Best places to raise a family

mbcdefg

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/10/magazine_names_jersey_city_top.htmlChildren's Health Magazine came out with a list of the top 100 American cities to raise a family. ONly two New Jersey municipalities made the list ... Jersey City at #13, and Newark at #46. Uh ... really?http://www.childrenshealthmag.com/about/100_Best_Places_to_Raise_a_Family-Selection_Criteria.php#

cvl105

is that a joke?!

I <3 Seabass

WTF?

Denise91980

Are they Effin serious??? Jersey City and Newark....of all the places in NJ!

cvl105

This is why people think that there are no nice areas in NJ.

justkris10

How the hell did that happen?  Even the shytty town I live in is WAYYYYYYYYY better to raise a family that JC or Newark combined? who writes these things and have they ever even been to Jersey?

dominoe611

while i grew up in JC and thought it was a fine place to grow up, it is a bit surprising!  what were the criteria to determine a "city"?  like is there a certain poplulation or other characteristics?  i assume the list is only urban areas?

alliecarrie41

this is just "cities" thought right?  what cities are there in NJ anyway besdies these?

justkris10

I particularly am fond of this comment on the nj.com website: THIS HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF BAD JOKE! What does this magazine list as recommended evening activities "drive-by shootings." Maybe for breakfast, they recommend "crack and eggs" or "smack and jelly." Definitely for best job: Superintendent of Schools. Next in line, elected office (especially Mayor, Assemblyman and Municipal Council) and other public employment, preferably those with "no show jobs." And, definitely Jersey City and Hudson County had to be recommended #1 for the best dual job holding

USER876

I never believe any of these rankings, towns, colleges, school ratings, whatever.

JeannineG122

The JC mayor reminds me of the Stuttering rooster on Bugs Bunny.

mbcdefg

I think they're just picking out the biggest cities in each state and then ranking the top 100 of those. Newark ranked ahead of Detriot, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Baltimore and Jacksonville, for example. Tthe other big cities in New Jersey that have over 100K people (and didn't make the list) are Paterson, Elizabeth, Woodbridge and Edison, according to Wikipedia.

I <3 Seabass

Well I guess when you're comparing to cities like Baltimore and Vegas (in terms of raising kids) JC doesn't look so bad after all.

kewltif

I'd sooner raise my kids in Woodbridge than Newark any day!

mbcdefg

I think it's just weird for me to think that people suddenly want to move into JC, because I grew up in the surrounding area and when I was younger nobody with money would've been caught dead in JC. And now everyone's falling all over themselves to live there because it's suddenly a hip happening place with expensive apartments and someone's said, "Hey, now it's cool to live here!" I wouldn't want to raise my family in Hudson County because there's just no room here. Basically none of the homes you can buy have any property or decent backyards. I wasn't allowed to ride my bike or walk to friends' houses as a kid because my parents were paranoid and were always afraid I'd get hit by a car or kidnapped or something (*rolls eyes*), and my mother specifically told me, "I'm not letting you go out to play with your friends becasue they play in the street." Where else are they supposed to play???I think it's a good area if you want to expose them to art and music and get them to NYC to do stuff, though. And I think it's a helpful area to make them more "street-wise" then they might be in a more suburban, sheltered area. I know people who grew up in other areas of the state/country, and just getting on a train or walking down a crowded city street confuses the hell out of them.

dominoe611

mb - i have the same reaction with JC - it's bizarre!  the same thing with hoboken a few years ago too!  i remember through girl scouts or dance class one of my friends was from hoboken and my mom was like, oh don't be friends with her, she's from hoboken!  dh and i were having a conversation the other day about growing up and santa clause and fireplaces.  i was like yeah in JC in school the teachers pretty much told us Santa came in through the fire escape, not the fireplace, lol!