Where to live in America or the world that's cheap with excellent schools?
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Anonymous
There are balances to be had though. At a certain size, all cities have an educated class of lawyers, doctors, academics, etc. They will tend to cluster in certain neighborhoods and usually the public schools in those neighborhoods will be better because these families will invest in them. Often it will wind up being a close-in suburb, which gets you out of the urban school district and allows people to vote for higher taxes for local schools. But the cost of living for such a place is going to be wildly different between cities like San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, or Indianapolis. Especially if you are coming to a city like St. Louis or Indianapolis from NYC, the cost of housing is going to feel like a huge discount. Plus OP currently has all kids in NYC privates -- shifting to the very best public schools in Indianapolis might get them a comparable education while eliminating private school tuition as a line item in their budget. So you are correct that good schools always cost more money, but if you are willing to get out of the most expensive, competitive urban areas in the country, you can still find strong schools in areas that are a significant discount over NYC cost of living. The main thing you will give up is NYC itself -- the museums, restaurants, shopping, center-of-everything vibe, walkability, excitement, etc. Those are worth a lot! But if your top priority in life right now is educating your children and not feeling super stressed, giving up MoMa, the subway, and theater might not feel like a huge loss. |
Anonymous
| Minnesota. |
Anonymous
Pittsburgh |
Anonymous
kids are elementary and middle weather i am neutral. Probably not freezing and less interested in midwest than coasts or nearish to coast. |
Anonymous
| op - would like to hear more about northern va and philly burbs. where there has really good schools? am not super familiar with the areas. |
Anonymous
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Chicago suburbs
Houses in my neighborhood are around $450k, fantastic schools, easy access to everything in Chicagoland. Im a single mom of 2 kids making $130k and we are doing great- i own a nice home, kids are in awesome schools, great network of friends, neighborhood/community is awesome. |
Anonymous
Pp here adding my taxes are $7k |
Anonymous
| You move to a big college town in a cheap area and send your kids to the school that all the professors and administrators send their kids to. |
Anonymous
In Philly burbs, look along the Main Line to the west of the city. The closer in suburbs like Bryn Mawr are still quite pricy, but they do get more affordable the further out you go. There are also lots of universities along that line (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Villanova) which results in lots of academics living in these neighborhoods, which contributes to strong schools. The main obstacle in these neighborhoods will be taxes. Housing is also pricier than it used to be, but not anywhere near as bad as NYC and the public schools are good, so it would still be an improvement for you. Also, if you stayed at your current job, the commute from Main Line burbs into Philly and then up to NYC is really not that bad and you could likely still do it once or twice a week if your spouse can handle the kids on those days. In NoVa, you're looking at a more suburban lifestyle, definitely more car centric, as the parts of NoVa with strong schools do not tend to be the parts with the best public transit. For example, Alexandria, Clarendon, and Rosslyn are all fairly walkable and have convenient metro stops, but that's not where I'd want to send my kids to school (especially MS and HS). Instead, I'd look at Falls Church City (would be my top choice because of the combo of metro accessibility, a walkable little downtown, and good schools). After FCC, I'd look at Fairfax, Loudon, and Arlington, in that order. But you need to look at specific school pyramids, some are better than others. As with Philly, the further you get from DC the more affordable it is, and you can still find good schools. But also, in VA it gets more Trumpy the further out you go -- coming from NYC you need to be aware of that and figure out what your comfort level is. Some more compare and contrast: Philly burbs will have older housing stock, lots more new builds in NoVa (I personally prefer older housing stock but some don't, it's just a key difference you should be aware of). Also I think NoVa burbs tend to have more and better county amenities than the Main Line suburbs, in terms of things like rec centers, public pools, etc., but that might have changed in recent years -- I think the NoVa parks, hiking, rec options, etc. are really, really good compared to other places. Property taxes definitely higher in PA but NoVa finds ways to get you, good schools and amenities are never free. But compared to NYC it will still feel like a bargain. Both have good access to major cities with good museums, dining, major league sports, and other entertainment, obviously. |
Anonymous
What is the suburb? Not OP but we are interested in making a similar move from DC in the next few years and this is exactly what we're looking for. |
Anonymous
Look at Mount Prospect, Niles, Glenview, Des Plaines, Morton Grove. |
Anonymous
Pittsburgh is the pitts. |
Anonymous
That's not true look at PA school tax. Some of the most expensive in the nation and the public schools aren't that good at all. It's a total myth that higher taxes=better schools. |
Anonymous
This is one hidden gem, but another, with even better housing prices and great schools, is Detroit Michigan! |
Anonymous
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North Shore suburbs of Chicago
Cleveland suburbs, specifically Avon Lake, Orange, Hudson and similar Columbus suburbs, specifically Upper Arlington Detroit suburbs, specifically Bloomfield Hills |