Boston, NYC, DC - Best place to raise kids?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Boston, hands down. DC is too insecure and materialistic. NYC would be great except too many people (for me) like Trump. Braggarts with nothing to back it up. Boston is great.

I've lived in all three cities.

DH is from Boston. I’m from NYC. Now we live in DC. DC seems like it is a good mix of everything.

Boston is all about where you went to school. NYC is money and looks. DC is a city full of smart, not that rich, not that good looking people.

Then it’s perfect for you

We live in a lovely 10,000sf house. My kids are healthy and surrounded by families who are well educated. People are not too materialistic and not obsessed with looks. I think this is a good place to raise kids.

DH and I fit in in nyc, Boston and DC. We have a seven figure HHI and live well. I don’t think this money would go far in NYC.

LOL not too materialistic but you come across as exactly that. 0 self awareness

It is really distressing how Americans here use the word materialistic as some sort of insult or something. Doesn’t everyone want their children to be successful?

How does American culture define success ?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Boston and surround suburbs are quaint, but unless you have lived there a long time communities can be insular. It is hard to “break into” groups and takes a lot of effort.
It’s easier if you have elementary school kids and there are PTA activities. Speaking from direct experience.

I can’t speak to NYC.

The DC area is more welcoming, experienced with new comers and there was a specific interest in our neighborhood & school to integrate and welcome new families.

That said, each school, community and neighborhood is different. It also depends on how active the parents are in creating/building and sustaining their own micro communities.

Boston is FULL of highly educated immigrants, so much diversity.

Not blacks

If you are looking for an area with over representation of African Americans you should state so. That’s not diversity.

Boston is as diverse as NYC, one of the most diverse cities in the world.

Right- it’s two different questions. All three cities have areas that are majority white, majority black, majority Latino, and those with more balanced diversity. I know plenty of people in DC who crow about its diversity, yet their social circle is all white.

This. My spouse and his siblings are GDS grads and they had no friends who were racially/ ethnically diverse in HS or college and with the exception of my husband, don’t have any friends who meet this criteria as adults. I grew up north of Boston and have always had close racially/ethically diverse friends in my social circle.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the personality fit. DD and I are city folks. NYC is where we thrive. DH and DS enjoy the DMV which offers more a combo of environments and living in Arl which feels like a mix of burbs but still alive. DD and I still dislike Arl as too suburban for us. I grew up in Chicago neighborhoods so it's more city v burbs. I just hate the butbs though admittedly I find DMV burbs like Arl and Old town to be less actually suburban. There's just something about the energy of a metro city I enjoy - the restaurants, people, layout of stuff is different. My DH friends' wives cannot all parallel park and they were shocked I could which kinda shocked me! lol but when you grow up in the city you gotta learn how to do such things

[Anonymous]

I am a DMV native who went to HS in the Philly area and college in Boston. Then moved to NYC and now Westchester burbs. Some observations:

Boston area has the best QOL for families. But it is less welcoming to outsiders and has traces of old school snobbery. Still, I would have stayed after college had my career path allowed it.

IMO DMV publics by and large don’t compare to the best suburban districts in MA and NYC area or the Boston Latin/Hunter/Stuys of the world. The nice thing about our Westchester town is that the publics are so good that all the kids really do go to school together, strengthening the community feel. And it’s transplant friendly unlike Boston. But NYC commuting from burbs is awful—due to layout there is no NYC equivalent of Arlington or Newton.

[Anonymous]

None of these places. I'd look at tier 2 metros like Chicago. Or west - east coast is really stress filled. You can get culture in so many places these days - managing daily life in a way that won't kill you should be more a priority. I say this as someone who LOVES big cities. I just don't know E coast cities like NYC, Boston or DC are all that. Boston would be the only maybe because of its proximity to major towns that's not necessarily suburbia but it's a cliquish city and I never was a big fan of Boston culture personally.

[Anonymous]

Boston & NJ suburbs are pretty idyllic for raising kids. Boston burbs have the edge.

I love DC, but the suburbs are bigger, less community oriented, less walkable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of these places. I'd look at tier 2 metros like Chicago. Or west - east coast is really stress filled. You can get culture in so many places these days - managing daily life in a way that won't kill you should be more a priority. I say this as someone who LOVES big cities. I just don't know E coast cities like NYC, Boston or DC are all that. Boston would be the only maybe because of its proximity to major towns that's not necessarily suburbia but it's a cliquish city and I never was a big fan of Boston culture personally.

When I think of Boston Culture I think of sports and liberalism. I loved living in Cambridge. To give you an idea of the culture there in the 2016 presidential election Hillary got about 46,000 votes. Trump got about 3,000 votes. The independent candidates together also got about 3,000 votes. The surrounding expensive suburbs also vote Democrat but not as large a gap as Cambridge.

There’s no real corruption in the state since females are running it. The governor is a gay female, the lieutenant governor is female, the AG is a black female, the Boston Mayor is an Asian woman, the Cambridge mayor is a gay black female. There’s your diversity.

[Anonymous]

I’m a New Yorker and probably wouldn’t raise kids in Manhattan unless money was truly no object and I could afford 1) private schools 2) a decent apartment in a good location and 3) a summer place outside the city (rent or buy).

The amount that it takes to even live a comfortable UMC class with kids in the city is staggering. And the amount of ultra wealth - people worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars - is also highly concentrated. The kids also grow up very fast. In my opinion it’s a very warped way to grow up.

