Parenting magazine Best Cities for Families 2010 (San Diego, Anaheim: school district, where to live, prices)

[Ann_Arbor]

This quite possibly is the worst ranking I've ever seen.

[FresnoFacts]

I enjoy ranking lists as much as anyone.

Its like following college sports polls. I'll disagree with the polls many times again this year, but they are still interesting.

But at least make it look like someone did some accurate research (like at least checking the game scores in a sports poll, not relying on just a reputation).

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Ann_Arbor

This quite possibly is the worst ranking I've ever seen.

I agree with you. I already thought Parenting magazine was pretty useless, but now I know it is a complete phony. I sure hope no one relocated solely based on this list.

[BacktoBlue]

Why are people complaining about the CA cities on this list?

San Diego has always been family friendly with Sea World, beaches, museums, Legoland, etc. That's not a surprise.

I can understand L.A. if you live in the suburbs. If you live like within walking distance of Downtown or Hollywood then yeah that's a little much for kids, but all in all I agree.

SF doesn't seem family oriented, more like single working professionals

Bakersfield and Fresno are kind of a draw. They are pretty boring towns imo, but I guess it would be good for families if they like that farm and agriculture lifestyle. but hey you avoid the busy city lifestyle so that's a plus if that's your kind of thing

Sacramento is a great city too, it has a lot to offer for families, I mean you have the river and not to mention the train museums. I got a very family vibe when I was visiting there.

[Bluesmama]

For some reason I can't imagine San Francisco being that family-friendly (and, boy, has that been a bone of contention on City-Data threads!).

I'm surprised Detroit even made it to 101!

The problem with Portland, OR, is a very poor job economy.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by SoCalBrad

Why are people complaining about the CA cities on this list?

San Diego has always been family friendly with Sea World, beaches, museums, Legoland, etc. That's not a surprise.

I can understand L.A. if you live in the suburbs. If you live like within walking distance of Downtown or Hollywood then yeah that's a little much for kids, but all in all I agree.

SF doesn't seem family oriented, more like single working professionals

Bakersfield and Fresno are kind of a draw. They are pretty boring towns imo, but I guess it would be good for families if they like that farm and agriculture lifestyle. but hey you avoid the busy city lifestyle so that's a plus if that's your kind of thing

Sacramento is a great city too, it has a lot to offer for families, I mean you have the river and not to mention the train museums. I got a very family vibe when I was visiting there.

I don't take this as anyone complaining except complaining about how few and how low Ca cities are being rated and places like Detroit are in the top 25. Maybe you are looking at the responses differently than I am. I would say San Francisco, is a great place for young professionals to call home, but I don't understand it being on the list.
Nita

[jaynetarzana]

They had to know that their credibility might be called into question if they included Detroit on the list, yet there it is. So strange to me. I agree with all that San Francisco is not for families.

[LASam]

I'm goint to guess the list looked at cost of living, school performance, and safety. I think COL alone knocks a lot of CA off the list. If the list were "Best Cities for Wealthy Families 2010", I'd be willing to bet you'd see A LOT more of CA on there.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by nmnita

you said it, take these studies with a grain of salt.

True! The August issue of Family Circle magazine listed La Verne, CA as one of the "Ten Best Towns for Families" for 2010. Yes, it's a very nice town. But who knows where they get their data?
http://www.familycircle.com/family-f...s-2010/?page=5

Wait a minute...it looks like they use a NYC research firm.

[jaynetarzana]

Okay, so I think that we have established that these magazine lists aren't very useful. Would anyone like to share their Top Ten Best Town for Families list? Since this is the California forum, I imagine that most of the towns will be in California. But it will still be fun to hear everyone's opinions.