The college debt crisis in America has families on the move for far different reasons.

The Bigler family left Wichita for a tiny, low-cost town in western Kansas to cope with debilitating debt, which Jon Bigler figures he will pay off at the age of 72. A physician’s assistant, he and his wife, Lori, are struggling. Adding their own college debt to that of their three daughters, the Biglers spend $2,500 each month on school loans. That doesn’t leave a lot.

In contrast is the Carter family. In 2006, Omarr and Leona Carter packed up the family’s minivan and moved across the country, from Seattle, Wash., to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take advantage of the Kalamazoo Promise. The goal is for all six of their children to take advantage of the Promise and save perhaps a half-million dollars in the process. She calls the move “one of the best decisions we’ve made.”

Leona is now running for a seat on the Kalamazoo City Commission to work on behalf of a city she has come to love. “We have come to know Kalamazoo as not just a place of promise for our six children but as a place of great potential for anyone who’s willing to connect to resources and contribute to helping their community in a meaningful way,” she said.

Cities of Promise are truly Cities of Opportunity for families and the difference can be tremendous.

Call a Promise realtor today!