Would you move into a house that is next door to a large public school?

[MrsMe]

Long story that I won't go into, but I'm supposed to go look at a house next week that looks like a great house, but it's right next door to a big public elementary school. I don't know why, but I'm not at all excited about moving into a house next door to a public school. Would you? Or am I just being really weird?

 

Unless it's K-4, NEVER. And I'd cringe if I ever had to sell it.

[ChrisOR]

We did live across from an elementary school during our first two years of homeschooling. My kids thought recess was all day long. They looked longingly at that, not realizing that it was different classes rotating through recess all day. :D

[kalanamak]

An 8yo boy was reguarly licking my dh's car and our fence...

 

It looked like a typo .... but it wasn't. :001_huh:

[scubamama]

Sadly, it's not a typo.

[scubamama]

I really think he was either trying to make his mom mad or get attention from her or others walking to school.

I just didn't want him to lick the bug spray!

Ok, I didn't want him licking the fence or the car...that's just gross.

[snipsnsnailsx5]

My good friend lives two houses down from a mid-sized elementary school. She has to deal with CRAZY traffic in the mornings and when school gets out. That makes it hard to get out of her driveway during those times. Also, people parking up and down the street during drop-off times or any school events (concerts, etc).

Beyond just the traffic issue though, tons of kids are walking past her house in the morning and afternoon, which can be pretty disruptive. She takes her kids to private school, but I can imagine what it'd be like if her kids were home. I believe she's even said that kids have cut through her front, and back, yard before.

 

Those are the biggest issues that she's brought up. She doesn't really complain about it much. She does like living next to a big wide grass area for playing soccer, etc..as well as a playground in a pretty convenient location. :)

[SnowWhite]

We LIVE in the house behind the large public elementary school in our neighborhood. It was sort of a last resort house, but it has turned out great. I also wound up babysitting my bgf's little boy when he was there (and now again when he is there temporarily). He has been homeschooling though, and will again once her job situation pans out. YAY for him!

 

The recess time was LOUD for a bit, but now it is just routine and does not bother me. I hear "I want to go to real school" from my ds, but I think that is more a function of media (like the cartoon Recess) than the school next door.

 

We love the playground access after hours and in summer! The downside right now is a bit of graffiti which has not yet been cleaned up. Ick.

[Mergath]

We live across the street from a private Catholic school, and though I love my apartment, I despise living across from the school. There is just SO. MUCH. NOISE. All day long, the children scream like they're being murdered out in the playground. We finally had to just give in and buy an air conditioner to use during April and May if it gets hot because with the windows open, the noise was enough to terrify my dd.

 

Also, at night you get the kids who hang out in the playground fighting and doing various kinds of drugs. Not something you want twenty feet away from your home.

 

We haven't had too much trouble with traffic, because we're more toward the back of the school. But one thing you'll want to check is whether or not the school has a marching band. Believe me, if it does, find a different house. No one should be subjected to an elementary marching band practicing just out your front door. *shudder*

[*Inna*]

Well, we live across a High School.

 

It can be noisy (band practices, sports games etc), but not too bad.

 

I've learned not to leave the house around the drop-off, pick up times - the traffic is bad. Also, not being outside those times because the teenagers cuss at each other and throw F-word around every other word. :glare:

 

The trash is unbelievable. We pick up stuff off our front lawn daily.

 

We still like our house (it was the best out of those we could afford) and just learned to live with those issues.

[Paintedlady]

It's funny, I grew up down the street from a large elementary Christian school and I always loved it. The buses, the playground, the noise. The house I've been in for the last 12 years also backs up to a field that belongs to an elementary Christian school and I still love it. I like to hear kids playing I guess.

 

 

My concern would be the noise level. I live several blocks from a public school, and during warm weather when I have the windows open I can hear the kids screaming on the playground. I would park myself outside the school mid-day and during drop-off/release times to check the noise level - it could be too disruptive if you are trying to do school to have all that kid noise coming at you from the public school. Also - how loud are the bells to class/recess/etc?

 

Other than the potential for noise - would your kids be visible when outside (playing/doing school projects) to the schoolkids?

[silliness7]

I love the sound of the kids playing on the playground. It's so sweet.

 

I absolutely love that sound too. We lived down from a daycare some years back. I just loved to have the windows open and listen to the kids playing. I was begining to think I was the only one.

[Peela]

I think it would depend which part of the school it backed onto. If it was the far side of the school oval, that could be fine.

