Best City to Raise Catholic Family

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AnneMarie514 said:
I’d love to hear your opinions about the best US Cities to raise a Catholic family…We just had our first child and my husband is in healthcare, which gives us the opportunity to move pretty much anywhere, we’re taking suggestions! 🙂 {Also, we would would love to hear the names of good suburbs within big cities too…sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where to look outside of the general “Chicago” or “Arlington”!}
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Great thread 👍

Thanks
 
threecats123 said:
St. Paul, MN! Strong Catholic culture and identity. Look in the Merriam Park, Macalester Groveland, and Highland Park neighborhoods (55104, 55105, 55116). Within a few miles of my house there are 5 K-8 Catholic schools, University of St. Catherine, University of St. Thomas, and the St Paul Seminary, and three Catholic High Schools - one co-ed, one all-boys, and one all-girls.

I am a huge fan of the City of St. Paul and the Catholic culture here!
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Agreed, St. Paul is a nice city to live in if you get to the right areas. I would say that within a 10 mile radius are probably 10-12 Catholic Schools and more churches than you can shake a stick at.

St. Paul is a big Irish town. Rosemount (south of the cities) is another big Irish community if you like the Suburbs. The Basilica in Minneapolis is a must see as well and the Cathedral of St. Paul is very nice as well.

There are many very active KofC councils as well, if your husband is interested.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. In retrospect, I should have framed my question as “what are some of the best cities to raise a family, in general”. The city doesn’t have to be primarily Catholic. We just want orthodox leaders and good Catholic community wherever we go.

We actually aren’t huge fans of big city life - but we would like access to some city life, even within a couple of hours. We may/may not homeschool, and depending on cost, we may/may not do Catholic education - I myself am a bit disenchanted by that prospect - I’m not sold that Catholic education is worth it - so either way… that may not be a deciding factor.

On another note: Where are the southern cities in this list? I’m not a fan of the cold! 😛
 
AnneMarie514 said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions. In retrospect, I should have framed my question as “what are some of the best cities to raise a family, in general”. The city doesn’t have to be primarily Catholic. We just want orthodox leaders and good Catholic community wherever we go.

We actually aren’t huge fans of big city life - but we would like access to some city life, even within a couple of hours. We may/may not homeschool, and depending on cost, we may/may not do Catholic education - I myself am a bit disenchanted by that prospect - I’m not sold that Catholic education is worth it - so either way… that may not be a deciding factor.

On another note: Where are the southern cities in this list? I’m not a fan of the cold! 😛
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Well, if you don’t like the cold stay away from here. :rotfl:

It gets cold enough to pound nails wih bananas up here.
 
-]/-]It’s not a city, but Santa Paula, CA has a wonderful catholic community, parish, and school. Plus, the weather’s a bit warmer as well. 😉

It is a little small though, and, well, it’s CA. That state has some issues…
 
If you are thinking long-term, you might consider moving near a solid, orthodox, faithful Catholic university, like Franciscan University of Steubenville or Ave Maria University. Then your kids will have the option to go to a good Catholic university without going too far from home.

If you plan to homeschool, then make sure there is a good Catholic homeschooling group wherever you go. If you plan to send your kids to a Catholic school, then check out the local Catholic schools carefully.

You might also consider moving close to a good teaching order of nuns, where they teach at several of the local Catholic schools. This would be true in Nashville, Tennessee, with the Nashville Dominican sisters.

I think that there are probably many places that would be good, but probably none that are perfect.
 
AnneMarie514 said:
On another note: Where are the southern cities in this list? I’m not a fan of the cold! 😛
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You asked about catholic cities–that rules out most places down here!

We are not exactly known for having an overabundance of catholics, but if you ever get the urge to convert to Baptist…:rolleyes:
 
Houston is pretty good, I think. Since you mentioned you don’t like the cold (me neither).

If you like sweltering heat, move here immediately!

Houston isn’t overwhelmingly Catholic. It’s somewhat of a melting pot. I think of it as somewhat representative of the country as a whole as far as religious demographics. About a quarter Catholic, and the rest a mix of Protestants and different beliefs. But as the Hispanic population grows, so does the Catholic population.

We have a large medical center (I think you said you were in the medical field). A lot of people are moving here for jobs.

The city tends toward the liberal side of politics (but not as much as many large cities) but the suburbs lean to the conservative side.
 
Cleveland, Ohio!!!

There are 80+ Catholic Churches in the Greater Cleveland area. 12 more to reopen soon.

