I live in an urban/suburban/rural city of about 1 million people ... only here they call it a State !!! Rhode Island !!! ...
... 1MM people and there are about 29 municipalities, each with their own mayor or town council, police and fire departments, school boards etc., etc. ... talk about redundancy ...
The state it mostly WASPs and Italian-Americans ... The capitol city, Providence, has become "The Rennaissance City" ... there has been an amazing upgrade over the last 20 years, started by a former mayor, who unfortunately is now in a federal prison ...
The city provides excellent theater, music, and art venues ... and is a major college site with Brown U, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, and Johnson & Wales U among the top ...
Restaurants of all price levels are GREAT and several offer live music ...
Newport, of course, is a MAJOR tourist destination, as well as the site for the Newport Jazz Festival ...
I've played at several of the better restaurants and CCs, as well as a number of senior associations...
A major summer attraction in Providence is 'Waterfire' which brings thousands of people downtown...
Here are a couple of links ... http://www.waterfire.org/photos/index.html
http://www.50states.com/facts/rdisl.htm

Come and visit sometime ...
t.