My mom recently pointed out to me that, according to an article in Best Life magazine (and as reported on The Today Show), I grew up in one of the 10 worst cities to raise children. Hmm. I wouldn't have guessed that, necessarily, but okay. It certainly didn't have the advantages of Chicago, but then, what do you really need to raise a family?The study also listed 100 best places to raise your family. For both lists, they used criteria such as safety, favorable student-teacher ratios in schools, above-average test scores, and respectable budgets. They looked for plenty of museums, parks, and pediatricians; short commutes, less expensive houses, and low divorce rates. See the article for additional info.
Here are their lists of best and worst places to raise your children (from 257 cities studied....It's a lot more dramatic when you think it's out of every city in the country, isn't it?):
Top 10 from the 100 Best Places to Raise a Family
1 Honolulu, Hawaii (Schools spend almost $9,000 per pupil, unemployment ranks less than half the national average, and you can play on the island of O'ahu's 125 beaches).
2 Virginia Beach, Virginia
3 Billings, Montana
4 Columbus, Georgia
5 San Diego, California
6 Des Moines, Iowa
7 Minneapolis, Minnesota
8 Madison, Wisconsin (Madison has a high number of pediatricians per capita).
9 Colorado Springs, Colorado
10 Santa Rosa, California
The 10 Worst Places to Raise a Family (from best to worst)
10 Springfield, Missouri
9 Dayton, Ohio
8 Corpus Christi, Texas
7 Flint, Michigan (Country's highest violent-crime rate)
6 Columbia, South Carolina
5 Waco, Texas
4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3 Fayetteville, North Carolina
2 Beaumont, Texas (Long-standing air-quality challenges)
1 Clarksville, Tennessee (Low educational spending: $6,729 per student)
Chicago did make it into the top 100. Whew. I guess we don't have to move. But then again...Honolulu, anyone?
I saw this and it freaked me out a little...but then again you can't take it as fact. My husband grew up in Dayton, OH (in the bottom 10) and loved it. Plenty of culture, small-city feel, near bigger cities, etc. We've talked about having to move to the Detroit area or worse, Flint (shudder to think of the housing market there, and the violent crime rate, eek!), so I'm not so surprised to see those down there...
ReplyDeleteHope you're well!
Honolulu may look good on the outside but it's a rough place for kids to grow up - especially if they're white... White kids have it rough in hawaii
ReplyDeleteA couple of the cities on that list surprised me. Thanks for posting about it though, it's definitely food for thought. I definitely think the house you grow up in those towns has a pretty huge factor too.
ReplyDeleteI don't know... home is where the heart is!
ReplyDeleteI was both proud and a little confused to see that Va. Bch was on the list. I grew up here, and am now raising my kids here. The cool thing is that there is so much to do because the beach, city, mountains, etc are all onyla few hours away. And of course, it's nice to always have things going on both at the beach and in the harbor. However, one thing that I have always craved for my kids is to enjoy a specific "flavor" of their hometown. Many times, there is so much built for tourists, that the locals are left needing fewer bars and more art stores galleries, and small business support. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteOMG. I live in Clarksville, TN. I don't like it here personally, but I had no idea it was rated 10 worst. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteMy husband grew up in #30, me in #68. Having lived in both, I'd say their relative scores are about right. 2 of my closest friends live in #6 & 7. I don't think I'll tell them I live in #60! Thanks for the interesting link.
ReplyDeleteHi, I stumbled upon your blog from the crafty crow!
ReplyDeleteSo . . . you're from Springfield? I was born and raised in Springfield and now I am living in New Orleans with my family of soon to be 6 and would much rather be raising my family in Springfield than New Orleans! I was very surprised to see Springfield on the list!