I'm one of the small-house-in-PG posters. The assumption that you will get your money back in the end if you invest your half a million in a house doesn't seem iron clad anymore, anyway. At one point my house was way under water and I couldn't move. I have lost any feeling of financial security linked to real estate. I would rather pay for exactly what I want when I need it, if I can make it work financially. Right now what I need is education, so that is what we pay for. I realize my distrust of real estate may bite me in the butt financially one day, but if it does it will only be in the sense that, from a comfortable retirement I might look back and say "we might have been rich..." I can live with that.

I'm the same as two others in this thread. My employer is in PG. My DH's employer is in PG. I do not drive well. My DH hates to drive. Plus commuting sucks precious family time away from us and adds stress. There is a perfectly good private school here and the housing is cheap. Seemed like a no-brainer to choose PG and the private. Plus, I really don't see any advantage to going to a good public in an economically segregated neighborhood. If the total cost is the same (and giving the cost of housing for the good school neighborhoods and the health and transportation costs associated with the commute, this is easy to arrange), it is very similar to go to a private or to an economically-segregated public.

Anonymous wrote:I can either invest half a mil in my son's education directly, or through the purchase of a house. Either way, costs about half a million around here. We decided to buy the education, and we live in a little house in PG county. Works well for us.

I've found my twin!!! Exactly. We also live in a little house bought new for less than $400k in PG county and pay private. We're very happy with our decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Your parents paid a lot to live in the right school district. Real estate in the top performing DMV clusters is 800K plus.

Exactly. And there ain't no financial aid for housing…

Right, but you're also never getting that money back (unlike with real estate in the better school districts in this area).

Yep -- And I completely understand why someone would choose the great school district. But for me, the number one priority was finding the right school environment, and I didn't want to risk being trapped in a house I could barely afford, needing to sell before we could switch schools. No thanks. Everybody makes different choices.

We sent our child to our "great" neighborhood ES -- the only
problem was, it was not great, not even close to being good - for our child or for us. Being at the right private school for our child and family is worth the $. And yes, we have calculated the full cost.

We are paying for private because doing so allows us to live in a neighborhood that works for us every other way. Living in a good school district would mean a 45 minute commute for each of us each day, vs the 5 minute commutes we now have. We also could never find a house of the type we like in the better school districts. We can afford the cost of private, even though we are aware that we are never getting the cost back, but of course, yes we could use that money for other things. We weighed things. It works for us.

I went to public school and H/P/Y like a PP, but I can still see an argument for private for us. Private is also a nicer fit for our kids, although I am 100% aware a good education can be had at many public schools.

And while I was not necessarily less prepared than my boarding school peers, public school did not prepare me socially for these places the way an elite private would have. Something else to consider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Your parents paid a lot to live in the right school district. Real estate in the top performing DMV clusters is 800K plus.

Exactly. And there ain't no financial aid for housing…

Right, but you're also never getting that money back (unlike with real estate in the better school districts in this area).

OP again. I certainly decided to prioritize education over other things, but maybe I didn't think it would turn out this way. For example, I realize I've spent $500K, but I don't even have that much saved for retirement. I can afford it (meaning I paid for the school myself without financial aid, and I'm a single mom). But I could have used the money in different ways. I probably spent too much looking back.

The whole system has gone mad. My friend has his son in a private out of state college and he says that he spends 75K a year on that child. CRAZY.

Anonymous wrote:^^ Your parents paid a lot to live in the right school district. Real estate in the top performing DMV clusters is 800K plus.

Exactly. And there ain't no financial aid for housing…

I can either invest half a mil in my son's education directly, or through the purchase of a house. Either way, costs about half a million around here. We decided to buy the education, and we live in a little house in PG county. Works well for us.

^^ Your parents paid a lot to live in the right school district. Real estate in the top performing DMV clusters is 800K plus.

I don't understand this. Why not send your kids to a great public? I went to one, ended up at H/P/Y, and it was apparent that my classmates who attended the country's most elite private schools (Andover, the DC and NYC schools, etc) were no better prepared and in some cases behind. Meanwhile, my parents paid nothing and in fact could count the local high school's great performance as part of their property value.

Not to burst your bubble, but i would presume most who chose to look at an indep education have calculated the cost of 12 or 13 yrs and have decided this is worth it. We did, and thought about it a few yrs ahead- we are paying ourselves, no family helping us so it was a financial and realistic decision.

Calculate the cost of the school from start to finish in today's dollars. So add up what that preschool costs for 1-2 years, then what your preferred elementary school will cost, then high school. I just did that with my son (just starting 11th grade). I have spent half a million dollars.