conveniences and luxuries which accompany that designation, including, but not limited to:
Smooth, wide roads and sidewalks
Ample parking in inner-city neighborhoods
Extensive bicycle lanes throughout the city and county
Parking meters that accept credit cards as a form of payment and can be linked to smartphone applications
Convenience and grocery stores that sell alcohol
Gas stations and fast-food restaurants that operate 24 hours per day
Well-appointed, neatly landscaped public parks
Banks and post offices that are open until 6:00 PM on weekdays and 3:00 or 4:00 PM on Saturdays
A major airport with direct, nonstop air service to just about every large city in the country and many international travel destinations
Major national banks such as Chase and Wells Fargo and wholesale retailers such as Costco (none of which have a presence in Rhode Island)
Regular street sweeping and other city beautification activities
Thriving Protestant Christian churches and other non-Catholic houses of worship
A fully rhotic American English accent that features the "Mary-marry-merry" merger (i.e., pleasing and mainstream)
Diverse cuisine options that are available in upscale suburban areas as opposed to troubled urban ghettos
Tinted windows on structures and vehicles (In Rhode Island, any tint on the front windows of your vehicle, regardless of how dark or light, is grounds for being stopped by a police officer.)
Upscale shopping centers and malls (Say goodbye to Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Sak's, Restoration Hardware, etc.)
School buildings with air conditioning
I really hope that job offer is worth it.
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about. Yes we had nice parks and bike lanes in the city and lots of restaurants like most cities, but You also forgot to mention the extreme traffic if you try to go anywhere between 2pm and 7pm everyday, the constant construction causing more traffic, poor road conditions and extremely expensive houses and a very high prevalence of homeless and crime. Also- cookie cutter homes on top of eachother. I appreciate your warnings but if the OP had posted this and had never been to Rhode Island, this could be very scary and alarming to them that you were saying how poor the choice is to move from Denver to RI. Think before posting. People may not have a choice about a move, and scaring them like this is not helpful and not what I was asking in my original post. And yes the job is worth it- my salary has more than doubled, and the cost of housing is significantly less.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about. Yes we had nice parks and bike lanes in the city and lots of restaurants like most cities, but You also forgot to mention the extreme traffic if you try to go anywhere between 2pm and 7pm everyday, the constant construction causing more traffic, poor road conditions and extremely expensive houses and a very high prevalence of homeless and crime. Also- cookie cutter homes on top of eachother. I appreciate your warnings but if the OP had posted this and had never been to Rhode Island, this could be very scary and alarming to them that you were saying how poor the choice is to move from Denver to RI. Think before posting. People may not have a choice about a move, and scaring them like this is not helpful and not what I was asking in my original post. And yes the job is worth it- my salary has more than doubled, and the cost of housing is significantly less.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
Thank you for being the voice of reason. We need more like you.
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about. Yes we had nice parks and bike lanes in the city and lots of restaurants like most cities, but You also forgot to mention the extreme traffic if you try to go anywhere between 2pm and 7pm everyday, the constant construction causing more traffic, poor road conditions and extremely expensive houses and a very high prevalence of homeless and crime. Also- cookie cutter homes on top of eachother. I appreciate your warnings but if the OP had posted this and had never been to Rhode Island, this could be very scary and alarming to them that you were saying how poor the choice is to move from Denver to RI. Think before posting. People may not have a choice about a move, and scaring them like this is not helpful and not what I was asking in my original post. And yes the job is worth it- my salary has more than doubled, and the cost of housing is significantly less.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
Thank you for the update, hope you adjust to and like the area!
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about. Yes we had nice parks and bike lanes in the city and lots of restaurants like most cities, but You also forgot to mention the extreme traffic if you try to go anywhere between 2pm and 7pm everyday, the constant construction causing more traffic, poor road conditions and extremely expensive houses and a very high prevalence of homeless and crime. Also- cookie cutter homes on top of eachother. I appreciate your warnings but if the OP had posted this and had never been to Rhode Island, this could be very scary and alarming to them that you were saying how poor the choice is to move from Denver to RI. Think before posting. People may not have a choice about a move, and scaring them like this is not helpful and not what I was asking in my original post. And yes the job is worth it- my salary has more than doubled, and the cost of housing is significantly less.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
This is your opinion, and subjective as it may be, you're certainly entitled to it. What keeps people away from Rhode Island in droves is extremely high levels of taxation coupled with limited economic opportunity. Toss in crumbling roads and failing schools and it's not hard to understand why it ranks consistently near the very bottom for population growth. Rhode Island worked for you and that's wonderful, but alerting potential relocators to possible pitfalls shouldn't be considered scary OR alarming. The fact is that most people DO have a choice about relocation and they shouldn't have to rely on biased and provincial cheerleaders for their only source of information regarding a location. And welcome to New England!
Last edited by PureBoston; 04-30-2020 at 07:51 AM..
Reason: Duplicate
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
As the original poster- I am from the east coast and my husband is from New England so we know ahead of time about both locations and the differences of both. And having lived in both, the things you point out are very insignificant on the list of things most people care about. Yes we had nice parks and bike lanes in the city and lots of restaurants like most cities, but You also forgot to mention the extreme traffic if you try to go anywhere between 2pm and 7pm everyday, the constant construction causing more traffic, poor road conditions and extremely expensive houses and a very high prevalence of homeless and crime. Also- cookie cutter homes on top of eachother. I appreciate your warnings but if the OP had posted this and had never been to Rhode Island, this could be very scary and alarming to them that you were saying how poor the choice is to move from Denver to RI. Think before posting. People may not have a choice about a move, and scaring them like this is not helpful and not what I was asking in my original post. And yes the job is worth it- my salary has more than doubled, and the cost of housing is significantly less.
Thank you everyone for your input- we have decided on the Edgewood area near pawtuxet village!
So nice to have an OP come back with their decision and why they made it. Thank you, and welcome to RI. If you need any resources in settling in, let us know.
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