The Burrow
Aug 9, 2024
When you’re thinking of starting a family, there are so many things to consider – from names, to budgeting, to deciding where you want to live and have your child(ren) grow up.
Around the world, most people welcome their first child by the time they’re 30.1 For young families with small children, some cities offer more than others, and could be a good place to call home.
As home loan experts, we’ve sifted through the data for young families looking for their first home loans, to help them find a good location to settle down in. We looked at a range of factors from salaries and the cost of living, through to access to nurseries, things to do, and more.
So, have a read to discover where your next hometown could be, or if your current home city is on the list, see how well it compares below.
Prague comes in first place as a city for young families, scoring highly in several of our scoring factors.
Not only does Czechia have the most combined parental leave at 185 weeks, but it also has the highest educational attainment, at 94%.
Pair that with the fact that Prague has the joint second most museums and galleries per 100,000 (29.8), the fifth highest safety score (75.45), and the seventh lowest cost of living (51.5) – rest assured that if you move here, not only will your money stretch further, but you’ll have plenty of things to do as a family, too.
With the most nurseries per 100,000 people (39), and the joint third most combined parental leave (140), Graz is officially the second-best city for young families to move to.
The second largest city in Austria, more than 300,000 people live here, and it tends to feel more authentic, as it’s a less popular tourist spot. If you’re looking for a place to live, consider the outskirts of Liebenau and Straßgang, home to larger houses, and plenty of schools and supermarkets.
Slovenia’s capital makes it into third place for living as a young family, with the second highest safety score (78.78), and the second most nurseries per 100,000 people (37.3).
Ljubljana also boasts the third lowest cost of living out of our top 10, scoring ninth overall (53.2). Its close proximity to beautiful Lake Bled will give your family no end of things to do on the weekends; and if you’re searching for a home, some great neighbourhoods for families include Bežigrad with its green space, and Vič, which is where you’ll find some of the best schools in the city.
The first Scandinavian city to make the list, Helsinki comes in an impressive fourth place for young families.
Taxes may be higher, but you’ll get to reap the benefits, with the country having the fifth highest percentage of GDP spent on families, at 2.89% (the highest of our top 10). The city is also extremely safe, with the fourth highest safety score (75.61).
Helsinki offers lots of safe beaches and parks for families to enjoy; and Oodi (its public library) is one of the city’s best loved buildings by its residents, also operating as a daycare centre, workspace, recording studio, and socialising space.
In fifth place is Amsterdam, scoring well for young families due to its mortgage interest rates, which are the joint lowest on our list alongside Rotterdam, at 2.58%.
The city scores 11th for salary overall at AUD$6,077.61 per month on average/EUR€3,768.12. You’ll also have access to some of the best healthcare facilities in the world, scoring joint fourth overall.
With the second lowest cost of living (45.6), and the third most nurseries per 100,000 people (33.6), Porto is another great option if you’re considering moving abroad with your family.
There’s also lots to see and do while you’re there – it has the joint second most museums per 100,000 people (29.8), and the most sports clubs per 100,000 (5.6). As if that’s not enough, Porto has lots of beaches a short drive away, which are perfect for family days out – try Praia de Matosinhos, which is the most popular, and just an 8km bus ride away.
Austria’s capital comes in seventh place overall as a city for young families, due to it having the joint third most combined parental leave, at an impressive 140 weeks.
There are several family-friendly neighbourhoods to look in when deciding where to live. Leopoldstadt is one option, which is home to the sprawling Prater Park, and Würstel Prater, which is a quaint amuseument park; as well as Währing, which is right on the doorstep of the best hiking spots in the city.
Munich comes eighth for families, with the highest safety score (79.53), and the third best healthcare score of our top 10, and joint fifth overall (81.4).
There’s no end of things to do as a family in Munich, with the Englischer Garten, Munich Residence, and Nymphenburg Palace just a few places to visit during your weekends.
In terms of where to live, look at the suburbs of Berg-am-Laim, which is home to several international schools, and has great transport connections; or Giesing, which offers more affordable accommodation, and very much has a community feel.
In ninth place is Paris, with the fifth most parks on our list, at 183, as well as the joint seventh highest percentage of family spending benefits, and the second highest of our top 10, at 2.71% of total GDP.
Move here as a family and explore pretty parks including the Tuileries, which is right by the Louvre, Jardin de Luxembourg, where you can rent out a toy boat on the lake, and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which is cited to be the best place for picnics in the city.
