#1 city for nuclear families (Seattle, Pacific: appointed, 2015, neighborhoods)

[west seattle gal]

End of the nuclear family? Not in Seattle | FYI Guy | Seattle Times

[beautifulseattlehomes]

I have to say that for me, who is an unapologetic, old fashioned, liberal traditionalist, this makes me smile. In tact two parent families are stronger and the best places for children to thrive. I love that our city leads the pack and hope the trend continues.

I know that my friends who have families in other cities are very aware that Seattle is a great city for families and often when choosing between job offers my clients choose Seattle because of our family friendly reputation : )

[mkarch]

And the more Seattle fixes their schools, the more in-city neighborhoods will appeal to nuclear families.

[RVD90277]

This post is probably going to be misinterpreted but I'll say it anyway.

Just via intuition and anecdotal evidence (my disclaimer and caveat in one), I think that divorce is less likely in certain races and higher education levels. Contrary to popular belief, one thing divorce is not really affected by is religion (other than perhaps extremely conservative sects) as there are many divorced folks in the protestant church.

I am of Asian descent and so I have a much higher proportion of Asian friends than non-Asians. Out of the hundreds of Asian/Asian couples that I know, there are very few that are divorced. At least amongst my circles, the divorce rate is well under 5%. Most of my friends are also college educated with many people have additional degrees (med school, law school, business school, etc.). Divorce is virtually unheard of and when it happens, there is shock. This doesn't necessarily means that these couples are any happier but in times of trouble, divorce is not immediately part of the discussion. Specifically, most of the couples who are the same type of Asian (Korean/Korean or Chinese/Chinese) are almost never divorced with different asians (Korean/Chinese) having a slightly higher rate.

Meanwhile, I also have some friends who are Asian/Non-Asian couples (usually the Non-Asian is white). In these cases, almost every single one of them (over 80%) get divorced within 10 years of marriage. The few who have stayed together are highly educated (doctors, engineers from MIT/CalTech, etc.).

And among my Non-Asian/Non-Asian friends, we see the somewhat typical stat that is thrown around about over 50% of marriages ending in divorce, etc. I think the numbers are much higher but not as high as the Asian/Non-Asian situation above.

In Seattle, over the past decade there has been a huge influx of people moving here from other cities. Many are from other countries such as India and China to work at Microsoft, Amazon, etc. These families are typically Indian/Indian or Chinese/Chinese marriages with kids and they are also highly educated so these folks almost never get divorced. I believe that this is why Seattle ranks so highly in the traditional nuclear family.

RVD.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by RVD90277

This post is probably going to be misinterpreted but I'll say it anyway.

Just via intuition and anecdotal evidence (my disclaimer and caveat in one), I think that divorce is less likely in certain races and higher education levels. Contrary to popular belief, one thing divorce is not really affected by is religion (other than perhaps extremely conservative sects) as there are many divorced folks in the protestant church.

I am of Asian descent and so I have a much higher proportion of Asian friends than non-Asians. Out of the hundreds of Asian/Asian couples that I know, there are very few that are divorced. At least amongst my circles, the divorce rate is well under 5%. Most of my friends are also college educated with many people have additional degrees (med school, law school, business school, etc.). Divorce is virtually unheard of and when it happens, there is shock. This doesn't necessarily means that these couples are any happier but in times of trouble, divorce is not immediately part of the discussion. Specifically, most of the couples who are the same type of Asian (Korean/Korean or Chinese/Chinese) are almost never divorced with different asians (Korean/Chinese) having a slightly higher rate.

Meanwhile, I also have some friends who are Asian/Non-Asian couples (usually the Non-Asian is white). In these cases, almost every single one of them (over 80%) get divorced within 10 years of marriage. The few who have stayed together are highly educated (doctors, engineers from MIT/CalTech, etc.).

And among my Non-Asian/Non-Asian friends, we see the somewhat typical stat that is thrown around about over 50% of marriages ending in divorce, etc. I think the numbers are much higher but not as high as the Asian/Non-Asian situation above.

In Seattle, over the past decade there has been a huge influx of people moving here from other cities. Many are from other countries such as India and China to work at Microsoft, Amazon, etc. These families are typically Indian/Indian or Chinese/Chinese marriages with kids and they are also highly educated so these folks almost never get divorced. I believe that this is why Seattle ranks so highly in the traditional nuclear family.

RVD.

I don't have nearly as much experience/understanding as you do, but I've also noticed this... especially how education achievement has affected the outcome of Asian/Non-Asian couples. I don't know why this is though. I had a friend, Korean-American, that had a "thing" for white guys.... has married three of them (she's 37)... she was never satisfied... like once the honeymoon was over and the nitty-gritty of day-to-day living set in she would get disappointed and move on.

[CrazyDonkey]

Current plans:

* Reopen a refurbished Lincoln High School (Wallingford) for 1,600 students in 2019.
* Renovate and reopen Horace Mann School for the NOVA Alternative High School (Central District) in 2015(?).
* Reopen Meany Middle School (Central District) in 2017. Expand Mercer Middle School (Central District) in 2019.
* Replace/expand Wilson/Pacific Middle/Elementary School in 2017.
* Replace/expand Arbor Heights, North Beach, Thornton Creek, Olympic Hills Elementary Schools (North Seattle) in 2017-19.
* Expand Queen Anne Elementary (Queen Anne Hill) in 2019.
* Relocate Schmitz Park Elementary to new/expanded facility at Genesee Hill site (West Seattle) in 2015.
* Replace/expand Wing Luke Elementary (Rainier Valley/Beacon Hill) in 2020.

Looks like families are moving into North Seattle, Queen Anne, the Central District, West Seattle, and Rainier Valley/Beacon Hill, if the school expansion/addition plans are a clue.

The Seattle School District Plans for the Future of Neighborhood Schools | Central District News