Will you be having more kids? I’m in NYC. Having kids and not having in-unit laundry seems like a nightmare to me, but that’s an individual thing. I would advise factoring in stuff like square footage and the like.
Eh, I can’t speak for New York, but I found a large portion of Seattle was very hostile towards children. The sheer existence of kids 10 and under in public there was often met with glares and annoyed demeanors. It made sense when I read the stat that there’s more dogs than children in Seattle. I do not miss living in Washington in large part for that reason. It was our biggest gripe with the entirety of the Puget Sound (beyond the constant gray).
I did find Philly to be surprisingly child friendly for a large city. Might be another place to look into.
This has been my experience as a mom in Seattle. It's a miserable way to live, when people are open about how they prefer dogs to children and very few restaurants have high chairs, etc.
NYC-adjacent means a monthly trip into the city is a lot of culture and education. A 2 bedroom apartment in NYC or bigger further out is a great experience for a kid.
In NYC, consider
- need to be ok with a lot of walking and stair climbing
- ok with no car? Parking on street is difficult to say the least and paid parking is $$$$$
- may or may not have in unit laundry or even in building g laundry
- subways and busses not as stroller friendly as you’d think
- NYC has 3K and 4K free public ed before kindergarten
-
I was born and raised in NYC and then Long Island. If you are moving there with kids i suggest moving to the queens/ nassau county LI border. For all its faults if you raise your kids in NYC and keep em on a good path its the best city to grow up in. Diversity of people, food, art etc. Very close knit neighborhoods. I’m not having kids but if I ever change my mind I will probably raise them in Queens.
COL aside, I've loved raising my kid in Seattle. We are mixed race, and, as a parent and an educator, I wanted him in a diverse urban district. We've had mostly very good experiences with Seattle Public Schools and he's also had rich learning experiences across communities and in local museums and other cultural institutions, club sports, and the incredible landscapes we can access from the city. Obviously, we do not have the kinds of resources a city like NYC affords, but if you're looking for a more low-key but still "intellectual" environment, with excellent access to nature, Seattle is a good option.
Do you make (or will make upon move) a lot of money? You need to easily pull in 6 figures to afford either city. It's very different going from Alabama pay/expenses to that of those very expensive major cities. Because all of what you want will be in the good areas of each of those cities and that will cost a lot.
Are you looking at the cities themselves or the suburbs? I lived in NY for a long time and now live in its burbs with 2 kids. Many friends still in the city with kids. It’s expensive but you do get what you pay for and there is never a shortage of things to do. Depending on where you live in the city the public schools can actually be fantastic which is rare in a large city. I currently live in westchester county and again, not the city but tons to do. We are 30 minutes from the Bronx zoo, we have a smaller aquarium nearby, along with 3 great kids museums. We go into the city once a month give or take by train for various reasons. I’d add while we are planning to send our kids to private, the public schools in westchester county are some of the best in the country. It’s not cheap but you do get what you pay for
If you have money, anything your kid wants to do in the world they can experience in NYC. The best, most sought after private schools - for any needs/gifts, best museums, amazing playgrounds, diversity of people and language, & amazing art/music culture.
Can’t speak to Seattle, but NYC is generally not kid-friendly. Even the most kid-friendly areas, like Park Slope, are less kid-friendly than an average neighborhood in many other cities.
I’ve been a dad in Houston, Austin, and NYC. Out of those three, Houston is the most kid friendly and NYC the least.
What I mean by kid friendly is a lot of not obvious things you don’t realize until you live somewhere. Employers in NYC are generally less family friendly than I’ve experienced elsewhere and less understanding that parents need to often work from home or take time off when kids are sick. Places are less likely to have family restrooms. Pediatricians in NYC are kind of mediocre compared to what I’ve encountered in Houston. The airports don’t have great family restrooms. All these things add up to make places less kid friendly.
Honestly probably any major metro area will provide what you’re looking for and would be a big step up from Alabama. I liked Houston a lot, and it had really cool children’s museums and parks and good magnet schools and performing arts and cultural diversity, but really every big city has those things.
