San Diego 91 out of 100 to raise a family (Los Angeles, San Francisco: best cities, renting)

[sfosyd]

So this shocked me:

http://www.parenting.com/article/201...-families-list

San Diego is number 91 out of 100 cities for raising a family according to parenting magazine. But Boston, which is certainly more expensive and seems less family friendly ranks #1.

Remember the city of Boston itself is tiny, unlike San Diego and really has poor schools except for Boston Latin. Areas like Newton, Brookline or Winchester, which have A+ schools, are not included because they are not the city of Boston.

But the city of San Diego is huge and includes areas like Scripps Ranch and Carmel Valley that have A+ districts. Are the bad schools in San Diego THAT bad that they cancel out the good areas and make the 91 place ranking?

Is the survey just completely off base? Thoughts?

[benshaton]

We're still better than
Phoenix, Arizona
Arlington, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Memphis, Tennessee
Fresno, California
Detroit, Michigan
Bakersfield, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles, California

[kremit]

15. San Francisco, California

You guys agree with this?

[earlyretirement]

I'd take a HUGE grain of salt with any of these "Top Cities to Live" type lists. I laughed at some of the cities on the list being so high. I've visited most of the cities on the list. Some are nicer than other. Some are VERY boring or some have really brutal winters.

This list seems to take in many things including the economy. Including things like percentage of unemployed, home value index, travel time to work and other things.

Other people have said it before, if you can afford it, San Diego is one of the BEST cities in the world to raise a family. Absolutely NO doubt about it. But the key is being able to afford it.

[eastcoastbias]

"Are the bad schools in San Diego THAT bad that they cancel out the good areas?" ....Yes.

Two indicators: per pupil spending- CA ranks very low compared to other states. San Diego is low in comparison to other California cities and areas.
Class sizes: Many Schools with 30-40 in a classroom.

Its gotten so bad in some areas here they will be cutting back on the school year soon.


"Some (cities) are VERY boring or some have really brutal winters."

Boring is in the eye of the beholder and when you say brutal Winter I see snow mobiles, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, skating. Then you have middle of America where hunting is a staple.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

"Some (cities) are VERY boring or some have really brutal winters."

Boring is in the eye of the beholder and when you say brutal Winter I see snow mobiles, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, skating. Then you have middle of America where hunting is a staple.

Well I've been to places ranked high on their list like Omaha, Sioux Falls and Des Moines. Yeah, I guess some people might consider them fun filled places to live. And fun for the winter but I'd just have to disagree.

[eastcoastbias]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Well I've been to places ranked high on their list like Omaha, Sioux Falls and Des Moines. Yeah, I guess some people might consider them fun filled places to live. And fun for the winter but I'd just have to disagree.

I've been to Omaha and Des Moines. There certainly is no beach, legoland, or Seaworld there. I think you'll find fairly consistent living there though. You can move to many places in those respective cities and still get a good education. I grew up participating in a indoor sport. I don't feel like I missed out in not growing up here- the inside of building would look fairly similar in Des Moines as it would in San Diego.

I'm sure you will have 99 of 100 San Diegans agree with you just don't be surprised when a National poll doesn't agree with you. Not everyone in this Country wants the lifestyle that is available here.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

I've been to Omaha and Des Moines. There certainly is no beach, legoland, or Seaworld there. I think you'll find fairly consistent living there though. You can move to many places in those respective cities and still get a good education. I grew up participating in a indoor sport. I don't feel like I missed out in not growing up here- the inside of building would look fairly similar in Des Moines as it would in San Diego.

I'm sure you will have 99 of 100 San Diegans agree with you just don't be surprised when a National poll doesn't agree with you. Not everyone in this Country wants the lifestyle that is available here.

Oh no doubt eastcoastbias. I'm actually originally from the Midwest so I speak from MUCH experience growing up with those winters.

Absolutely i'm not saying you can't have a good life in some of those towns. It's a fraction of the cost of San Diego. And definitely you can get a solid education.

And it's probably better that all those people in Omaha, Des Moines and Sioux City don't all want to live in San Diego or property prices would be even higher than they already are.

San Diego isn't for everyone and that is ok.... I'll never move back to those brutal winters again though.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

I dont have kids, but have little nephews and nieces that have visited here and love it, but they are from 4 season climates. I am not a native here and grew up in a 4 season climate and have no desire to live in it again.
I think location is nearly irrelevant if you live in a stable, nurturing environment for kids and families.
I have a good friend from the east coast that grew up in western New York State. He totally misses the woods and those types of experiences he had as a kid. So living in SD when it came time to raising a family in a rural environment similar to that was out of the question. All subjective.

I think its amazing how resilient kids are and how creative they can be in any situation. I grew up in the middle of an urban jungle (NYC) and then had to live in the Jersey burbs. I seemed to figure it out as do/did thousands of others. Depsite its look on the outside, I still grew up in a GREAT community of people that cared about each other and looked out for each other. I would think any parent would want that FIRST before caring about the beach and Legoland.
The key to me seems more about accessibility to the things that will helop a kid find his/her path.
If growing up in Des Moines means you have excellent programs that a kid would not have here in SD, the beach and Legoland are all just substitute fringe benefits of living somewhere compared to a kid that goes to the lake to fish or building a tree hut in the woods when summer rolls around. Its about the task of doing things not the prestige or how an adult views it.

The real question is, when a kid gets older, do they appreciate where they grew up or just think the whole world is like SD and then 'doesnt get it' when it comes time to fly the coop outside the bubble. That is sometimes the double edged sword for growing in a bubble that is detached. SD really is like an island

More times than not, I think its the parents that are far more interested in living in a place like SD more so than the actual kids. Kids when they are young dont care either way from what I have seen. Its when they get older and need to spread out a bit that I can see it being more of a challenge than anything else if the programs arent there.

Somehow, the rest of the country seems to send kids to Harvard or become successful in their own right obviously. I am also certain there are parents that struggle to make ends meet here regardless of all the things on the list. But these top 10 lists are amusing nonetheless

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by kremit

15. San Francisco, California

You guys agree with this?

That is a joke and proves this list is garbage. San Diego is a far better place for families. It would be difficult to find a place for families worse than San Francisco.