San Diego: The Best place to raise a family? (Greenville: mortgage, job market)

[godhand123]

My wife and I are 38 years old and have 1 kid (11 months) and will have another next year if everything goes as planned. We work remotely and have a good income (~$300k) and have a good nest egg saved up.
Since we work remotely we can live just about anywhere, although my wife will need access to an airport as she will fly to customers.

What is the best place in the US to raise kids? San Diego seems to check a lot of boxes, but I thought I'd post here on the SD group to see your thoughts.

-Good Schools
-Good community
-Outdoor activities (sports, recreation etc)
-Good weather (No <or very little>snow)

I feel like University City or Rancho Pensquitos or Scripps Ranch all offer good options. You get a lot, but it's pricy. We can afford to live in those areas, but maybe there are better "value" places out there.

My question is:
1) Is San Diego the ideal place to raise a family?
- If yes: Why?
- If No: Why, and where would you say is better?

We are from Chicago originally, but disliked the weather and knew we didn't want to stay. We lived in Melbourne Australia for 2 years and loved it, and now live in the SFBA and like it except I do feel like it's hard to be part of a community here. People come here to work and make money (no judgement, we're doing the same) rather than to plant roots and become close with the other families in the area.

[stablegenius]

I would say no, not the best place... unless... do you want to be near a large city? I'd probably opt for a much smaller town.

[godhand123]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

I would say no, not the best place... unless... do you want to be near a large city? I'd probably opt for a much smaller town.

You only answered half the question :-) Where would you consider the best place to raise a family and why?

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by godhand123

You only answered half the question :-) Where would you consider the best place to raise a family and why?

Well you didn't answer if you want to be near a large city? I'd say it depends on you. I wouldn't raise a family here because it's too busy, too expensive and many people don't share my values. Schools are generally not that great, and these days, CRT seems to be worming it's way into some school systems. I don't have kids in school, but if I did, I would not want that. I'd live somewhere else where that was less of an issue. I also think that due to the cost of living, it's hard to live here with kids. More of your money goes to your mortgage and other expenses, so less money for kids' college fund, other activities etc. Maybe your wife wants to stay home, well I wouldn't count on that here as you'll probably need two incomes just to make ends meet. If I had to raise a family, I'd probably pick any small town that feels like a city, but much smaller. Greenville South Carolina comes to mind.

[godhand123]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

Well you didn't answer if you want to be near a large city? I'd say it depends on you. I wouldn't raise a family here because it's too busy, too expensive and many people don't share my values. Schools are generally not that great, and these days, CRT seems to be worming it's way into some school systems. I don't have kids in school, but if I did, I would not want that. I'd live somewhere else where that was less of an issue. I also think that due to the cost of living, it's hard to live here with kids. More of your money goes to your mortgage and other expenses, so less money for kids' college fund, other activities etc. Maybe your wife wants to stay home, well I wouldn't count on that here as you'll probably need two incomes just to make ends meet. If I had to raise a family, I'd probably pick any small town that feels like a city, but much smaller. Greenville South Carolina comes to mind.

I think we'd prefer to be near a reasonably large city so that in the case that my job disappeared I would be able to find something locally.

[NYSD1995]

Good place to raise a family, especially for a big city, but cost of living is so high I can't really recommend it to anyone raising kids anymore. There is no "value" here. Kids are expensive - I have 2 kids tween & teen, I'm a little older than you and make a little bit less, I've lived here since the 90's, but don't feel like I could get ahead here at current prices, sometime barely feel like I can keep up as it is. The job market, at least for me has never been great, although it has greatly improved recently, many local employers are still stuck in the 90's in terms of pay, benefits, culture.

Personally I think most young families would do better in a faster-growing, more affordable city like SLC or Denver one of the small cities on the front range of CO like Fort Collins or CO Springs. If remote work is an option I really like Bend OR and eastern WA, also really like Utah in general. Other cities can offer faster career growth (i.e. Austin, Raleigh) if thats what you want, more housing options, more business-friendly climate with less wacky tax and social problems.

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by NYSD1995

Personally I think most young families would do better in a faster-growing, more affordable city like SLC or one of the small cities on the front range of CO like Fort Collins or CO Springs.

This is my take too. I understand why the OP would want to live near a big city. I work in tech and have that fear too, but better yet, just go remote. Then you can live anywhere. Even without kids, if I did not surf, I would live somewhere else. The weather here is excellent, but it's not everything. For me, I have to be near the ocean and surf, plus we have friends and family here.

[Axxlrod]

SD, especially coastal north county (I'm biased), is an excellent place to raise a family IF you can truly afford it including all the extras that can benefit kids, like sports, private coaches, tutors, private school, camps, etc. Otherwise, struggling financially here just because the weather is nice isn't a good plan.

Assuming you can afford it, your personal politics/family values play a large role in the community you want live in. Many people like to surround themselves with other people/families that have similar beliefs/values/politics.

Personally, coastal north county fit the bill perfectly for me as our community is somewhat close knit, but as a suburb, close enough to all the fun big city things SD has to offer.

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

SD, especially coastal north county (I'm biased), is an excellent place to raise a family IF you can truly afford it including all the extras that can benefit kids, like sports, private coaches, tutors, private school, camps, etc. Otherwise, struggling financially here just because the weather is nice isn't a good plan.

Assuming you can afford it, your personal politics/family values play a large role in the community you want live in. Many people like to surround themselves with other people/families that have similar beliefs/values/politics.

Personally, coastal north county fit the bill perfectly for me as our community is somewhat close knit, but as a suburb, close enough to all the fun big city things SD has to offer.

Ditto. I'm biased to Cardiff.

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Ditto. I'm biased to Cardiff.

Cardiff is amazing... if you can afford it.