THE BEST ZIP CODES TO RAISE UR KIDS IN EXPENSIVE CELEBRITY HAUNTS

Tags:The Best Zip Codes To Raise Your Kids In aren’t the Expensive Celebrity Haunts,phone number search,reverse lookup, white pages,yellow pages,zip code,Best Zip Codes To Raise Your Kids,Expensive Celebrity Haunts,Expensive Celebrity Haunts zip codes,Celebrity Haunts,Celebrity Haunts, haunts,Celebrity.Forget 90210. The best zip codes to live in aren’t the expensive celebrity haunts. They’re the ones with good school districts and safe backyards. The zip codes you want to raise your kids in.

Finding the best ones is a project every family goes through as they decide where to throw down roots. Do you go for safety first, or start by touring the local schools? How much do cultural resources like museums matter? Does it pay to pay attention to tax rates? Will you just die if you can’t live on the beach?

Everyone who’s chosen a home, whether buying or renting, has had some of these questions. If you have a partner, you’ve probably argued calmly discussed at least a few of them. And there are plenty of magazines eager to offer up answers on the very best communities to raise kids in. 

With the spring thaw real estate season is heating up. Before you cruise open houses this weekend, here’s a roundup of the “best places to live”.

• 55346: Money Magazine thinks you should settle down in Eden Prairie, MN.
• 53562: GoodHousekeeping puts Middleton, WI on the top of their list.
• 14150: Business Week gives a top city in each state; for New York its Tonawanda, a small suburb outside Buffalo.
• 02169:  For my home state of Massachusetts, Business Week gives Quincy top ratings.

What do all these zip codes have in common? They’re not tourist destinations in beautiful locales. They’re not major metropolises with booming industries. For the most part they’re small communities with good public services. They’re praised not only for their excellent schools but also their parks and bike paths. 

They have low crime rates and stable economies. The average income in these towns is a little higher than the average for the state, but not super-wealthy.In other words, they’re Everytown, U.S.A, little living embodiments of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegone.

That makes them pretty much totally unlike where I’ve chosen to raise my kids, in a bustling little city right next to Boston. My town is full of tiny yards, middling schools, and lots of energy. I love it here, but we won’t be winning any awards for “best place to raise your kids”, even though its the only zip code I’d want to be bringing mine up in.

How does your hometown stack up? Is it on any of these “best of” lists? Do you think it should be?