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"Best Cities for Working Mothers": Not Miami/Fort Lauderdale
ForbesWoman just released it first examination of the “Best Cities For Working Mothers.” Why am I not surprised that Miami/Fort Lauderdale came in at No. 43 out of 50? New York (New York!) topped the list.
It's so easy to explain away the results -- we are transient, a party city, lots of retirees, lots of immigrants with families back home. "This list fairly reflects how the rest of the country views Miami," said ForbesWoman writer Heidi Brown, who edited the list.
What? We're not family friendly? Maybe so. Although most of the families I know are friendly enough.
To come up with the list, ForbesWoman ranked 50 of the largest continental U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (that's Miami/Fort Lauderdale) by categories: earnings, unemployment, cost of living, violent and property crimes, healthcare, per-capita expenditure per pupil, the number of daycare and preschools, and park acreage. They used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dartmouth Atlas and other reliable sources.
Surprisingly, Miami/Fort Lauderdale ranked No. 3 in the child care category. But keep in mind that quantity, not quality was evaluated. Brown said that in the population area of 2.4 million, we have 709 daycare centers. That doesn't sound like a lot to me. "Perhaps this shows how dismal daycare is around the country," she said.
Another surprise was our low rank in parks: No. 48. Really? In the sun and fun capital? (Jacksonville ranked No. 1.) This data came from the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, as well as the various cities. Come to think of it, I know that recreational sports teams are always competing for limited practice space throughout Fort Lauderdale.
Other notable rankings: No. 12 in the number of pediatricians, No. 20. in school quality and No. 20 in per pupil spending. Not bad.
But there's women's income: No. 43. Cost of living: 43. Violent crime: 48. Property crime: 49. Ouch.
Making matters worse, Miami/Fort Lauderdale is actually the highest ranking Florida city. Jacksonville is 44 overall, Tampa, 46, and Orlando is 49. Las Vegas is No. 50.
"Maybe this is a wakeup call to city leaders," Brown said. I couldn't agree more.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
maybe it's a wakeup call for the residents.
Posted by: marie Aiello | August 5, 2009 6:33 PM
I am looking forward to the day this city purchases the American Golf Course and turns it into a park
Posted by: charles | August 5, 2009 6:51 PM
Good point, Marie.
Posted by: Gretchen | August 6, 2009 10:05 AM
why do they grade miami and fort lauderdale together they are 2 seperate cities. (duh)
Posted by: dee | August 9, 2009 8:20 AM
Dee, Miami/Fort Lauderdale is what's called an MSA -- a metropolitan statistical area as defined by the federal government.
"A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographic entity defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics."
Other joint areas in Forbes survey were Oakland/San Francisco, Philadelphia/Wilmington, Del. and others.
Posted by: Gretchen | August 10, 2009 10:17 AM
It reminds me of a saying on a back of a car (in shoe polish): "South Florida: Beautiful Places, Scummy Faces"...Native Floridian disgusted by living in South florida
Posted by: Sabrina | August 16, 2009 11:54 AM
That is totally true, I had to resign to my former employment since they wanted to charge me the time I had to pump for my 1 and a half month baby. Most companies here take advantage of inmigrants, and minorities. Unfortunately there is no law that support neither.
Posted by: Helen | September 11, 2009 1:35 PM