Best States to Raise a Family

[walterjay]

Really good areas and really bad areas in my state. I live in a good area. There are areas close to DC that I would never want to be in including a lot of Baltimore city.

 

[Pablo]

If anyone depends on a state to raise their children. Well you see the outcome.

 

[GON]

That said, I'm not saying it's completely safe here either. I got jumped near my office downtown headed to a work party. I know it's still dangerous and keeping your head on a swivel is needed. But assuming the entirety of Illinois is the wild West based off issues stemming mainly from the inner city neighborhoods is kind of stretching it. I'm still not going to go downtown without carrying though.

If Illinois was the wild west, its residents would be significantly safer.

The "wild west" way of life translated to modern day America somewhat aligns to Stand Your Ground doctrine:
Stand Your Ground laws remove the duty to retreat when someone is in danger and can use deadly force in self-defense, potentially preventing harm. They can also offer legal clarity by reducing ambiguity in self-defense situations and may deter potential criminals.

Go walk down the Magnificint Mile in Chicago. Take an audit of all the world class stores that fled the Magnificant Mile, and the boarded up, vacant stores. Not so long ago people traveled the world over to shop the Magnificant Mile, today this area is on life support. Any shoppers who do venture to the Magnificant Mile will be at a grave and real risk to their safety.

Public schools for the vast majority of students in Illinois are simply a "cover" for a money laundering operation to enrich union officials, buy legislative protection from elected officials, and provide unearned benefits for certain members of the union members.

My favorite story of how corrupt the school system is in Illinois, was a law was passed that if a teacher's union official, worked one day- yes just one day as a substitute teacher, that union official would be entitiled to a state taxpayer funded pension and other benefits for life. Make no mistake, students learning to read, write, and compute math is not the mission of public education in Illinois, not at all.

A union lobbyist who worked just one day as a substitute teacher is entitled to a pension worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars annually, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion reinforcing its position that retirement benefits promised to public workers can't be “diminished or impaired.”

https://apnews.com/general-news-7bf69d90fa8c406c8580fde7bace36cd#:~:text=(AP) — A union lobbyist,be “diminished or impaired.”

 

[SC Maintenance]

If Illinois was the wild west, its residents would be significantly safer.

The "wild west" way of life translated to modern day America somewhat aligns to Stand Your Ground doctrine:
Stand Your Ground laws remove the duty to retreat when someone is in danger and can use deadly force in self-defense, potentially preventing harm. They can also offer legal clarity by reducing ambiguity in self-defense situations and may deter potential criminals.

Go walk down the Magnificint Mile in Chicago. Take an audit of all the world class stores that fled the Magnificant Mile, and the boarded up, vacant stores. Not so long ago people traveled the world over to shop the Magnificant Mile, today this area is on life support. Any shoppers who do venture to the Magnificant Mile will be at a grave and real risk to their safety.

Public schools for the vast majority of students in Illinois are simply a "cover" for a money laundering operation to enrich union officials, buy legislative protection from elected officials, and provide unearned benefits for certain members of the union members.

My favorite story of how corrupt the school system is in Illinois, was a law was passed that if a teacher's union official, worked one day- yes just one day as a substitute teacher, that union official would be entitiled to a state taxpayer funded pension and other benefits for life. Make no mistake, students learning to read, write, and compute math is not the mission of public education in Illinois, not at all.

A union lobbyist who worked just one day as a substitute teacher is entitled to a pension worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars annually, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion reinforcing its position that retirement benefits promised to public workers can't be “diminished or impaired.”

https://apnews.com/general-news-7bf69d90fa8c406c8580fde7bace36cd#:~:text=(AP) — A union lobbyist,be “diminished or impaired.”

Illinois has almost $200B in unfunded pension and retirement healthcare liabilities. Even as such, the state plans to short the trust fund by $5B again this year. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-lawmakers-plan-to-short-pensions-by-5-1b-in-july/

Obviously that will not be due all at once, the issue is that if they try to cut public employees, they will have fewer people paying into the Ponzi and it will make it collapse faster. They will ultimately need to cut workers as the state shrinks.

