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Message |
    
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 6834
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 10:59 am: | 
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What do you know about this state, other than it is the tiniest one?
TS has this fascination with moving there some day. I can get demographics from websites, but it doesn't tell me much about what places are really like?
Gay friendly? Expensive? Too crowded? Crime? Artsy? Etc., etc.
Any suggestions of particular towns that we might want to visit?
Thanks! |
Oldstone
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 607
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 11:12 am: |
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check out westerly |
Duncan
Supporter
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 5825
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 11:13 am: |
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Jamestown is GORGEOUS.
Old Providence is beautiful as well. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 3989
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 11:20 am: |
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My parents live in South County, RI. They're near Westerly (in Charlestown). I love RI. There are some fabulous little towns, beautiful beaches. South County is a bit dead in the winter but still close to Providence and Newport. |
Lucy
Supporter
Username: Lucy
Post Number: 3033
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 12:19 pm: |
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Greenie we hope it's a summer home but we would miss you both if you moved away |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 1048
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 12:47 pm: |
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We spend two months there every summer.
I LOVE it there but I think those that have no choice but to live there are often struggling along. From what I can tell it is a "poor" state in many respects.
It's hard to articulate but, outside of Newport and Prividence, there just seems to be alot of very, very young moms with tattos and the like. Many folks still smoke and it seems to be very Republican. Lots and lots of businesses post pictures of all the nieghborhood boys off at war etc.
That said...I love the place. There is only a touch of that Yankee crankiness there. The place is drop dead gorgeous, you can have breakfast in Watch Hill, lunch in Newport and dinner in Providence and not be all tired of driving!
Barrington is a very cool town. We have an artist friend who lives there in a converted fire house! She teaches at RISD and lives a grand life with her husband and kid in Barrington. It is just East of Providence.
We spend our summers in a tiny community near Watch Hill. (algerbra2 might know the name...it's Weekapaug.) I am a member of the Westerly Public Library and we go to the Shakespeare in the Park series they have every summer on the town green. The beauty of Westerly is that you are a stone's throw away from Mystic and Stonington, Connecticut.
It is really easy to get to also. We have friends who lived in Princeton and worked in Summit. They then started spending more time at their summer house in Charlestown and the husband would commute to Summit, NJ three days a week. They now live in Charlestown full time and he has arranged the commute to Summit only one day a week. |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 5019
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 12:57 pm: |
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We love RI as well. Hubby and I summer there every year. There are many quaint towns, Watch Hill as KMK said, Naragansett, Newport, Jamestown, just to name a few.
The beaches are great, people are friendly, and it is a short drive to everywhere. |
Tom N
Citizen
Username: Tjn
Post Number: 83
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 4:17 pm: |
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"It's hard to articulate but, outside of Newport and Prividence, there just seems to be alot of very, very young moms with tattos and the like."
I'm curious as to what tattoos have to do with being "poor" as you alluded to.
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kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 1049
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 4:42 pm: |
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Sorry to offend....it's just a personal observation of mine.
These gals did not appear to enjoy many luxuries (other than cigarettes and fast food) and their tattoos are not the type that many ivy-league bound twenty year olds might choose.
Tatoos do not mean you are poor.
Being a very young mom does not mean you are poor.
Just my observations. Sorry to be un-PC. (One can not even describe something with detail any longer for fear of offending!) |
Tom N
Citizen
Username: Tjn
Post Number: 84
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 8:02 pm: |
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I never said I was offended and am far from the PC police. I simply asked you to explain what you wrote as there was no obvious correlation between the two items you brought up, and as you described in your own words about the subject, "It's hard to articulate". It is lack of detail, not too much, that makes it confusing. |
tulip
Citizen
Username: Braveheart
Post Number: 3296
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 8:26 pm: |
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Woonsocket, and another vote for Weekapaug. Windswept beaches, nice rentals. The sand is not as...clean...as I like it, and find it to be in Mass. on Cape Cod, but the ocean's nice. I haven't swum in the ocean there, but it looks nice.
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Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 588
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 9:44 pm: |
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Quote:Lots and lots of businesses post pictures of all the neighborhood boys off at war etc.
You write this like its a negative - these "boys" and their families are making major sacrifices and risking their lives for the freedoms you take for granted, including the freedom to use speech to suggest that Rhode Island businesses are doing something wrong to proudly honor their brave young volunteers!!
Anyone who appreciates the ultimate sacrifice made by our wounded and dead, might consider a donation to a scholarship fund that has been established for their children.
