Would you move somewhere PS is NOT an option?

[MotherGoose]

nm

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes I have.

 

It is what it is.  I hope I don't have to send my kids to school here ever.  It would kill me because the schools are quite lousy.

 

 

[bettyandbob]

No, partly because I knew we'd need the schools at some point. However, schools affect the value of your property and whether you will be able to sell in the future. So, before you buy you need to consider possibility of resale.

[DawnM]

No.  It would at least have to be a decent school.  I just feel like you never know what *could* happen.  If something were to happen to me or to DH and PS was a must, I would hate to be trapped.

[I talk to the trees]

Yes. We just did. The house we settled on was large enough, within our price range, and move-in ready. The neighborhood is lovely, but it is located in a district with schools we would never consider sending dd to. Hopefully, she will be fully transitioned to the local CC within the next year or two, so the PS situation was less of a concern for us anyway. We also have the benefit of safety net in my parents. Should anything happen that is so catastrophic that it would force us to put dd in PS, we probably would move in with them, and send dd to the school dh and I attended. It's not a shining example of academic excellence, but it is better than the district we are in now.

[Laura Corin]

It depends on the stage of the children.  I lived somewhere without an appropriate school option from when the eldest child was 7 to 11.  After that we moved somewhere with more options - partly with that in mind.

 

L

[marbel]

When we moved with 2 kids aged 8 and 10, we never gave the quality of the local schools a thought.  It never occurred to me till I read your OP! 

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think there are other things I would put above a good school district.  Proximity to work, quality of life in other ways (good library, close to decent shopping, parks, walkable neighborhood), size and affordability of house.   It's true though that a good school district is a selling point.

 

We never specifically set out to homeschool all the way through, and said we would do it as long as it worked.  But it still didn't occur to me to think about quality of the schools they'd go to if it stopped working.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

No, partly because I knew we'd need the schools at some point. However, schools affect the value of your property and whether you will be able to sell in the future. So, before you buy you need to consider possibility of resale.

 

I agree with this.

 

You never know what circumstances you could face in the future and may need to use the PS system.  I would want to live in an area with good schoolsl for that reason and for resale value.

[....]

Yes and we did.  Public school here is not even an option.  Ever.

[craftyerin]

Yep. We live in one now. I do not know one single person who sends their kids to my local elementary school. I live in a nice home in a nice part of town, and everyone in my neighborhood has their kids in private school or a public charter (that is hard to get into with lotteries, testing, etc).  The regular elementary school is not an option.  The middle school and high school are worse.  Our city has some of the worst schools in the nation.  But we love it here, so we committed to homeschooling as long as we're here.  

[musicianmom]

I did, and now I'm stuck with a really nice house in a place I don't want to live, but because I'm 5 minutes over the line in the wrong school district, selling will be nearly impossible without losing a lot of money (I bought before the crash). The market has come back in the county 5 minutes away, but not here where the schools are worse.

[Lisbeth]

Yes, because PS is already not going to ever be an option. We have firm philosophical opposition to PS.

[The Girls' Mom]

Yes, I would.  When we moved to Fort Worth, we knew for a fact that we wouldn't send the kids to public school there, ever.  I also would really, really prefer not to send my kids to public school where we currently live either. 

[ScoutTN]

Yes, we live in such a place now, so it would not be a change. If we couldn't homeschool, we would try for private school.

PS would be a last resort and we would have to move to another county.

[StaceyinLA]

Did it 17 years ago. At that point, we were already home schooling and knew it would be for the long haul. It was, all the kids have graduated from home schooling and are fairly productive adults (thus far), and I'd do it all over again if given the chance.

[Night Elf]

I wouldn't for fear it would affect the resale of the house. But I was worried about resale from the day we signed the papers. I don't view this as our forever home.

[catz]

I think it should be considered as many things should be when considering resale value of a home. And unfortunately, sometimes life hands you the unexpected. I know more than one homeschooling family that had every intention of homeschooling through high school but had to enroll a child in school for one reason or another. So it would not need to be a perfect school. It would at least need to be decent enough not to be dropping property values in that area.

[Amira]

Yes, we've done that several times when we've gone overseas to places where the public school weren't an option because of no support for non-Russian speakers, but we couldn't afford a private, English-language school. Homeschooling was the only choice.

