Middle of the pack

Guess this could go in both the "for what it's worth" and the "it could be worse" files: Children's Health magazine has rated "100 noteworthy cities" across the country for what kind of places they are in which to raise a family. The list goes from No. 1 Burlington, Vt., to No. 100 Detroit. Only two Indiana cities are on the list -- Fort Wayne at No. 45 and Indianapolis at No. 49. The criteria:

We considered more than 30 factors that parents deem vitally important, including crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions, and health. When we crunched the numbers, these were the cities that best complemented family life.

Interesting, but I'm not sure how valuable the information is. I suspect finding the best place to raise a family is only partly a matter of "crunching the numbers" for a variety of objective factors. A lot of subjective criteria are in the mix, too, the biggest of which is a history in an  area, which involves (usually) a support network of family and friends and a sense of continuity. Whole list here.