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Old 08-12-2010, 10:00 PM
 
Location: Brisbane, Australia
961 posts, read 2,565,301 times
Reputation: 213

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California doesn't appear on the list until #25. I know these lists are to be taken with a grain of salt, but I'd still love to hear thoughts on it.

Best Cities for Families 2010: All Cities - Parenting.com

1. Arlington, Virginia
2. Austin, Texas
3. Madison, Wisconsin
4. Ann Arbor, Michigan
5. Lexington, Kentucky
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Spokane, Washington
8. Scottsdale, Arizona
9. Omaha, Nebraska
10. Raleigh, North Carolina
11. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
12. Lincoln, Nebraska
13. St. Paul, Minnesota
14. Virginia Beach, Virginia
15. Des Moines, Iowa
16. Billings, Montana
17. Boise, Idaho
18. Minneapolis, Minnesota
19. Colorado Springs, Colorado
20. Augusta, Georgia
21. El Paso, Texas
22. Dallas, Texas
23. Topeka, Kansas
24. Little Rock, Arkansas
25. San Diego, California
26. Honolulu, Hawaii
27. Durham, North Carolina
28. Seattle, Washington
29. New York, New York
30. Boston, Massachusetts
31. Albuquerque, New Mexico
32. Fort Wayne, Indiana
33. San Antonio, Texas
34. Aurora, Colorado
35. Mobile, Alabama
36. Charlotte, North Carolina
37. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
38. Tulsa, Oklahoma
39. Denver, Colorado
40. Newark, New Jersey
41. Providence, Rhode Island
42. Louisville, Kentucky
43. Richmond, Virginia
44. Phoenix, Arizona
45. Chesapeake, VA
46. Wichita, Kansas
47. Houston, Texas
48. Corpus Christi, Texas
49. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
50. Hartford, Connecticut
51. Anchorage, Alaska
52. Tucson, Arizona
53. Fort Worth, Texas
54. San Francisco, California
55. Indianapolis, Indiana
56. Montgomery, Alabama
57. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
58. Salt Lake City, Utah
59. Greensboro, North Carolina
60. Arlington, Texas
61. Columbus, Ohio
62. Mesa, Arizona
63. San Jose, California
64. Tacoma, Washington
65. Nashville, Tennessee
66. Norfolk, Virginia
67. Anaheim, California
68. Kansas City, Missouri
69. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70. New Orleans, Louisiana
71. Washington, District of Columbia
72. Syracuse, New York
73. Buffalo, New York
74. Cleveland, Ohio
75. Jacksonville, Florida
76. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
77. Baltimore, Maryland
78. Los Angeles, California
79. Riverside, California
80. Wilmington, Deleware
81. Tampa, Florida
82. Cincinnati, Ohio
83. Long Beach, California
84. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
85. Bakersfield, California
86. Atlanta, Georgia
87. St. Louis, Missouri
88. Akron, Ohio
89. Toledo, Ohio
90. Chicago, Illinois
91. Memphis, Tennessee
92. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
93. Orlando, Florida
94. Birmingham, Alabama
95. Grand Rapids, Michigan
96. Miami, Florida
97. St. Petersburg, Florida
98. Fresno, California
99. Sacramento, California
100. Las Vegas, Nevada
101. Detroit, Michigan
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Old 08-12-2010, 11:34 PM
 
Location: California
37,121 posts, read 42,189,292 times
Reputation: 34997
CA cities make up 1/10 of the list. And honestly, those aren't the CA cities I would choose. I don't know what the critera that magazine was using but it doesn't really matter.
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Old 08-13-2010, 12:15 AM
 
4 posts, read 7,104 times
Reputation: 10
the fact that Los Angeles is posted on this list is a little ridiculous. LA is where i moved away from when i was younger because of the life i was beginning to create. to raise kids? LA is too fast paced and too filled with materialism (if that's even a word..)
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Old 08-13-2010, 12:25 AM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,438,984 times
Reputation: 7586
Anaheim? Riverside? Are you kidding?
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Old 08-13-2010, 01:55 AM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,757,166 times
Reputation: 1927
San Francisco isn't really kid friendly either. It may be a paradise for 20 and 30 somethings, but it sucks for kids.
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Old 08-13-2010, 02:49 AM
 
Location: Earth
17,440 posts, read 28,589,728 times
Reputation: 7477
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhcompy View Post
San Francisco isn't really kid friendly either. It may be a paradise for 20 and 30 somethings, but it sucks for kids.
IMO, SF's a better place for kids than the SoCal cities BECAUSE it doesn't go out of its way to cater to them and kids are expected to live up to adult standards, and so kids have to grow up faster. This does mark a radical departure from the SF of 50 years ago which bragged about being America's most family-friendly city, but America has changed radically in 50 years across the board. I wouldn't consider it to be that desirable of a place to raise kids, but more so than LA, OC, the IE, or SD.

That said, I'd consider Monterey and Santa Cruz to be California's most family friendly cities. I'd be hesitant about raising kids in SoCal even in the good, safe areas because of the rampant materialism and conspicuous consumption, but within SoCal some places are better than others (even within LA county or OC despite not considering either a good place for kids)
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Old 08-13-2010, 05:06 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,672,365 times
Reputation: 49248
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaynetarzana View Post
California doesn't appear on the list until #25. I know these lists are to be taken with a grain of salt, but I'd still love to hear thoughts on it.