 

We've moved many times within the US and I never paid any attention to the public schools when we were deciding where to live. But those were always temporary moves and we were renting, except for one house we built when the boys were just 3 and 1 and I wasn't even thinking about the schools. If we were buying a house to live in for a long time in the US, I wouldn't want homeschooling to be absolutely the only option. I like to have choices. But I probably think there are more good public education choices in the US than some homeschoolers do.

[displace]

Just another vote for at least a decent school district in case of extenuating circumstances. We were PS oriented until we needed/decided to hs. We plan on using PS in the future if possible. I would choose different things when looking for a PS in the future besides grades from websites or the state though. I would look for small schools with still good marks.

[shawthorne44]

We are moving to an area where it is not an option.  I actually consider that a bonus.  The public schools reached a low point a few years ago and lots of people that wouldn't otherwise homeschool were practically forced into.  Now it seems to have a very active and inclusive and academic homeschool community, particularly for the small population.  

 

[lllll]

..

[MysteryJen]

We did. But in the last 10 years, the district has added many new options, such as charter schools and focus programs. So for people who care there are new options. Houses are now selling much better in our neighborhood.

 

This is still an average district with affordable homes. The best districts have shockingly unaffordable homes

[Reefgazer]

As long as you have the option of moving elsewhere if things go downhill and you need a public school option, you could tell yourself that no decision is irreversible.  My way of saying 'go for it', I guess.  :)

[fairfarmhand]

yup. that's where I live.

 

If things got beyond me, we'd probably move. As it is, the ps has an online option that actually works quite well for my oldest, so it's the best of both worlds.

[Crimson Wife]

When we were househunting in 2009, we looked at some really tiny, in major need of updating homes in the better districts but decided the price premium for the schools wasn't worth it. Yes, in theory you get the money back when you go to sell but who knows what the situation is going to be in the future. Families are much smaller than they used to be and a childless or even single-child couple may not care about the PS.

 

As it turns out, I learned from the head of the Early Intervention preschool that my little one attended that my district actually has a BETTER autism program than the ones in the more chi-chi neighboring towns (general ed is a different story). We unknowingly bought into the right district in the area for the one kid who goes to PS.

[EmilyGF]

We live in a neighborhood with a 92% poverty rate at the neighborhood school. I never thought I would consider sending my children there, but I did look into sending my children there this year because of our baby's health problems. 

 

I don't think I would move into a neighborhood where my children would be in physical danger at school unless all the violence was bussed in. The school near us seems to have discipline under control. However, it would not have been a challenge for my children except socially (they would have doubled the population of white kids at school). 

 

Emily

[MistiDelaney]

We did it.  Group schooling is never an option, despite what some family members no doubt think.

[itsheresomewhere]

No. No ones knows what might in the future and I would like a back up option.

[umsami]

We have tried to avoid that more so for home values, rather than the actual schools.

 

It can be very hard to sell a home in an area with crappy schools.

[Liz CA]

I used to live in a remote area where a trip to the nearest school would have been a 2 hour round trip. They also closed down schools in the district for lack of funding and students. This is how we got into homeschooling among other considerations.

[Farrar]

When we bought our house, ps was not an option in my mind. That has changed. If I needed the boys to go to school, there would be options. But buying and staying here has been an amazing investment and opened up our choices tremendously. We have more space than many of our friends who bought with school in mind.

[Arcadia]

If schools are not an option because of frequent lockdowns and criminal records are higher than average than no way. I have 3 elementary schools walking distance from my home. One had a lockdown and frequent petty thefts by the older students. Another one has the principal arrested for drugs pedaling.

My community does values education but some are tired of the school board politics, most neighbors kids are in private schools.

[redsquirrel]

No, I wouldn't. To me, it is about more than the quality of the schools. First of all, I like that the schools here are an option just in case. I don't ever want to be homeschooling my kids, but feeling like I have 'no choice' but to do it. That is never acceptable to me. My eldest boy is now off to public high school, something I never thought would happen. But, I am glad that the local high school has strong academics, is safe and in good repair.

