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You don't need house to raise kids. I found that what I need with kids the most is proximity of infrastructure and other families with kids of similar age.

Speaking as a Californian, it helps that urban centers are usually absolute hellholes. Between the charming mix of homeless, hoodrats, and junkies that police won't do anything about it's a lot easier to raise a kid with a future if you just move somewhere that isn't terrible like a boring but predictable suburb.

This. What I recall from living in the city was regularly hearing my neighbors stomping and occasionally fighting, asking neighbors to keep their music down so my wife could sleep(she works night shift) and getting in a yelling match, and having to deal with a psychopathic apartment complex who didn't respect privacy at all and exploited every situation they could. I remember going for a jog and a wanna-be gangster on the sidewalk grabbing at his pants(like towards a gun) because he didn't know I was there.

American cities aren't pleasant.

That, and the schools can be, on average, better.