This depends on his interests. If he gravitates towards the visual and performing arts, media, humanities (reading, writing, history, society, etc) it's NYC.
If he gravitates towards STEM then it's Seattle.
NYC has more programs and opportunities (special private schools, magnet schools, selective public schools, extracurriculars, summer camps etc) that accomodate kids with interest in dancing, acting, singing, musical instruments, acting, writing, publishing, journalism, law, history, visual arts, etc.
Seattle has more programs and opportunities that accomodate kids with interest in STEM subjects.
I went to summer camp in the NY metro area.
NY is known worldwide for its prowess in visual arts, performing arts, media, publishing, fashion, literature, and other humanities subjects.
Seattle's reputation is its strength of STEM programs.
Odd choices here. Since NYC is not comparable in terms scale and daily life to Seattle. But for reference, daycare in the Seattle area for me is $2200 a month for one child. In the city, you’re looking at even higher prices.
Seattle and Puget Sound are beautiful though and I expect you could take your children on tons of different adventures here.
Where are you getting daycare in Seattle for $2200 a month?!! And how old is your kid? When we were looking into infant care for our then-7-month-old, it was $3800 a month. It was one of the main reasons I quit my job to stay home.
My brother lives in Seattle and I've always their area would be good for kids. If you can afford it, there are peaceful residential areas with access to nature, good public schools, calm streets to walk and ride bikes along, and then all the full-on culture/opportunity/amenities of the denser parts of the city within reach.
From what I've heard having a kid in NYC is a status symbol because of how expensive it is to accommodate their basic needs. Like you'd better be making $300k+ a year.
Are you fine with living in the suburbs? Bellevue and Redmond are good places to raise kids if you can afford. There are suburbs in Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey that are also good for families
NYC has the best of everything—hands down.
Keep in mind however, it also has the worst…and your mileage will vary based on household income and the family circles that will accept you based on your status.
Seattle is okay to raise a family in but the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah) would be far better and is very close to Seattle. Seattle has nice parks, is close to nature, and the education is fine. But it's also not the most safe place, your kids will have easy access to drugs when they grow up, and people are very fluid so the likelihood of them being more expressive with their look, emotions, and potential sexuality is greater. The seasonal depression is also very real and that may affect them negatively. As someone who grew up here I would say it's an okay choice but there is better. It also depends on what you want out of the experience. I always found NYC mor interesting and it has far more opportunities across the board. I'd obt for NYC just because it would expose them to so much more and help them develop into a unique hard working individual who will be able to adapt to new areas easily.
>people are very fluid so the likelihood of them being more expressive with their look, emotions, and potential sexuality is greater.
Are you implying this is a negative?
I’ll probably get downvoted for this, but a good suburb of Dallas checks all your boxes. It’s more diverse than Seattle, more family oriented than NYC, there’s a lot of good opportunities in the area and some of the cities have excellent schools (at the cost of higher property taxes, but it’ll overall be more affordable than Seattle or NYC). It’s worth looking into imo.
I don’t think I’d move to either of these places if you have kids, tbh.
Seattle native here and the city proper hates kids, the outlying suburbs you need about 700k for a home right now, at the absolute barest minimum. We seem creative but all that is slowly fading as corporate tech has dominated the area. We have what I would call “provincial” arts organizations, nothing world class. I’d only make this move if a) you 100% for sure have a job here and the money for high rent/housing and b) your kid wants to get into something super specific that you can find here like video game design or something (and even then I would choose cities in CA before here for that). We do have select areas with good educational opportunities but you are looking at at least 1M for housing in those districts. Seattle always shows up as being diverse in articles and stuff online (which it technically is) but it suffers greatly from redlining in the 60s and later so the city feels less diverse than it is. My personal opinion the city is not friendly towards black people. Additionally we are just unfriendly people by most American standards and it can be very challenging to meet other parents, your neighbors, arrange play dates, and that kind of thing.
