Providence: It’s not Boston

Why Providence? Well…why not?

Rhode Island is the smallest US state, and not the sort of place you find yourself by accident. It’s where all those Cthulu stories come from, as Lovecraft apparently went a little off the rails when he was denied a spot at Brown. I saw a fair amount of Cthulu graffiti around the city but when I went back to take a picture of specific bits I couldn’t find them again.

I wish I could say I was kidding.

It’s the kind of city where you can wander along a street lined with trendy boutiques and antique shops and find places with opening hours like this:

Just a few steps away, nestled in a series of buildings that feel like a slice of England frozen in time four hundred years ago, there’s a sex shop with the best tag line ever:

And there’s a coffee shop that gets everything right. The Coffee Exchange is the platonic form of the coffee shop, at least the way I think of them. It’s warm, takes coffee more seriously than it takes itself, has plenty of tables, and is committed to keeping the space social and inclusive. Coffee shops for years have struggled with the question of what to do about people camping out with their computers; each has to make a choice about how computer friendly it’s going to be. (Especially this close to a major university.) The Coffee Exchange is tolerant…but on weekends they put their foot down:

I was impressed with the place. The coffee was good quality and very American: strong drip coffee that hadn’t been made very long ago, the beans freshly ground. I holed up by a window and waited for the morning to warm up a little before continuing to explore.
Over a day of walking wherever I could and talking to whoever seemed chatty I learned two things about Providence. First, there’s a major university here:

That’s the view from the front of Brown, looking out over the city. American universities have a particular feel to them that I’ve always liked, from when I was a kid, which probably explains why I’m still hanging around unis even though I prefer the Irish ones now. Brown struck me the same way most elite unis do: very nice, lots to recommend it, but not as unique as it likes to think itself.

The second thing I learned about Providence is that it’s not Boston.

This might seem self evident, not the sort of thing that needs to be commented on, but it’s actually pretty important. At least, that’s what I gathered after only a short time and a handful of conversations. Some people are proud of the fact that it’s not Boston, and others seem to be a little resentful. Some are even wistful, and will talk about their adventures in Boston (much the same way Dubliners will talk about London, or Angelinos will talk about Vegas). But everyone agrees: it’s not Boston.

Sometimes the conversation strayed as far away as New York. I had a conversation in an antique shop with a woman who disliked all the tall buildings of New York. She said she couldn’t ever find her way around because she could never see the sun.

Because Providence isn’t the kind of place you find yourself in by accident, I was glad I’d picked it. I’ve done most of the major cities on the Eastern seaboard, and Providence was a pleasant diversion from the usual city pattern. It was welcoming and well kept and very much alive in its own quiet way.

Also, the flights were free.