Whenever we do a “best ____ for _____” type of article, we always discuss the metrics pertaining to that subject and come up with a ranking of sorts.
But today, because the discussion within the subject has so many variables, we’ve decided to do it differently.
To tell us about the best places to raise a family, we’ve imagined a typical real estate agent from each of these best cities for families. They will each defend their cities and tell us why is their hometown deserving of being amongst the best places to raise a family in America.
This one promises to be a fun one… let’s do this!
The city of Chicago
Hey, thanks for having me. Listen, I’ll be quick because when you are a real estate agent in Chicago like me, living in a big metropolitan city like this one, you have no time to lose! So, I will explain why Chi-Town deserves to be here among the best cities for families using three aspects of it. First, let’s talk about da food, ok? What do people know us for? Da pizza, right? Big, sultry, pizza. Pizza is all about sharing; a circle-shaped food where da family gathers and shares. So, you see? This “family” feeling is in our blood; Chicago has this whole culture about being there for your loved ones. The White Sox and the Cubs didn’t win a thing for decades, but we were always there for them going “There’s always next year”. Families coming to Chicago will benefit from this feeling.
And I’ll tell you, as a real estate agent I see that family tradition going all the way to the way our properties are built; whether an apartment in da city or a house in da suburbs, you always find that big frunchroom as a key element of integration, and spacious washrooms to be used by everyone in da household.
Entertainment options we have a lot of them. Let’s talk about da Lake! Chicago stretches along 22 miles of Lake Michigan’s coastline! Da Lake offers Chicagoan families a lot of activities like spending a day doing water sports or fishing or just sunbathing. Chicago is the runner-up on city with the most playground per capita and the overall most attractions! We have a rich cultural life provided by some of the Best Museums in the USA, two zoos and several entertainment hotspots throughout the city. No wonder Chicago has offered the USA and the world a lot of great artists and spectacles. And the best of it; we have a pretty decent transport system, so when the young ones start to grow, they can get from there to here without the need of you driving them around. Get them off LSD and teach them how to take da L – no, I’m not talking about drugs! If yous guys come over by Chicago – and you should; as you can see is one of the best places to raise a family - give me a call, we’ll get a beer or a pop and I’ll explain what it means.
I gotta dip now. Bye!
Plano Texas
Howdy, Fellas! Y’all probably thinking “Plano Texas?! How can this darn small and unknown city be right here in the big league of the best cities for families?”. Well, for those who have not had the pleasure to know Plano Texas, we are just 20 miles north of the Big D (Dallas), and we’re actually not that small: we have almost 300,000 inhabitants, which makes us the 9th most populous city in the state of Texas.
But size and population is not necessarily important when figuring out the best places to raise a family, wouldn’t you agree? With the world that we live in right now, with so many gangs and terrorism and violent offenses against minorities, safety is a big concern for anyone looking to raise children. Well, Forbes has called Plano Texas the safest city in America. Not “one of the”; *the* safest. Number one. Numero uno!
And I’m speaking in Spanish because Plano Texas is proud of being a melting pot of several cultures. Our name is Spanish – it means “flat surface”, if y’all wondering – but we have an even bigger portion of Asians living here. And we love that! We have that small town way of life, with access to a lot of culture and different points of view.
Every family needs to earn money to take care of themselves, and companies like Capital One, Toyota, Cinemark Theatres, J. C. Penney, FedEx Office, Pizza Hut and Bank of America Home Loans have headquarters in Plano Texas, hiring well over 1,000 employees each. And Plano Texas is still growing; Liberty Mutual, JP Morgan Chase, and Fannie Mae are the latest companies to come here adding a combined 7,000 new jobs to our community! Putting that to numbers: Plano Texas is the third city with highest median family salary adjusted for cost of living in America… how ‘bout that?
If that’s not enough to convince you we’re one of the best cities for families, let’s talk about raising children: Plano Texas is again number one when it comes to education. We have the best school district in Texas and #22 in the whole nation. It’s Plano West; that’s the best school district in Texas, the one every Real Estate Agent in Plano TX like me will refer you to when moving here with kids. And, hey, don’t know if it counts for this specific discussion here, but boy oh boy, it’s a foodie paradise down here! Plano Texas has over 700 restaurants! From upscale to traditional southern food, you’ll find it all. So, come on down to Plano Texas; the best of both worlds regarding size, the safest place in this nation, with one of the best school districts you’ll find and great food and entertainment options. What can I say? We’re one of the best places to raise a family guaranteed!
