Best places to Live for a Family (young children)

[bob2the2nd]

ah yes the aroma of Tacoma, just what every child needs growing up.

There are some fantastic suburbs of Portland (Beaverton and Tigard).

Corvallis is a little small and isolated for me but really nice (got married there)

Seattle is ridiculously expensive, but if you can deal with people and traffic has great schools

Honestly though Keys nailed it. It’s not about one specific area. You will always be able to find good schools/ places for kids in any given state.

I will say as someone that has been to 44 states I tend to gravitate towards Pacific Northwest, upstate NY (Syracuse, Albany, anirondecks), and of course inner city Baltimore


Yes the aroma of Tacoma is a thing

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_of_Tacoma

 

[Sebastian]

ah yes the aroma of Tacoma, just what every child needs growing up.

There are some fantastic suburbs of Portland (Beaverton and Tigard).

Corvallis is a little small and isolated for me but really nice (got married there)

Seattle is ridiculously expensive, but if you can deal with people and traffic has great schools

Honestly though Keys nailed it. It’s not about one specific area. You will always be able to find good schools/ places for kids in any given state.

I will say as someone that has been to 44 states I tend to gravitate towards Pacific Northwest, upstate NY (Syracuse, Albany, anirondecks), and of course inner city Baltimore


Yes the aroma of Tacoma is a thing

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_of_Tacoma

The stench and the over-abundance of Joes in the area is why I commuted to JBLM from Seattle. To be fair, downtown Tacoma and the west-side is nice and doesn’t smell. Very nice Victorian neighborhoods.

Olympia is a nice medium city. Good schools, cheap, amazing natural scenery.

 

[TheISHT]

Every area of the US will have different strengths and weaknesses. I knew plenty of families in the Cleveland area who prioritize low cost of living over infrastructure and good public schools because they use private. I actually have discussions with the wife about all the services we rely on in S.F. for a special needs kid that other areas don't provide; we need the infrastructure. So I dont think this is a one size fits all families type of topic.

I was meaning in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe some places like Boise or even Montana. Places that don’t jump out at you on the internet.

 

[Sebastian]

I was meaning in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe some places like Boise or even Montana. Places that don’t jump out at you on the internet.

I apologize for chiming in a lot, but thanks to being an Air Force brat, and being in the Army I have moved around a lot and spent time in a lot of areas.

Montana
Montana is nice. Very rural though; the big cities are not very big. Billings, Bozeman and Missoula are cool places that are just large enough to have a city feel while being surrounded by nature. Low cost of living though produce can be more expensive.

But, holy shit, is it beautiful. I grew up, in part, in Alaska (Anchorage BTW is a really nice city. Great schools but a little pricier with the cost of living) and I owe a great debt to my father for having ingrained in me the love of nature and an ability to function as an outdoorsman.

Several former NCOs of mine settled in Montana with middle school/high school aged kids and they love it. They say the schools are pretty good and well funded thanks to the oil boom.

Idaho/Eastern Washington
I don't know as much about Idaho; haven't spent much time in Boise. But the Spokane/Couer D'lane area is very pretty with a very low cost of living by any measure.

The schools vary by district. My BF went to high school there and the primary district in the city has good schools. The rural areas outside it not so much. Some good private schools there too.

 

[PIP]

Really depends on your views and who you’re with and what you ultimately want ?

For example: I would love to live in an area like Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington or Lewiston/Portland Maine.... My girl is black...A former intern at Nike actually in the early 2000’s and doesn’t feel comfortable in Portland... She also worked in marketing for Kimberly Clark in Appleton Wisconsin and it wasn’t all that great of an experience for her...

Yet as a marketing director for Colgate in New York she felt right at home...

We both now reside and work in the Washington DC area (her hometown) and it works for her as well... I’d prefer something else tho as opposed to just the cities and a tourist-like area (novelty has worn off for me)....

Not the worst situation tho...

 

[TheISHT]

@PIP

When you say she didn’t feel comfortable in Portland and mentioned she’s black, are you saying they are racist up in those parts? Just wondering, never been to that part of the country.

Also, if I moved to a rural area like Montana do I have to worry about being pressured into joining a militia? is it really like Far Cry?

 

[PIP]

@PIP

When you say she didn’t feel comfortable in Portland and mentioned she’s black, are you saying they are racist up in those parts? Just wondering, never been to that part of the country.

Also, if I moved to a rural area like Montana do I have to worry about being pressured into joining a militia? is it really like Far Cry?

I personally cannot say because I didn’t experience anything from a first hand account ?