Illinois was just about bankrupt before the pandemic, but all the federal spending helped them and many other states. That money has run out and Illinois, despite having a balanced budget law, will likely run a $1B deficit this year - excluding the $5.1B above.

I keep track of Illinois because I believe it is the canary in the coal mine for state funding. Lots of other states are not in good shape either. South Carolina honestly isn't great, given how boastful they are about how fiscally conservative they are (untrue).

 

[Pew]

If Illinois was the wild west, its residents would be significantly safer.

The "wild west" way of life translated to modern day America somewhat aligns to Stand Your Ground doctrine:
Stand Your Ground laws remove the duty to retreat when someone is in danger and can use deadly force in self-defense, potentially preventing harm. They can also offer legal clarity by reducing ambiguity in self-defense situations and may deter potential criminals.

Go walk down the Magnificint Mile in Chicago. Take an audit of all the world class stores that fled the Magnificant Mile, and the boarded up, vacant stores. Not so long ago people traveled the world over to shop the Magnificant Mile, today this area is on life support. Any shoppers who do venture to the Magnificant Mile will be at a grave and real risk to their safety.

Public schools for the vast majority of students in Illinois are simply a "cover" for a money laundering operation to enrich union officials, buy legislative protection from elected officials, and provide unearned benefits for certain members of the union members.

My favorite story of how corrupt the school system is in Illinois, was a law was passed that if a teacher's union official, worked one day- yes just one day as a substitute teacher, that union official would be entitiled to a state taxpayer funded pension and other benefits for life. Make no mistake, students learning to read, write, and compute math is not the mission of public education in Illinois, not at all.

A union lobbyist who worked just one day as a substitute teacher is entitled to a pension worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars annually, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion reinforcing its position that retirement benefits promised to public workers can't be “diminished or impaired.”

https://apnews.com/general-news-7bf69d90fa8c406c8580fde7bace36cd#:~:text=(AP) — A union lobbyist,be “diminished or impaired.”

Chicago and IL as a whole is definitely not perfect but you state your experiences here is working next to some of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago and surprised your property gets broken into.

Then you move to at least two states that have higher crime rates than IL.

Your assumption is that somehow IL doesn't allow people to protect themselves simple because we don't have an explicit SYG law, even though we are allowed to protect ourselves? Sure, some judges in Cook County are jerks about it but as a whole more support CCL than not. Not to mention the IL CCL reciprocity also works for many, many states. It's a simple 16 hour course that any non-felon citizen can take; 8 if you're law enforcement or military. I'm all for proper permitted citizens to carry. I'm not for ex-felon Joe Dirt carrying, who's only experience with shooting is his morning stream on the toilet rim.

I work two blocks away from Magnificent Mile for almost 9 years. I've seen the stores that have left downtown. Unless you're going to miss Lids or Foot Locker, nothing has changed. Unless you mean department stores like Macy which were horribly mismanaged - which ties into the corruption of the Daleys, Blago, and Quinn. Storefronts are dying anyways, we see that everywhere with malls, not just in Chicago.

Plus we're now allowed to carry on public transit as of last year.

 

[Pew]

Illinois has almost $200B in unfunded pension and retirement healthcare liabilities. Even as such, the state plans to short the trust fund by $5B again this year. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-lawmakers-plan-to-short-pensions-by-5-1b-in-july/

Obviously that will not be due all at once, the issue is that if they try to cut public employees, they will have fewer people paying into the Ponzi and it will make it collapse faster. They will ultimately need to cut workers as the state shrinks.

Illinois was just about bankrupt before the pandemic, but all the federal spending helped them and many other states. That money has run out and Illinois, despite having a balanced budget law, will likely run a $1B deficit this year - excluding the $5.1B above.

I keep track of Illinois because I believe it is the canary in the coal mine for state funding. Lots of other states are not in good shape either. South Carolina honestly isn't great, given how boastful they are about how fiscally conservative they are (untrue).

You can thank Daley for that. Constantly "forgot" to add pensions into his budget so the budget looked balanced. Then he sold the skyway and all the parking meters to a private company on his final term and started working for the law firm who proctored the deal.

