Are You Living in the Town of Your Dreams?

Updated on October 08, 2010
T.R. asks from Altamonte Springs, FL
13 answers

Are you happy in your home-town, and is it a great place to raise children? If not, where would you want to be, and why?
I am considering relocating since I don't find my city satisfying after being here almost most of my life, I have also lived in the Boston area for 6 years and did enjoy New England, but I would like some input on where other Moms are happy raising their children and what makes their town or city great. Thanks mamas!

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K.F.

answers from Dallas on

Keller, TX. Voted #7 for the best places in the US to live! We moved here from the Northeast and love it! Very hot in the summer but a great family oriented place with GREAT schools!

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L.L.

answers from Hartford on

I love my town. It is Granby, Ct. One of the top school districts in the state. I think people may be out numbered by horses :) Friendly neighbors and super kid friendly town. Lots of nature and farms. Close enough to cities but far enough from traffic. No need to lock your doors kind of town. I have lived all over New England and I'm glad we settled here to raise our family. The draw backs are super high taxes and no public sewer or water. But hey I can't complain because the town is spending all the money in the school system.

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J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

I love Spring Branch, Texas. We're a small town with a grocery store where I know everyone, library where we always see the same people same time every week, local restaurants, etc. YET - we're 20 miles away from a big city (San Antonio), so we have the malls, the downtown museums, car dealerships, all sorts of stores.

It's nice to have both small-town friends and atmosphere, close to rivers and state parks and lakes etc, yet have city life not too far away for when we need it.

But a move from Florida to Texas?? Come during mid-summer and see if you can handle the weather. I dont know how different/the same Florida is to Texas. We're hot and humid most year long.

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G.W.

answers from Orlando on

I just moved here to Clermont (right in your back yard!) in June from Corinth, TX which is also in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex that a couple other ladies have already written about. I am very unhappy here in FL and want desperately to get back to Texas...I honestly feel there is no better place in the US to live, especially the area I came from. We are kind of stuck here for at least two years or else we would have to pay my husband's company 30k dollars they spent relocating us here...after two years, God willing, we want to seriously consider going back to Texas (unless something MAJOR happens here in the meantime).

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L.S.

answers from Fort Collins on

We LOVE Fort Collins, CO! It is a very family-friendly town...lots of things to do with the kiddos, great schools (public, private and charter), bike-friendly, tons of outdoor activities, close to the mountains, close to Denver (for entertainment and travel) but not too close. It often ranks in the top 5-10 places to live in the US. Check it out!

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Before you move, visit. The grass seems always greener in the next yard... or the next state. There's no ideal place to raise children in this world. You need to make happiness where you happen to be, really.

But visiting is good, if you can swing it! Visit other big cities, visit small towns, visit villages in rural areas. If you can, try other places in the south... AND try the north, too. If you've lived in Florida almost all your life, you haven't experienced a four-season climate! That makes or breaks some folks.

Just as the old saying goes, wherever you go, you'll find the people just about what you EXPECT them to be.

I never actually dreamt of living where I live now, but my husband was stationed here years ago, and we just stayed. There are some things about it I wish I could change, but generally speaking it's a good place for us. Three of our four grown children have chosen to live in the same state, and the odd one is in a military career but would like to come back here one day.

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

No, not at all....not even close to it. Sad to admit that, but its true. I love multiple towns/cities in California. Some country towns I like are Galt, Victor, Norco. Some mountain towns I like are Murphy's, Ft. Bragg. Bigger cities I like are Monrovia, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Bradbury, San Dimas, and the list goes on.
I think it just depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to live where it snows? Do you like hot weather? Would you want to commute for a job? Are you looking for something with land, or just a backyard? I would definately suggest visiting, maybe even multiple times at different times of the year. Good Luck!

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K.V.

answers from Phoenix on

I wouldn't say its the town of my dreams (since I couldnt by any means afford that, ie Sedona, AZ or La Jolla, CA) but I do love the place I live. We have a great neighboor hood where we all know each other. I have become extremely close to our next door neighbors, they are like family. The city offfers great recreational programs for kids and adults and i love the school my daughter attends. We have a beatuful house that we could not affors had we lived in another area (like my dream locations). The only cons to living here are the 3 months of heat, but the rest of the year is beautiful. And the first 2 months dont get to me, its just that last one when I am really ready for it to be cool. Overall I love it here and am very pleased that we moved here, I couldn't imagine relocating to another area, we are here for the long hall :) Hope you find a place that makes you happy as well ((HUGS))

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

We are in the Plano/Allen area of TX....both are high on the list for best places to raise families. We are a nothern burb of Dallas.

We have been here since 1989 and we absolutely love it. We've lived in the same 4 square mile area since, built 2 homes and are completely settled right now in the last home we built in 2000.

We love the school district, our community, being so close to DFW and Love Field for travel...SO EASY..., lots of arts and entertaining things for family and couples.

We have had multiple opportunities to transfer and we can't do it. Our network of Doctors, accountant, lawyer, schools, is too much to give up to make a move.

I do suggest visiting many areas to find the right climate, schools, etc for your taste.

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M.G.

answers from Dallas on

So you live in Orlando. Wow!!! We used to live there and are sad that we left. We live in Flower Mound, TX now (suburb of Dallas). If you don't mind the awful hot summers (even worse than Florida summers) and the cold winters, then you will live living here. Flower Mound is a wonderful town to raise a family, and it is very affordable to live here. The schools are excellent, and there are many family friendly activitites here. If we could pick up Flower Mound and put it in Orlando, we would! If we can't live back in Orlando (or almost anywhere in Florida, really), our secound choice would be North Carolina. North Carolina (probably Charlotte) has amazing weather all year round (not as good as San Diego, but still good), and is supposed to be beautiful with affordable housing. So if you are looking to get out of Florida altogether, I would stongly recommend Charlotte or Raleigh/Durham. Charlotte is the biggest city in N.C., so there would be the most job opportunity there. Asheville, N.C. is supposed to be gorgeous, so definately make a road trip there if you move to N.C!!! Good luck!

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C.C.

answers from Fresno on

We loved living in Walnut Creek, CA. It is a suburb of San Francisco. Great schools, everyone was very neighborly, very kid-friendly, great shopping, beautiful weather year-round, very safe. The only drawback is that the Bay Area is expensive in terms of the cost of living. I would happily move back there if I could!

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S.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

No I am not living in the town of my dreams. We plan on being in the town of our dreams within four years. I want to move and be settled when our kids are still young enough to make friends and transition easly. In four years my eldest will be in third grade and I feel that is about the last year we have to move, especially if you are moving to a smaller town. By fifth grade it is hard to be accepted as the new kid. So third grade it is! We are not sure where that the "perfect" town is yet but we are looking. We made a list of the top five things that are important to us and started scouring the internet for places that meet this criteria. Lee Summit Missouri is a place that meets our criteria and we plan on visiting over Thanksgiving weekend.

There are many lists of the top citites on the internet. The lists are based on all types of things may it be size, schools, weather... It's a lot of fun to look and dream of the future. Of course if it were me I would move today!

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M.B.

answers from Orlando on

I, too, am a transplant from the Dallas - Ft Worth area of Texas and we are always thinking that we may want to move back there well our lil one starts school :oD It is a great area to live in and raise a family! I also lived in Nashville, TN for a while and loved it there too!
Good Luck and God Bless!

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