America is such a big place, one mixed with so many different ideas and attitudes, cultures, and outlooks on life, where you raise your family is as important a decision as exactly how you raise them. California might have been great when you were a youngster living a care-free life of a singleton or young couple, Florida may have been ideal when your life revolved around when the next wave to surf was coming in and Tennessee was cool when the life of a touring musician filled every waking hour. But as soon as you start a family a whole different set of considerations take place. So when it is time to pack up the Venice Beach apartment and get in a firm of los angeles movers then you need to have done a bit of research as to the best place to bring up your kids.
According to a number of recent surveys of the best and worst states to raise your children in, here are the three that take bronze, silver, and gold positions.
It is always a good sign when a state or city that you are interested in settling in shows no small amount of civic pride. Less desirable locations are often derided by the very people who live there. A thriving destination is one where its citizens are proud to associate themselves with, often wearing baseball caps and sports shirts, displaying bumper stickers, and carrying custom bic lighter that declare their love for the place.
And of course, given the new world, we find ourselves in, one where businesses seem to exist in a floating cloud on the internet rather than in physical spaces, less a bricks, and mortar location and more a blend of an entrepreneurial mind, a neat product, a website designer and a switched-on SEO company, such as IgniteDigital.com, and the ties that used to bind people to one place or another are less of a concern.
Bronze Position: North Dakota
Among North Dakota’s many assets is its strong record of health and safety as well as having unparalleled education and child care programs.
North Dakota comes in 14th overall regarding affordability and cost of living and 3rd for both average family income and the cost of housing. It also tops the nation regarding issues surrounding socioeconomics, a catch-all measurement that includes factors such as poverty, levels of employment, rates of divorce, numbers of business and housing foreclosures as well as being high regarding job security and work opportunities. North Dakota also has one of the lowest counts for families in poverty.
Silver Position: Minnesota
The state’s largest city, Minneapolis, was the unfortunate focus of local and national protests in 2020, when George Floyd, was killed by police during an arrest. But despite this tarnish on its record, Minnesota is still regarded as a great place to raise a family.
It ranks high for health and safety as well as regarding schooling and child care. The usual socioeconomics factors show it in a favorable light and affordability and low rates of family poverty make it an attractive option.
Gold Position: Massachusetts
The state has long been regarded as being a great place to raise children and for family activities families with natural features such as Cape Cod and the Berkshire Mountains plus thriving, cosmopolitan cities such as Boston making it very attractive.
Massachusetts scores high regarding education and child care and the infant mortality rate in the state is very low. It also comes in ninth for family fun and tenth for health and safety, respectively on the national comparison, and is a very affordable state to set up a house in.