The suburbs are really nice though. I would choose a NY or Boston suburb over either of the cities proper.

[Anonymous]

I am from NY, went to school in Boston and now live in DMV. I hate to admit it but I think DC is best for kids. Parents have relatively good work life balance and it doesn’t feel like such a rat race like in nyc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a New Yorker and probably wouldn’t raise kids in Manhattan unless money was truly no object and I could afford 1) private schools 2) a decent apartment in a good location and 3) a summer place outside the city (rent or buy).

The amount that it takes to even live a comfortable UMC class with kids in the city is staggering. And the amount of ultra wealth - people worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars - is also highly concentrated. The kids also grow up very fast. In my opinion it’s a very warped way to grow up.

The suburbs are really nice though. I would choose a NY or Boston suburb over either of the cities proper.

I just posted I think dmv is best. New Yorkers definitely grow up fast. I used to club and go out all the time as a high school teen. I went to college and thought many kids were so sheltered and lame at the time. I am glad my current teenagers are sheltered and what I would probably have considered lame. They play sports, do well academically, still have dinner with their family, etc.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a NYC suburb, raised my kids downtown DC, and I have step kids who live in an idyllic western Boston suburb. I love my choice, but I wouldn't make it right now. Between woke and Trump, this is no place for a kid. Of those three, I would definitely choose the NYC suburb. The Boston suburbs are nice, but they are incredibly insular; they are very good virtue signaling, to the deficit of reality and the children. NYC suburbs have better actual community.

[Anonymous]

The one thing I like about DC is how easily we can get out into nature and do some nice hiking. Boston has this a little bit, but not to the extent of DC. NYC has this least of the three. The worst city I've lived in for this is Chicago, however.

I have asthma and NYC has the worst air quality, particularly in Manhattan.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:None of these places. I'd look at tier 2 metros like Chicago. Or west - east coast is really stress filled. You can get culture in so many places these days - managing daily life in a way that won't kill you should be more a priority. I say this as someone who LOVES big cities. I just don't know E coast cities like NYC, Boston or DC are all that. Boston would be the only maybe because of its proximity to major towns that's not necessarily suburbia but it's a cliquish city and I never was a big fan of Boston culture personally.

When I think of Boston Culture I think of sports and liberalism. I loved living in Cambridge. To give you an idea of the culture there in the 2016 presidential election Hillary got about 46,000 votes. Trump got about 3,000 votes. The independent candidates together also got about 3,000 votes. The surrounding expensive suburbs also vote Democrat but not as large a gap as Cambridge.

There’s no real corruption in the state since females are running it. The governor is a gay female, the lieutenant governor is female, the AG is a black female, the Boston Mayor is an Asian woman, the Cambridge mayor is a gay black female. There’s your diversity.

The lopsided Democratic vote that you're seeing in Cambridge is no different not only in DC itself but also the inner suburbs (Arlington, Alexandria, much of Montgomery and all of PG County etc.).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you're not white, Boston must be removed from this list.

If you are white, but support diverse communities, Boston loses a lot of points. I wouldn’t pick Boston mostly because I wouldn’t want to raise kids in a place with such thinly veiled racism.

So then between DC and NY I think it's just your preferences and personality. I pick close in suburbs of DC because its the easiest to navigate, decent commute to the city and also large houses with yards. Good public schools but also private options nearby. Lots of families. I also prefer government and politics gossip to entertainment and beauty gossip.

Someone been watching movies from the 1970’s or 1990’s.

Do you know Boston history? Have you lived there?

How are the DC high schools with their 90% minority population any different than Boston’s high schools that are 85% minority?

DC has more violent crime than any other state. 812 per 100,000 people.
Massachusetts had 322 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Boston was listed as 2nd safest city in the country. DC on the other hand has seen crime increased quite a bit with a 36% increase in homicides.

DC and Boston are similar when it comes to size, income, education and population. Boston and all of Massachusetts is safe from groups trying to crush people’s civil rights. It’s virtually 100% democrat and right to choose is safe her.

You ned to be current on this “thinly veiled” racism claim and how it’s different from anywhere else.



https://www.statista.com/statistics/200445/reported-violent-crime-rate-in-the-us-states/

NP. I currently live in a suburb of Boston after moving from a different, more diverse, part of the country and some people here definitely come across as a bit racist because the area is so homogenous and people aren't used to interacting with people of other races.

I live in Lexington now, our first home was in Milton, both with plenty of diversity.

Per 2020 Census Data, Lexington is 1.5% Black, 2.3% Hispanic, and 25.4% Asian. Look, I get that you consider that "plenty of diversity" compared to other parts of Massachusetts, but compared to other parts of the country it's really not, which is my point.

You are looking at the wrong metrics. Lexington and the towns around it don't have any black people but they have black lives matters signs on almost every single lawn. Just don't try to introduce a black person to the children, as the towns literally freak out and create totally different rules and tell the kids that black kids don't have to follow rules. It is the most insane way to ingrain racism I've ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one thing I like about DC is how easily we can get out into nature and do some nice hiking. Boston has this a little bit, but not to the extent of DC. NYC has this least of the three. The worst city I've lived in for this is Chicago, however.

I have asthma and NYC has the worst air quality, particularly in Manhattan.

Boston has much better nature around it than DC.