Where is the best place to move to raise my kids?

Question

Currently in NYC and need a change in my life. Lived here for 31 years and want to move somewhere thats more laid back and not so fast paced.

Answer 1

you should move to Baker County Florida. its a small rural community with great schools and activities

Answer 2

Depending on what you do for a living...there are lots of places you could go.

I was raised in Iowa...a beautiful place. Even the cities there are pretty friendly. But there is nothing like living in the Midwest on a farm or acreage to give a child the perfect place to be young. Real estate in Iowa is all a song compared to anything where you are.

I was also a nanny in NJ. I lived in Hunterdon County. Cost of living there is through the roof because it is an hour outside the city and many people have "NY" money to spend for their lifestyle. Still it was friendly, relatively safe, and very small town life there.

It really depends on how much you want to adjust your life, and whether or not you would switch careers, or be able to continue your career there. I suppose it isn't a lost cause. Lots of jobs you can do anywhere, and there is commuting and even working from home.

Answer 3

Depends on what your primary goal is.

MICHIGAN Cheap housing and great school districts Troy and West Bloomfield are both exemplary districts.

UTAH is a very religious state-Mormon country, alcohol and drugs are not encouraged and they have policies in place to prevent the corruption from overflowing. Of course they have problems too but on a scale of 1-10 theya re pretty low

NEW JERSEY close to the area you know and would allow the children to have easy access to NY and all of the cultural opportunities it affords.

CONNECTICUT close to the area you know and not too far from NY

places i say no to

FLORIDA-can I say Spring Break influence
LOUISIANA-the state is not really helping areas hit by Katrina recover especially not New Orleans. There is no master plan and who wants to be where there is no plan
ALASKA-unless you want to live in the dark a few months of the year, your perk is a bonus oil check

I am torn on Hawaii-the cost of living is too high but the weather is moderate

Ultimately your credentials will have to be factored in as well. you want to be able to find a good job and moving to MI for the auto industry wouldnt be a good idea. Nor would moving to Utah for the nightlife or New Jersey for their CHinese Food, LOL

IF you are really ready for a change move out of the country. Go to England, Paris, Italy or somewhere that exposes them to another culture and find a family city with good schools. Learn to drive and drive on the left side instead of the right side.

BTW i agree with Toledo engineer too-TOledo is a great town for families. The zoo is great and if you have sons they have a construction exhibit tjat comes every year around fathers day with real trucks to explore

hope this gives you food for thought

Answer 4

As close to possible as the nearest 24-hour babysitters: Your parents! ;)

Seriously, though, you should avoid big cities, or you'll just get back into what you're trying to get away from; conversely, avoid rural areas, as they may be too far from any kind of social life! The "inner" States have the advantage of avoiding coastal weather problems, earthquakes, etc, but have fewer malls and stores don't stay open late (on Sundays, some don't open at all!). If you require winter activities, head more North; summer activities, head more South. Small communities tend to be close knit, but most welcome strangers with open arms, and are refreshingly and genuinely pleasant!

Having chased jobs in a number of States in the past 20 or so years, I've discovered that you can tell a lot about a town, its people, and the environment in just a week, staying at a local hotel! After you collect whatever basic info you can from your current home, narrow the list to one or two communities in three to five States; try to figure out the best and worst of each with additional research, then narrow the results to just three towns and set out to visit them for a week (don't make it consecutive weeks, or things may "blur" together in your mind!). From hair stylists to stylin' on the tennis courts, from down-home meals to ritzy restaurants, from elementary schools to colleges, find out everything you can about a given place in that time. The relatively small amount of time, effort, and money spent in that week, will serve you well!

The following links may offer some guidance:

The first one is a recent survey result.

The second one offers an interesting quiz, which "requires" you to enter personal info, near the end of the quiz, but, heck, I gave phony info, so it was harmless! However, the 4-page results were somewhat puzzling, as they didn't match my preferences, and I had the sense that I was being given a real estate tour instead of being shown my genuine ideals! But, I'll admit that it gave me a few ideas that I hadn't thought of, so it might be worth it to you to try it!

The third link is a little out-of-date, but I think it's still worthwhile.

Good luck!

P.S. Of all the places I've lived, the communities about 20 miles west of Boston (west of Rt 128) were my favorites (I'm no longer in Massachusetts).

Answer 5

If you want to move somewhere in the states then Florida is the place I do Hear that people tat have lived in the big apple for a long time find it hard to get used to a slower paced environment. Hillsborough in Tampa I heard has very good schools, Im actually thinking of moving to FL myself. Last one to FL is a rotten apple!

Answer 6

My home town, Toledo, Ohio has constantly been rated as one of the most kid-friendly/centric places in the nation. We have twice as many children's hospitals as we need, we have a world known zoo, an awesome art museum, a great science center, and more. The toledo public school district is currently building all new school buildings, and is about a third of the way completed.

It is a city of just under 300,000 people (just under 1 million metro area) so it's not too big, but not too small. We are currently revitalizing our downtown with a new sports arena for our hockey team, and a marina district along the river. We have an awesome AAA baseball team, with a great stadium, that produced about half of last years world series Detroit Tigers. (In fact, the Tiger's coach, Jim Leeland is from Toledo.)

Answer 7

don't try & get too laid back..31 yrs in NY leads to culture shock in poodunk. How about Miami or Tampa?

Answer 8

Well, where I live, in WV, it's certainly laid back, and there are plenty of schools, but there is definitely a lack of good jobs...

Answer 9

Norfolk Virginia. Belive it!

Answer 10

I dont really know of any "safe" place theese days. However, you could move to a small town .