Friday, September 3, 2010

Choosing a hometown


Choosing a hometown for your family is a high-stakes game: Not only do the kids need good schools, safe neighborhoods andparks to play in, but parents also must know they'll be able to make a good enough living to raise a family.
Here are ten places that pull through on both scores. We began our search using the same criteria we used to select our list of Best Cities for the Next Decade: job growth, healthy economies and a vibrant local culture. We then fine-tuned our search for places already filled with families with children, quality of public schools (ratings are from GreatSchools.org, a nonprofit, with 10 being the highest rating), low crime rates (according to the FBI), and lots of parks and recreation.
These are not rankings. They are recommendations, based on our reporting and number-crunching. Take a look, and, please, tell us what you think are great cities for raising your family.