The government provides many entitlements in this country, yet the children of those who make the ultimate sacrifice often lose the chance at a decent education along with their parent(s). http://www.freedomalliance.org/scholarship.htm
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kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 1050
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 10:07 pm: |
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Pdg - I was noting differences between our community and theirs.
How many tangible signs of the war do you see in our hometown? Are you more patriotic as a result?
Don't even get me started on this one!
I may be not be a Republican but I am never going to say that a mother should ever, ever say good-bye to her child and wonder if he (or she) will return.
Please folks....don't take light conversation so literally!
This is a really big country with lots and lots of wonderful (and uncomplicated) differences. Just because someone points out a difference does not mean that they are speaking in a negative manner.
Now MOL is starting to sound like the crazy southerners I moved away from!
You may now flame away if you think it serves a purpose. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 3990
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 7:52 am: |
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I just recalled my favorite RI town - Wickford. Great little town. |
Cynicalgirl
Citizen
Username: Cynicalgirl
Post Number: 2417
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 8:15 am: |
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Had a friend who lived in Peacedale, which as I recall is near Wakefield, Galilee, etc. Very fond memories from the 80's of just driving your car (or biking) to the end of the street, stopping and walking a few feet to the beach. Cool becaue it was just a casual act, equivalent to going to Memorial Park. Hate going to the beach as an "event," with boardwalks, crowds, noise, etc.
As I recall, many small non-tourist towns are much more blue collar, which equates often to a somewhat more conservative mind set. So, you won't find liberal Democrats all over the place in the littler towns. The friend I had up there was a middle of the road Democrat, like me. She wasn't all that uncomfortable as a single female living up there and working for a small press, perhaps because we both liked smoking, shot/beer bars, cute blue collar guys who drove trucks and didn't bother with the NY Times. There were people worried about the environment, and recycling, mostly because it related to the fishing. Lots of Portugese families. |
veralynn
Citizen
Username: Veralynn
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 12:16 pm: |
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I was born and raised there but came out in my 30's, so do not have up to date gay friendly information. I go about 4 times a year to visit family.
At any rate, you are describing a gay, mixed race household. I know you will fit in on the East Side of Providence, and in Newport. All of these other places are nice to visit, but may come to be a problem if you are locating there. Barrington or Wickford might be all right.
But I would not move there without extensive visiting and vacationing up there first. You need to establish your community first and then move to it. Go to gay organizations in the state and Unitarian fellowships and schmooze with locals. After several years of preparation, it might be rational to make your move.
Providence East |
HOMMELL
Citizen
Username: Hommell
Post Number: 40
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 12:46 pm: |
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I think "Family Guy" presents an accurate depicition of life in Rhode Island. They even have a song about it:
http://fguniverse0.tripod.com/songs/road.mp3 |
Stephanie N.
Citizen
Username: Stephanie_n
Post Number: 2
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 8:00 pm: |
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My brother thinks that RI is great. Providence is a rockin town. My brother went there a few times and said it is nothing but drunk wanna-be mobsters and crooked cops, but some good bars and a good music scene. |
Newneighbor
Citizen
Username: Newneighbor
Post Number: 110
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 10:44 pm: |
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KMK - get your head out of your butt. THere are some beautiful towns, affluent towns and "poor" towns just like in any other state. Welcome to the USA...
Outside of that Greenetree, it as many have said a beautiful state. Barrington and East Greenwich are two of the most affluent towns with the best school systems (not sure if that is an issue or not) although they both are very conservative. Both are on the water, B east of providence and EG south of Providence.
Providence has these "Water Fires" on the river that will take your breath away. They are a must see...
Upper East Side (Providence) straddles Brown University and in the area of RISD and Johnson and Wales so here you will definitely get into the artsy feel in a BIG way. Very gay friendly, etc. Great place to live although parts of Providence are sketchy. THey have done a great job fixing up the City. For as much as Cianci was mob, he really did a good job. Yes, Providence is HUGE into the Mob - no one ever realizes that. But, go to Federal Hill for Italian and I swear it's better than most places in NYC. Just leave your car running. 
Great thing about Eside and Barrington is the closeness to the Cape which as you know is very gay friendly.
Southern RI is where all the beautiful beaches and summer homes are.
Wickford has a Summer Art Festival that is WONDERFUL. Wickford basically shuts down and there are artists lining all the streets in Wickford. It also feels great to support local artists.
Great place to live, great place for children due to the various season sports/activities (swimming, boating, skiing, etc.) and you can make what you want of it.
Best of luck! |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 1051
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 7:21 am: |
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I send my love to you Newneighbor...wait until I start describing New Mexico!
kisses, kmk |
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