Raising children, Is it the Where or Is it the How?

Raising children in the best possible environment is a solid reason to relocate, according to New York Times' Michael Kolomatsk

He writes "But today’s tough real estate market has slowed migration. In 2023, about 26 million people moved, way down from nearly 43 million in 2019, according to the Census Bureau. All the more reason for parents to carefully consider local resources, support systems, living and other attributes when researching a new city."

Meanwhile; WalletHub's Adam McCann writes "With families in mind, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 45 key metrics that consider essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation. While not perfect — given personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give movers a better sense of their options. According to McCann the Top 5 Places to Raise a Family in 2024 are Fremont, CA, p 1Overland Park, KS, Irvine, CA, Plano, TX, and Seattle, WA."


Washington State and particularly Seattle, have not only seen the biggest influx of college-educated Americans, but Seattle is the least-religious large metro area and passing the bar exam will no longer be a requirement for becoming a lawyer in Washington. It turns out

Washington not only has several student loan forgiveness programs that are specific to just the State of Washington, but residents can also qualify for various Federal student loan forgiveness programs. Consistent with the Law of Bilk; Residents who want to bilk the system go where they are welcomed and stay where they are protected and well treated.

Is this why McCann has Seattle as a top place to raise children? Shouldn't McCann not offer full disclosure and say "Top 5 Places to Raise a Family Like Mine" in 2024?

Louisa Ballhaus,, writing for SheKnows, explains that .." a surprising number of A-list actresses have gone on a similar trajectory when they have kids. Over the years, some of Hollywood’s hottest leading ladies have opted to turn a corner when they became moms for the first time, turning down movie roles they previously would have leapt at and finding that nothing felt quite as fulfilling as being home with their kids for all the little moments," that includes Eva Mendes, Jennifer Garner, and Demi Moore.



Mark Wahlberg and Durham, married in August 2009,  share daughters Ella, 20, and Grace, 14, and sons Michael, 17, and Brendan, 15 moved from Hollywood to Las Vegas in 2022 so "... my kids can thrive and do their thing and pursue their interests," the actor told PEOPLE. And apparently the mice was fruitful.  In an update to PEOPLE one year after the relocation, the actor said his family was happy and thriving in their new digs. "Everybody's adapted nicely. The kids are all out at school, and everybody's happy," he shared.




Jack Hobbs, writing for the New York Post, thinks that "while many dream of moving to Los Angeles and finding stardom, some A-list celebs ultimately flee Hollywood for a quieter and more private life.  Mark Wahlberg, Dean Cain and Nicole Kidman are just some stars who have made the move over the years..While Wahlberg, 52, escaped Hollywood for his family, others have claimed that the change has improved their “quality of life.”"


In his piece, Hobbs includes a number of celebrities who have escaped Hollyeood over the years, first various reasons.



AP's Isabella Volmert worries that  teaching children about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord., charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity may be hazardous to children: "An Ohio nonprofit that provides off-site Bible instruction to public school students during classroom hours says it will triple its programs in Indiana this fall after new legislation forced school districts to comply."

Brings up the question, is it the place that matters when raising children, or is it the how? 

At The Great March on Washington, held in DC August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic 'I Have a Dream' speech in which he called for an end to racism and racial segregation. I Have a Dream, is quintessentially American: inspired by the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

MLK Jr. death cleared the way for the uber progressive Warren Court's Decision (1963) - the Court found that teaching children about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord., charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity was too radical, and all hell broke lose. A decade later Roe v. Wade entered the picture.

Using analysis tools like the Ishikawa Cause-Effect Diagram, the Pareto Rule, Security Professionals' Attack Tree and or Occam's Razor, they all suggest that after the uber progressive Warren SCOTUS (1963) decision, we have had A mental health crisis. Infanticide turned into Black Genocide. African American nuclear family has joined the Sea Turtles in the extinct list. 80% of AA kids are raised in fatherless homes. AIDS epidemic. Opiod crisis, We have a fatherlesssness crisis, A Girlhood Crisis, A Trans Crisis, Obesity crisis and so on.

Seems like the question is not whether to relocate to the best possible environment to raise children, but to first determine how we want our children to turn out, then find the best possible way to teach children to develop their full potential.