I'd try pvdthings, they're on ig and stuff. The idea is it's like a library but for tools. So you pay a membership to use tools that are super useful but niche. Stuff most people use once and then never again, or they just don't have a place to store it so it's not worth buying. For example like a pressure washer, or a car dent removal kit, or a ladder or something.

They likely have woodworking tools, though I doubt they have a shop. The people that run it are chill. Other than that I'd look into the Steelyard, this art space north of Atwells. I don't think they have a woodworking shop there but I'm sure they know where the shops are, if there are any.

Fed Hill/West End is what it sounds like you want imo. It's close to everything and very walkable. Elmwood tends to be louder, have more cars, and parts of it feel more run-down. The scene there is chill (lots of DR culture), whereas further north it's more Italian (e.g. Atwells is pretty much little italy). Elmhurst area is more like suburbs on the west side, which maybe you want to look into. Same with Silver lake but I haven't explored much down there. People on here like to make a bug deal about the crime in Prov, which admittedly seems worse around Broad st. But it's overblown, the crime rate here is very low, especially compared to what I hear about Hartford.

If you're looking for cons, realistically the thing that Providence has particularly bad is road rage and especially noise pollution. As for pros the food is phenomenal for how small the city is, and there's a couple really walkable neighborhoods. It takes 20 mins before you're in the woods, plus it's a satellite town to Boston so you have easy access to the full spectrum of nature - full city life without having to live in a giant city or out in a cabin.

This path gets a lot of traffic 🐕🐕💪💪

Idk cause I'm on my 20's. But one thing that really helped me was online games. Some are way too toxic or just intense like CSGO or LoL. But lots of others like GTA/Minecraft are a space where otherwise shy ppl have a common lowkey activity as an excuse to make friends. Might seem orthogonal to the goal of meeting people in your area but it helps build the confidence for more meaningful connections to grow.

I think an important step to feeling less lonely and more connected is to foster/appreciate the passing, surface level connections. Whatever your backstory is, you can always hold hope that you'll build towards a healthy connection with your community.

That's a shame. Imo there are certain demographics we don't think about that are disproportionately targeted. A mcdonalds worker making minimum wage and then getting harassed/shamed is like the perfect example.

I find the term a little flawed but slandering people over a late mcdonalds order is some grade-A karen behavior.

I got a santa suit you could use but its covered in milk stains and cookie crumbs

East side (different than east providence) is full of students and rich boomers. There's Wickendon/Fox Point at the bottom, which is very hip. Then Thayer st. aka the college kid area, so cool but everyone there is 20. And slightly east of that is Wayland square, which is also hip but more calm. Extending up from there, all the way to the bottom of Pawtucket is Blackstone blvd and Hope st. Blackstone blvd is extremely posh so that area is really expensive/swanky and people there are older. Hope street and that area extending west to the cemetary is really charming, quiet and nice, especially up to Hope Village. Specifically beware University Heights, Ik some people have had nice experiences. When I was there everyone there called it the projects. It felt constantly loud and unsafe.

The west side equivalent is Federal Hill. At the top is Atwells aka little Italy. It's poppin with a large bar scene with valets all along the street. Broadway st. is kind of the center of Federal hill, lots of fixie bikes and coffee shops. That extends down to Westminster and Dexter Park. Fed hill has a reputation of being very block-by-block. Some feel run down and unsafe but one block over feels super gentified and fancy. Overall it's less consistently quiet and nice than the east side but imo feels more lively for people in their 20s and 30s. Past Westminster is the Armory District, which extends towards Broad st. The apts are cheaper and it's more just housing, rather than bars and stuff. Lived by Dexter park for a bit and the area was nice. Though you can definitely find yourself in a bubble of nice housing, encroaching on abject poverty as you go south across Cranston st. I generally feel safe in Providence but people talk about the noise pollution here. Living close to Cranston st. I found there was constant throbbing bass coming from one source or another, which was torturous for me. I think the west side of Dexter park by Messer st. is much more chill, east of it you're by a lot more subwoofers and firecrackers, as well as some pretty heavily policed section 8 housing. I've heard several people echo the sentiment that it's more pleasant if you try to stay north of Westminster.

Past that there's Onlyville, Downtown, Smith Hill, Broad st. Washington Park, Cranson, East Prov, Wanskuck Elmhurst and a couple other burrows. I haven't lived there so Idrk but a lot of that is surrounding suburbs, and most of them are pretty connected to everything.

damn looks chill

Yes I do. I mean, yes they do

Golden House always. Idk if it's authentic but it's so good

Yea come by my van in 15

I go there for groceries. I will say that it's deceptive to call it a co-op when it's in no way worker owned; it's a consumer-owned co-op.

I guess you pay for a membership, and then your groceries are cheaper. Even that seems like a tenuous definition of "consumer-owned," it kinda just seems like a rebranded cupon-deal. It's technically legally considered a co-op, but the people that work there don't get any piece of the pie, like they would if it were an actual co-op. Strikes me as pretty blatant greenwashing when I think about it.

No idea. Where is Material_Fabulous when we need them most????

26, moved here across the country 2 years ago, didn't know a soul, peak covid, working remote. I still want to make more friends but I've made a lot of them since those lonely mid-quarantine days. Heres my 2 cents:

Lots of people are in the same boat. Which is encouragement, but it's also useful info. Look for places that will filter for people who are also looking to get into the community. Like if you tried to socialize with a random person on the street, they might be pretty full up, and not particularly interested in a friendship. But if you chatted someone up in (for example) a church event, the vibe is that they're likely to be very friendly and quick to make plans together. Look for community spaces like that; where there are hotbeds for social formation.

Find a reason to go to the same place over and over again. It takes months (or years) to get established, and accepting the fact that it will be gradual opens a lot of doors, compared to trying to force immediate connections. I know people here who used bumble bff to make meaningful connections, though imo it seems spotty. The strategy I've found, and continue to do, is to just see the same people in public over and over again until conversation sparks (which is in itself a skill that takes a lot of bravery/effort to enact). I've found out the relevant term for those public spaces is a "Third Place." Keep an eye out for places where people are naturally drawn there or doing an activity, and also sorta socialize and form a community as a biproduct. So gyms, parks, shared workspaces, art collectives (like The Steel Yard), some libraries and bars, etc. Find an excuse to go there regularly and then let yourself be social.

For me, the spaces I've had a lot of success with are 7 Stars, and hanging out at the dog park. Also prioritizing walking over driving makes you bump into a lot more people. And honestly even if talking with strangers at the park doesn't lead anywhere (which in my experience it does), it really makes the day better to just have brief, surface level positive interactions with people. Good luck, catch me on Broadway!

I really like Urban Fellow. In my experience they're one of the few places that can do all hair types well, and their whole thing is fades and tapers. It's like $30