Rounding off our top 10 cities for young families is Zurich. Whilst the cost of living may be high, this is reflected in the fact it has the highest salaries, at an average of AUD$11,688.73 per month/EUR€7,247.01.
The city also has the third highest safety score (77.19), the joint third highest health score, tying with Geneva (82.1), and the fifth most sports clubs per 100,000 people (2.8).
It’s clear that Europe really dominates as a place for families with young children to grow up in, due to a combination of its government support, cost of living, and things to do.
Looking at Australia, Canberra scores the highest, in 31st position overall, followed by Sydney (40th) and Melbourne (43rd). When it comes to the UK, Glasgow and London score the highest, at 29th and 30th overall.
Montreal scores top in Canada, in 27th place overall, with Chicago top in the USA, at 46th, and Houston in 47th – its lack of parental leave and family benefits both key reasons why the US scores so low.
Looking at the factors individually, Budapest comes second for combined parental leave at 181 weeks, despite scoring 20th overall; with Gothenburg and Stockholm in joint fourth at 71 weeks, coming 11th and 18th respectively.
For educational attainment, Warsaw comes in second place at 93%, with several US and Canadian cities reaching 92%, including Toronto, Montreal, LA, and Chicago.
The second and third highest average monthly salaries are Geneva (AUD$10,291.11/EUR€6,380.49), and New York City (AUD$8,153.35/EUR€5,055.08), with Geneva ranking 12th and New York 49th overall; whereas Sweden has the best family benefits spending, as well as Copenhagen and Oslo (3.31% and 3.19%), with those two cities coming 16th and 15th overall.
Italy has the second lowest mortgage interest rates, at 3.13%, yet Milan is the best city for families in the nation, and places just 35th overall; and for health, Oslo is the one to beat, with Gothenburg and Stockholm in joint second.
Valencia has the lowest cost of living score, and comes 28th overall, with Warsaw and Budapest scoring third and fourth for this metric, whilst coming 26th and 20th as a whole.
For parks, Chicago’s a clear winner at 372, followed by Houston (259) and New York City (258); and Lisbon has the most museums and art galleries per 100,000 people, as well as the second most sports clubs, and comes 19th on our list.
So ultimately, if you’re looking to relocate with your young family, Europe’s the place to be!
If you’re ready to take the plunge and buy a home – whether it’s somewhere new in Australia, or overseas – then first of all, congratulations! Purchasing a home is an exciting process, although it’s not without its stresses, with lots of things to consider along the way.
Here are just a few things to think about when you’re viewing properties, and deciding which area of a city to move to.
Whether you’ve already got little kids, or you’re planning on starting a family soon, you’re no doubt picturing a place where they’ll get to grow up, which is why it’s important when viewing properties, to consider whether they’ll still suit you in 10-15 years’ time.
If there aren’t enough bedrooms, could you get planning permission to extend? Is the garden large enough for playing out in and entertaining, and is there enough space to run around in the downstairs areas? These are all questions to ask yourself during a property viewing.
Bearing the above in mind, it’s super important you check out the local amenities to make sure you have what you need for your young family. Proximity and catchment areas to good schools are key, but you might also want to consider whether there are good local nurseries for the short-term, grocery stores for food, big parks nearby that are safe to play in; and for when your children get older, whether there are cafes and restaurants where they can go and meet their friends.
If you think you’ve found the right home, make sure you map out routes to school and work. Testing each in rush hour will give you a good indication of how long it’ll take you to do the school run, or make it into the office if you’re not working from home.
Looking into public transport links is important too, so you know how easy it is to get into the city as a family – and is also important for when your kids get older, and want the freedom to meet up with their friends.
Stephen Zeller, General Manager of Money at Compare the Market, states whether you decide to buy a home somewhere in Australia, or move overseas, it’s a huge decision, and one that’s often taken with your child(ren)’s best interests in mind. For Australian residents and citizens looking to buy a home in Australia, comparing home loans is a great place to start.
“Wherever you decide to move to, if it’s your first home you’re purchasing, it’s important to compare home loans to not only try and find a good deal, but to get a clear understanding of your different options.”
“Does the loan have any recurring fees? Does it have an offset account or redraw facility? It’s important to review all the details before applying for a specific loan,” says Mr Zeller.
“You can use other tools like credit reports, borrowing power calculators, property and suburb reports to get informed so you can have the information you need to make a huge decision for your family when looking to buy your first home.”
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Methodology:
This dataset ranks 50 locations, based on how good they are for young families. To do this, 12 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score of between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then summed, to give each location a total score out of 12. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 16/07/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided. Exchange rate used: 1 AUD – 0.62 EUR.