hello... i'm a first-year grad student at brown and am looking into moving from my apartment on the eastside to perhaps one of the pearl street lofts, or to one of the nicely renovated properties on westminster. the apartments i looked at were really lovely, but i wonder if anyone can comment about safety? my two main concerns are: i prefer to bike in to school, so i need to be sure that there is a safe route for a woman to take by herself from either pearl st or westminster over to brown (even if biking at night!), and also, i'm a pretty serious runner and would want to be living in not just a safe neighborhood, but also be able to go out for long runs that are more than just around-the-blockers safely. (maybe down to india point park and along the bike path from there?) if anyone has suggestions or comments about safety, routes to take, roads to avoid, that would be very greatly appreciated!
finally, if anyone out there currently lives in the pearl street lofts, i would love to hear your comments based on your experience living there. (i.e., do the walls insulate pretty well against the noise, thoughts about being right next to the high school, any comments regarding how tenant issues are handled there, general neighborhood thoughts, where to find the closest farmers' market or other great fresh produce stands, etc).
many, many thanks for any advice you can offer!
-daniellabella-