We are foreigners and came to the US a couple of years before DC1 was born. We rented equidistant to our workplaces. After trouble with our area daycares, we realized the public school nearby wasn't what we wanted either. We were recommended a preschool in Bethesda, which led us to do research on MCPS schools, and since one of us worked in Bethesda, we decided to move there, for the preschool then the public schools. We could barely afford the cheapest tiny old house on the market there at the time.

DC1 is now in college, and the two MCPS school clusters that he's attended in the Bethesda area (BCC and WJ) have served him well. Younger kids have also benefited from their programs.

Not saying that MCPS doesn't have issues - currently BCC high school has had multiple security problems in the last year. But academically, it's what we want for our kids, and socially, there are enough international and multicultural students that our family doesn't feel out of place. There is some economic diversity.

I'm a private school product and was raised in a socio-economic bubble. Even though Bethesda is a tony suburb, if kids attend the public schools, it's not nearly a bubble like the one I grew up in, and I think it does my kids a world of good.

Honestly? I was thinking about this topic before I was ever married or pregnant. Setting down roots was important to me and I wanted to settle in a place with good school options.

My parents had instructed me from childhood about the benefits of being a long term planner, so it was one of the things that went into buying my home as a single woman before I was even married.

I bought my first home at 26 and chose it based upon the school district reputation because I liked the area and wanted to set down roots.

Once I met my then-boyfriend and now husband, it was a topic of conversation after we decided on becoming engaged. After we married I sold my first house and we bought our home together in the same area.

Although the public schools in MoCo are well regarded, we decided on private schools for our children, as we are both concerned about violence and disorder in the public schools.

Our daughter starts Pre-K at a private Catholic school in the fall and I feel good about our choice.

We thought about it when buying our house, years before DC arrived. That seems pretty common among people we know.

We were very careful to buy a house well inside (not in a fringe area) of a good school’s catchment area. When school redistricting happens, we should still be fine.

When are first kid was one. Picked a neighborhood based on the schools. Over time the schools deteriorated. Kids made it through OK but if doing it now, would choose a neighborhood where we had enough for private school. Public schools are all, at least in metropolitan areas going downhill rapidly if they have not already reached bottom.

When we bought our house. I asked questions about the schools and programs and did some research on the schools in the neighborhoods we were looking at. We had just got engaged and there were no kids but we knew we wanted kids. We didn’t want to move once we had a child so it made sense to buy in an area with good schools.

We stared thinking about it when I was pregnant.

Move to burbs with better schools or stay in DC.

Luck was on our side and we did well in the lottery. But if not then we had plan B and C.

IMO, it’s never too early to think about schools

I would do it as soon as you are able and when the market is right. Give yourself that flexibility. But start now, and honestly, the thing that you need to look at is high schools. I get that that is wild to think about with an infant, but the sooner you can settle into a location that you won't need to move from, the better chance of not having to uproot the kid from friends and things the kid knows.

I’m the previous poster. Sorry, I misread your question. Forget my comments on saving for private school. If you are asking about when to start thinking about public school districts, it is never too early. If you are looking to buy a home in a few years, start thinking about it now. Keep in mind, that schools can change a lot in just a few years, but I would certainly start paying attention to good public school districts now!

We initially bought our townhome to be close to my sister. Once we had our second child, we purchased a SFH in Alexandria. At the time, my mom thought we were making a terrible decision because of the schools. We decided when we purchased the home that we would start preparing for all cases. If the public schools improved, we would stick with them. If not, we agreed that we would either sell the home and move or we would enroll the kids in private school. We started saving for private school at that time. My kids were one and three. We did end up sending the kids to private (personal choice….we know plenty of families who have decided to send their kids to the public schools) and were able to afford it because we planned ahead. The sooner you start saving, the better! If you don’t end up sending your kids to private, you will have a nice nest egg for whatever!

Save your money for private school. The public schools are so mid (that’s teen talk for mediocre).

We didn’t give it much thought. When our DS was born we lived in a 2 bedroom condo. If we would have stayed there he would have gone to the local ES. We found a SFH we could afford and he went to that community’s ES. That’s about it. When we moved the next time it was to a neighborhood zoned for the ES where my DW works and we decided to pupil place to the one where I worked simply because she didn’t want to teach the same grade level that our DS was in.

DS is still an infant, so it seems a bit premature. But it will take us a few years to get our finances in order to buy in a district we are happy with, so some research now feels necessary. When did you start thinking about public school districts and what were the most important factors you considered? How did the process change as your DC got closer to kindergarten?