So much does distance matter?
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Anonymous
| Our kid loves their new school but it's really far from home and the new friends they're meeting also live really far. Already starting to feel that this might be an issue (which we knew of course coming in but it seems more real now). How big of a deal is this in high school going forward? Kid.is about 1.5 years from being able to drive |
Anonymous
It bothers some people and others not at all. Personally, I would hate it for my kids and our family because I would not get to know their friends and would have less involvement with the school. Kids will rarely if ever visit your home and you/ your kids will do all of the driving. If that doesn't bother you, it's probably not a big deal. |
Anonymous
| We live about 10 miles from our child's high school but that involves the Beltway and taking the American Legion Bridge. While the distance is a pain for obvious reasons - for us it has been worth it because the quality and benefits of the education she's receiving outweigh the hassle. It gets much easier when your child starts to drive (if they/you are comfortable with the commute). Her day isn't quite as long because she can drive home rather than waiting for the bus. She drives herself to her friends' homes, social activities, etc. so we're not having the shuttle her around as much on the weekends, etc. Her friends are willing to drive to our home on the weekend so there is a little bit more back/forth rather than her always having to go to where the majority of her friends live (near the school). We've made it work and I don't regret sending her to school further away. You just have to grin and bear it and get through it and hopefully where your child is going to school and the academics make it worth the added hassle. |
Anonymous
| How far? If you have to travel over 45 min on highways to get there, that’s a big deal. If it’s within 45 min, I think it’s doable. |
Anonymous
| Any distance you get used to becomes no big deal. |
Anonymous
This is less true when kids get to high school. The fact is, you won't be seeing much of their friends whether they live close or far. And even less of their families. |
Anonymous
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For high school? Not a big deal, especially if the school is a great fit otherwise. Even if they were at a school closer to home, there’s no guarantee their friends wouldn’t live 30-40 minutes in the other direction.
(I went to a high school that was a serious hike and my social life just ended up focusing around the school’s general vicinity. It really wasn’t an issue.) |
Anonymous
| My kids, both in high school, really appreciate the ability to get home from school on their own, which allows them to stay street school or hang out with friends without planning ahead of time. That's related to distance and very important to us. |
Anonymous
| We moved closer to our independent school so that our daughter -- now in middle school -- can walk to school. We had a 30-minute commute prior to that and in the opposite direction of where most of her friends lived. We have an open door policy til 5ish if she has no extracurriculars and have become the house where kids drop by on an impromptu basis. It has made it easier for us as we are not generally driving Monday through Friday and I can start work earlier and be done around 5pm/530pm. We have noticed that most kids will find a friend who lives nearby and the kids will gravitate in small groups before/after extracurriculars, so no worries if that is not your situation. We do far less scheduling than we used to because the kids and parents know they can drop by / pick up from our house. |
Anonymous
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We are an hour (with traffic) maybe 35’ without traffic from DD’s school. Thankfully, there is a bus and she is very good at doing homework on the bus.
After freshman year, we went through the options and she decided to stay at her current school. It doesn’t bother her enough to change schools. |
Anonymous
| Many of the better privates draw from a wide area. Even if one lives in NWDC and attends a school there, one's friends at school could easily live much farther away. |
Anonymous
| There are definite trade-offs. Our high schooler is at a school in DC that’s a great fit but the commute from VA (inside Beltway even) makes for longer days and can be a bit of a grind. We do a combo of driving, and having her take bus or Metro. I would only recommend it if there isn’t a comparable school closer to home or your child has particular needs. |
Anonymous
I think it’s less about the daily commute- which you will figure out and get used to - and more about the social part. I reluctantly drive my kid to friends houses that are too far away, and even on weekends it’s a pain if we have to cross over into Virginia (we are in (Maryland). I wouldn’t do it at all on weekdays and the weekend timing needs to be worked out. But we are trying to juggle the schedules and activities of multiple kids - if I only had one or DH and I could divide and conquer I might have a better attitude about it. |
Anonymous
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No school gives you a "better college outcome" anymore. It's not the 60's.
Your kid is going to need to be near the top of their class with stellar SATs to even have a shot at an Ivy. I would argue this will be easier at Burke than an MPCS school. |
Anonymous
| My kid live five minutes from school and best friends live 35 minutes with no traffic so there is that. |