I dont think the noise of school kids playing would bother me too much. the sirens might- but schools can be large, trees can be good buffers- I wouldn't jump to conclusions till I had seen it. It could have other things going for it that balance the negatives of being next to a school.

[anewday]

We live right near an elementary school and have for 6 years. The noise, drop off times, etc don't bother me most of the time, but I confess I have been looking forward to the idea of moving and not being so close to a school. The quiet....hmmm. LOL

 

What's been difficult though, is that since many of the parents and their kids know each other in our neighborhood, and walk by our house to/from school on the weekdays, there is obviously a feeling of not being part of the community. I expected that already as a homeschooler, but it's a continual reminder being next door to the school. I have wondered a few times if the neighbors wonder why in the world we chose to live in such a prime location and not send our kids to the school across the street! :tongue_smilie:

 

I don't really need to worry about when we're out front (which is rarely, for us) because the the school district is on a year round track. There are 4 separate tracks with the school itself (crazy!) so I figure that most people would assume we're just "off track" the times we're outside during school hours.

 

**ETA - our house is on a court situated across the street from a small play structure and baseball field that 'bleed' into the campus. We are not "right" next door, but close enough IMO. I definately would not want to be any closer (i.e. our home backed up to the play area or in front of the school itself).

Edited March 20, 2011 by Dawn
clarification

[Holly]

We live next to a maximum security prison. I'd consider living next door to a school. :lol::lol:

 

I'd have to consider how much traffic there would be with drop off/pick up. How close is the school to your house? The schools here have a nice big parking lot between them and houses. Other towns we've lived in just had street parking...that would bother me when there are tons of cars waiting to pick up kids and I'm trying to leave my house.

Edited March 19, 2011 by Holly

[delaney]

We live behind the local HS and there is a small park and the football field as a buffer. Oddly, the only issue we have is when the wind blows towards our house we hear the bells SLIGHTLY and the football games sometimes sound like the teacher on the Charlie Brown shows. Lots of kids walk to school and we really have no issue with the kids since our yard is fenced. Not sure about the noise from a playground however. That might get to me.

[iquilt]

We decided against a house when we moved this last time because the neighborhood was across the street from a high school. The neighborhood has had to ban all on street parking, even for people who live there, just to keep the streets accessible for trash pick ups, etc.

[unsinkable]

No way, no how. BTDT and would never do it again. I lived across the street from a K-8 Catholic school. The public HS and middle school were right down the street. It was HORRIBLE!!! We got the crazy Catholic parents speeding to drop their kids off and the PS walkers who were loud, rude, and threw their trash everywhere. No privacy. They're always walking through your yard and dumping their crap on the way. You get to look out your window and see teenagers making out or fighting on the sidewalk. I never once felt safe letting my kids play outside without my being right there even with our fenced in yard.

 

We lived on a 25mph road, and yet the previous owners of our house had their DS3 get hit by a car and die because of one of those harried parents on their way to drop their kids off at school.

 

Did I mention no way, no how??? :tongue_smilie:

 

I will say that a PS elementary school may not be as bad because most of them ride the bus, so a lot less car traffic at drop-off and pick-up time vs a private school with no busing. But still, never again.

 

I cannot believe you wrote this.

 

ETA: I guess it's fine with everyone else. Fill in any other faith/religion, tho' and people would be up in arms. Who cares about the Catholics?

Edited March 19, 2011 by unsinkable

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Jennifer in MI]

I absolutely love that sound too. We lived down from a daycare some years back. I just loved to have the windows open and listen to the kids playing. I was begining to think I was the only one.

 

I was feeling pretty lonely here! LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one.

 

Another benefit to our family, is that after school and on weekends, my kids have their own playground! I can see it from my family room and my kitchen, so I let the older ones go over by themselves once they're around 9 or so. My dd LOVES it!!!

 

I guess we're lucky. We've never had the problem of trash.

 

OP - take a look at the house. Then, visit it in the early am when parents are dropping kids off and again in the pm when parents are picking kids up. See for yourself. Maybe visit during the day to hear the noise of the school and see if it's something you can live with.

[Erica in PA]

Long story that I won't go into, but I'm supposed to go look at a house next week that looks like a great house, but it's right next door to a big public elementary school. I don't know why, but I'm not at all excited about moving into a house next door to a public school. Would you? Or am I just being really weird?

