What city would make us happy? (to rent, house, neighborhood)

[crystalballmagic]

Okay I'll try to make this short. My husband and I are both early 20s, I'm a bartender, and we have kids. We currently live in south beach and hate it. We are from Michigan. The people here are terrible.

What we are looking for:
A city with great nightlife and a lot of bars for job opportunities
A city that is also family friend with good public schools because I will not private school my kids when they are school age
A city that we can feel is home because we plan on having more kids in the near future
A city that has a lot to do
A city with lots of shopping because I love shopping
A city with a lot of physical activity because I enjoy being fit and working out
A city that is diverse because our kids are biracial

Cities on the list :

San Diego
Los Angeles
NYC
Chicago

Lower on list are:
Houston
Las Vegas
New Orleans
Phoenix
Tampa
Orlando

[Gaylord_Focker]

Those 4 probably address your needs, but man, really expensive for bartenders.

[mr roboto]

I wouldn't pick a large major city and try to raise multiple kids bartending. Maybe a smaller metro with lower COL.

[Buckeye614]

Originally Posted by crystalballmagic

Okay I'll try to make this short. My husband and I are both early 20s, I'm a bartender, and we have kids. We currently live in south beach and hate it. We are from Michigan. The people here are terrible.

What we are looking for:
A city with great nightlife and a lot of bars for job opportunities
A city that is also family friend with good public schools because I will not private school my kids when they are school age
A city that we can feel is home because we plan on having more kids in the near future
A city that has a lot to do
A city with lots of shopping because I love shopping
A city with a lot of physical activity because I enjoy being fit and working out
A city that is diverse because our kids are biracial

Cities on the list :

San Diego
Los Angeles
NYC
Chicago

Lower on list are:
Houston
Las Vegas
New Orleans
Phoenix
Tampa
Orlando

You might need to include the price range you're looking to rent or buy in to get more specific answers. The only reason I say that is because that can automatically preclude you from places like New York or Los Angeles unless you're willing to live extremely frugally and not that great of a neighborhood.

If your husband is working what field is he in or seeking a job in?

[Borntoolate85]

If it's a large city, I'd focus on the suburbs of them, since you can enjoy weekends out on the town and take the kids over to an aunt's/uncle's/grandparents house while you head out. Of course, suburban places typically have the better public schools and are much more family-oriented.

A big question is budget. If you can afford it decently, focus on living in a neighborhood with good transit into the city, and preferably in a suburb with its mini-downtown, such as Naperville, Burbank, White Plains, Anaheim, or El Cajon. Most of these places have at least a good main street, mall, gym, and local restaurants with enough energy to not keep you sleepy. Unless if you are wealthy, most of those cities aren't going to provide adequate space for a growing family, not to mention a generally less family-friendly environment in many places.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by mr roboto

I wouldn't pick a large major city and try to raise multiple kids bartending. Maybe a smaller metro with lower COL.

Yeah, perhaps more affordable college or tourist towns may work.

[Nn2036]

Try Reno, probably lots of jobs for bartender.