Which states/cities/towns have you found to be most family friendly? (low crime, how much)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
DW and I stopped for picnic lunch at a little table in front of the courthouse in Hyannis, Nebraska. Pop 200. School-age, about 2 per grade, eight in high school. Neat and tidy town, despite $25k median family income. Nearest bigger town is two hours in any direction. Two boys tossing a football passed by, said Hi. Every boy (and maybe a girl) in Hyannis makes the travling squad on the HS 6-man football team, uniform and pads, rides the bus two hours to play under the Friday Nigh Lights. The girls are all cheerleaders.
For a major city, DC is pretty good. Lots of free museums, festivals, and pieces of national history for family activities. Has pro sports. Easy for kids and teens to get around the city without their parents driving them. Not a big drug culture compared to a lot of cities.
DW and I stopped for picnic lunch at a little table in front of the courthouse in Hyannis, Nebraska. Pop 200. School-age, about 2 per grade, eight in high school. Neat and tidy town, despite $25k median family income. Nearest bigger town is two hours in any direction. Two boys tossing a football passed by, said Hi. Every boy (and maybe a girl) in Hyannis makes the travling squad on the HS 6-man football team, uniform and pads, rides the bus two hours to play under the Friday Nigh Lights. The girls are all cheerleaders.
I want my kids to grow up there.
I could see your children nagging out to you this: "Dad? How come all of those cool folks live in that big city with so much to do? All those cool restaurants, concerts, stores, festivals, and theme parks? It's so boring out here I'd rather just stay indoors watching TV or chatting online."
And keep in mind with rising gas prices, that's a big chunk out of the budget just to see something interesting, and it's likely several hours from a major airport. They'll also complain about being far from the beach, and $25K is basically how much your typical small car/CUV costs these days. It's near the bottom of the supply chain, so I hope you/kids could hunt/fish and grow their own food, and it doesn't sound like a great place to do it. Educational curriculums and healthcare tend to woefully lag behind metropolitan markets. Sounds awful to me. It makes North Platte or Scottsbluff seem like Denver!
But I personally was born/raised in the greater DC area, had school field trips to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum (which I visited just last year), Zoo, and Japanese Embassy in grade school, and I still cherish those memories. Outer suburbs/exurbs of most midsized to large cities still have a lot of good family-friendly communities, which is what I'd prefer over isolated tiny towns, which I'd only live if I didn't have a HS degree and was content with a self-sustaining lifestyle.
Generally speaking, places with good schools, fine hospitals, low crime, and upkept infrastructure qualify.
DW and I stopped for picnic lunch at a little table in front of the courthouse in Hyannis, Nebraska. Pop 200. School-age, about 2 per grade, eight in high school. Neat and tidy town, despite $25k median family income. Nearest bigger town is two hours in any direction. Two boys tossing a football passed by, said Hi. Every boy (and maybe a girl) in Hyannis makes the travling squad on the HS 6-man football team, uniform and pads, rides the bus two hours to play under the Friday Nigh Lights. The girls are all cheerleaders.
I want my kids to grow up there.
This.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Borntoolate85
I could see your children nagging out to you this: "Dad? How come all of those cool folks live in that big city with so much to do? All those cool restaurants, concerts, stores, festivals, and theme parks? It's so boring out here I'd rather just stay indoors watching TV or chatting online."
And keep in mind with rising gas prices, that's a big chunk out of the budget just to see something interesting, and it's likely several hours from a major airport. They'll also complain about being far from the beach, and $25K is basically how much your typical small car/CUV costs these days. It's near the bottom of the supply chain, so I hope you/kids could hunt/fish and grow their own food, and it doesn't sound like a great place to do it. Educational curriculums and healthcare tend to woefully lag behind metropolitan markets. Sounds awful to me. It makes North Platte or Scottsbluff seem like Denver!
But I personally was born/raised in the greater DC area, had school field trips to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum (which I visited just last year), Zoo, and Japanese Embassy in grade school, and I still cherish those memories. Outer suburbs/exurbs of most midsized to large cities still have a lot of good family-friendly communities, which is what I'd prefer over isolated tiny towns, which I'd only live if I didn't have a HS degree and was content with a self-sustaining lifestyle.
Generally speaking, places with good schools, fine hospitals, low crime, and upkept infrastructure qualify.
I think you're selling the rural life short. People aren't automatically bored and wishing they were somewhere else. That can happen to city folk just as easily. Sometimes it's worse, sometimes city people can't ever seem to get enough.
Seems like always being unsatisfied runs in the human family. Maybe it skips a generation now and then.
Generally but not always, the northern plains along with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa are very family-oriented. Across the board, they also have very good schools.
Kids may or may not be as aware of the whole world when they grow up there, but they're often more aware of, and respectful to, the person standing in front of them.
Where I live now is very family friendly:
Excellent schools
Children's library
Children's museum
Children's theater
Children's symphony
Tons of children's and youth sports
Low taxes and low cost of living
Plenty of jobs
Low crime
Lots of elbow room with zero traffic
Plentiful good weather to enjoy the many lakes, parks, rivers, trails in the area
The kids I've encountered here have been supremely kind and respectful, from the teenagers at fast food joints (and not just at Chick-fil-a) but even on the ball fields where opponents on the field pray together off the field.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
