Which is a better place to raise your children?

Question

In a small rural community where they have no opportunities for a good job or a decent education, but are known and loved in the community. Or a larger town, where there will be opportunities, better schools, but they will be lost in the crowd.

Lost in a crowd because they will know no one and will be the new kids in school

Answer 1

that is a hard question....but i know this much a person needs the better schools and more opportunities....you can vist and keep in contact with your friends and loved ones...i know i raised my boys where there was not good jobs or good schools and they needed and wanted money to do things...and it is better for them as they get older to have more opportunities....and things to do to keep them out of trouble...i know this from experience....they all have left there now and live where they can find jobs and have things for their children...but one of my sons never got out of there..instead he is in prison.....so this is a two fold question...i love being able to know who i am around and i do not trust people in the bigger cities, but i still think it is better in the long run.....

Answer 2

I'd vote for the rural community. You can always find ways to provide a decent education, and nobody said they had to stay there after they are grown. Larger areas may have more stuff, but a lot of it is stuff they don't need. Children need a good environment to grow in, and if you can find a community where they can be part and be known and loved- all the better a place to grow. That's something you can't buy at the mall. You can always drive to the city, get what you want and leave the rest behind.

Answer 3

You can always make more than one home. People come and go, but good friends last forever, even when you don't see them that often. And, when there's a larger crowd, there's more people you can make friends with. If the oldest kid(s) were in the middle of middle school or high school, I would first ask them how they would feel about moving to an area with more opportunities. I would listen and take into great account what they say. If they were in elementary school, I would go on ahead with the move from rural to larger town. I would think younger kids would have an easier time assimilating than older kids who have started to find their niche in life.

Answer 4

This is such a great question. I don't know the answer but I can tell you a little about my situation. I grew up very rural, I attended public school, and I had a graduating class of 12 people (it was in fact the largest class at the time). I am a step parent with no biological children of my own. My step children were pretty much grown by the time I was on the scene and they were raised by their mother in a relativly small city - graduating classes of around a couple hundred or so. I guess I would have to say that small schools make it seem eaiser for kids to shine, stand out because there is just less competition and the community is so supportive. Everyone who wants to play on a sporting team can for example, no one is left out due to lack of skill. It is hard however to grow up in such a small community when everyone seems to know your business...good in a way because it keeps you honest but bad because there is no annonimity. I do hate going to very large cities because I feel so miniscule, like one of a million ants, I think it is way harder to get attention, shine, or stand out in large cities due to all the hords and hords of other people. I think that is why some people in larger cities act out to get attention or become part of gangs, to feel accepted. The whole job opportunity thing is an issue. I still live in the small town where I grew up and although I have had business opportunites in large cities I would never want to live in one...never. I would sacrafice fortune and fame to live where I do it that is what it took, because I love it here. Most kids that graduate from here have to move to persue careeres though and I think at first they are happy and excited to start new and exciting lives in big cities but I wonder how many of them would rather live back home? Like I said, good question.

Answer 5

I think a larger town is a better place to raise my children because, as a multi-ethnic woman who will (obviously) have multi-ethnic children one day, it is very important to me that my children be exposed to as much diversity as possible. I want them to meet people from different economic strata, ethnicities, religions, political beliefs, sexual orientations, etc. I want them exposed to operas, rock concerts, museum exhibits, performance art, gardens, skate parks, high rises, forests -- as much as possible.

All of these things are possible in a large town, while forming a tight knit "community" of friends and relatives who will also love and support my children as they grow.

I was lucky enough to grow up in the suburbs with easy access to metropolitan areas and currently live in a large city. I have many friends who live in small towns and rural areas, and they haven't had anywhere near the same kind of amazing, mind-opening experiences I've had thanks to living in/near cities.

Answer 6

Move to someplace a little larger. Growing up in a small rural community only entices children, as they become adolescents to have sex with their relatives, which is not okay. In the larger places, they can have sex with their friends relatives, which is fine.

Answer 7

when i have kids, i want them to be raised in both a big city and a small country town... maybe live in one place for a while and then the other. there are benefits to both.

Answer 8

Its the parenting skills that are important, some people grew up in a war and were fine.

Answer 9

Either one. No one can pedict the future.

Answer 10

why are they lost in a crowd? because they don't know everthing about everyone they know?