http://men.msn.com/articlebl.aspx?cp-documentid=7560549&GT1=32001


Interesting! :)

yeah.. interesting where some of the cities were places.. I have to agree with # 1 though :yes

thanks for posting this...

I agree with #1 too :lol - I really wish we'd be able to stay here to raise both our DDs :sigh

My hometown San Antonio is like number 67 or something, totally true! :lol

Woo, number 2!

Fremont, CA is so not worth number 38. :rofl

One more reason! Oh I so want to retire there!

yet another reason why i'm not looking forward to my move to fayetteville, but hopefully we'll be long gone before we raise a family.

Wow, I can not believe San Diego made the list. Its a beautiful place and all, but I don't know about one of the best places to raise a family :lol Maybe I just didn't live there long enough to see that part of it.

Elgin, IL? That's a joke!

I'm surprised Las Vegas made it :suspect It's definitely not a place I'd want to raise my family.

baltimore?! that place is a pit for the most part.

Elgin, IL? That's a joke!

I'm surprised Las Vegas made it :suspect It's definitely not a place I'd want to raise my family.

baltimore?! that place is a pit for the most part.

I agree :tired

Elgin, IL? That's a joke!

I know, I was pretty surprised be that too. However, it's probably a mathematical equation to figure out the list. Elgin has the riverboat pouring thousands of tax dollars into the city. I've seen marked improvements to the area including a fantastic park district building with indoor waterpark. You also can't beat the house prices. It's probably the last area in N. IL where housing is affordable. I bet that's what landed Elgin on the list.

Good to see VA Beach hit the top of the list as that's where my husband is trying to get stationed next.

The inner city of B'more is bad, but the suburbs aren't that bad, and they have a great zoo!

OK..... I don't understand how they came to this conclusion... Atlanta is on that list and Atlanta has TERRIBLE schools and is definately not a place I would want to walk around with my children and especially would not feel comfortable with my children playing outside. I grew up about 30 minutes south of atlanta, all my cousins still live in atlanta, my parents grew up in atlanta.... definately NOT where I would want to raise my children. :no

ETA: Augusta is also on that list... I live here... my little brother is in school here... their schools are also terrible and the city itself isn't that great either....
WOW.......if this is good.... I wouldn't want to see bad

Not too bad...I am on the list. I want to visit Hawaii

I don't agree with #1 AT ALL! Yay for #2! :D

Hey Omaha, NE is #16

This is really a good place to raise a family.

I'm surprised to see Los Angeles and Oakland, California on the best places list. I wasn't surprised to see places like Hayward and Fremont, California there.

Very interesting list... not sure that I agree with several of the cities though.

OK, Hawaii is nice, and if they spend that much on schools, why are they ranked so poorly in national standards? Where is the money going then?

DC IS ON THERE! I would NEVER raise my family in DC.
But w00t for number 20! thats where I was born baby

My hometown San Antonio is like number 67 or something, totally true! :lol

I'm from San Antonio as well! I figured it would be higher on the list! :( I wasn't surprised to see Wichita, KS on there. That is where I was actually born!

We live in the Corpus Christi, Texas area. I am not at all surprised to see it as one of the worst!

I don't agree with the criteria they've used to determine the best places to raise a family. For example, educational spending per child could be high in a particular area to try to raise poor overall test scores for reading/writing at a specific age. Some big cities are inevitably going to be on the list as they tend to have more museums and cultural centres than rural areas. It doesn't necessarily follow that they are good places to raise children.

We live in the Corpus Christi, Texas area. I am not at all surprised to see it as one of the worst!

ME EITHER!! I am actually surprised it's not the WORST place to raise a child quite honestly.

Springfield, Missouri is the #1 worst town to raise a family...bullshit! Pffft. My DH is from there and I grew up an hour away. It's a wonderful town.

I know Cincinnati is all the way at 90 but I can't believe they made it at all. Cincinnati Public School system is TERRIBLE. I would NEVER put my child in that system.

Was the info gathered just within city limits, or did they expand into the suburbs?

OK..... I don't understand how they came to this conclusion... Atlanta is on that list and Atlanta has TERRIBLE schools and is definately not a place I would want to walk around with my children and especially would not feel comfortable with my children playing outside. I grew up about 30 minutes south of atlanta, all my cousins still live in atlanta, my parents grew up in atlanta.... definately NOT where I would want to raise my children. :no


I would guess that when they say 'Atlanta' they are also including the metro area. Maybe it was different south of the city but I grew up just north of the city, definitely in the metro area, and it is absolutely a great place to raise a family! A lot of the schools are ranked nationally, there is a ton to do, and a low violent crime rate.

Great to see that the largest Army post is the third worst place to raise a family :no I mean the gov't dictates where you live with your family while with the military- you'd think they would do something to make it a better, safer place to be!

