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This ranking has no factors pertaining to raising children other than those that also pertain to adults. For parents and prospective parents that makes it almos

by TimPC 5y ago

This ranking has no factors pertaining to raising children other than those that also pertain to adults. For parents and prospective parents that makes it almost useless. If not for the quality of education in affluent parts of big cities and their suburbs the optimal plan for work life balance is to make bank in the big city then scale back to a nice small town. You can save enough to retire fairly easily given the low cost of living and low housing prices in small towns. But most small towns aren’t great environments for raising a kid.

fsloth 5y ago
"But most small towns aren’t great environments for raising a kid." This sounds strange? What are the negative factors in such an environment? As a parent I happen to live in a city but never considered a small town would be a poor environment for my kids.
- TimPC 5y ago
  Very insular and only one real chance to make a group of friends (especially within an age group). Limited support for hobbies and extra-curriculars due to population density. Difficult to impossible to get around and do things without a car. Often worse education.
  - bradlys 5y ago
    Not sure why you’re getting downvoted - this is 100% true. This lines perfectly with my experience. Upside at least - with small towns there usually isn’t much need for public transit as much because things are closer together if you live near the stuff to begin with. Downside - usually the people you become friends with at school live in the sticks and take a bus or parents car into school. So, if you want to see your friends... you need a ride. It was very common in my small town to pull in people from 10+ miles away for the high school and middle school. A lot of small towns are also very poor. We only had four day school weeks because they decided to axe the fifth day due to budget cuts. Almost all elective classes were cut as well - which meant as a student who maybe had an interest that lined up with getting out of small town... very difficult to get learnings on. People who post here are almost 100% unlikely to have their children in such a trap but it’s worth pointing out.
detaro 5y ago
How small is "small town"?

by TimPC 5y ago

fsloth 5y ago

"But most small towns aren’t great environments for raising a kid." This sounds strange? What are the negative factors in such an environment? As a parent I happen to live in a city but never considered a small town would be a poor environment for my kids.

TimPC 5y ago
Very insular and only one real chance to make a group of friends (especially within an age group). Limited support for hobbies and extra-curriculars due to population density. Difficult to impossible to get around and do things without a car. Often worse education.
- bradlys 5y ago
  Not sure why you’re getting downvoted - this is 100% true. This lines perfectly with my experience. Upside at least - with small towns there usually isn’t much need for public transit as much because things are closer together if you live near the stuff to begin with. Downside - usually the people you become friends with at school live in the sticks and take a bus or parents car into school. So, if you want to see your friends... you need a ride. It was very common in my small town to pull in people from 10+ miles away for the high school and middle school. A lot of small towns are also very poor. We only had four day school weeks because they decided to axe the fifth day due to budget cuts. Almost all elective classes were cut as well - which meant as a student who maybe had an interest that lined up with getting out of small town... very difficult to get learnings on. People who post here are almost 100% unlikely to have their children in such a trap but it’s worth pointing out.

detaro 5y ago

How small is "small town"?