I'm a 40 year old newbie skater (been skating for one year). Our family is seriously considering a move from FL to just about anywhere else in the U.S. that is more family-friendly. We are in the very preliminary research stages and are of course considering quality of schools, availability of jobs (I'm an accountant, hubby in Real Estate), cost of living, sense of community, etc. Most important is that people are friendly (I've been in Florida most of my life, and find it anything but....no offense fellow Floridians).

And last but certainly not least, if we're going to make a major move, I'd love to find a location where I can skate regularly without going through the hoops I've had to for the last year. I'd love to find a location where the rinks have a good amount of ice time available for a beginner skater & working mom --- whether it be low freestyles/general sessions in the early a.m./after work or public sessions that are not so crowded. It would be great to hear what everyone recommends. I've checked out arenamaps as far as rinks in various areas, but I thought that you guys might be a better resource for this kind of info...
Thanks!

I can tell you that here in L.A. I've got all the ice time I could ever want, since there are at least 7 rinks within a 45-minute drive (incliuding two within a 15-20-minute drive). But the more rinks per square mile, the less a city may fit your definition of "family-friendly."

So what's your definition of a "family-friendly" city? Do you mean lower crime? More conservative culture? More affordable housing and cost of living? Less urban? If there are some locations you've already got on your list for other reasons, you might want to start by asking specifically about those.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Northern Chicago has some very nice areas, with a Ga-jillion rinks.

Minneapolis has tons of rinks & is very high rated for quality of life, etc.

Both places are going to be a lot colder than you're used to!!!!

DC-MD-Del area are good. Depends on what you're looking for as far as local culture and environment.

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I guess 'family friendly' to me means low crime, less illegals (sorry, never thought I'd feel this way, but it's just getting ridiculous in FL, and the crime is increasing because of this), a decent population of families with children, good quality public schools, activities for young families (parks and such, versus shuffleboard and golf). I wouldn't care so much about the number of rinks, but the quality of rinks....there could be 10 rinks in a 25 mile radius and it wouldn't really be desirable for me unless the ice times were workable with my schedule, but one rink with a good amount of ice time available for beginners without being crowded would be perfect, know what I mean?

Yep....just about anyplace I'd want to move is going to be colder than what I'm used to, but that is ok with me. I don't really like the heat and would prefer a climate with actual seasons.

I haven't noticed any correlation between illegal immigrants and crime here in L.A. (although I must say it has increased the number of hard-working, inexpensive housekeepers and elderly care helpers), so you may want to just look at crime rate rather than counting out all cities with illegal immigrants. As for ice time, you will need to look at each individual rink's schedule (most of which are posted online), but it seems that most rinks tend to have similar schedules: freestyle sessions early in the morning, public sessions in the afternoons and select evenings, and hockey stick times on alternate evenings and possibly a few mornings and/or afternoons.

Having said that, one of my favorite areas of the country is Seattle, particularly the town of Kirkland, on the east side of the lake (I used to live there and I consider it very family-friendly). They have a rink there that seems quite empty compared to other rinks I've been to, and the ice and the people were very nice. It's called Kingsgate.
http://www.arenamaps.com/arenas/404.htm

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I would second the Chicago area--you can hardly swing a cat without hitting a rink. (Okay, it's not quite *that* good, but there really are quite a few rinks in the area, and no matter what your price range is, there should be a rink nearby.) I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and I found it very family-friendly (I'd still live there if I could afford it). Park districts and YMCAs with tons of kids' programs abound. And many school districts are very good.

Traffic is a bear, but there's always a downside, right?

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Hailey, ID may be too rural for what you are looking for, but it is a skater's paradise, esecially for adults! Tons of rinks and great pros (rinks are actually in the next town over, Ketchum/Sun Valley). They are even building more rinks (I think to take over the hockey), which will make things even better. Good schools, tons of activities in the summer and winter. Zero crime (part of the reason I can't live here permanently - I am going into forensics). Blaine County (which is the county for Hailey, Ketchum, Sun Valley, and a few other places) was the only blue county in the state of Idaho, if that makes any difference

Here is the club's website (work in progress) if you want to take a peek:

http://www.sunvalleyfsc.com

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--
Natalie

http://www.ILoveTaB.com

I will second that...Delaware is a bit cheaper than Maryland or DC, but if you want to skate year round, then you better hit northern Delaware because southern Delaware is all wet in the summer!!!! But we have nice beaches!!!

