Why you chose where you live....?

Question

I know that this may seem like an odd question, but the first thing my husband and I looked at when purchasing our home and deciding where we wanted to live was the school district and what the schools had to offer our children. Now, I know alot of homeschoolers say they homeschool because the schools in their area are horrible or unsafe... well, I just don't know why someone would choose a home, a place to raise their family in an area that doesn't offer a good school... so what made you decide where you wanted to live? If schools weren't a deciding factor, then what was?

Answer 1

We chose where we live because it is near both of our parents and my husband's job.  We live in a great neighborhood, with a great school district.  But no public school classroom can provide my children with a better educational experience than I can provide them at home.

Here's a comparison:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

You may also want to check out these statistics:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Answer 2

Well, we were already homeschooling when we moved to our new house two months ago, so of course, schools weren't a factor in THAT decision.

In our first home, we didn't have kids (and didn't think we would), so the school district didn't matter then, either.  Not that the school's where we lived were bad - that wasn't really even a factor in our decision to homeschool.

Our older son went to the local PS until half-way through 2nd grade.  That's when we realized the school didn't have a program for gifted kids like him, so we decided to bring him home so he could work at his own pace.  He should graduate a year and a half ahead of his peers.  The younger one is actually behind his peers in math, but ahead in reading, so homeschooling has allowed him to work at his own pace, too.

Honestly, if you ask 100 homeschoolers why they homeschool, you'll probably get 100 different answers.

Answer 3

When I chose my home, I did base it on the school zoning.  I looked for home for more than a year to ensure that I found a home that my family was satisfied with, but also where I knew that they would be able to attend a good school. I live in Florida and we have a choice of public, private, and magnet school. I chose to keep my children in public schools and the area I live in is a great neighborhood, it's accessible to everything I need, and my children are in excellent schools.  They both are straight A Students and enjoy the neighbor hood. My oldest has attended PS her entire life and will graduate with high honors and her first year of college under her belt. My youngest is in the PS system as well and will graduate two years early where he is right now.  I believe they are well rounded and it is very possible to find a good school and home in the area you want, it just determines how patient you are with looking.  Looking for a home is difficult, but i strongly believe that children need to be in school for social learning and life experience and when I purchased my home I did base it on the school zoning(primary concern), but when I found the right zoning area I waited for a house that was what i wanted.  I want to say  I have nothing against home schooling but  I will say that it's not only a teacher's job to teach our chlidren, we have to be avtively involved. The pace in PS is fast, however you can guide and prep your children with what they need by helping at home as well.

Answer 4

Our school district is one of the 'best' in the state. But in hindsight, the qualities that make it the best are not in line with our standards. I'd actually LOVE the high schools, if there were maybe half as many students (ten to twelve rather than 20 to 30). They aren't generally unsafe (although my son was bullied to the point of needing medical care) and they aren't substandard (although they do not have the faculty and curricula to help my autistic daughter to the best of her ability)  They have great standardized test scores, but that usually reflects a school's emphasis on teaching to the test.

We live in a college town, and chose to stay here because the atmosphere of diversity, interest in learning throughout all ages, and opportunity for personal growth is much higher than our hometowns or areas in which my husband had job offers.

If you would honestly like to read more about why people 'choose' unsafe places to live, you should read a book called "The Children of Room E4" at

http://www.amazon.com/Children-Room-E4-A...

There is an extensive section on racism in the housing market, as well as the despair and unending loop of poverty. A child is much better served being homeschooled by a parent who will bust their butts ensuring an appropriate education, than being stuck in the inner city pogroms that often exist to corral the so-called lower classes.

Answer 5

We chose to live where we do because of the employment my husband has.  

It would not matter where I lived, I would homeschool.  I believe God told me to train up my children in the way they should go and I cannot trust the public school system to train my children in the way they should go, because they just won't do it.

Answer 6

if it was a good neighborhood~if the house was what i was looking for~was it close to most everything~i don't like to drive far

Answer 7

FWIW, we were already HS'ing when we moved out of state.  We chose to purchase a home in the district of our choice for two reasons:  one, the resale value of the home and two, in case we ever needed to use the PS services.

We happened to choose a district that's in the top ten in the state.  We are right on the border of our district, and the neighboring "city" district is HORRID.  There is another suburban district on the other side of the city that is also in the top ten, but their homes were overpriced and it was too far from DH's work (he's never lived more than 4 miles from work).

When we purchased our first home, we were newly married and checking out a school district was the farthest thing on our minds.  We just wanted a home.  We did pick a suburban district that time also.  We had no idea that 5 yrs later we'd have a child, who at 4, was labeled profoundly gifted.  Guess what?  The school district didn't have a gifted program (unless you count a math pullout program) and the entire state does not allow a child to skip over Kindergarten in order to be placed appropriately.

Just because you "hear" or research that a district is good, safe, has great teachers, or otherwise, doesn't mean that's what happens IRL.  So many kids have various needs (my own two kids are completely opposite) that even the best districts can't always help certain children.  Gifted and Special Ed children (where mine fall) are usually the ones "left out" in one way or another.  Districts can look great as far as test scores, money, teacher experience, etc., but IRL when planning IEP's or other accomodations, or working with a 504 plan or some sort of acute or chronic conditions, but IRL they may be horrid at working with these situations.

You have to remember, too, that not everyone can afford to live where they want to.  What about single parents who have to rent, or families who can only find a decent home (size, price, etc) in a "poor" school district.  There is also the rural issue.  Many families I know, since we live in an agricultural area, only have one choice of district if it's the only one in the county.  Many kids are bussed to a different county.

So yes, HS'ing parents still may look at the school district, but that doesn't mean that just b/c we find a "good" one we are able to use it.

