Recent comments in /f/providence

brick1972 t1_j65zrz4 wrote

Reply to Do you like living in Providence? by movingtori

Here's the deal.

RIers are allowed to shit all over RI and everything about it. It makes us feel good.

But if you are coming from somewhere else to shit on RI, we are coming for you.

Now, beyond that, there is a long time state/city dynamic between the rest of the state and Providence. It goes way back to Buddy Cianci's feuds with the governors and probably before that. Add to that the recent red/blue inspired rural versus city dynamic and you get a lot of people who actually know nothing about Providence crapping on it for ha-ha's.

Last, there is the well known internet dynamic that it's a lot easier to be vocal about complaints than compliments. You think this sub is bad, check NextDoor for 5 minutes or any Facebook group comments.

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j65yca3 wrote

Reply to Unresponsive management in loft buildings by Ahap169

I would avoid lofts unless you have a few non-negotiables: dogs, modern finishes, air conditioning.

If you can live without the above, you will probably find a better living situation at a lower cost. A lot of the housing stock here is mutlifamily, which means you could share 0 walls vs several paper thin walls in a loft and a loud hallway. Worse yet, the big management companies are likely to calculate a "market rate" rent adjustment on renewal since you're just another rando to the management office.

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j65wtq7 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Unresponsive management in loft buildings by Ahap169

Yep, there has never been an easier time to be a terrible landlord and still increase the rent.

Alternatively, I live in a super chill affordable apartment and have always had this luck with the exception of one place. It's a two way street, so I try to be helpful and it seems like neighbors have the same idea. The only time I've had not great neighbors was in the poorly run apartment, probably because people treated poorly are going to treat the living situation just as poorly.

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j65tity wrote

Reply to comment by GoGatorsMashedTaters in Do you like living in Providence? by movingtori

There absolutely are too few people involved. That being said, a lot of people who do advocate are also the most demoralized when they continue to see glacial change.

For a recent example, let's take the school closures (moving kids out of buildings and redistributing them to other schools throughout the city). The response has been universally negative from the community. Meetings have been nearly shut down from outcry and hours of public comments heard from concerned families who want the normal procedural protocol from the city (the state can avoid this because of the mandate it has over the city right now). Most likely, things will be business is usual so for those people it feels like the status quo is pretty fixed, but hopefully those people continue to be involved and advocate.

Another recent example would be the rate hikes many people took off work to speak against. They were pretty much rubber stamped and while we could argue it was necessary in this economic climate, for those people it felt like there was never a debate to be had.

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iandavid t1_j65r7s2 wrote

Reply to Urban Greens Co-Op is asking for $50K on GoFundMe by Anonymous_Casual

I want Urban Greens to stick around because nearly every other supermarket around me is an out-of-state business:

  • Shaw’s is owned by Albertsons (Idaho) which is merging with Kroger (Ohio)
  • Stop & Shop is owned by Ahold (The Netherlands)
  • Trader Joe’s is owned by half the German family that split the Aldi chain in two, and the US Aldi is owned by the other half
  • Whole Foods is owned by fucking Amazon
  • Price Rite is owned by Wakefern (New Jersey)
  • Vicente’s and Market Basket are both Massachusetts-based

Who does that leave that’s actually local? There’s Shore’s Market in North Providence and Cranston, which is mostly limited to Italian stuff. Then there’s all the little neighborhood markets that are generally too small to have most of what I’m shopping for.

I know Urban Greens has had a rough time lately, but I really hope it finds its way, because it’s exactly the kind of small, cooperative market that I want to shop at.

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lonely_dodo t1_j65r0a2 wrote

Reply to comment by leavingthecold in Everyone is asking for a tip these days by leavingthecold

>I remember seeing a tip jar on a lemonade van before

i mean, i don't think that's a situation where tipping is obligated but i don't blame them for putting it out. if im paying cash and get 37 cents in change id rather dump it in the jar then lug it around all day then stick it in a drawer to forget about forever, you know?

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Mountain_Bill5743 t1_j65qynl wrote

Reply to Do you like living in Providence? by movingtori

I love it here, but if you've been here for a few years before covid you really feel the value difference to a few years ago. I suppose if I just got here today I wouldn't have that comparison.

It's like if your favorite sandwich place doubled the costs due to inflation or cut portions in half. You probably will still say it's your favorite sandwich place, "but it's really gotten more expensive/portions really got smaller lately." It doesn't mean you won't go there or that you can't afford a sandwich now, it's just that every time you go you remember that you used to get a lot more value and it impacts that experience just a bit. Providence is in that stage for me. Comparison is the thief of joy and all that.

My family income is a lot, but the goal posts keep changing here. I actually avoided HCOL areas my whole life because I grew up financially insecure and now I've found myself in one by chance (been here a long time). So I still love it here, but I've had to work through new worries about stability personally.

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