I'm hoping to retire in 5-6 years at which time my kids will be 7 and 8 respectively. In budgeting out a FIRE'd life, its obvious that housing costs are a major factor in whether I'll be able to FIRE. The problem I'm encountering is that every place in a 30 mile radius of where I live (DC) with an excellent school district is like $200K more expensive housing-wise than a place with a mediocre school system.
In "The Two-Income Trap", Elizabeth Warren claims that this is what's making the homes more expensive. The school drives up the neighborhood reputation and parents are willing to work for two paychecks to afford the "good school".
Nurture vs nature author Judith Harris also claims that your kid's friends will have more of an influence on their development than you will. About all you can do is try to choose a good neighborhood/school and hope that that your kid runs with the right posse. Additional research was documented on this hypothesis by Will Smith and Quincy Jones in "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"...
what I don't understand is what make a school "good" or "great" and what makes it "mediocre" or "so-so"? Is it the neighborhood which surrounds the school? Is it the soccer mom's and trophy husbands which are able to pour in countless hours into the PTA? is it the teachers which cannot afford the rent within reasonable proximity to the school and have a 45 min commute? or is it the rich parents who gush money into the athletic programs so each pupil can have their name embroidered on their uniform?
My opinion is the best thing you can do for your kid's education is be there for them and have the time to support them through school.
I would feel really guilty retiring some place with so-so public schools just to allow me to stop working. Has anyone else encountered this problem where they live and have any advice?
E komo mai Hawaii!
Our neighborhood's public school was once again declared the best in the state. Part of it is the parents, but I think a big part of it is motivating the teachers. In this case the teachers get extra pay for advanced degrees, certification to teach/grade AP exams, and extracurricular activities (sports, robot team).
It's been well-known for years that "our school" is desirable by the number of students applying for geographic exceptions. Most of them were granted for the marching band or for the language courses.
I think there are three criteria that most mortal parents can access and compare:
1. The number of AP courses taught in the high school.
2. The % of 9th graders who graduate on time. (In other words, how many kids drop out of school after 8th grade.)
3. The % of seniors who graduate on time.
4. The % of graduates who attend a college.
Whether the school's effect comes from the parents or the teachers, the result should be in the numbers.
If the school doesn't release those numbers well... there's your answer.
I think another big help is math/reading tutoring programs like Kumon/Sylvan.
I am in a similar situation and also looking at Pittsburgh.
I suppose the obvious solution is to move some place cheaper, e.g. a Pittsburgh suburb, but I'm not great at meeting new friends and I'd have to move there after I FIRE'd which would be more disruptive to the kids than moving some place in the surrounding area while I was still working and before they hit kindergarten...
Murrysville. 35 years ago Franklin Regional was a pretty good high school, and one of my old teachers rose to become a hotshot principal. Which would make her... well... gosh I hope she's retired now.