Best Cities for Families 2010: All Cities - Parenting.com

1. Arlington, Virginia
2. Austin, Texas
3. Madison, Wisconsin
4. Ann Arbor, Michigan
5. Lexington, Kentucky
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Spokane, Washington
8. Scottsdale, Arizona
9. Omaha, Nebraska
10. Raleigh, North Carolina
11. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
12. Lincoln, Nebraska
13. St. Paul, Minnesota
14. Virginia Beach, Virginia
15. Des Moines, Iowa
16. Billings, Montana
17. Boise, Idaho
18. Minneapolis, Minnesota
19. Colorado Springs, Colorado
20. Augusta, Georgia
21. El Paso, Texas
22. Dallas, Texas
23. Topeka, Kansas
24. Little Rock, Arkansas
25. San Diego, California
26. Honolulu, Hawaii
27. Durham, North Carolina
28. Seattle, Washington
29. New York, New York
30. Boston, Massachusetts
31. Albuquerque, New Mexico
32. Fort Wayne, Indiana
33. San Antonio, Texas
34. Aurora, Colorado
35. Mobile, Alabama
36. Charlotte, North Carolina
37. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
38. Tulsa, Oklahoma
39. Denver, Colorado
40. Newark, New Jersey
41. Providence, Rhode Island
42. Louisville, Kentucky
43. Richmond, Virginia
44. Phoenix, Arizona
45. Chesapeake, VA
46. Wichita, Kansas
47. Houston, Texas
48. Corpus Christi, Texas
49. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
50. Hartford, Connecticut
51. Anchorage, Alaska
52. Tucson, Arizona
53. Fort Worth, Texas
54. San Francisco, California
55. Indianapolis, Indiana
56. Montgomery, Alabama
57. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
58. Salt Lake City, Utah
59. Greensboro, North Carolina
60. Arlington, Texas
61. Columbus, Ohio
62. Mesa, Arizona
63. San Jose, California
64. Tacoma, Washington
65. Nashville, Tennessee
66. Norfolk, Virginia
67. Anaheim, California
68. Kansas City, Missouri
69. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70. New Orleans, Louisiana
71. Washington, District of Columbia
72. Syracuse, New York
73. Buffalo, New York
74. Cleveland, Ohio
75. Jacksonville, Florida
76. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
77. Baltimore, Maryland
78. Los Angeles, California
79. Riverside, California
80. Wilmington, Deleware
81. Tampa, Florida
82. Cincinnati, Ohio
83. Long Beach, California
84. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
85. Bakersfield, California
86. Atlanta, Georgia
87. St. Louis, Missouri
88. Akron, Ohio
89. Toledo, Ohio
90. Chicago, Illinois
91. Memphis, Tennessee
92. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
93. Orlando, Florida
94. Birmingham, Alabama
95. Grand Rapids, Michigan
96. Miami, Florida
97. St. Petersburg, Florida
98. Fresno, California
99. Sacramento, California
100. Las Vegas, Nevada
101. Detroit, Michigan
you said it, take these studies with a grain of salt.

NIta
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Old 08-13-2010, 09:06 AM
 
1,687 posts, read 6,071,467 times
Reputation: 830
It is poorly researched even for a ranking list like this.

For example, one of the criteria is a Childrens Hospital. But the survey only gives credit if it is within the city limits, not if it is in the same urban area or even just 1 or 2 miles away from the city.

So Anaheim gets no credit for CHOC in next door City of Orange. CHCC just outside the Fresno city limits in Madera County is not considered. Etc, etc. etc.

And as the magazine says it is just a collection of cities they chose. "Our list was compiled by using a list of the top 100 cities by population, adding in well-known smaller cities too, and removing cities so close to other large cities that they would have similar data."

In other words they manipulated the list and apparently also didn't do good data collection.
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Old 08-13-2010, 09:35 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,672,365 times
Reputation: 49248
Quote:
Originally Posted by FresnoFacts View Post
It is poorly researched even for a ranking list like this.

For example, one of the criteria is a Childrens Hospital. But the survey only gives credit if it is within the city limits, not if it is in the same urban area or even just 1 or 2 miles away from the city.

So Anaheim gets no credit for CHOC in next door City of Orange. CHCC just outside the Fresno city limits in Madera County is not considered. Etc, etc. etc.

And as the magazine says it is just a collection of cities they chose. "Our list was compiled by using a list of the top 100 cities by population, adding in well-known smaller cities too, and removing cities so close to other large cities that they would have similar data."

In other words they manipulated the list and apparently also didn't do good data collection.
I agree and as much as I love living in AR, one of the only reasons Little Rock is rated in the top 25: the Childrens hospital there. It is one of the best in the country (I didn't say best for all you who don't want to think anything is AR is good) I said one of the best.

Nita
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Old 08-13-2010, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Brisbane, Australia
961 posts, read 2,565,301 times
Reputation: 213
This is why I wanted thoughts because unfortunately, some people believe these lists. The fact that Detroit even shows up in the list makes it a complete joke to me. I was also shocked by their claim that Ann Arbor Michigan spends over $17K per pupil in the public schools which is almost double the national average. So I checked the greatschools.net website and it does not support the Parenting magazine claims.

Total per pupil expenditures in Ann Arbor are $11,553. The state average is $9,244.
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