 

[Lubener]

Best states are ones with a lot of farm country, away from the cities.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You can thank Daley for that. Constantly "forgot" to add pensions into his budget so the budget looked balanced. Then he sold the skyway and all the parking meters to a private company on his final term and started working for the law firm who proctored the deal.

South Carolina is not much different. State pension is very underfunded. Many have promised to fix it but quickly forget as soon as there in charge. One of many problems.

I love South Carolina, but it is very poorly run as well.

 

[eljefino]

It is likely that private schools, even religious ones, will be allowed to accept federal / state money and will become the dominant education system of choice. Public schools will end up being a containment chamber for unruly children. Basically a daycare / free lunch distributor with TSA type security.

Well funded private (edit) schools are the way to go, it prevents indoctrination, or at least give you choice in what indoctrination you want. Politicized school boards will become irrelevant and our children will not have to worry about bathroom, sports, or social issues plaguing many districts.

It would take time to build out private parochial schools, so you've got new demand on top of existing demand. I imagine tuition magically rising the amount of the subsidy so the kids going there already will be able to keep going there and it'll be just as expensive off the street as it already was. Worse, non-profits don't really have many fiscal reporting requirements so the public and parents won't effectively see where that money's getting spent.

I'm ok with "politicized" school boards because they're elected by people in my school district to spend my tax dollars. To me, "politicized" is another word for oversight.

 

[Owen Lucas]

It would take time to build out private parochial schools, so you've got new demand on top of existing demand. I imagine tuition magically rising the amount of the subsidy so the kids going there already will be able to keep going there and it'll be just as expensive off the street as it already was. Worse, non-profits don't really have many fiscal reporting requirements so the public and parents won't effectively see where that money's getting spent.

I'm ok with "politicized" school boards because they're elected by people in my school district to spend my tax dollars. To me, "politicized" is another word for oversight.

There are a lot of closed down Catholic schools throughout the US. I did a report on the reason the closed down in college and of course it had to do with the baby boom peaking int he 60s IIRC, schools expanded, built additions and then started closing in the 2000's. Enrollment started to drop, tuition went up and many schools closed and consolidated.

What I meant by politicized, was those that are allowing boys in girls bathrooms / locker rooms and sports along with the lack of discipline by keeping disruptors in class. The bad kind of politicized.

 

[Dave Hess]

I presume you have already talked to @shortyb He was LEO in that area for like 20 years.

One of @alarmguy kids lives there also.

I like Greenville, but they suffer the same issues as Charleston - too many newcomers, not enough infrastructure.

Yes, the roads are needing repair / widening.

50/50 possibility of moving there.

 

[2005jettatdi]

No. The neighborhood and city/town is what's important.

Nonsense, the family is the foundation of society. An uneven foundation will never produce a level house.

 

[Nessism1]

Nonsense, the family is the foundation of society. An uneven foundation will never produce a level house.

This is what you wrote...
"2005jettatdi said:
When it comes to raising a family, the state does not matter, the home does."

You make no reference to "family" in your post. And many people, like me, connect home to the structure of a house, which in of itself, is of lesser importance.

FWIW, I agree that a solid family unit is critical to the growth of children. My point is that the neighborhood and city/town is critical, because that's the environment that the children will grow up in. If the neighborhood is not safe, or if there are bad peer influences in the neighborhood and school, that will impact the children.

 

[2005jettatdi]

This is what you wrote...
"2005jettatdi said:
When it comes to raising a family, the state does not matter, the home does."

You make no reference to "family" in your post. And many people, like me, connect home to the structure of a house, which in of itself, is of lesser importance.

FWIW, I agree that a solid family unit is critical to the growth of children. My point is that the neighborhood and city/town is critical, because that's the environment that the children will grow up in. If the neighborhood is not safe, or if there are bad peer influences in the neighborhood and school, that will impact the children.

I said home, not house. Sorry you do not know the difference.

 

[IndyIan]

If Illinois was the wild west, its residents would be significantly safer.

The "wild west" way of life translated to modern day America somewhat aligns to Stand Your Ground doctrine:
Stand Your Ground laws remove the duty to retreat when someone is in danger and can use deadly force in self-defense, potentially preventing harm. They can also offer legal clarity by reducing ambiguity in self-defense situations and may deter potential criminals.

