NEW: Providence Named Best Place to Live for Eating Out

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

GoLocalProv Features Team

Providence is named a Top US city to live for eating out, in a new Trulia analysis. Photo: Whiskey Republic.

Providence has just been named the #8 best place to live in America for eating out, according to Trulia and Forbes.com.

The capital city can brag that it has 24.3 restaurants per 10,000 households, according to the analysis just posted by Jed Kolko, Chief Economist at the real estate site. And on the list of Trulia's Top 10, Providence provides the best bang for the buck, posting a median price per square foot of homes listed for sale at $146--the lowest among the top 10.

Quantity, quantity, quantity

Kolko took an analytical look at the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the US with the highest density of restaurants and bars (adjusting for number of households). "We didn't try to measure quality since that's a matter of personal taste," wrote Kolko on Forbes, "and the best-restaurant or favorite-bar debate can get fierce."

Trulia's bird's eye view of restaurant density in the US. Chart: Trulia/Forbes.com.

Providence beat out Boston in the new ranking by one spot, and the only other New England contender was the Fairfield County, CT, metropolitan area, which ranked #2. It may come as no surprise that San Francisco, CA, took the #1 spot with 39.3 restaurants per 10,000 households. San Francisco's super saturation of eating and drinking spots comes at a price, though--this city's median square foot price is $459, the highest in the Top 10.

And we're affordable

Kolko called out 3 cities in the Top 10 for being more affordable--Providence, Seattle, and Portland, OR. "Each has a thriving and innovative local food scene," Kolko said. "Lots of young chefs choose these smaller cities because it’s cheaper to start up restaurants there than in more expensive markets like San Francisco and New York. And it doesn’t hurt that Providence is the home of Johnson & Wales University, a well-known cooking school."

The Top 10 Best Metros for Drinking was a completely different grouping, and no New England cities made the cut. New Orleans took top honors, with 8.6 bars per 10,000 households, followed by Milwaukee, WI, at #2, and Omaha, NE at #3. San Francisco was the only city on both lists, ranking #8.

For the entire article and more on the rankings, go here.

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Comments:

Charles Drago

11:08am on Thursday, August 02, 2012

As long as you don't eat at Al Forno -- the most over-hyped, rip-off restaurant in America.