Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

Coffee Meca vs. Dirty South

Oh my goodness! Mrs. J pointed out to me last night what a huge difference there is in the amount of house you can buy down here in the Dirty South versus in the Big City. I was just checking out John L. Scott online and holy smokes! If you're looking at the same size/bedroom count as what you can easily find down here, up in the City you're talking $1,000,000+!! There's a huge jump from big-ish Craftsmans and then basically McMansions that cost a couple mil.

I "get" the draw of the City - I'm definitely a city girl at heart. But holy crap! That is a LOT of money for whatever perks there are from living in the city.

My Question to My City Friends: Besides obviously being closer to "culture", etc., what are the big perks of living within the Seattle city limits? Do you plan on raising your children in the city?

I'm really curious, because I {heart} Seattle. I feel more at home there than I do in my own city(where I've lived about 21 of my almost 29 years). Pretty much all my friends live in the city so I'm up there a lot. But I don't know that I'd want to raise Baby Bee there. I'd love the culture and restaurants to be a part of her life (and definitely the array of private schools), but I think my constant worrying about crime, safety, etc. would drive me batty! I'd love to hear your stories about growing up in the city or if you currently live in the city and plan on raising children there or if you are raising your child(ren) in the city and if you have the same or different fears that I would have!