<p>I hesitate to mention this (because I’m not sure I’d want an influx of Manhattan-ites) but Amherst, MA is one of the best places in the Northeast to live and to raise a child. The public schools are stellar, the housing prices are moderate, the politics are liberal and the air is clean (well, relative to Manhattan). We also have one of the best special ed programs you could find, and I personally know families that have moved here from NY just for that. I grew up in Queens and have lived here for >20 years. Being a college town, there are a vast number of cultural resources and an endless supply of babysitters. We are 90 minutes from Boston and 3 hours from Manhattan.</p>
<p>My kids are almost out of the public school system (D graduated from college and S has one more year left in high school) and the elementary-school age census is down, threatening to close one of our 4 elementary schools.</p>
<p>A lot of people here work for one of the five colleges in the area (Amherst, UMass, Hampshire, Smith, Mt. Holyoke) and many are professionals. Many people work from home (like me). There are people who sell their homes in the New York area and can still afford a beautiful house here and a small apartment in Boston or NY for the parent who can’t relocate due to a job.</p>
<p>I couldn’t come up with a better place to live.</p>