The 10 Worst Places to Raise a Family (from best to worst)

Springfield, Missouri
Dayton, Ohio
Corpus Christi, Texas
Flint, Michigan (Country's highest violent-crime rate)
Columbia, South Carolina
Waco, Texas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Beaumont, Texas (Long-standing air-quality challenges)
Clarksville, Tennessee (Low educational spending: $6,729 per student)

WTF There is NO way in HELL I would EVER raise a child in Fontana, CA its the meth capitol of the state!! Houses blow up a LOT from all the meth thats cooked out there.

Even Corona, CA is questionable.

Wow, I can not believe San Diego made the list. Its a beautiful place and all, but I don't know about one of the best places to raise a family :lol Maybe I just didn't live there long enough to see that part of it.

I agree. While San Diego has some of the better schools for that region (based on out experience), in comparison the schools just do not measure up to the other 2 school systems we have had our kids in. (a year in Norfolk and a year here in MS). Granted there is a lot of things to do out there as a family, but geeze most of it is over priced, not to mention the cost of living out there is ridiculous. That said I LOVE San Diego, but if we were not military living in military housing there is NO WAY we could live there, at least not comfortably.

Wow, I can not believe San Diego made the list. Its a beautiful place and all, but I don't know about one of the best places to raise a family :lol Maybe I just didn't live there long enough to see that part of it.

I lived in the 'burbs. The schools in my district were some of the best!

Oh, south of atlanta is great... I'm from Brooks/ PTC area... it's great there... but not atlanta itself... that's what I was saying


I would guess that when they say 'Atlanta' they are also including the metro area. Maybe it was different south of the city but I grew up just north of the city, definitely in the metro area, and it is absolutely a great place to raise a family! A lot of the schools are ranked nationally, there is a ton to do, and a low violent crime rate.

Great to see that the largest Army post is the third worst place to raise a family :no I mean the gov't dictates where you live with your family while with the military- you'd think they would do something to make it a better, safer place to be!

Springfield, Missouri is the #1 worst town to raise a family...bullshit! Pffft. My DH is from there and I grew up an hour away. It's a wonderful town.

I agree, while I didn't grow up there I am familiar with that area. I guess when compared to places like San Diego and Virginia Beach (where tourist attractions and history are plentiful) it is boring. :dunno I personally don't see what is so wrong with Springfield. :dunno

42 Kansas City, Missouri
:lol I presume they've never visited the city! I grew up about 45 minutes to an hour outside of K.C., depending on traffic, and I would not raise my children there! While there are some areas that are nice, for the most part it is dirty and it stinks.

92 St. Louis, Missouri
:hystericlaugh This was a joke, right? This city has made the top 3 as most dangerous city in America for 4 years in a row! How does one of the nations most dagerous cities (based on crime rate statistics) make the best places to raise a family list? No offense to anyone who lives there, but just wondering how a city with that kind of statistics makes a list like that. I've been to St. Louis many, many times and I am so not impressed with it, not at all, add in statistics and well no thanks!:D

Out of all the nice towns and awesome school systems in Connecticut.. Stamford and Waterbury would probably be the absolute LAST on my list. Have these people actually ever visited these places?

Austin's #14. woo!
i can assume they mean Round Rock, which is suburb (home of Dell). they have a GREAT school district and it's in awesome town. :D

OKC was #28, and I totally agree with that. OKC schools are not the best in the world, but there are other school districts in OKC, and they are great. I was born and raised here and I love it.
I totally agree with putting Fayetteville, NC on the worst list. I lived there for 3 years and HATED it!!! I was afraid to drive in town alone.

BTW: It doesn't matter what city it is, there are going to be people who agree and people who don't. Like I said, I love OKC and have lived here all my life, but I know other military people who aren't from here that can't wait to get out of here. I personally hated Fayetteville beyond belief, but there are a lot of people who tell me I make it sound worse than it is, and it really isn't that bad. Everyone's opinions are just that... opinions.

I was glad NH made the list, but Manchester is the worst city in the entire state to raise a family :giggle

Someone that I knew back home saw this list and told me I shouldn't have kids while we're at Bragg. Beyond that being absolutely none of her business where I raise my future kids, I don't have major beef with Fayetteville. Although, I don't have kids, so for all I know the schools could be terrible. If we did, we'd probably move a bit away to Sanford, or another area that's smaller.

42 Kansas City, Missouri
:lol I presume they've never visited the city! I grew up about 45 minutes to an hour outside of K.C., depending on traffic, and I would not raise my children there! While there are some areas that are nice, for the most part it is dirty and it stinks.

92 St. Louis, Missouri
:hystericlaugh This was a joke, right? This city has made the top 3 as most dangerous city in America for 4 years in a row! How does one of the nations most dagerous cities (based on crime rate statistics) make the best places to raise a family list? No offense to anyone who lives there, but just wondering how a city with that kind of statistics makes a list like that. I've been to St. Louis many, many times and I am so not impressed with it, not at all, add in statistics and well no thanks!:D

I agree! I would not want to raise a family in either of those cities.

