Best place to move with 2 kids.?

Question

I have 2 kids, would love a great school system where they are going to be well educated, taxes low, low crime rate, preferably the 'burbs of a metropolitan area.

I've already lived in California, so that is out of the question because prices were so ridiculous when I did live out there from 2001-2005 which is why I moved.

Right now, we live in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire and it sucks. There is no places that are around where I live for my typer of career (web designer/developer), there are hardly any kids where we live and frankly, the kids where we live are not nice and a bit older than my 2 are.

The school system is the big thing. The school system in this area sucks, it is one of the worst in the nation and the dropout rate at the high school is unbelievable, so much that dropouts around here hang out at the local Dunkin' Donuts, there are no malls within 60 miles of here and a real city is about an hour plus away.

So... any suggestions?

Answer 1

I found this on the net and I think it is pretty good advice. Probably better than I could give you. Check it out.

Five Tips for Being Happy Where You Live
by Penelope Trunk
Where you choose to live has enormous impact on how happy you are, but not for the reasons you probably think. And you need to know how location impacts your happiness in order to make a good decision about where to live.
We all know that a bigger house doesn't make people happier, and I write all the time about how more money doesn't, either. So you shouldn't choose a place to live based on where you can get a job that pays the most money, or where you can buy a house with the most square-footage. Instead, take a look at what really affects happiness, and make decisions based on that.
More than Location, Location, Location
I moved from New York City to Madison, Wis., after collecting a few years' worth of research on the topic of happiness in order to make the right decision. The most interesting part of the research, perhaps, is that there's research at all.
The field of positive psychology has been around long enough to become an established discipline in universities, but it's new enough that when we apply it to our everyday lives it tends to shake up long-held assumptions -- especially when it comes to choosing where to live.
To that end, here are some factors to guide your own choice:
1. You need to earn the median income for your neighborhood.
It's true that money doesn't buy happiness, but you'll never feel secure if you don't earn as much as the people around you. You're much more likely to feel that the amount you earn is fine if it's as much as your friends and neighbors earn. And if you earn the most in your neighborhood, you'll probably feel like you're pretty well off. Money is relative.
This explains why the year my tax return showed that I had an income of about $200,000, I often felt like I was living just a few short steps from homelessness. And I'm not alone -- New Yorkers talk about that phenomenon all the time.
2. Remember that you'll change careers at least three times.
Your job isn't stable, and neither is your career, so be careful about picking a location just because it's good for your work right now.
In a family with two people who have jobs outside the house, it's impractical to relocate every time one of them takes a new job. So it makes sense to think in terms of picking a location largely independent of your career.
Do you care a lot about schools? Or being near the beach? These are things to weigh heavily when picking a location, and then figure out what kind of work to do when you get there.
The act of choosing a place to live requires you to balance a lot of competing factors, but don't give work too much weight. There's little evidence to show that a good job makes you happy -- only that you need to limit the detrimental factors that come with some jobs, because things like a long commute and a crazy boss can really hurt your chances of being happy.
3. More choices don't make you more happy.
In fact, the more choices you have, the harder it is to make good decisions. You don't need to have a lot of bars to choose from in order to go out with your friends at night, and more restaurants don't bring you a sense of well being.
People mistakenly believe that more choice is good in most cases, but in many instances it makes life more complicated for no good reason. So before you tell yourself that you need to live somewhere with multitudes of opportunity and excitement, consider that no location has everything, and other factors will give you a lot more bang for your buck in the happiness department.
4. There's no free lunch when it comes to schools.
The nature of public schools in the United States makes finding an inexpensive city with a top-ranked school system pretty much impossible. If you want your kids to be in a school district that ranks high for academic achievement, then study the rankings before you move.
Once you live somewhere, it's human nature to tell yourself that whatever school district you're in is fine for your kids. Before you move, you'll be much more able to objectively evaluate the school possibilities.
5. Live where the people you love live.
Where you live has about the same influence on your personal happiness as what you do for work -- that is, much less than your personal relationships. The biggest thing you can do to create happiness in your life is to cultivate and maintain intimate, reliable relationships with people.
If you have friends you see once a week, you'll live longer. If you have friends at work, you'll like your job. If you have friends who provide emergency child care, you're likely to be a happy working parent.
Friends can change your life, if you have them. So live where your friends and loved ones live, and the other issues won't matter so much.
I think she pretty much nails it on the head. Smart lady.

Answer 2

The Ocean State is calling you...move to Rhode Island, I have two boy's ages 13 and 9 that the older one attends a brand newly build middle school, and Chariho High isn't far away. My wife and I live in a sort of rural area in White Rock they call in off the outskirts of Westerly I guess you could say...Anyway's the schools here are alway's in what they call " Lockdown" meaning there is a police officer there everyday, and the schools are tight, meaning these kid's don't get away with stuff like a big city violence delema etc. It is an expensive town to live in, but not if you happen to come across a deal on getting a place to own or rent. We rent and pay $850 for a 2nd floor 2 1/2 Bedroom nothing included, and it's the cheapest we've seen anywhere in the five years we've been looking. Most are between 1000-1300 for a 3 bedroom, and we just can't afford that...good luck

Answer 3

Before you move anywhere take a trip there to check things out. Do you have enough money saved up? Are there any people that you know in the area? Moving for a fresh start sounds like a good idea until reality sets in.

Answer 4

Hey there! I'd say North Carolina or Virginia I hear it is absolutely beautiful, quiet and the school system is great. I am in the NJ/NY area and that is much like Cali with real cold weather come winter time. So NC or VA. Good luck in which ever you choose!

Answer 5

Web skills and two kids... I would have to say the 'burbs around Chicago. Plenty to do and real safe. Regardless of where you live, stay involved with yuor kids schoolwork and don't rely on the school system to make them extraordinary. A good school system will make them ordinary, you are the only one who can make them exceptional.

Answer 6

Well being 15 and all, I'm not really a specialist. But you could try some place like Staten Island in New York. The real estate is cheap.

Or Florida. It's cheap and hot.

Answer 7

Either Wyoming or Nebraska! Low population, relitively low crime rate. You can live outside of Lincoln or Omaha if you choose to live in a suburb in the state of Nebraska. Only Nebraska has high property taxes!

Answer 8

i live in wisconsin and it is great taxes are not that great though but school here is one of the best in the nation and crime mis very low. if you were to move to wisconsin move to green bay,appleton,madison,millukee,stevins point,or wausau.
i personaly live in the wausau area and it is the greatest like are free art musem,big downtown libary,big mall,and still growing. wisconsin is nice to people from everywhere. and with global warming are winters are getting warmer.

if you choose wisconsin please tell me

Answer 9

move to Utah they have good places like lagoon with 41 rides or Idaho with places like roaring springs or boondocks if they are older go to Florida or something with lot of talk an d loads of people and fun stuff!

Answer 10

Try NC, My wife and I are looking into the Raliegh/Chapel Hill area. Good schools, close to mountains, beach, and plenty to do.