Which do you feel is the better place to raise kids, the city or the 'burbs?

At a choice between the two, I'd pick suburbs, I wouldn't live in a city and I wouldn't raise my kids in one either.

Kids that live in the city tend to be better educated and have better street smarts. I would rather educate any kids of mine in the burbs I would just make sure the school is good.

Chris wrote:

Which do you feel is the better place to raise kids, the city or the 'burbs?

Ideally, I would choose the suburbs not too far away from the city. Long Island for example.

There isn't one that is 'better'. They both have their pros and cons and whatever is the best enviornment that suits the parents should be ideal.

I'd choose the suburbs, too, but it depends on the size of the city. A smaller city would be fine, but not a larger one.

We live in the city, but a residential area that feels suburby to me. I feel like we benefit from a school district with more resources and options, the proximity to so many museums and exposure to more cultural diversity. On the other hand I worry more about gang violence and the fact that we are so close to the interstate (I guess more girls are kidnapped from places close to an interstate for the sex trade and that's frightening of course).

There's more for teens to do here than just go get wasted, which was what all the teens did in the small town that I grew up in.

Also I know that suburbs have gang problems too, there have been more gang problems lately in the suburb that my husband grew up in and another suburb that I lived in before moving here...

But still as a parent, the thought that my kids might either be targeted by gangs or join a gang really scares me. My old neighbor was an elderly lady whose grandkids lived with her (their mom was a drug addict who was off and on the wagon and lived there sometimes too) and her grandson was shot just down the street! She sent him away to Texas and he got shot there, and then when he came back and recovered he got shot here! He lived, thank goodness but the thought that people are getting shot in the neighborhood really scares me!

Like NY said, both have pros and cons. I think suburbs have a slight advantage because kids get to live in a calmer area, but also have the amenities of the city near.