Best Place to Raise a Family? (quality of life, living, low cost)

[ampretty]

I'd suggest Oxford, Mississippi.It would be great if you decide staying in this place..

[missymomof3]

I agree with everyone else. What kind of atmosphere do you want to raise your kids in?

[gr99a05]

Originally Posted by Courttpaige

I'm looking for opinions on where you think the best place to raise a family is!? I'm personally more interested in raising a family in a small town and in the South...but again I'd really like to hear your Opinions. Thanks!

Gee whiz. I swear, you Northerners like the south so much but you don't understand that it will cease to exist if you keep moving down here. Don't you have any states up North that are good places to raise a family?

[knke0204]

Minnesota. Hands down.

Low Crime
Clean Air
Beautiful People
Educated People
Strong Economy
Job Availability
Great Schools
Nice Roads
Wildlife
17,000 lakes
17,000 golf courses
4 seasons
friendly people..

[MastermindDSM]

All of those are true of minnesota, however I'll give you 3 seasons, not 4

[The Dissenter]

Personally, if I ever have a family my top choice would be Chesapeake/Virginia Beach, VA. Elizabethtown, KY is also one i like for families.

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by Maabus1999

Someone already posted some "best places" to raise a family, so I will throw out a dose of bad news with the "worst"

10 Worst Cities to Raise a Family

This has the state rankings for childen's overall well being: Everychildmatters.org (http://www.everychildmatters.org/homelandinsecurity/geomatters.pdf - broken link)
.

It's pretty obvious that the places in this site are rated on exactly three criteria: Crime rate, HS graduation rate, and number of city parks. If these hack writers can't go more research than that, they should get a job at Walmart.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by gr99a05

Gee whiz. I swear, you Northerners like the south so much but you don't understand that it will cease to exist if you keep moving down here. Don't you have any states up North that are good places to raise a family?

Yes and Upstate NY is a good choice too. Plenty of nice small cities, neighborhoods and towns to raise children.

[LiveUrban]

Virginia, Pennsylvania

[Chava61]

Mission Viejo, California is ranked as the best place to raise a family (by some survey - I can't remember which one) and I agree as my brother & wife are raising 3 kids there as it is a really nice place.