 

If my kids went to the school, it would probably be a plus. But as a homeschooler, I'd think we'd have all the inconveniences (noise, traffic) and none of the benefits. I also think it could breed a sense of dissatisfaction with homeschooling for my kids to see all those kids with a different lifestyle right outside their own windows (esp. having fun outside). It could make them feel pretty left out. Some kids might not mind, but two of my three would definitely long to join the school kids!

[iquilt]

I was feeling pretty lonely here! LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one.

 

Another benefit to our family, is that after school and on weekends, my kids have their own playground! I can see it from my family room and my kitchen, so I let the older ones go over by themselves once they're around 9 or so. My dd LOVES it!!!

 

I guess we're lucky. We've never had the problem of trash.

 

OP - take a look at the house. Then, visit it in the early am when parents are dropping kids off and again in the pm when parents are picking kids up. See for yourself. Maybe visit during the day to hear the noise of the school and see if it's something you can live with.

 

I'm surprised the school leaves the playground open. That is not an option in our area unless you are signed up with a rec league to use the school field as practice. Our oldest attended girl scouts at a local elementary school and they were also not allowed to use the playground after school hours.

[Frontier Mom]

Not me. I like my privacy.

[Mabelen]

I'm surprised the school leaves the playground open. That is not an option in our area unless you are signed up with a rec league to use the school field as practice. Our oldest attended girl scouts at a local elementary school and they were also not allowed to use the playground after school hours.

 

Our school leaves their playground and field gates open after school hours for the community to use. Everything else is locked.

[amyrjoy]

Hmm. Well, we live across the street from the elementary school! Lol! It's a little strange, but so what. Yeah, my kids can be outside playing and teachers drive by. A little weird, but what can you do. If it's the house that you want, do it. My kids don't care one bit. Yes, there is a bit more traffic at times, but it's not bad. Now, it's not a large school, so I guess not the same situation as you are stating!

[amyrjoy]

Thats true for us too! We have a nice playground! :001_smile:

I was feeling pretty lonely here! LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one.

 

Another benefit to our family, is that after school and on weekends, my kids have their own playground! I can see it from my family room and my kitchen, so I let the older ones go over by themselves once they're around 9 or so. My dd LOVES it!!!

 

I guess we're lucky. We've never had the problem of trash.

 

OP - take a look at the house. Then, visit it in the early am when parents are dropping kids off and again in the pm when parents are picking kids up. See for yourself. Maybe visit during the day to hear the noise of the school and see if it's something you can live with.

[GreenKitty]

Long story that I won't go into, but I'm supposed to go look at a house next week that looks like a great house, but it's right next door to a big public elementary school. I don't know why, but I'm not at all excited about moving into a house next door to a public school. Would you? Or am I just being really weird?

 

No, probably not. I don't think your being weird. Just seems like there would be a lot of action, noise, etc. around a school.

[Tarreymere]

We spent several years a half a block away from an elementary school. The noise wasn't too bad as the playground was on the other side of the school. The biggest issue I had was parents totally blocking my street in the afternoons waiting to pick up their dc. These people literally parked in the street so I was trapped in my driveway everyday for about an hour and had no way to get my car out. I complained to the school, the police, and the newspaper and basically nothing was done. Oh, and the complaining that I got from those same folks when it snowed and I didn't get up in the morning in time to shovel my sidewalk before school started.

[kalanamak]

I cannot believe you wrote this.

 

ETA: I guess it's fine with everyone else. Fill in any other faith/religion, tho' and people would be up in arms. Who cares about the Catholics?

 

It was just a comparison between the two schools. One is ps, one is not.

It was just an adjective modifying the noun school. I wouldn't be up in arms if you substituted "a middle-aged white woman named Kay."

 

:grouphug: It'll be okay.

 

--Kay

[Bernadette]

No.  I will not live near the school again.  I live on the back of the apartment building.  It was so quiet and peaceful for 2 years until they built the private French school right across on the back of my apartment.  No more peace anymore.  Those kids are literally screaming on the tops of their lungs during recess from 8:00 AM and continue until 5:45 pm every single day.  The only reprieve I got from 11:45 am to noon.  That's it.  It is such a torture and painful to my ears hearing screaming kids constantly especially if I have to concentrate and do my job during remote work.  My lease will end in January and already gave my 60 days notice.  I can't wait to get away from this kind of living situation. It is not a pleasant as people think hearing constant noise from screaming kids.

[ScoutTN]

Zombie thread!