Delaware has no sales tax, but our personal income tax bites. Property tax is cheaper than MD or DC and many people live here and commute to MD and DC. But, there is soooooooooooo much more in MD/DC Northern VA than here. We really are the "sticks"

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Oh yeah, taxes! Continuing my plug for the Pacific Northwest (as long as you don't mind rain), how about living in Vancouver, Washington, right across the border from Portland, Oregon? There's no sales tax in Oregon but no income tax in Washington, so everyone lives in Washington and goes shopping in Oregon. I don't know if there are any rinks in Vancouver, Washington, but of course there are rinks in Portland, Oregon.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Well if you want seasons we actually have them in Colorado, especially this year. The news makes it seems worse than it is, we average about 300 sunny days a year, I live in Boulder, which is pricey but the greater Denver metro area is really very nice within a 1/2 hour of me there are about 6 rinks. I skate about 30 minutes away from where I live but we have large blocks of ice time 6am- 10.45am with the last 45 minutes being for adults only. Attached to the double sheet facility is an incredible indoor pool and play area for children and full work out area with weights and all the stuff you need.

Schools in Boulder are very good and Cherry Creek, Jeffco and Adams 5-12 also do very well as far as school districts are concerned.

Also skating at altitude gives you an advantage when you skate at lower elevations, I love skating in Atlanta.

Hope this helps.

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Who me? Couldn't be....
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I'm currently in Minneapolis (keeping my fingers crossed that I can leave soon, because I *hate* cold weather).

We've got a great many rinks, some of which have very comprehensive skating programs (http://tcfsa.org has a list of member clubs in the area and links to their sites). I skate at Bramear FSC (braemarfsc.org) which has ice most every morning (including Saturday and Sunday) and afternoon ice from 3-7p.m. (some of which is high test only. . .). In the summer, they usually have 2 rinks running simultaneously, one with high test skaters and one with no-test skaters.

Since Braemar's expensive for a recent college grad like me, I also skate at Parade. They are affiliated with a club, but they also sell Pro's Ice which doesn't require club membership. It's usually from 6a.m. until open skate at 11a.m. and then resumes from 1-4p.m. Club ice kicks in after that.

As for quality of life, I've heard it's great up here. We have lakes, parks, museums, St. Paul right next door, major sports teams, great private schools, and a lot of community outreach programs. If it weren't so cold in the winter, I'd actually consider staying here to attend graduate school.

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שלום לעולם תמיד

Bellingham, WA.

I'm a little biased because I live there, but the only real problem here is that everyone wants to live here, so it's hard to find a job at a competitive salary.

There's one rink in the city (others in the surrounding area), but it has a friendly adult skating group and good morning hours, and the club has lots of different blocks of time for members.

Bellingham is good on pretty much all the counts you mentioned- people are friendly (unless you are a Republican in Bellingham proper- it's a college town... , though the surrounding areas have lots of conservatives), good schools, LOTS of parks and greenspace. Most of the crime in Bellingham is restricted to certain neighborhoods, and car break-ins on the campus.

Illegal immigrants are generally more south of B'ham in the agricultural areas, and I am pretty sure that they don't affect the crime levels here. For sure not in Bellingham, as most of the crime here is related to drunken college students and pretty much confined to the campus.

Anyway, it's an awesome community, beautiful area, lots of arts, lots of kids, so on. Like I said, everyone wants to live here, but the high-powered (and high-paid) jobs are more in Seattle and Vancouver in Canada, not in Bellingham.

Oo! oo! Me! Me! Pick, Me! Oregon and Washington have my vote! Yes there is a rink in Vancouver Washington. It used to be a 2 surface rink which has now gone to one surface. Apparently the property owners are not getting enough $$ from rink income so I have heard through the grapevine that it will eventually go away altogether. There are 3 rinks in the Portland/Metro area. Seattle would be a superb area to consider as well.

Yeah, and don't worry about the rain. If you do happen to choose the northwest, the locals don't even use umbrellas Besides the rains lend us lush green gardens in the summertime.

Here are a few places in the Portland Area:

http://www.lloydcenterice.com
http://www.sherwoodicearena.com
http://www.valleyicearena.com

In Vancouver (It looks as though they have not updated their site since they have made changes)
http://www.mtviewice.com

Best of luck to you on your journey, sk8mommy.

There is a rink in Vancouver as well as one in Portland. There are also two more in the Portland-metro - one in Beaverton, and one in Sherwood. If you think you might want to move to this area, I recommend not living in the Portland Public School district, but Vancouver, WA is good and so is Beaverton/Lake Oswego, etc.

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- Ashley

Hi;

I've lived in a lot of places - grew up in the pacific northwest (wonderful place if you like the out of doors, nice place to grow up, weather can be a bit oppressive, getting WAY to crowded within 100 miles of Seatle IMHO) New York City (wonderful exciting city but terribly difficult for families), LA (I'd still be there if you could get 50% of the people to just leave! World's greatest weather! Way to expensive and crowded for my tastes) Delaware (nice state, lower Delaware is too rural to find a rink, upper Delaware is close to lots of big cities but remains populated at a nice reasonable density. Nice place to raise kids). I settled in Charleston SC. (great place to raise kids, by far the most polite city I have ever been in, right up there with Toronto! Politically quite conservative. Public schools have some problems and this often helps dictate where you live. Nice weather, we have only one 2 sfc rink but that's enough. Lots of water for boating but increadibly flat - that gets old.)