 

Secondly, I like living in a place that values its schools and its children enough that we are willing to make sure the schools are good for all families. Good schools mean good jobs and that means the sort of community in which I want to live. A state or a district that starves its public schools of funding, doesn't pay its teachers a reasonable wages, isn't going to be building the sort of community that attracts the the jobs and people I want to be around.

 

 

eta: I live in a place where the schools as a whole are excellent. It is one of the benefits of living in a college town. Even our 'worst' elementary school is prob better than many other schools. We did buy in the 'worst' district in town because we knew it was unlikely we would be using the school and it meant we got a much bigger house than we would have had we purchased solely based on elementary test grades. But I have plenty of friends whose kids attended the school and they adore it. We only have one public high school and I have no concerns about it.

[Elisabet1]

I am in a place where PS is not an option. Technically, we have them. But there is no way I would ever allow my children to attend again. I also avoid allowing my children to spend time with public schoolers here. Half my neighborhood private schools so I know I am not the only one who feels this way. And I am not overstating it. My daughter was seriously sexually harassed. Gay kids are tasseled and otherwise hurt and bullied. The academics are non-existent. Administration is trash. I would rather my children not be schooled at all than go to school at our local schools. Of course, going to our local schools is much like being not schooled at all, just with all the trash thrown in. Kids with IEPS, like kids with HFA, are not welcome here. The principals will say it to your face when you try to enroll. I have heard it many times through the years. If a teacher does not want your child with HFA, the principals claim they have that right and then your child is not allowed to have that class. And the ECs won't allow kids with HFA. It is not uncommon for a child with HFA to spend their days locked in solitary confinement, even being ignored for meals. My son used to come home with hand shaped bruises, but CPS does not investigate public schools. Abuse is acceptable there. 

 

By the way, we live in a wealthy district, but the parents are generally too busy with their images to really look at what the schools are doing. And those who really care about their children won't send them. Unless they are a sports kids. The jocks get royal treatment.

[J-rap]

If the benefits/advantages seemed to be really great (not just financially, but for the well-being of the kids), then sure!

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

We did. We needed to buy something super cheap. Even the good schools here are not great. If a crappy school district meant we could afford the mortgage, that's how that was going to be. My kids were 4 and 1 at the time and we knew we would be homeschooling. We moved from a very good area, but even there, the school didn't impress us. The parents of school kids weren't pleased. 

It's ok. The schools aren't really a factor as much as the area is poverty stricken and run down. Not dangerous, but no amenities to speak of. The parks are few and in disrepair. There are few businesses, and those are small. No sidewalks. Roads are in poor condition. There is no one for my kids to play with. 

If anything, having a poor schools has strengthened our resolve to stick with homeschooling. Knowing that it's off the table has made us more dedicated to making this work. Not that I wasn't dedicated before, but if there was a nice, shiny new school down the street, I might be tempted to fantasize a bit about sending them and maybe not try as hard. The reality is that we homeschool for reasons unrelated to the specific public schools in our neighborhood. It's not relevant. But it's good to know that I won't be compromising my better judgement because it might be easier on me. 

 

ETA: I painted a negative picture of our neighborhood. It isn't all bad. Our house is adorable and well suited to us. We have a nice back yard. We have had few problems with our neighbors. We live on the edge of town, across the small street is 40 acres of undeveloped public land. My kids can run and explore the meadows to their heart's content. People here are generally quite friendly once you've been here a while. It's not a bad place to live. 

[Farrar]

I wanted to add... I get it from a home values standpoint, but that really depends on the market. In our neighborhood, schools are simply not a major driver of home prices and in fact, I'd guess that they play almost no role at all. So it depends on where you are.

[shawthorne44]

Wow, Elisabet1, that sounds horrible.  And, it never occurred to me but, yeah, CPS doesn't seem to investigate schools.  Seems like it crossed into criminal, although I'm not an expert.  

[MotherGoose]

Edited: sorry I realized what I wrote was really confusing and I dont have time to fix.

[Katy]

We always choose the best school district we can afford because we know we're likely to move every 2-3 years.  But if you're buying a forever home than no one will care about resale value until your heirs need to make decisions. I'd definitely not mind being in a bad school district in that case.