Answer 8

Not everyone is as blessed as you seem to be.



The areas with the best schools here have great 2 BR homes that rent for around 1500 a month. I can't afford that. We had major damage to the home we were living in during Katrina. What's worse is the rents in that area sky rocketed.

My home is a 2 BR trailer that i get for a little over 400 a month. My husband makes about 600 for 2 weeks and I make about 250 a week (on a good week). Factor in electricity, gas to and from work (he works over 50 miles away), internet (for my work), Car insurance, Health insurance (neither job provides it), and groceries and I can't afford to live here.  

The schools in this area (at least the one my kids are supposed to go to) are blue ribbon schools! They still couldn't teach my daughter to subtract and she's nobodies fool. My daughter is smart but doesn't get math concepts very well. We brought her home and started using a great math curriculum and lo and behold she can subtract. The teachers just didn't want to take the time to teach her because she was too slow at learning it.

When you chose to home school the school's in the area are no longer a deciding factor on where you live. I can live any where and get my kids a better education than your kids get in a public school! Even if they are the best in the nation they are still failing compared to foreign schools.

Answer 9

You can't imagine? You make it sound as though it is our fault for not hunting down a decent public school, rather than the government's job to use our tax money to be certain that ALL public schools are of the best quality. Has it occurred to you that not everyone can choose where they live? I live where the housing is affordable. Meanwhile, none of the schools within a 30 min drive met my standards.

Answer 10

We live in the suburbs of a large metropolitan city.  Both my mom and dad grew up here, and all my extended relatives live in or around the area.  We recently moved to a new neighborhood for many reasons: closer to my dad's work; closer to church; closer to my aging grandparents; closer to my sister's ballet academy, violin/piano/voice teachers,  and friends; but the biggest deciding factor was that my parents really liked the neighborhood and they they found a house that is perfect for them.

   Also, not everyone can afford to choose where they live based on the school district.  I have many friends that grew up in the 'ghetto' that talk about getting a college degree and a good job so they can move away from it.  Sadly, for whatever reason their parents were not able to afford living in a nicer part of town with better schools.  Many people choose where they live based on income.

Answer 11

We chose to live in the city that we do so that we could help my husband's parents through an extended medical situation with his grandmother.  In the state we moved from (CA), our son went to an accelerated private school; we never would have thought of putting him in the public schools where we lived.  

When we moved to our current location (OK), we were shocked to find out how poor the schools actually are.  The elementary schools are fairly good, but once 5th-6th grade hits - pretty much anywhere in the area - schools decline sharply.

Unfortunately, throughout our region, sports are considered more important than academics.  Football is king, the other sports are close behind, and academics kind of works its way in wherever it fits.  We have schools - many of them - that hold kids back a grade (or two) in elementary, not for remediation, but to "groom" them for varsity sports.  The parents willingly allow this to happen.

Even if my son didn't have needs that are difficult to meet in a classroom - which he does - I would likely still homeschool him.  Oklahoma has very strict age-grade correlation regulations - whatever age you are by Sept. 1, that's the grade you're in, no matter what.  There are ways to get around this, but they're almost not worth it.  My son is 3-4 years above grade level (or more) in a lot of subjects, and he learns best in a small group or one-on-one environment.  He loves to research, read, listen, and learn on a deeper level than a lot of kids his age, and most classrooms can't provide a curriculum that will challenge him.

We moved here to help family members through a crisis situation; we stay because now, our lives are here.  I don't homeschool my son because his school district is unsafe - though it is mediocre - I homeschool him because I can offer him the education that he needs.

Some kids thrive in a school situation, and some thrive at home.  Our job as their parents is to give them what they need, whatever that might be.

Answer 12

Sometimes people don't have a choice :p  Income is a big deciding factor, I'm sure.

My husband is military and so we have very little choice.  We usually choose to live on-base because it's free and safe.  

And then that brings us to money again.  Where we live right now, off of a beautiful and famous California bay, there are three choices off-base.  In the country (but that would entail a long drive to his work, so that's out).  In the upscale part of town (which is right where he works but isn't *really* a choice because we could never afford it).  In "the hood," rife with gang activity (which we *could* afford).  I'd rather live in free military housing.  Schools, good or bad, do not factor into the equation at all.

When he retires and we will have a choice, we will move back to Tucson AZ.  I don't care one bit whether the schools are good or not, or what they have to offer us.  Since we've homeschooled, we have not looked to the public schools for assistance.  What I do look for is a large, active, inclusive homeschool group; relaxed homeschooling policies; a large VA facility; job opportunities; friendly people; and, wide open spaces, all of which Tucson has.

Answer 13

A lot of people can't afford to move to an area with a great school... many cannot afford to buy a house and have to live where the rent is cheapest.

I was in that category for years.  Many people also have to live in an area because of their job.

Answer 14

Several things. We chose somewhere that was growing so we should make a profit on our home. Price, neighborhood.

We checked the schools in all these areas and then picked a home.

Answer 15

Schools were number one.  Quality of life was second.  (The people in the area volunteer a lot, there are a lot of community activities, hiking trails etc).  Finally, it was the beauty of the area.  I live in the San Juan Islands.  It's stunning and very connecting to nature.

Answer 16

Actually, we were told our house was in another school district, one that has an excellent gifted program. The bus does drive right past our house, and picks up the kids on the other side of the street, just not on our side, we are the dividing line. URG!

We thought we were going to HS even if we were in the 'better' district but it would be nice to actually have the option to send our kids to PS if we thought that was an ok option.

My husband was just notified of a job in another state. The first thing we looked at were the HS laws. They are not freindly enough for us so he wont even consider the job. the HS law will always be the first thing we look for from now on.