I've only been to KC once but it scared the shit outta me!

I've been to St. Louis more times than I can remember since I have family up there. Now, I couldn't want to live in St. Louis itself but the small surrounding cities are beautiful. I have family in Kirkwood and I love it!

I couldn't believe some of the places on the list....Virginia Beach? Jacksonville? I know Jacksonville has horrendous schools unless you get into the Magnet program. Cost of living is high and jobs that pay well enough to afford the Cost of living there are not plentiful. It is a lot of low paying jobs.
On the flip side....I needed an excuse to move back to Hawaii, now I have one! LOL...

dude wth

SALINAS CA
my dad was a cop there and there is no way in hell id raise a family there we lived in a nice upscale area and had drive by shootings and bullets in the front of our house on a quarterly basis...riiiight NO

and Fremont CA...whoa

and Oakland...do they know what the PUBLIC schools are like in Oakland... lol i agree with alot of the palces outside of CA but most of the cities in CA i have a ahrd tim agreeing with
although Santa Rosa is a nice place to live depending on which part and how much you like rats running down the street in broad day light:D

also i want to add I LOVE living in san diego as a non married college student...but not to raise a family :D

I am a bit shocked that no place in Jersey made the list.

:woot Number NINE!

:shock at Baltimore. No freakin' way I would raise children there :rofl

very interesting!

I'm really surprised about Lowell Mass. My friends from there talk about how it is a crap hole lol

Very interesting!

I wouldn't want to raise my family in Columbus, Georgia.. I can't believe that's is so high on the list!

houston isn't even on there. glad to see texas ranked high for some things

My old town made 10 of the worst... I don't agree with that at all!

Hmm I live in the worst place to raise a family..clarksville, tn

See I don't necessarily agree with number 1. I do think that Honolulu is a great place to live, but the statistics are deceiving. Yes, we have an incredibly low unemployment rate...because people are forced to work due to the high cost of living. I don't know about the average spent per pupil, but the school system here is not great. The beaches are, however! :)

houston isn't even on there. glad to see texas ranked high for some things

That's exactly what I was thinking! Especially considering Sugar Land (my hometown and a Houston suburb) was named one of the top three best cities to live in by CNN! Whatev... :dunno

I'm disappointed Corpus is like the 3rd worst city to raise a family in! I'm curious why now. :confused

I'm disappointed Corpus is like the 3rd worst city to raise a family in! I'm curious why now. :confused

It may have to do with the fact that Corpus practically leads the Country in teen pregnancy, we pay an large amount of property taxes and very little goes into our school systems, there really is NOTHING here for the kids to do other than the beach. The employment rate is low, the pay is low and there are a lot of people on welfare/food stamps because of it. We have a high crime rate and a lot of it is petty teenage type crimes. We are well over the "national average" on all types of crime. Of course, these are my opinions..and they don't really have anything to do with the rankings. ;)

hmm....interesting! some of those surprised me, but definitely interesting!

:rofl

I'm surprised Los Angeles made that list. Maybe some of the cities that outskirt LA but not the city itself, the place is pure mayhem sometimes.

awe look my home is number 1 :] i lived in number 86 for a few years after we left hawaii, but we want to live there when DF gets out.

Elgin, IL? That's a joke!

I'm surprised Las Vegas made it :suspect It's definitely not a place I'd want to raise my family.

I dont understand why some of these places are so high. I mean i love NYC and Vegas but i dont want to raise my kids there.

But Hawaii... when can i move?

Aww Alaska didnt make it on the list :(

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Modesto, CA made it???? I grew up there and its not.

Yeah some of the schools are decent. But not great.

Laci Petersen anyone? How 'bout them meth labs and gangs? (or yankees?)

How how about how high the crime rates are? (I think its the highest in CA's Central Valley at least.)

Yay for Honolulu, HI :hula

:woot I was rasied around Number 22!! California is on there a lot! too bad you cant afford to live there!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Modesto, CA made it???? I grew up there and its not.

Yeah some of the schools are decent. But not great.

Laci Petersen anyone? How 'bout them meth labs and gangs? (or yankees?)

How how about how high the crime rates are? (I think its the highest in CA's Central Valley at least.)

I have to agree I cant believe melsto made it!! My great Aunt used to live there. The only one with a high crime rate in Northern Ca is Okland!

Wow, I'm shocked that Columbia, SC made the top 10 worst :no

I understand it not being on the best...but I think Columbia is a great place to live. Just like any other city, it has bad and good areas :confuzzle

Okay, this list sucks.

wow. Los Angeles is #12. Not bad... I guess I didn't turn out too bad afterall. hahaha.