The cats in this scenario are most certainly high af

Seriously - between stuff like this (innocent mistake or not), fighting off scammers, getting them the hell off the road, getting them to the doctor, providing “tech support” literally daily - all while they put up a fight for every single one of those. It’s like herding fucking cats.

That’s the joke

I want so badly to believe you, but I’ve been burned so many times. We just want our trash hole back 😢

I’m sorry to say it, but if $1250 is at the top of your budget you will very likely need to live with a roommate. Even in the surrounding areas the absolute floor is like $1500. Moving in the spring certainly isn’t going to help for sure, but the overall housing market is just batshit insane right now.

That said, if your budget is based on car ownership you may be able to slide up your housing budget a few hundred bucks in exchange for ditching your car. Providence is plenty walkable and if you have a few months you may be able to find a place close enough to work to justify going carless.

Possibly you!

This comment is getting downvoted (not by me, fwiw) because despite what I assume the intended meaning was, the language of suicidal pedestrians vs homicidal motorists is off-putting and pretty perfectly illustrates the mindset that causes these pedestrian deaths in the first place. The car-centricity of our built environments is literally killing tens of thousands per year and yet we immediately (intentionally or not) blame or implicate the pedestrian and not the motorist/urban planner/city rep/state rep whenever a fatality occurs.

Totally, that's fair - always make a formal complaint just to get it on record

A few of my annoying experiences were Waste Management-related, so maybe my beef is just with WM

I mean, the app works sure, but getting your request in front of a competent set of eyes - meh 🤷

There's a survey Smiley just put out available on the 311 app.

You could send him some urbanist "propaganda" in the "tell me more" sections regarding what you would improve.

NJB - Continuous Sidewalks
CityNerd - Making a Walking Paradise Out of a Car-Centric City
Strong Towns - The Whole Channel
Climate Town - The Suburbs Are Bleeding America Dry

Oh, also - park at the mall if you're not going in early. It takes the guesswork out of if there's parking right at the station or not. Super short walk across the street, and the rates are similar for a full workday. It's massive, so there's always a spot.

Your company will also likely understand, in my experience, because you can still get stuff done on the train.

I did the Amtrak thing for a long time from PVD into BBY. If you're right in Back Bay, getting back in an emergency is pretty easy. At best, you hit the next train, whatever it is (MBTA or Amtrak), at worst you just eat a $100 Uber ride. The latter is a last resort, but if the money is alright then it's still a net win if you have to use it.

It’s 30 minutes via amtrak to back bay from pvd. Where is this hour + 15 minutes coming from?

Why are you hollering?

The ferry to Newport is clutch in the summer too

The usefulness of being off the northeast corridor cannot be understated. Amtrak and Commuter Rail service is still at the mercy of freight throughout, but it’s the best there is in the US. 30-40 mins to Boston, 3-4 hours to Manhattan is pretty handy.

Few things:

• Providence used to have an electric trolley system, as did most US cities at the time. Oil and automotive lobbies "fixed" that as the last century went on.
• While related, walkable and transit-oriented are two different things. When most errands and trips out your door can be done on foot - you live in a walkable place.
• RIPTA is fine. You can get downtown in under 20 minutes from most of the city - from there you can shop or run your errands downtown, or transfer to another line and get most places in the state, or hop on the train, or get to the airport. It's not perfect, but it's totally usable for most things.
• If you must use a car, there's Uber, Lyft, Zipcar, etc.
• Bikes exist.

Point is, there are just as many options for getting around here as there are flimsy justifications for car-dependence - it's more of a personal choice and it's largely informed by what neighborhood you live in and your habits/lifestyle.

I’ve never understood this sentiment. I only own a car here in case I need to leave Providence and go somewhere that isn’t off the train, which happens maybe a couple times a month. Otherwise, the thing just sits there, depreciating.

I can’t upvote this enough

Thank goodness - I really hate almost getting hit by a car whenever I’m not in one, and often when I am in one as well

They used to have fossils at Benny’s but not no more - now you gotta go to Job Lot

I mean R&D is clearly superior, but I’m definitely not chasing that dragon round these parts.

Fun fact, while ordering Russ & Daughters on Goldbelly is prohibitively expensive (or at least financially unwise) - Shelsky’s is very close in quality and has reasonable prices, shipped nationwide. For those days you would otherwise break down and buy an Amtrak ticket

https://shelskys.com/shipped/all/