Kids & Family
RI Towns Graded From A+ to C: How Did Your Town Do?
The survey came up with neighborhoods on the East Side of Providence and a Bay State suburb but did manage to include Barrington & Jamestown
PROVIDENCE, RI — Do you live in an A+ community or a C community? Niche came out with a list of the Best Places in Rhode Island to live. Insiders may be a little nonplussed by choices like Blackstone, Hope, Wayland and Plainville. But except for Plainville, which is a Massachusetts town not too far from the state border, the other oddly named 'best places' are actually neighborhoods on or abutting the East Side of Providence.
Basically, Wayland is Wayland Square. Blackstone is Blackstone Boulevard, not the Bay State mill town north of Woonsocket. Hope is Hope Street and the neighborhood along its west side, not the town near the Scituate Reservoir in northern Rhode Island nor Hope Valley in Richmond, hometown of singer Billy Gilman.
Fox Point, Mount Hope and Reservoir (as in Reservoir Avenue) also won approval.
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Jamestown and Kingston are described as Providence suburbs. But in addition to the list of best places, Niche also gave every community a letter grade from A+ to C. They used school rankings, crime statistics and other data to come up the grades. How did your Town do? Here is the list of grades for the Patch towns.
Barrington A+
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Bristol A-
Cranston B+
Coventry B-
East Greenwich A
East Providence B
Jamestown A+
Johnston B
Little Compton A-
Middletown A-
Narragansett A
Newport A-
North Kingstown A
Portsmouth A
Providence B
Here is the list of the other cities and Towns with their grades from niche.com.
Burrillville B-
Charlestown B+
Cumberland B+
- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 42 reviews
Current Resident:Safe neighborhoods, clean, great school system! Friendly people, close to the water, lots of shops and restaurants, close to the city.
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- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 8 reviews
Current Resident:I have only been living in Kingston since September 2016, however I really enjoy the small town community. The University is less than 5 minutes from my apartment and downtown and all the shopping are less than ten in the other direction. There are lots of great destinations, especially beaches, all within 30 min or less. If you need the city bustle and nightlife Providence is just over 30 min away and well worth the trip for a good night out. Basically, so far so good, I haven't found anything to complain about.
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- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 3 reviews
Current Resident:I have lived in Jamestown for almost all of my 23 years, and it is truly a beautiful place to grow up in and raise a family. With a beach never further than a mile away and the bustling city of Newport just a short drive over the bridge, it is a popular tourist destination during the summer. Possibly due to its increased popularity, the cost of living and owning a home on the island has grown astronomically, potentially limiting the socioeconomical diversity of the island. However, the classic New England charm of the town and close-knit feel of the community more than make up for it's shortcomings.
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- Neighborhood in Providence, RI
- 3 reviews
Niche User: Good central location to Boston, New York, Connecticut and more. Beautiful, growing small historical city. Cons are high taxes and the public transit could absolutely extend/improve.
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- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 20 reviews
Current Resident:I've lived in East Greenwich almost all of my life, and couldn't picture myself living anywhere else. Amazing schools, restaurants, great community to raise a family.More about East Greenwich
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- Neighborhood in Providence, RI
- 9 reviews
Niche User:Great access to parks and running trails. Great art scene too!More about Hope
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- Town in Rhode Island
- 39 reviews
Nearby Resident:South Kingstown is the closest town to the University of Rhode Island. As such, the autumn and winter months are full of young college students, and the summer months are full of tourists (it is close to the popular RI beaches). Due to its quaint New England charm, proximity to the ocean and URI, the cost of housing is pretty high, when compared to the rest of the state. However, the schools are pretty good, the few restaurants that are there are pretty good, and there isn't that much crime. Even though there are a lot of college students, it tends to be a mostly white town- very few black, brown, or hispanic people.
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- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 29 reviews
Niche User: The area I live in is great. Compared to where I used to live I would choose this area again and again. I used to live in a very busy city, not much to do, but here I am a lot closer to the water. The beach is but a short 15 minute drive, and not only is the beach close but a lot of the things people enjoy to do in Rhode Island over the summer is a lot closer. Its a lovely place to live, the neighbors seems to be more friendly and the whole town seems to be more happier in general.
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- Suburb of Providence, RI
- 11 reviews
Niche User: I live in a beautiful, coastal, "small town feeling" kind of place. There are only 3 schools, so many kids go through all the schooling together. The schools all have good reputations and many families want to move here because of that. Its nice to grow up with people and friends really do become 'framily'! As like many small towns, things are growing and more and more owner operated restaurants and stores are opening. The local government has not allowed fast food chains to come in, however, there are some in the next town!! I feel very lucky and blessed to have been raised in my hometown! More about Narragansett
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- Neighborhood in Providence, RI
- 12 reviews
Niche User:I love it here, but don't know about city stats.More about Wayland
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