Selecting and assessing the family-friendly community: Adaptive strategies of middle-class, dual-earner couples

Using a life course perspective, this study analyzes the adaptive strategy of community selection utilized by middle-class dual-earner couples, as well as the perceived family friendliness of their communities. Although many common concerns exist (most paramount being safety, jobs, and housing quality), parents are more apt than nonparents to mention the importance of schools, parks, libraries, and community events. For women, safety and proximity to their spouses' jobs are stronger considerations than they are for men. Although respondents mention many similar family-friendly features, only some matter in predicting their overall positive evaluations of community family friendliness. Community is discussed as being an understudied dimension of work-family policy and research.