Not Boston, but I ubered to Worcester a few months back. It was like $60 there and $80 back

Unfortunately no. BUT, they are subject to oversight from the state.

WTF are you talking about? > the Streisand effect

Servers who earn the tipped minimum wage should absolutely receive a 20-25% tip. The person making a regular wage and expecting you to tip them for the privilege of standing in their presence? GTFOH.

Is this place funded by the state?

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Unless they poured the drink or brought the food to me, then there’s no tip.

Pizza delivery gets the best tip from me though since they’re putting miles on their own car onto of their service.

I actually don’t like it here but I’m from a big city. I came for school and can’t wait to leave.

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Looking at some photos of the place I don't think they have TVs. This guy might just be a twat and fucking with you.

Moved here about 6 years ago. The sixth state I've lived in. Great size. The arts / food scenes aren't all corporate blandness. Easy to get around. Safe. I like it a lot. The only downside is I have a longish commute when I need to go to the office, and I have to head to Boston or NYC for arts, especially international touring bands. No big deal, generally.

Bleh no!!!! Boston/Cambridge is cool, but providence is soooo much better. Geez. Where have you been that you think this 😂

I disklike portland Maine very much. It’s so overhyped. Will give it another shot, but comes no where close to prov or RI in general

Won’t you be too busy hiding under the covers?

Thank you. I will start checking them out, and try to go to more local events this year.

The most interesting/politically disruptive candidates here are on the lowest levels (state rep, state senate, council). This is because these candidates can represent the views of their small neighborhoods and are often the biggest community presence. Once you go to mayor or state level positions, the leadership gets a lot more milquetoast because all of the vote gets split, it attracts career politicians, low turnout, and the opinionated candidates on both ends don't appeal to enough voting blocks to win majority.

Check out the twitter of some local general assembly members to see some great commentary and ideas. If you watch capitol TV, you'll see some excellent politicians whose hands are just usually tied by decisions made upstream.

I love my city, and get wicked defensive when someone criticizes it. Sure it's not perfect, but what city is? It's just the right size, and has so many great amenities.

Spoken like a true Rhode Islander!

It's important to note that scheduled ubers still can cancel and there are some horror stories out there-- their TOS guarantees nothing. The only guarantee that OP will get there in time would be to spend that $150 on a hotel room near the airport/shuttle if this flight is really that important.

Random bits of my impressions that may or may not be helpful

Orlando:- Tiny downtown area that feels like a real city. I didn't spend much time here but a friend rented an apartment in a high-rise and it was really cool and trendy at the time (we were in our early 20s) Most of "Orlando" is actually tons of suburban sprawl, neighborhoods and strip malls, for miles and miles. Lots of places to eat and things to do, but you have to work to find local places amid all of the franchises.

- Despite have 4 lanes of traffic on major roads somehow the roads are ALWAYS congested with traffic. Orlando drivers tended to be wildly unpredictable - either too slow or downright dangerous drivers. Also, you probably need a car.

- People were generally friendly. The weather is always warm, sometimes too hot, and very, very humid. Lots of rain daily. Every building is air conditioned though.

That was 2013-2014 so things may have changed since.

Providence:- The part that feels like a city proper is also pretty small, but overall less franchises. More local places. Lots of art. Universities have a big influence here, so lots of students and artists and events going on (not as much as New York or Boston though, but more than I was able to find in orlando) Lots of old historic buildings, if that's your jam.

- The food scene is small but really, really good. I moved here from Boston and Providence blows away the restaurants from the bigger city.

- You get 4 seasons, generally (this year the winter is super mild). Summers can be hot!- People here tend to be friendly but you get that New England vibe from them, folks are busy and more curt. However you have less "Florida Man" type people than Orlando (that can be a pro or a con depending on what you value)

- There is a decent bus system although a car would be more convenient usually. It's actually a bikeable city. It's very drivable. Rhode Island drivers are strangely almost as wild and bad as Orlando drivers, to my dismay, so watch out for that. Also the roads are under construction all the time, forever.

Providence is a weird place but in a fun, artsy, local kind of way.
Orlando is weird in a "I'm screaming and everything is on fire" kind of way.

Definitely agree with u/anoncamcam that PVD hasn't bounced back since Covid so it's a little sleepier here, and also that there are probably much better places in Florida to live. Unless you're a Disney adult I guess, in which case Orlando is still bad, you'd want to move to Kissimmee instead.

Edit - I saw in your comment below that you're looking for a diverse place. Orlando is super diverse, heavily hispanic / latino but with people from all over.PVD is more white for sure, but there is also a large hispanic / latino population, and the universities bring in a lot of diverse and international students, although not sure how many of them stick around after graduating. I'm white so I can't speak much more to the experience of POC here, although my partner is south-asian and she's been enjoying living here so far.

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Seven Stars new POS annoys me so much. Like I get it, someone made the sandwich I grabbed out of the case, but now some person has to look at me like I'm an asshole because I'm not going to tip for a wrapped sandwich I took out of a case and handed to you to scan? At least they finally adjusted it from starting at 20%.

Tipping culture is abhorrent. I'm sorry. I know there are people who make good money. But studies out there show that attractiveness is basically the top predictor of tips. I mean it goes that way for sales too, I know. But still, it's unfair to people that their salary (not job performance) is based on whether people want to fuck them. Pay servers a fair wage, put the fucking price on the menu.

Last, if you are working retail don't put out a fucking tip jar. I bought a fucking t-shirt. I don't need to tip the cashier, but you will see this shit now.

FTR I tip and tip well people who have to rely on it. I still hate the system but it's the system.

We absolutely need more involvement in non-election years and throughout primaries. Most of my neighbors would never show up to a community event that involves raising awareness for a problem or issue.

Politics have shifted so far to the right in this country, that we are electing conservatives to office and expecting them to enact progressive policies just because they aren’t far-right. Capitalism and greed are the root cause of our problems, but all peoples talk about is the R or the D.

I understand that feeling of despair after watching nothing change for years. That’s why I moved from my hometown. I’m a registered RINO who now leans farther to the left than most people who live up here. I couldn’t take the hatred and indifference from the overwhelming majority of people I grew up around anymore.

Anytime I would mention something is wrong, it was all finger-pointing and no accountability. Blaming some nonexistent left-wing menace, while stripping our rights and giving corporate handouts to their friends.

Providence needs someone like Fetterman to unite the community behind blue-collar workers and the working class. I’m still new enough here than I don’t even know anyone who remotely could fit that description.

There’s a place that will pull a nail and patch your tire for 15, I gave the guy 20 and tell him keep the change because I’m getting a good deal. If I’m paying shop hours for any type of mechanical work they’re not getting an extra cent off me.

How competitive are Brown's salaries when compared to other private and R1s?
I assumed the prestige + competitiveness in academia/higher ed is a lot of the draw and that maybe the salaries weren't amazing for the CoL difference unless candidates are in hard to staff fields or famous academics. I'd be interested to know from someone with more insight. Like even high 5 figures here isn't comfortable with a family anymore.

Also, the private school tuition is next level. It's like sending your kid college for 13 consecutive years. I think 35-55k a year is unheard of for Texas, but it's the going rate here, OP. The only "affordable" private high school is Catholic.