Hmm, looks like I've found good things in every place I've lived but I still think Charleston was the right place to raise my family.

FWIW
Lyle

I grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago (my family still lives there) and also skated when I was a kid. It was very nice - I walked home from school by myself on days when I didn't skate and never felt unsafe.

There are quite a few rinks in the area, but I don't know what their schedules are, since I haven't skated there since I moved.

Now, I live in Grand Rapids, MI, which is definitely a family-friendly town. It's a mostly conservative/Republican area, so family values are a big deal around here. There aren't a TON of rinks, but there are a few with decent ice times and an ever-growing adult skating population.

You might also want to consider communities in colder locales that have outdoor skating facilites (ponds, flooded courts, etc) in the winter that are maintained by the town DPW. These are cheap and may be great for your family. If they are nicely maintained, they are a blast. Some communities even have hockey rinks that are flooded in winter and used for inline in summer. You could also flood and freeze in your own yard.

Scope out
backyardrink@yahoogroups.com <backyardrink@yahoogroups.com>
for more backyard ideas.

Another big thing to consider is cost of living. Prices are going up in Fl, but they are still not as high as other major populated areas like the NE and major CA cities. Lucky you that you can make this choice.

IMO, the best place for rinks in anywhere in Canada.

Kay

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New Jersey has a wealth of ice rinks, both year-round and seasonal. There's no shortage of clubs and skating programs. The evening figure skating/LTS sessions are a bit hard to find on certain days of the week due to hockey leagues, but the rinks are mostly clean and well-maintained.

Downsides: taxes (esp. real estate/school), property prices, and traffic. Crime varies from place to place, and not all of it is tied to illegal immigrants. The schools are good.

There are illegal and legal immigrants throughout NY/NJ. Not just Mexican immigrants; Russians, Ukrainians, Koreans, Chineses, Haitians, Africans, South Americans, Indians, Pakistanis, Egyptians all have "neighborhoods" where everyone migrated from the same country. (Which makes Edison, NJ a great place for Indian food!) If it's crime you're worried about, check the stats. If you don't like ethnicities, don't even look into this area. We got everything!

While cheap housekeepers are a benefit (of sorts), cheap construction labor is not. Almost every month, an illegal/legal immigrant is injured at a construction site where safety precautions were not taken. It concerns me that the construction itself is shoddy.

Still, after listening to someone's car alarm going off for almost an hour at midnight last night, followed by at least six police/fire/ambulance sirens, capped by the freight flights coming into the airports, New Jersey's looking good to me!

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I vote for NJ too! I dont have a family yet, but I grew up here and its great. Northwest NJ is a bit more rural (although it is getting more built up) and the crime rate is low. The closer to NYC the more rinks but the higher the cost of housing, etc. Tons of rinks around the area, 4 seasons, great public schools (in more areas- inner city schools Im not as sure), lots of out-door activities -(skiing, swimming in summer, golf) and you are always within 1 hr of NYC and 2 hours from Philly

Don't forget South Jersey (Philly region)... a few of our cities were voted "best places to live in America"-- Moorestown is the first to come to mind and it's a lovely town. Property prices are significantly lower than North Jersey, and driving is easier. Many of our local schools are "star schools" and there are a number of rinks in the area (not to mention the rinks in Philly-- if you want, you can take the Patco trains across the river and you're set.

Don't discount our lovely state because of the "bad rap" that non-Jerseyites try to give us thanks to a few miles of industry along the turnpike!

Another option is Pennsylvania-- affordable homes and taxes, and again, if you live in the Philly region, you can take advantage of the many rinks in Philly...

You're correct: if the rinks are "nicely maintained," the seasonal rinks are wonderful. I've been to a number of coaches' seminars in the last few years at municipal rinks that weren't maintained well at all and haven't been for many years. (In fairness, there are some private rinks that are pretty raunchy, too.) However, there was an obvious sense of community that you feel when you go to a rink where everyone knows each other.

Public facilities are built/supported by tax $$$, so the community itself might be expensive to live in/nearby.

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Wow! Thanks so much...you ladies have given me soooo many more leads to follow.

As to the crime/illegals connection....it's just something I've noticed in my area...may not apply across the board. The illegals in our area are a pretty homogenous group....not like in NY where they come from everywhere, and that may have a lot to do with the crime rate connection here. I don't mind diversity at all....I just would prefer to avoid the criminal element whenever possible.

Alaska year around indoor ice, and nice rinks