Throw a rock and you’ll not only hit a Catholic church, but also a Catholic school 🙂

Add to that affordable housing (median home price in the greater Cleveland area is $145,000)

From the Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Metropark system, Zoo, Orchestra, Theaters, Various Cultural Neighborhoods, to the Cleveland Clinic Hospital and University Hospitals, Cleveland has a lot to offer.

Home to three major sports franchises, there is always something going on in Cleveland.
 
ZoeyBdo said:
Cleveland, Ohio!!!

There are 80+ Catholic Churches in the Greater Cleveland area. 12 more to reopen soon.

Throw a rock and you’ll not only hit a Catholic church, but also a Catholic school. 🙂

Add to that affordable housing (median home price in the greater Cleveland area is $145,000)

From the Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Metropark system, Zoo, Orchestra, Theaters, Various Cultural Neighborhoods, to the Cleveland Clinic Hospital and University Hospitals, Cleveland has a lot to offer.

Home to three major sports franchises, there is always something going on in Cleveland.
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In the spirit of friendly competition, I see your bid and I raise it. (I don’t play poker, so I don’t really know if I phrased that correctly or not. :D) And, I’m not really competitive at all, but this seems like fun.🙂

St. Louis, Missouri

stlrcga.org/x348.xml

There are ~210 Catholic Churches in the greater St. Louis area. Throw a rock and you’ll not only hit a Catholic Church, but also a Catholic school 🙂

archstl.org/parishes

Add to that affordable housing (median home price in the greater St. Louis area is $149,900)

deptofnumbers.com/asking-prices/missouri/st-louis/

From the Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Center, Metrolink system, world class Zoo (free admission, parking in the lot costs, though street parking is free), St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Missouri Botanical Garden, Parks, Theaters, Various Cultural Neighborhoods, St. Louis has a lot to offer.

stlouisattractions.com/

Greater St. Louis is a major center for health sciences and services. The health care and social assistance industry in the Greater St. Louis employed over 175,000 people in private industry in 2010. There are 53 hospitals in the St. Louis metro area, some ranked among the best hospitals nation wide.

stlrcga.org/x438.xml

health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/saint-louis-mo

Home to the World Series 2011 Champion St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues, and the St. Louis Rams, three major sports franchises, St. Louis is a world class sports city. There is always something going on in St. Louis.

stlrcga.org/x346.xml
 
Since you don’t like the cold, my vote for Pittsburgh, PA will have to be ignored.

But since you want some place warmer, have you looked into the Ave Maria community in Florida? I’ve heard some great things about that place and if we ever consider a move down South, is one place we’d consider ourselves.
 
Tucson is a good city if you like the heat! 😃 There are lots of very active Catholic Churches. It is also pretty spread out so it doesn’t really have the big city feel and there are some really nice areas that are pretty much like living in a small town or the country. 👍
 
Wichita, KS.

I know… most people hear Kansas and think, what?? But the diocese is very strong, it still has a Midwestern sense of family values generally. And the biggest bonus for us when we move again is that the Catholic schools are free to anyone who is a practicing member of a parish. Including high school.

The priests are awesome and have one of the highest ordination rates (percentage wise based on population) in the country.

Wichita itself is a mid-size city of about 500K. Not huge but big enough to do everything you’d want (IMO). The cost of living is low and as about anywhere buying a house right now will get you a deal.
 
Megan7 said:
Hi,

Can you please elaborate why you like Lincoln, NE?

Thanks:)
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I know you didn’t ask me but I would consider moving there because the Catholic schools are so cheap compared to most places.
 
anp1215 said:
I know you didn’t ask me but I would consider moving there because the Catholic schools are so cheap compared to most places.
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Thanks for your reply!👍 That sounds like a very good reason 😃

I have heard that both Omaha & Lincoln are very Catholic, what have you heard ?

Any other reasons you would like to move there?

Thanks,

GOD BLESS :signofcross:
 
Megan7 said:
Thanks for your reply!👍 That sounds like a very good reason 😃

I have heard that both Omaha & Lincoln are very Catholic, what have you heard ?

Any other reasons you would like to move there?

Thanks,

GOD BLESS :signofcross:
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I hear the Diocese of Lincoln and its Bishop are very orthodox 👍

Omaha I don’t know much about.
 
AnneMarie514, I found a few other threads on the best place to raise a Catholic family. Some are older (one is from almost 7 years ago), but you may still find useful information in them to help you make your decision. More (name removed by moderator)ut can’t hurt, might help.

Where is there a good Catholic Community to raise a family in?
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=11157

NOminate your town: Great Places to live and raise a Catholic family
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=6820

Places to live and raise a Catholic family
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=87773

If you could raise your kids anywhere?
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=245108

Best place to raise a Catholic family?
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=71397
 
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