Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis, Houston, or San Diego?

Question

I'm a 20-something husband and father of four young kids and we're looking at the possibility of living in one of these cities for my job. I'm hoping you can give me some insights on what city would make for the best fit!

We are looking for (in order of importance):

*Kid-friendly: good parks, zoos, suburbs, etc.

* Politics and religion: We are an active church-going Christian family and conservative Republicans. It is important for us to find a city/metro area that is more faith and family-oriented.

*Outdoorsy: we love hiking, going to parks, skiing, etc

*Weather: We don't really care what the weather is--but we most prefer snow. Sun is okay with us, too.

Can you compare/contrast these cities? Which would be the best fit?

Answer 1

Considering your politics, religious affiliation, and desire to be outdoors and around snow, I'd consider Denver if I were you. There, you also have the Rocky Mountains. However, it is probably the most expensive place to live in the Rocky Mountains, and the most expensive place to live between Chicago and California.

Minneapolis is more liberal in politics, people tend to be more agnostic than in other parts of the nation, and the winters are freaking COLD. If you love snow, you might like MN, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Atlanta, Houston, and San Diego are all out of the question if you like snow. The cost of living in ATL and HOU will be reasonable. In SD, I don't think so!

However, I'd personally choose Houston or Atlanta because there are safe, kid-friendly neighborhoods, the suburbs are mostly conservative, there are a lot of beautiful parks nearby, the weather is hot, and the people are friendly (a big perk for me.)

If I recall, you were the person that asked frequently about Louisville, KY. My advice to you is AVOID KENTUCKY!!! Yes, there are some good churches here and we have four distinct seasons. However, the job market is lackluster, the highways are in terrible shape, Louisville is still ranked as one of America's most polluted cities, and, frankly, people here are RUDE. Louisville is a dim but still glimmering flame of hope in Kentucky.

Answer 2

I don't know about the other cities per se but I'm from San Diego so I'll share my thoughts. I'll start from the order that you have things here.

*Very kid friendly in my opinion. In addition to the parks, you can take your kids to Sea World, or the world famous *ahem* San Diego Zoo. There's also the Ruben H Fleet Space Center at Balboa Park, that's fun and educational. And of course there's the beach! :-)

*Politics and religion I really can't help with since I'm not really into either, sorry!

*Outdoorsy things are OK. I mentioned above some parks. There' Mission Trails, which is GREAT for hiking. The last time I was there, which was maybe two weeks ago, my son(he's three), my friend and I saw a lizard AND a non poisonous snake on the path. I think there's still hiking somewhere in Old Town but I'm not sure so you might want to look into that.

*Weather wise. It's sunny for most of the year. I've always tripped out when I saw kids in shorts riding their bikes Christmas Day lol. As for snow there's...I wanna say Julian and another mountain city but I can't rememeber the name of it to save my life.

**The one sucky thing about San Diego is the cost of living. It's hella expensive esp if you're not military.

Answer 3

Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, and it still isn't large by the standards of the other cities that you mentioned. Kentucky typically votes red on the federal lever, but blue on the state level. Go figure. It has the first Republican governor in 40 years, and he totally screwed up all chances of getting reelected. So who know when the state will see the next one. Being in the beginning of the Bible Belt you can an idea of what kind of churches you will find in the area. I'm born and raised in Kentucky, but a few hours from Lousville. Stay out of southern cities if you want to stay in a strong Republican based area. The South is conservative thinking, but for some reason Democrat registering. San Diego and Boston are extremely liberal. I'd say Denver would be your best bet.

Answer 4

I was born and raised in San Diego. It is undoubtedly beautiful and has great weather, but it is really expensive. I just moved to Salt Lake City because it was just too expensive to go to school and try to raise my son. Even though I don’t really like Utah, (I’m a crazy liberal. Lol) it is a really nice place to raise a family and very conservative. The people are just so nice. They will pull over to help you out and everyone waves and says hi. It’s really refreshing. Sorry I don’t know about the other places, but I’m sure everyone else will.
Ohh, and for me at least, San Diego was not a conservative place to live and was fast paced. Now that I don't live there I can see that the people care a lot more about what they wear and stuff like that, but they are more open to people with different life styles. People in Salt Lake are more closed minded.
When I lived in San Diego I paid $850 for a two bedroom apartment and it was not nice and no where near the beach. It was like the cheapest I could find. In Salt Lake we have a 3 bedroom house, with a basement, backyard all the basics for only $900 a month. Plus we live in a really nice area. The school are also a lot better. Sorry, I know it wasn't one of your options. lol

Answer 5

Having lived in Minneapolis, I can tell you, you will find most of what you're looking for there, and you can have it all. I didn't find much out in your face religion there, though they have many churches. The twin cities have a large, healthy, gay population as well, and intolerance isn't well, um, tolerated, you know? There is a great arts district, lots of exciting parks and FANTASTIC schools for the kids. Politically it's a little more liberal, but that's the only part you'll have to learn to deal with if you go there!

Answer 6

I live in houston Tx and the cost of living is wonderfully cheap .We have the best school districts in the County like Cy-fair, Klein, and Spring.
The copperfield and Katy area are the nicest clean neighborhood's so is the Spring area near I-45. The best churchs are Abundant Life Cathedral in Southwest area near Dairy Ashford , Lakewood church, Grace Community Christian churc etc.
We have Bear Creek Park for activity's and other places in Galveston,Tx and outside of houston our national parks for camping etc.
Our Seasons are different this 2006 we had all 4 season's. But the normal cold is 45 degrees and our summer highs are near the 90's .

Answer 7

I'm only familiar w/San Diego - very nice, but very expensive...and with 4 kids, wow...real estate is crazy out here. Nice weather though. Busy & crowded - don't know much about the school system - mine are in private for many reasons. The hispanic culture is very large there being so close to the mexican border. Coastal access..nice but like I said, pricey!! Many christian churches all around here - hope it all works out! come & visit first. :)

Answer 8

Minneapolis is a great choice because there is plenty of snow. Also, the cost of living there is relatively cheap in comparison with the other cities you listed

Answer 9

Go with Denver. Atlanta is such a pain to drive through. Too bad they all have crappy football teams! ;)

Answer 10

I don't know about the rest; but try to avoid Houston!