Orlando Florida
Hi, everyone! I’m so excited to be here representing all the Real Estate Agents in Orlando FL out there and talking about this magic city! Among all the best cities for families, Orlando is the only one that has - for more than 40 years now - been re-imagined to appeal mainly to families. Sure, Orlando has lots of activities for young single people, but it’s undeniable that what is collectively known as Orlando (that whole area that includes Doctor Phillips, Windermere, Winter Garden, Kissimmee and even Celebration, the city that was actually developed by The Walt Disney Company) is geared toward that classic American way of life family.
Yes, Orlando is one of the last places where you can, indeed, feel the good old American way of life, celebrated through respect and the will to dream a better future. Walt Disney turned an underpopulated swamp into a dream town. Full of suburbs where kids can play free and attend some of the best school districts in the country, while still having access to a diverse population – citizens or tourists – which always expands our culture.
From a real estate point of view… the time is now, folks! Orlando has been on a rise; its popularity doesn’t seem to stop growing. If we were to separate the city in eras, it’s safe to say that we’re going to a new one, where the probability of its real estate getting saturated increases. So, right now it’s a great moment to settle down in Orlando and benefit both from the already excellent environment and infrastructure developed during the early years of the town into the mainstream, as well from the price hike all this continued popularity will force. It’s not too early to be a trailblazer and deal with potential hardships and growing pains, nor too late to live there before it became impossible. What it is is the perfect time to be smart and live in one of the best places to raise a family. Orlando is that one dream that you can still make come true…
The city of Seattle
Well, I have no doubt that Seattle is the best place to live for young families; this is the Millenial’s capital, as far as I’m concerned. But, overall, it’ll be difficult to single out one aspect of Seattle that makes it one of the best cities for families. What I think most of my realtors in Seattle WA peers will vouch for is that the strength of the city is exactly being quietly above average on every metric related to what constitutes these best cities to raise a family. We don’t have only one or two statistics to elect as the determinant. Seattle is a big city, with a strong solid job market and a population that’s doing good socio-economically wise for a long while, a great health system with great hospitals – you’ve probably seen it on Grey’s Anatomy, right? – and a lot of nice activities you can do with kids and teenagers.
Pleasure wise, we’re easily a top 10 gastronomy hotspot in America. For starters, we are a huge fresh seafood market. We don’t even understand the concept of frozen fish, really. Plus; I’d say that Seattle stands at a nice spot on the map. If Seattle is not enough for you, and the weather bothers you – I’ve learned to love it, but whatever; we’re close to California, close to beautiful scenery within the Washington State, but also close to our neighbors in Idaho and even Canada. Hawaii is just a quick (and not that expensive) flight away.
Being honest – because us Seattleites always are – the housing is becoming expensive, but if you think about all that this city provides you; it’s completely doable. I mean, you want to have a family, right? You need to raise your children in an environment that forges people like Bill Gates (Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), but also Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee. Where companies like Amazon and Starbucks were born. To sum it up; Seattle is the place where you come to be nurtured in greatness. Some are willing to pay the price for it, some are not.
Those are just some of the best cities for families. We could have written about Boston, which is also one of the best cities for singles - so, you live the whole nine yards in Boston! - and San Antonio both with great entertainment options, decent health system, some of the best school districts and good job opportunities but, then, this post would’ve become so long the person reading would become too old to have a family by the time it finished reading… so, we’ll just leave it at that. Those 4 cities - Chicago, Seattle, Orlando and Plano Texas - are very different between themselves, so much so that we believe it will appeal to every type of life that you wish to have in America - one with plenty of sun, one with plenty of snow, one in the east, one in the west, the midwest, the south and the east… we have them all; all you need is to chose which of these best cities for families is the best for yours!
The city of Alpharetta Georgia
There is no question that Alpharetta GA is one of the best cities to raise a family in the entire country, hands down. Alpharetta is just north of Atlanta, and it's within easy driving distance of some of the cities best attractions, but far enough away to escape the citie's more unpleasant sides, such as its high crime rate and cost of living. So what does Alpharetta Georigia have, that makes it so great? Let's take a look!
The first thing that makes Alpharetta such a great place for families is its low crime rate, both for property and violent crimes. This makes it a safe haven for families, where you won't have to worry about your family's safety if you decide to make it your home. Another thing that makes Alpharetta a really great place to raise a family is its excellent school districts. Students in Alpharetta have consistently high standardized test scores, and its facilities are modern and well built. Add to that the opportunities for employment and higher education in nearby Atlanta, and you have yourself an ideal place to raise a family!
If you feel like this might be the place for you, you'll want to contact one of the top real estate agents in Alpharetta GA. Once you've found yourself a real estate agent that can meet your needs, you'll be that much closer to making your home in the beautiful city of Alpharetta Georgia!
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