Providence, RI photos courtesy of the Providence Warwick CVB; credit all photos: Nicholas Millard
Have you ever judged an entire city or region’s friendliness factor simply based on the first person that you’ve met there?
You know -“The people in ___ are so nice!”- Just because the guy at the car rental counter smiled warmly at you. Or -“The people from ___ are the worst!”- Simply because fate had you crossing paths with someone who’s far less enjoyable to be around than you are.
With this exact mentality I found myself in the presence of a beautiful stranger while in a completely unfamiliar town. Here’s how I came to meet,uh,what’s her name again...?
“Taz”she’ll tell me with a demure smile. After ordering a late lunch from the Small Point Café, a friendly and diminu- tive light-breakfast, lunch,dinner and coffee haven with local artist’s renderings
70 September October 2015
lining the walls, the café resides along Westminster Street amid Providence’s upscale and energetic Downcity section.
Collecting my tasty hummus wrap and accompanying cup of fair trade coffee, I immediately headed toward the outdoor seating out front hoping to snag a nice alfresco table. Alas,all were occupied save for a lone two-top, situated directly in the beating sun. It was then I spotted the gorgeous young lady camped out at the next table over working on her laptop. “Uh,excuse me. Do you mind if I sit with you? I forgot to put on sunscreen,and…”
“Sure, absolutely. Not a problem,” she gestured to the open seat across from her. Thus began and ended my half-hour friendship with the congenial Taz who made me feel instantly welcome in Providence,and - let’s face it - there are
few cities where I’d feel comfortable in even asking a stranger to share the intimate confines of a café table with me, and it’s even rarer for that stranger to so easily acquiesce. (I never would have done such a thing in, say, NewYork City, and I doubt that most NewYorkers would think twice about sharing their tiny table space with me.)
In other words: First impressions count here in“America’s Best Small City.” Who’ll you meet is most likely what you’ll get - a cordial laid back-ness. It’s part old New England amenability with a dash of insouciant youth thrown in for good measure.
Providence boasts a honey of a locale, situated between big brothers Boston and NewYork City, with the rest of Massachusetts,metro NJ, and my own Philly as not-so-far-away feeders.
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