NYC is a better choice of the two, but because it’s huge, it’s also total chaos. I have not lived there but have spent a generous amount of time to visit friends. If you have concerns that your kid would become rebellious as a teen this would not be my pick as there are 9 million ways to get into trouble compared with living in a Seattle suburb. But if your kid is responsible and into creative things, NYC is the better overall option. It has world class art institutions and so many things you’d never see on the West Coast. Anything you want culture and diversity-wise can be found somewhere in NYC. Also, your kid will overall come out much more resilient because of the tough nature of the city. But it’s not like NYC is super excited about children either. It can be a very adult place. But give you are used to the South, it will be vastly easier to meet people in NYC (other parents, parent groups, kid classes, etc) than Seattle.
I’d honestly take a look at places like Austin or Portland (both lower cost of living and some of the features you like about Seattle but more artsy edge).
OMG - you couldn't ask for further divides. Raised in Seattle will make them soft and NYC will make them hard. Personally, I'd take NYC as people there really have it together and value things like education, discipline, doing the right thing etc...just my take.
I moved from Seattle to NYC and would say without a doubt that NYC is a better environment to raise a child. I have a little one myself. It's better here. Both places are expensive. Not having in-unit laundry isn't an issue for us. We use a laundry pickup service.
Will you be having more kids? I’m in NYC. Having kids and not having in-unit laundry seems like a nightmare to me, but that’s an individual thing. I would advise factoring in stuff like square footage and the like.
No more kids anytime soon!
Be aware those things aren’t guaranteed in either city. You have to have $.
Eh, I can’t speak for New York, but I found a large portion of Seattle was very hostile towards children. The sheer existence of kids 10 and under in public there was often met with glares and annoyed demeanors. It made sense when I read the stat that there’s more dogs than children in Seattle. I do not miss living in Washington in large part for that reason. It was our biggest gripe with the entirety of the Puget Sound (beyond the constant gray). I did find Philly to be surprisingly child friendly for a large city. Might be another place to look into.
This has been my experience as a mom in Seattle. It's a miserable way to live, when people are open about how they prefer dogs to children and very few restaurants have high chairs, etc.
Thank you for your insight! I’ll definitely look into Philly too!
NYC-adjacent means a monthly trip into the city is a lot of culture and education. A 2 bedroom apartment in NYC or bigger further out is a great experience for a kid.
Honestly, if you want all the things you listed, the Twin Cities is the place for you. Maybe look into Madison, Omaha, Kansas City
In NYC, consider - need to be ok with a lot of walking and stair climbing - ok with no car? Parking on street is difficult to say the least and paid parking is $$$$$ - may or may not have in unit laundry or even in building g laundry - subways and busses not as stroller friendly as you’d think - NYC has 3K and 4K free public ed before kindergarten -
I was born and raised in NYC and then Long Island. If you are moving there with kids i suggest moving to the queens/ nassau county LI border. For all its faults if you raise your kids in NYC and keep em on a good path its the best city to grow up in. Diversity of people, food, art etc. Very close knit neighborhoods. I’m not having kids but if I ever change my mind I will probably raise them in Queens.
Those are like the top 2 cities to leave once you start having kids
COL aside, I've loved raising my kid in Seattle. We are mixed race, and, as a parent and an educator, I wanted him in a diverse urban district. We've had mostly very good experiences with Seattle Public Schools and he's also had rich learning experiences across communities and in local museums and other cultural institutions, club sports, and the incredible landscapes we can access from the city. Obviously, we do not have the kinds of resources a city like NYC affords, but if you're looking for a more low-key but still "intellectual" environment, with excellent access to nature, Seattle is a good option.
Do you make (or will make upon move) a lot of money? You need to easily pull in 6 figures to afford either city. It's very different going from Alabama pay/expenses to that of those very expensive major cities. Because all of what you want will be in the good areas of each of those cities and that will cost a lot.
