xine

Does it have to be in the city limits of Providence? One of the many well kept secrets of RI is Haines State Park in East Providence just north of Barrington, not all that far away (6 miles). It's difficult to find by car (it is right on the East Bay bike path though, mile 8.5 northbound) and they have beautiful picnic grounds in a heavily treed setting ( very high canopy) and right on the water. The picnic areas seem to be practically deserted even on sunny weekends in the spring/summer although the boat dock is always in use. I've always found it clean (even the restrooms) and beautiful, especially if you'd be ok with a forest-like setting in place of a proper English Garden. They dont' take reservations but you really don't seem to need them. The pictures don't really do it justice: http://www.riparks.com/haines.htm

I often walk from the Armory District along Valley- proof that is literally walkable but probably not what you're asking :-) Olneyville Square has it urban charms and some good food if you do some exploring, nice hardware store, easy to get to the supermarket in the other direction. Having said that, I don't feel comfortable walking alone after dark, but I don't think you can do that anywhere in a city. I think you'd get a very different impression of the city than if you lived on the East Side. When we moved to Providence I was turned off by the high-priced student-squalor rentals right on College Hill but ended up renting for a year in a beautiful place in a charming area north of Wayland Square on the East Side. We might still live there if we could afford it! However I think these new mill developments are very appealing to people just moving to the city for a lot of reasons and I'd probably want to live in one if we were to move here now. Looking for apartments was difficult, mostly because a lot of single-property landlords frankly are quite creepy! There's a lot to be said for a place with on-site management and a degree of professionalism, especially when you don't know the city.

I grew up in a town not more than 20 miles from where this windfarm is proposed - I think it's a fantastic idea. There are some incredibly intelligent, progressive, creative people in that region, but there are also some real crazies - guess which ones get all the press! Anyway, hello all, I'm new to the forum, and relatively new to Providence, in that I didn't grow up here (we've been here about 3 years). I live in an archetypal Victorian in the Armory and work in Olneyville, so either envy me for living the Urban Dream or take pity on me because I don't get out of the neighborhood much :-) The number of PVD topics is a bit daunting - anyone know of a thread where people can share sources for sash cord, discuss whether squirrels eating lead flashing is a serious environmental hazard, and other unique concerns of the historic homeowner? I'm also obsessed with development news and will be happy to share scuttlebutt as appropriate...