I'm sure it is much easier to sell your house though in a good school district if you decided to go private and move to a cheaper one than it is to do the opposite.

we lost on both counts -- paid more for a house in a good public school district, but it was a poor fit for our DD (who it turns out needed a smaller class size to flourish). So now we're paying a lot for a house in a neighborhood we are committed to AND a lot for private school -- things can change in ways you cannot anticipate in advance!

I made this decision earlier this year. Lived in a place with a cheap mortgage but longer commute, in a very low-ranked Fairfax school district. (HS was near the bottom of the rankings.) Moved closer in, spent $235K more for a house in a fab North Arlington school boundary and knocked an hour off my total daily commute. Love the neighborhood too. Worth it for us. I'm a proud graduate of a very good public high school district in the Midwest - my ex is a public school grad also. So we're public school boosters, plus I think the house will appreciate by the time my daughter graduates. (plus the mortgage interest deduction helps.)

As a parent of with 2 kids in private school, I say don't do it!! Biggest mistake I ever made. I am just biding my time until they graduate from 8th grade and then it is off to public school. The return on the investment just isn't there.

Whichever school your children attend, it is always nice to live near where the other children at the school live to facilitate interactions between those children outside of school. Children learn from their peer group just as much as they do from academics.

11:51 is right, you'll be sinking $30-$50k a year into private school for 3 or more years.

Better IMO to live in the nicer part of a middling school zone than to live in the bad part of a bad school zone.

Anonymous wrote:PP - I'm not the OP but why are you switching schools for DC3? You moved there for the public school, right? And it was good for 2 / 3 of your kids? I'm just curious because it seems strange that people would tout the public schools and then turn around and send their kids elsewhere.

You really make the best decision you can at the time. And then you adjust as necessary and as you are able. Nothing strange about that.

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts?

We did this analysis and decided to pay $300,000 more for a house in a superior school pyramid rather than go private. Our thinking was such:

-- Private school tuition probably would be roughly $40,000 a year or more for two kids (combined) since we aren't Catholic. From sixth grade until 12. That was $560,000 for those 14 years of tuition payments. That's sunk money.
-- The interest on the $300,000 more we paid for our home is tax-deductible, and the recent performance of the housing market notwithstanding, we are pretty confident our home investment won't lose money (due to the circumstances of our actual home price negotiation).

We also got more house, which is a plus.

Anonymous wrote:I think the question also depends on what you know about your child. Is your child going to thrive in a specific type of school environment that a private offers? Will they thrive in a public? Do you need special education resources? My take on it is you buy into a good school system....it doesn't have to be #1 (like a Langely pyramid) but it should be all around regarded as good or very good. You honestly protect your real estate investment more and if you did need public school for some reason down the line, you got a good one.

Agree with this approach. We live in a great public school district. Did private school for a long time but always wanted public school to be an option. We are now doing public school. In the meantime the value of our house has held up very well throughout the recession, and houses sell quickly in our neighborhood because it is sought after for the schools.

I think the question also depends on what you know about your child. Is your child going to thrive in a specific type of school environment that a private offers? Will they thrive in a public? Do you need special education resources? My take on it is you buy into a good school system....it doesn't have to be #1 (like a Langely pyramid) but it should be all around regarded as good or very good. You honestly protect your real estate investment more and if you did need public school for some reason down the line, you got a good one.

How does your commute factor in? And by "cheaper area," are we talking Fairfax City or Anacostia? Also, it depends on the private school. Is this Sidwell or a small parish school?

I think its important to live in a neighborhood that you like. So start with that.

Anonymous wrote:PP - I'm not the OP but why are you switching schools for DC3? You moved there for the public school, right? And it was good for 2 / 3 of your kids? I'm just curious because it seems strange that people would tout the public schools and then turn around and send their kids elsewhere.

We wanted a smaller school experience for DC#3 and the tuition money is no longer an issue for us. Still love the house and neighborhood.

PP - I'm not the OP but why are you switching schools for DC3? You moved there for the public school, right? And it was good for 2 / 3 of your kids? I'm just curious because it seems strange that people would tout the public schools and then turn around and send their kids elsewhere.

Many years ago we decided on the better neighborhood, better public schools. We figured that we'd rather pay mortgage than private school tuition. Pretty simple. It's worked out great for 2 of our kids and our house has increased in value in the time. We'll send DC#3 to our parish Catholic school.

Any thoughts?