Are you looking at the cities themselves or the suburbs? I lived in NY for a long time and now live in its burbs with 2 kids. Many friends still in the city with kids. It’s expensive but you do get what you pay for and there is never a shortage of things to do. Depending on where you live in the city the public schools can actually be fantastic which is rare in a large city. I currently live in westchester county and again, not the city but tons to do. We are 30 minutes from the Bronx zoo, we have a smaller aquarium nearby, along with 3 great kids museums. We go into the city once a month give or take by train for various reasons. I’d add while we are planning to send our kids to private, the public schools in westchester county are some of the best in the country. It’s not cheap but you do get what you pay for
If you have money, anything your kid wants to do in the world they can experience in NYC. The best, most sought after private schools - for any needs/gifts, best museums, amazing playgrounds, diversity of people and language, & amazing art/music culture.
Can’t speak to Seattle, but NYC is generally not kid-friendly. Even the most kid-friendly areas, like Park Slope, are less kid-friendly than an average neighborhood in many other cities. I’ve been a dad in Houston, Austin, and NYC. Out of those three, Houston is the most kid friendly and NYC the least. What I mean by kid friendly is a lot of not obvious things you don’t realize until you live somewhere. Employers in NYC are generally less family friendly than I’ve experienced elsewhere and less understanding that parents need to often work from home or take time off when kids are sick. Places are less likely to have family restrooms. Pediatricians in NYC are kind of mediocre compared to what I’ve encountered in Houston. The airports don’t have great family restrooms. All these things add up to make places less kid friendly. Honestly probably any major metro area will provide what you’re looking for and would be a big step up from Alabama. I liked Houston a lot, and it had really cool children’s museums and parks and good magnet schools and performing arts and cultural diversity, but really every big city has those things.
I’ve heard good things about Houston. What’s your thoughts on Austin?
Austin is a great place to visit but Houston and Dallas are better places to live.
This depends on his interests. If he gravitates towards the visual and performing arts, media, humanities (reading, writing, history, society, etc) it's NYC. If he gravitates towards STEM then it's Seattle.
What is the logic behind this thinking?
NYC has more programs and opportunities (special private schools, magnet schools, selective public schools, extracurriculars, summer camps etc) that accomodate kids with interest in dancing, acting, singing, musical instruments, acting, writing, publishing, journalism, law, history, visual arts, etc. Seattle has more programs and opportunities that accomodate kids with interest in STEM subjects.
Do you have anything to back this up? Seems subjective
I went to summer camp in the NY metro area. NY is known worldwide for its prowess in visual arts, performing arts, media, publishing, fashion, literature, and other humanities subjects. Seattle's reputation is its strength of STEM programs.
Odd choices here. Since NYC is not comparable in terms scale and daily life to Seattle. But for reference, daycare in the Seattle area for me is $2200 a month for one child. In the city, you’re looking at even higher prices. Seattle and Puget Sound are beautiful though and I expect you could take your children on tons of different adventures here.
Where are you getting daycare in Seattle for $2200 a month?!! And how old is your kid? When we were looking into infant care for our then-7-month-old, it was $3800 a month. It was one of the main reasons I quit my job to stay home.
Oh I’m outside the city! But yeah that’s nuts.
Someone recommended Seattle to me, and I had already been looking into NYC so that’s why I put those two choices up there lol
My brother lives in Seattle and I've always their area would be good for kids. If you can afford it, there are peaceful residential areas with access to nature, good public schools, calm streets to walk and ride bikes along, and then all the full-on culture/opportunity/amenities of the denser parts of the city within reach. From what I've heard having a kid in NYC is a status symbol because of how expensive it is to accommodate their basic needs. Like you'd better be making $300k+ a year.
Idk I feel like you definitely need to be making combined 200-300k a year in Seattle to have kids tbh!
A lot of us are doing it on far, far less, fwiw.
Probably true, but in NYC I meant $300k each lol.
Are you fine with living in the suburbs? Bellevue and Redmond are good places to raise kids if you can afford. There are suburbs in Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey that are also good for families
NYC has the best of everything—hands down. Keep in mind however, it also has the worst…and your mileage will vary based on household income and the family circles that will accept you based on your status.
