Phoenix, AZ vs. San Francisco & The Bay Area, CA vs. Los Angeles, CA (living, best)

[TimYimZim]

Which of these cities overall is better for raising a family? Which of these cities has the friendliest and least stuck up people? Which of these cities is the easiest to live in with less traffic? Overall, which of these cities is family oriented where there is a great sense of community and where kids can have an amazing childhood? Phoenix, AZ, San Francisco & The Entire Bay Area, or Los Angeles, CA & surrounding areas?

[theTelecommuter]

A very large master planned community in the far out surrounding suburbs of the Phoenix Metro area called Verrado. An outstanding family oriented community. A great place to raise kids. Google it.

[brickpatio2018]

LA traffic is beyond imagination. I'm amazed that anyone lives there. It's unfit for human habitation. That said, I passed through some of the outer suburbs (e.g. Simi Valley) and they were gorgeous and seemed to have less traffic. If you could live in an outer suburb and never go into LA, then the LA area could be fabulous in terms of scenery and weather.

Phoenix, in particular the suburbs (e.g. Desert View, Scottsdale, Chandler, Carefree) seems to have a grid of both 6-lane streets and freeways. When I was there, I didn't encounter traffic bottlenecks. The scenery in the Phoenix area is gorgeous and has to rank among the best places to live in the U.S., especially in light of the incredible job growth environment there.

[TimYimZim]

So Phoenix is probably the best city to raise a family, I'm assuming the suburbs around are amazing. Also, I likely am assuming that The Bay Area is not family oriented and might be more for singles.

[SixthCoordinate]

Originally Posted by TimYimZim

So Phoenix is probably the best city to raise a family, I'm assuming the suburbs around are amazing. Also, I likely am assuming that The Bay Area is not family oriented and might be more for singles.

really depends...SF the city may be not, but South Bay and the Peninsula are quite residential and are largely suburban. There are many families...the only problem is the cost of living.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by TimYimZim

Also, I likely am assuming that The Bay Area is not family oriented and might be more for singles.

You sure about that?

The top 40 metro areas with the highest proportions of public high schools ranking among the top 25% nationally, 2021
1 San Jose 63.5%
2 Bridgeport 60.0%
3 Los Angeles 54.0%
4 McAllen 51.7%
5 Hartford 51.3%
6 San Francisco 50.9%
7 Miami 48.9%
8 Boston 48.9%
9 Washington DC 48.4%
10 Milwaukee 47.5%

11 Seattle 44.2%
12 Raleigh 44.0%
13 Orlando 43.8%
14 Chicago 42.6%
15 Madison(WI) 41.9%
16 Grand Rapids 40.3%
17 Houston 39.7%
18 Jacksonville 39.6%
19 New York 39.5%
20 San Diego 38.4%

21 Dallas 38.3%
22 Austin 38.3%
23 Atlanta 38.3%
24 Virginia Beach 38.2%
25 Minneapolis 38.1%
26 Buffalo 38.1%
27 Denver 37.9%
28 Rochester 37.8%
29 Baltimore 37.0%
30 Sacramento 36.9%

31 Springfield(MA) 36.6%
32 Cincinnati 36.6%
33 Tampa 36.4%
34 Worcester 35.9%
35 Albany 35.6%
36 Columbus 34.6%
37 Akron 34.2%
38 Cleveland 34%
39 Las Vegas 33.3%
40 Kansas City 33.3%

https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...hools?slide=41

[dontbelievehim]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

You sure about that?

The top 40 metro areas with the highest proportions of public high schools ranking among the top 25% nationally, 2021
1 San Jose 63.5%
2 Bridgeport 60.0%
3 Los Angeles 54.0%
4 McAllen 51.7%
5 Hartford 51.3%
6 San Francisco 50.9%
7 Miami 48.9%
8 Boston 48.9%
9 Washington DC 48.4%
10 Milwaukee 47.5%

11 Seattle 44.2%
12 Raleigh 44.0%
13 Orlando 43.8%
14 Chicago 42.6%
15 Madison(WI) 41.9%
16 Grand Rapids 40.3%
17 Houston 39.7%
18 Jacksonville 39.6%
19 New York 39.5%
20 San Diego 38.4%

21 Dallas 38.3%
22 Austin 38.3%
23 Atlanta 38.3%
24 Virginia Beach 38.2%
25 Minneapolis 38.1%
26 Buffalo 38.1%
27 Denver 37.9%
28 Rochester 37.8%
29 Baltimore 37.0%
30 Sacramento 36.9%

31 Springfield(MA) 36.6%
32 Cincinnati 36.6%
33 Tampa 36.4%
34 Worcester 35.9%
35 Albany 35.6%
36 Columbus 34.6%
37 Akron 34.2%
38 Cleveland 34%
39 Las Vegas 33.3%
40 Kansas City 33.3%

https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...hools?slide=41

McAllen... OMG

[TimYimZim]

Phoenix Wins!

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by dontbelievehim

McAllen... OMG

Who knew, right?

We can also see who is absent, Phoenix.

Obviously there are some good schools there too, but I don't quite understand the rationale of the OP, claiming this is about kids having an 'amazing' childhood, and then defining that by how long commute times are? Then we are told to consider a 'sense of community'-but how does one have that in a neighborhood that was built, like last week? Then we are told he/she assumes Phoenix has 'amazing' suburbs and we are simultaneously told that he/she assumes the Bay Area, the wealthiest, most highly educated metro region, in the country, is 'not family friendly'. That is just strange if you ask me.

But what can we do when people prefer to go by 'assumptions'.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by TimYimZim

So Phoenix is probably the best city to raise a family, I'm assuming the suburbs around are amazing. Also, I likely am assuming that The Bay Area is not family oriented and might be more for singles.

You are correct. The Bay area has more homeless, crime, run down areas, and not as family-oriented. I would not choose to raise kids in an unsafe place. Phoenix has so many nice suburbs and nice shopping and restaurants. It is also more affordable than either The Bay area or Los Angeles.