Go walk down the Magnificint Mile in Chicago. Take an audit of all the world class stores that fled the Magnificant Mile, and the boarded up, vacant stores. Not so long ago people traveled the world over to shop the Magnificant Mile, today this area is on life support. Any shoppers who do venture to the Magnificant Mile will be at a grave and real risk to their safety.

Public schools for the vast majority of students in Illinois are simply a "cover" for a money laundering operation to enrich union officials, buy legislative protection from elected officials, and provide unearned benefits for certain members of the union members.

My favorite story of how corrupt the school system is in Illinois, was a law was passed that if a teacher's union official, worked one day- yes just one day as a substitute teacher, that union official would be entitiled to a state taxpayer funded pension and other benefits for life. Make no mistake, students learning to read, write, and compute math is not the mission of public education in Illinois, not at all.

A union lobbyist who worked just one day as a substitute teacher is entitled to a pension worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars annually, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion reinforcing its position that retirement benefits promised to public workers can't be “diminished or impaired.”

https://apnews.com/general-news-7bf69d90fa8c406c8580fde7bace36cd#:~:text=(AP) — A union lobbyist,be “diminished or impaired.”

You've got a lot of things going through your head at once(just like me )....
Corruption is a bad thing, and widespread corruption is an indicator that a society's values are breaking down. You still need to have a functioning government providing public services, and it is cheaper to educate people to not accept corruption on a personal scale, than having to use only the law to prevent it.

For things like pensions, the US should copy some of the things that work in other countries, like separating pension plans from politician control. In Ontario, government puts in its share, the employees theirs, and then the pension fund is managed for the employees by an independent corporation, no politician can get at it for short term political points.
Ontario teacher pension plan currently has a $30B surplus, and if it had a deficit, the public isn't responsible for topping it up either.

Also having a more fairly funded school system, where poorer kids and parents know that they aren't being left being from day 1, should build a stronger sense of community and social responsibility to work with community in their future, as they grow up and realize that the community invested in them as children. They can see if they are being made into second class citizens based on no fault of their own. Also having wealthier kids competing on a more even educational playing field shows that its not their "right" to get ahead in life, that they have earn success instead of being born into it.

 

[ripcord]

I support the Separation of School and State.

 

[ripcord]

You've got a lot of things going through your head at once(just like me )....
Corruption is a bad thing, and widespread corruption is an indicator that a society's values are breaking down. You still need to have a functioning government providing public services, and it is cheaper to educate people to not accept corruption on a personal scale, than having to use only the law to prevent it.

For things like pensions, the US should copy some of the things that work in other countries, like separating pension plans from politician control. In Ontario, government puts in its share, the employees theirs, and then the pension fund is managed for the employees by an independent corporation, no politician can get at it for short term political points.
Ontario teacher pension plan currently has a $30B surplus, and if it had a deficit, the public isn't responsible for topping it up either.

Also having a more fairly funded school system, where poorer kids and parents know that they aren't being left being from day 1, should build a stronger sense of community and social responsibility to work with community in their future, as they grow up and realize that the community invested in them as children. They can see if they are being made into second class citizens based on no fault of their own. Also having wealthier kids competing on a more even educational playing field shows that its not their "right" to get ahead in life, that they have earn success instead of being born into it.

The big glaring problem with that idea is that public teachers' unions are the most powerful political force in most states. They use egalitarianism as an excuse for demanding an ever expanding portion of the government cheese while delivering as little as possible. For example, teachers in my local school district have recently negotiated themselves a 4.5 day a week teaching schedule. They also have effective control of the state legislature.

 

[Oliveoil2]

The state where you have the most family to help.

 

[Nessism1]

I said home, not house. Sorry you do not know the difference.

 

[dja4260]

Iirc, there's another member here who moved from Chicago area to Greenville area some years ago. Can't remember his display name but he posted not long ago about buying a new Ram truck. Afaik, he likes it.

That would be me. We've lived just outside of Five-forks in unincorporated Simpsonville for the past 8 years. We have 3.6 acres in a non HOA community...