Given the choice, where would you live(city or burbs)? Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston (more listed)?

Also, Richmond, Indianapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, New York, Portland, Seattle.



Rephrase: If you were me and wanted to provide a good environment for your children (who are now 9 months and 3 months in utero) (We want to stay where we move), live in a city (or suburb) with a good bit going on with lots of parks and cultural events, a safe environment (little to no ghetto), live preferably in a house (not a condo), and have some kind of access to decent public transportation for me (I plan to work in the city). Where would you move to and why? (This is hypothetical, but I know of jobs available in these areas. I'm trying to figure out my highest priority.) Tell me about any of these areas that you know of. Thanks!Given the choice, where would you live(city or burbs)? Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston (more listed)?
Chicago!
I would pick Portland Oregon. Actually I would pick Vancouver or Camas Washington across the Columbia River from Portland. Because they are smaller than Portland and have more burbs, but are a couple of minutes from down town Portland.



The Vancouver - Portland area has everything you described, including the best public transportation system in the nation. The metro areas in the rest of the country send people to study the Portland system of buses, light rails, etc. Portland also has free electric plug ins for your hybrid while you shop down town.



Plus there are tax advantages. Washington does not have a state income tax, but does have a sales tax. Oregon does not have a sales tax, but has a state income tax. So, live in Washington, shop in Oregon.



Downside is cool wet summers. Portland sets in a unique mini climate of it's own, created by nearby Pacific Ocean to the west and Nearby Mountains to the East. It seldom gets above the 80's, and rains often during the summer, but you will have mild winters and seldom will it snow.



If you want hot dry vacation, just a few miles west you will be into the high desert, with hot dry activities like quads, sail boarding, water skiing, horses, etc. Portland has it all, and activity for everyone from Fishing and Hunting to running Marathons, to Opera and off Broadway style shows.Given the choice, where would you live(city or burbs)? Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston (more listed)?
I can only speak to the cities I am familar with:

I love Chicago, the small neighborhoods within the city and the energetic downtown. Good transportation and parks.

New York is huge and exciting, but I am not sure I would want to be there with small children. Not that it is unsafe, it just seems too overwhelming.

Indianapolis is spread out, not sure about the transportation system. It would be buses only.

Boston is walkable and everyone of all ages acts and dresses the same: jeans and a ski jacket with a lot of old lift tickets attached. And it is cold in the winter.

It seems to me that Richmond would be quite different from your other possibilities--the weather and the southern flavor.

Some areas have radically different costs of living. For example, Fairfield County, close to New York City, is great, but it would be difficult to get a decent apartment for under $2000 a month.

Have you considered smaller "college towns"? Or, places like Santa Fe or Tucson? I like San Diego too. If you have the luxury of moving anywhere, I would think there are many "10 best places to live" books that you can check out.
I can only really speak to Milwaukee of those places but here's the rundown. If you want GOOD public schools you'd wanna stay in the west suburbs like Delafield or Oconomowoc, they have a very nice district. The county (Waukesha) ranked 8th on Forbes "best places to raise a family" list. It's a bit of a commute (30ish min to downtown Milw. with moderate traffic), and if you'd want public transit there's a bus line that stops every 5 miles or so along the freeway. I live in Milw and work in Oconomowoc and it's really not that bad of a drive after a week or 2... The area is really starting to develop, a lot of new subdivisions, shopping, and still maintains the "old time" feel. Very nice neighborhoods, absolutely no ghetto, no "real" crime. The downsides of course are houses run more out there than in Milwaukee, and the commute to the city. There are quite a few parks, nature preserves, etc. in the area and in Milwaukee there's some sort of festival all summer long.

Summerfest - 11 day concert!

Riversplash

Festa Italiana

Polishfest

Irishfest

Indian Summer Festival

Mexican Fiesta

Germanfest

African World Festival

....and on and on, plus all the church carnivals, county and state fairs, etc. Oh, and not too far away is the Wisconsin Dells, the "waterpark capital of the world" and great area to go camping, it's AWESOME! I'd suggest everyone go there at least once, even if you're not from around here.

Here's some other suburbs you could look into if you'd want something closer to downtown... As far as people I've known, they have pretty decent school districts and good neighborhoods...

Oak Creek

New Berlin

Brookfield

Whitefish Bay

Glendale

West Allis (stick to the western side)

Franklin

Greenfield

Greendale



If there's any other info you'd want to know, I can probably tell you as I've lived here 28 years and counting, just email me at etherealwi@msn.com



EDIT: Ozaukee county (just north of Milwaukee), was ranked 2nd in the Forbes list of "best places to raise a family", just an fyi, I never think of northern suburbs for some reason. They'd have all of the same things as the west suburbs I described though.Given the choice, where would you live(city or burbs)? Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston (more listed)?
I live in Saint Paul. I will say this.



St. Paul is cheaper. Minneapolis has more arts and entertainment. Minneapolis has more violent crime in certain neighborhoods. Saint Paul has less jobs. Minneapolis has better public transit. Saint Paul has less traffic.



Both cities have some horrid public school systems. But, Saint Paul has awesome magnet schools - that sometimes can be tough to get your kids into.



I have visited many places. From the list you provided above, you have lots of lofty standards that are not affordable to have in any of the cities above. To "get" what you are looking for will be mighty expensive in any urban area. I would argue Minneapolis/Saint Paul metro area will be most affordable out of metros listed above, with maybe the exception of Indianapolis.



- Milwaukee, Chicago,. Dallas, Baltimore, Kansas City,Houston and to some extent Indianapolis have insane crime rates. The Public school system in these cities are not much to brag about either.



Portland, NYC, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Richmond are GAWD-AWFULLY Expensive!!!





Oh, if you move to Minnesota, its way COLDER than any of these cities listed above. Do not assume because NYC, Boston and Seattle are about as far north as MPLS/St. Paul the temp is the same. Those cities are on the ocean. Ocean keeps moisture in the air in winter, which keeps a floor on the temperature.



IT CAN GET WELL BELOW ZERO FROM DEC - FEB. And, I mean - 20 to -30. Last January - February, I do not believe it was above 12 degrees for a 25-30 day stretch!!!!