If you go to Europe, or Canada, or Australia, you'll find that the best place to educate your children is in the large cities. If you live in Australia and you have kids, you're better off in Melbourne or Sidney. In Canada, you're better off in Toronto or Montreal. That's because, like most goods and services, you'll find the highest quality and the most choice in areas with large populations. It's true for restaurants, it's true for banking services, and it's true for higher education.
Most great universities are in or near large cities.
Large metropolitan areas generate high-quality choices. But not in K-12 education. Everybody wants to go to the University of Chicago, but nobody wants to go the Chicago public schools. But in the United States, we've undone the urban advantage. We've smothered it with monopoly.