But she has mentioned that her treatment on a day to day basis was different in both Portland and Appleton which could suggest that ?

From restaurants and bars to shopping and just little day to day things...

Portland was around the 2001-2002 time and Appleton Wisconsin was around the 2007-2008 time...

 

[Sebastian]

@PIP

When you say she didn’t feel comfortable in Portland and mentioned she’s black, are you saying they are racist up in those parts? Just wondering, never been to that part of the country.

Also, if I moved to a rural area like Montana do I have to worry about being pressured into joining a militia? is it really like Far Cry?

Most of the militia types are in Idaho now.

Montana is actually very urbane for its location. Very practical and independent.

 

[Mike Manifesto]

I have the complete opposite opinion of every statement made about Raleigh/NC in general. But yeah, moving out to the middle of nowhere Montana seems real fun.

 

[Sebastian]

People are very interesting. What colors their perception of a place for example. Just an observation.

Edits: I forgot to mention a few other places I lived: Colorado, Texas and Utah.

1) I love Texas FWIW. San Antonio is nice. Austin is overrated simply for not being like the rest of Texas. Dallas is cool. Houston... meh. Enjoyed my time even in places like College Station and Lubbock. Well... lying about the last one. Dry town at the time.

Was college aged at the time so I can't speak to what the schools are like.

2) So I actually did the entirety of high school in Colorado. In a suburb of Colorado Springs up in the mountains. I recommend living in the mountains if possible. It is a natural playground for when the kids get older. Skiing, hiking, rock-hounding, mountain biking and some sub-par fishing. I am a believer in the old notion of the freedom of nature and have observed that my friends from HS are all still devoted outdoors people and are still very fit despite hitting that mid-30s, married with children phase wherein people tend to start getting round. Applies to folks in the PNW too.

The suburban school districts in Colorado, this goes for Denver and Colorado Springs, are pretty damn good. My town was going through a population boom when we arrived but the school, which served a number of smaller mountain towns, had a lot of honors and AP programs and a strong vocational program attached to Pikes Peak Community College. The same is true for all the Denver suburbs.

Denver is cool, and the hip place lately. Boulder is for those who like that ludicrously Leftist atmosphere which loses its charm after six weeks. One gets tired of being lectured by graduate students on why holding the door open for people is elitist patriarchy. Cost of living is reasonable.

3) Utah is pretty chill. SLC is a great city. The whole LDS thing is overstated within SLC. Provo though...

Never lived in Indianapolis. What of Indy? I like Chicago.

@MediumBaller

 

[MediumBaller]

People are very interesting. What colors their perception of a place for example. Just an observation.

I love Texas FWIW. San Antonio is nice. Austin is overrated simply for not being like the rest of Texas. Dallas is cool. Houston... meh. Enjoyed my time even in places like College Station and Lubbock.

Well... lying about the last one.

Never lived in Indianapolis or LA though. I know Gour recommends it, can't imagine living there though. What Indy? I like Chicago.

@gourimoko @MediumBaller

I lived in Indianapolis for a summer a few years ago and didn't particularly like it. I found it to be a pretty boring city.

I imagine it'd be a good place to raise a family though. I've always wanted to get out of Indiana so I never considered Indianapolis as a long-term option, but I have a few family members with young kids living in the area and they like it. It has some nice suburbs and some very good school systems. The cost of living is low. The city itself can be a bit dangerous, but you'll get that in any city. The suburbs are safe.

 

[TheISHT]

I have the complete opposite opinion of every statement made about Raleigh/NC in general. But yeah, moving out to the middle of nowhere Montana seems real fun.

Tell me where the place to be in those areas? I’ve gone out there a few times and have hit heavy traffic, found homes with no yards where you can literally touch the next house they are so close and those are in the 300K+ range. I work with people who worked at UNC, one guy’s office moved 14 miles down the highway. The guy said it added 45 minutes each way to his commute. I feel like that is some pretty heavy traffic.

 

[Sebastian]

Tell me where the place to be in those areas? I’ve gone out there a few times and have hit heavy traffic, found homes with no yards where you can literally touch the next house they are so close and those are in the 300K+ range. I work with people who worked at UNC, one guy’s office moved 14 miles down the highway. The guy said it added 45 minutes each way to his commute. I feel like that is some pretty heavy traffic.

Did you end up making a decision?

 

[TheISHT]

Unfortunately, my job has kept me near Greensboro. I have a job interview in Fort Worth, Texas though. I see conflicting into that says it's very affordable and others that saying it's a high cost of living.