America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up

1. MadMolecule
   August 21st, 2009 at 11:08 am

   I went to high school for two years in Overland Park, Kansas. It was dull as dishwater and I left as soon as I possibly could.

2. Alice
   August 21st, 2009 at 12:20 pm

   I live in Plano. It's actually a great place to live. If I were to have children, I would be happy to raise them here. There are great schools, safe neighborhoods, loads of recreational fields and activities. It's a genuinely nice place.

3. ninigoat
   August 21st, 2009 at 12:46 pm

   Bah, those places are no fun.

4. Foreigner1
   August 21st, 2009 at 1:18 pm

   America's best place to grow up...?

   If I have to believe my nephew who was born in Miami Fl. and then moved about twice a year because of the job of his dad, America's best place to grow up is somewhere outside it's borders...

5. PT
   August 21st, 2009 at 1:31 pm

   Yeah... what about East Plano???

6. PT
   August 21st, 2009 at 1:32 pm

   PS.. check out Port Aransas TX

7. Floyd Law
   August 21st, 2009 at 1:47 pm

   U.S. News and World Report has obviously never been to San Jose, CA.

8. AL24
   August 21st, 2009 at 2:19 pm

   Hmmm... seems like many of these "cities" are actually car-oriented suburbs. Kind of cramps kids' styles if they have to depend on their parents for rides everywhere, no?

9. Dude Manbro
   August 21st, 2009 at 4:21 pm

   Edison, NJ? They've obviously never been there, either, because it's nothing special at all. No different than any other boring NJ suburb & with a top-to-bottom corrupt police dept. & political scene as well.

10. Gary
    August 21st, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    I grew up in Cedar Rapids, IA. It is a low crime town with plenty to do. Who needs a car when you can ride a bike all over the place. On a good day, it would take less than an hour to bike from one side of town to the other.

11. seefish3
    August 22nd, 2009 at 6:48 am

    Boston ???

    Are they high ???

    Possibly the most politically corrupt city in the country (Big Dig construction fiasco), with the most repressive laws this side of cold war Moscow. And marijuana is now sneakily decriminalised (which means its not a felony, but you'll never get a federal job, or a handgun permit, so go ahead and light up in front of that State cop!). And they have mandatory health care, enforced by garnishing your tax return for $2,000.

    All adult issues, I realize, but it sure turns Dad into an angry, road-rage-prone son of a Pilgrim.

12. DarthMoo
    August 22nd, 2009 at 9:51 am

    Va. Beach? Whatever. Va. Beach is a very conservative area, living under the shadow of Pat Robertson who's tv network is there. One of his companies just purchased the newspapers (or tried to) about a year or so ago. If you think intolerance is a family value, then it's a great place to raise kids.

13. elizabeth
    August 22nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    Ha! Floyd, speaking as a Sunnyvale ex-pat, I'm with you.

14. stayzuplate
    August 22nd, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    What a joke. Many of these places are soul-less tributes to sprawl and american corporate culture. Whoever compiled this list obviously hasn't spent any time in Plano, Texas - which in actuality is one of the outer planes of Hell. Your millage may vary...

15. Tim Giachetti
    August 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 am

    I grew up in the military.

    Sorry folks, nothing so far has beat Wiesbaden, Germany or Christmas in Frankfurt. The store displays even in the mid 60's rock my socks off. Animatronic heaven on earth.

16. dfd
    August 23rd, 2009 at 11:52 am

    America's? You mean USA,
    DICKHEAD! FUCK YOUUUUUUUU

17. jplanet
    August 23rd, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Overland Park? I grew up about 30 minutes from there in Lawrence, KS. Much better place to grow up. Not just some suburb of Kansas City

18. emmiline
    August 24th, 2009 at 2:46 am

    my husband is from virginia beach- and though it has it's nice parts...the fact that it's smooshed right up against norfolk, newport news, and suffolk are enough to say 'no thanks'. chesapeake is right there, and fairly nice...but good lord there are a lot of people and not a lot of breathing room.

19. Scooter
    August 24th, 2009 at 10:41 am

    Overland Park Kansas.. sure if you ever want to have to deal with any real minorities. Poor people included. Cookie cutter homes and bad drivers everywhere.

20. Scooter
    August 24th, 2009 at 10:45 am

    ^never is what I meant to type.

21. jessica
    August 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am

    when i grew up in frisco, a town on the north border of plano, all we ever heard about the plano kids were massiver heroin overdoses. they seemed to have cleaned up their act since, and the police offices are strict when it comes to unruly teens out driving.

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