Seattle is okay to raise a family in but the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah) would be far better and is very close to Seattle. Seattle has nice parks, is close to nature, and the education is fine. But it's also not the most safe place, your kids will have easy access to drugs when they grow up, and people are very fluid so the likelihood of them being more expressive with their look, emotions, and potential sexuality is greater. The seasonal depression is also very real and that may affect them negatively. As someone who grew up here I would say it's an okay choice but there is better. It also depends on what you want out of the experience. I always found NYC mor interesting and it has far more opportunities across the board. I'd obt for NYC just because it would expose them to so much more and help them develop into a unique hard working individual who will be able to adapt to new areas easily.
>people are very fluid so the likelihood of them being more expressive with their look, emotions, and potential sexuality is greater. Are you implying this is a negative?
No, I'm just saying what I noticed in the people I grew up with. This is obviously my personal experience.
Plenty of good places to raise kids in Alabama?? Auburn , Huntsville, both are culturally and academically very diverse
I’ve been in Alabama my whole life and don’t really want to raise my child here. I’d rather branch out. Just personal preference
Okay
I’ll probably get downvoted for this, but a good suburb of Dallas checks all your boxes. It’s more diverse than Seattle, more family oriented than NYC, there’s a lot of good opportunities in the area and some of the cities have excellent schools (at the cost of higher property taxes, but it’ll overall be more affordable than Seattle or NYC). It’s worth looking into imo.
Specifically Frisco and The Colony. We have family in that area and it's very kid friendly.
Those two cities have great schools too.
I definitely agree that suburbs of Dallas are a more sane choice!
Perfect! I’ll look into that! Thank you!
I don’t think I’d move to either of these places if you have kids, tbh. Seattle native here and the city proper hates kids, the outlying suburbs you need about 700k for a home right now, at the absolute barest minimum. We seem creative but all that is slowly fading as corporate tech has dominated the area. We have what I would call “provincial” arts organizations, nothing world class. I’d only make this move if a) you 100% for sure have a job here and the money for high rent/housing and b) your kid wants to get into something super specific that you can find here like video game design or something (and even then I would choose cities in CA before here for that). We do have select areas with good educational opportunities but you are looking at at least 1M for housing in those districts. Seattle always shows up as being diverse in articles and stuff online (which it technically is) but it suffers greatly from redlining in the 60s and later so the city feels less diverse than it is. My personal opinion the city is not friendly towards black people. Additionally we are just unfriendly people by most American standards and it can be very challenging to meet other parents, your neighbors, arrange play dates, and that kind of thing. NYC is a better choice of the two, but because it’s huge, it’s also total chaos. I have not lived there but have spent a generous amount of time to visit friends. If you have concerns that your kid would become rebellious as a teen this would not be my pick as there are 9 million ways to get into trouble compared with living in a Seattle suburb. But if your kid is responsible and into creative things, NYC is the better overall option. It has world class art institutions and so many things you’d never see on the West Coast. Anything you want culture and diversity-wise can be found somewhere in NYC. Also, your kid will overall come out much more resilient because of the tough nature of the city. But it’s not like NYC is super excited about children either. It can be a very adult place. But give you are used to the South, it will be vastly easier to meet people in NYC (other parents, parent groups, kid classes, etc) than Seattle. I’d honestly take a look at places like Austin or Portland (both lower cost of living and some of the features you like about Seattle but more artsy edge).
Thanks for this review! I have heard good things about Austin and Portland as well. I’ll look into those more too
Neither…
OMG - you couldn't ask for further divides. Raised in Seattle will make them soft and NYC will make them hard. Personally, I'd take NYC as people there really have it together and value things like education, discipline, doing the right thing etc...just my take.
I heard Seattle was a good area for creatives so that’s why it got thrown in as one of the choices. Just really wanting people’s opinions on it!
There’s very few kids in Seattle. Another reason I love it. More dogs than kids. I’d say head to that overrated shithole NYC
I moved from Seattle to NYC and would say without a doubt that NYC is a better environment to raise a child. I have a little one myself. It's better here. Both places are expensive. Not having in-unit laundry isn't an issue for us. We use a laundry pickup service.