<p>Normally, when driving, New Haven is less than an hour and a half from New York and less than two hours from Boston (Providence is an out-of-the-way city and you normally bypass it going from New York to Boston, via Hartford, so the comparison you made is not valid). There are also express trains that are faster. </p>
<p>In addition to Boston being utterly boring when compared with New York (it’s even worse than comparing say, Paris to a small, provincial city like Toulouse - there’s no real comparison), going to Boston is a hassle because Boston is spread out and does not have a public transit system even remotely comparable to New York’s subway system. It’s a bunch of infrequent trolleys that stop running at midnight. That’s also a reason why much of Boston shuts down very early and on weekends, while New York is a 24 hour city.</p>
<p>It’s good that Providence has a large shopping mall, but it’s kind of sad considering the state had to entirely fund its construction, and also the extreme segregation there between the rich stores and “lower” level makes it kind of depressing, in my opinion. Plus, it is just a bunch of chain stores that can be found anywhere. It’s not at all integrated with Brown or downtown Providence the way that New Haven’s more unique shopping & restaurant areas are integrated with the campus and rest of the city.</p>