How is life for families with kids?
Hi there. I live in a small town in AZ, same town I was born and raised in. Our school systems continue to get worse and worse and have now moved to 4 days a week due and most of our neighbors have moved and those homes have turned into Airbnbs and I’ve realized sadly I don’t think I want to raise my kids here.
We’ve been visiting Hood River 1-2 times a year for the past eight years and love it. We spent a month in the area after our wedding as well and just realized how much we feel at home in the area. We are avid hikers, love paddling, my husband loves snow sports and we just love being outside and Gifford Pinchot is our favorite national forest.
We plan to have kids in the next 1-3 years and are strongly considering moving to Hood River. Wondering what the community is like for families. Also wondering what it’s like just for young professionals. We don’t like to drink or go out, prefer early mornings to get outside on the trails on the weekend. Would love to raise kids somewhere where we can coach little league and get involved in local nonprofits (we both volunteer with our local trail orgs here in AZ). Just wanting to know how the sense of community is.
We don’t want to move to a city. We know the struggles sometimes of living in a small town (we drive 100 miles to Phoenix for healthcare currently). So we know and understand that. Just trying to find a small town in an environment we love that can also be great for community and raising kids.
Thank you for any insight you can provide!