[shawthorne44]

I've heard the resale value argument and I never understood it.  It makes sense to me to avoid buying in a declining neighborhood for whatever reason.  But, if the only problem is that the school district isn't good, but it isn't getting any worse, then your sale price would be at a discount both when you bought it and when you sold it.  So, if you weren't sending kids to public school then you'd have a nicer or a cheaper home with no downside.  

 

Also, at least where I live, schools are largely funded by property taxes.  There are some nice public school areas nearby, and they also come with 5-digit property taxes on houses that aren't obscenely large.  

 

[TranquilMind]

I've always taken hs one year at a time (my kids have never been in school and are young) and have liked living in a "good" school district and having ps as an option if necessary. I have no plans to put them in PS, and actually have thought more about private school should that become necessary. However, we are thinking about moving into the next county, where land is cheaper, and we will actually be closer to town because we won't be at the end of long country roads. One thing that stops me though is that there is NO way my kids could go to the public schools there. Letting go of that safety net makes me a little nervous...what do you think? Have you done it?

No, because school system is very important to resale value.  I've never used the systems we have lived in, but it was always a factor both to me, and to our buyers when we sold. 

[redsquirrel]

Wow, Elisabet1, that sounds horrible.  And, it never occurred to me but, yeah, CPS doesn't seem to investigate schools.  Seems like it crossed into criminal, although I'm not an expert.  

 

At least in my state, NY, CPS can only investigate if a child is in danger from a parent, a parental substitute (think live in boyfriend or step-parent) or a family member in a caretaking role. The person reported also has to be over the age of 18. So, step father is abusive towards the kids, then CPS has jurisdiction. It can be dealt with in family court. If guy across the street hits the kids then it is a police matter and handled by the criminal courts.

 

Sometimes the crimes of family members are handled by BOTH family court and criminal court. Family court does not have the possibility of jail, probation etc. Sometimes someone does something that is both a CPS and criminal matter because what has happened has risen to the level of possibly  having a punitive result.

 

If a teacher is abusive towards the children CPS does not handle it because it is not a family court matter. It is handled by the police and the criminal court system. If a child is coming home from school with hand shaped bruises then a report would be made to the police and charges pressed. It would be handled like any other assault by an unrelated person. There is also the possibility of civil charges and suing the school, but that requires a lawyer to take on the case.

[Peaceful Isle]

I don't worry about it because it is not a option for us. 

 

 

[Tess in the Burbs]

My dh is more adamant about homeschooling than I am.  That said, I wouldn't ever put my kids in PS.  Even if I died DH would have another plan.  private school, online homeschool classes, private tutor.  He would just never send them.  So we have never bought or rented anywhere that PS influenced our choices.  We live where we want.  As for you going year by year....we now have so many options!!!  If you decide change needs to happen there are plenty of online options available these days in many different formats that I am sure something would work well instead of PS

[foxbridgeacademy]

If it were just DS I had to consider then absolutely, it is unlikely that he will ever go to PS again.  DD on the other hand likes to "try" PS every year (lasts about 2 weeks) so she would feel caged in if she didn't have the option.  If the financial difference was significant then she'd just have to deal. 

[Gentlemommy]

If it meant we could buy acreage and build our farm, sure. We have no plans on sending the kids to school. We would do whatever it took to fulfill their needs/wants while homeschooling, be it educational, social, physical, ECT.

[ksr5377]

I get this too.  We're in a city.  The neighborhoods where 1800 square feet cost upwards of $400,000 and the neighborhoods where the same square footage is under $80,000 all have crappy schools.  Unless we want to move to the suburbs the only 'good' schools are private.

I wanted to add... I get it from a home values standpoint, but that really depends on the market. In our neighborhood, schools are simply not a major driver of home prices and in fact, I'd guess that they play almost no role at all. So it depends on where you are.

 

[LLMom]

It would be a consideration for me.  I wished I would have thought when we moved to our first house.  

[applethyme]

We live in a rural area where the schools are horrendous.  Teachers from nearby areas encourage me to continue to homeschool.  The gifted and talented program coordinator from the next town over told me the best thing I could do for my children is to keep them out of the schools here.  I use this as incentive to homeschool.  On days when I want to throw in the towel I keep going.  On the up side we live in a very pretty area, the houses are affordable and we are within driving distance of lots of very great educational opportunities.