I’m currently house hunting. People always ask me if I’d ever considered moving away from the SouthCoast or even out of Massachusetts. Honestly, even though there is a solid month during the winter when I ask myself why I live somewhere where the air hurts my face, probably not. It’s fine for some people to want to spread their wings and fly far away, but I know that this is my home and I want to build a family here. I feel so lucky to have grown up in this area and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I think this state has a lot to offer growing families and I’m not the only one.

Massachusetts was recently ranked the best state to raise a family and I cannot say that I am surprised. WalletHub released its annual report for the "Best and Worst States to Raise a Family" on Monday, January 11, comparing 50 states within five areas:

1) Family Fun
2) Health and Safety
3) Education and Child Care
4) Affordability
5) Socio-economics

Massachusetts ranked favorably in many areas, placing third for “Education and Child Care,” sixth place for “Affordability,” and ninth place for “Family Fun.” Unfortunately, Massachusetts did rank 46th in “Child Care Costs.” Despite the high cost of child care, Massachusetts still managed to sweep the competition with an overall score of 60.88.

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