Anonymous wrote:The stereotype is that poor people live in apartments. Section 8.

I know people on Section 8 and they’re not living in apartments.

Anonymous wrote:

Because unfortunately in some people's minds, the following is true:

Apartment (or renting or townhouse) = poor = parents who don't value education = people who make their kid's school worse

Sadly, too many people do make this ridiculous assumption. My son's friend told him he must be poor because our family lives in a townhouse. It's a $700k townhouse that we chose because it was less than 10 years old, has a 2-car garage, and backs to a park. The comment really bothered me, and I'm not proud but I did check property records and found that the friend's family paid the same as we did for their 1950s SFH with a bad kitchen and no garage.

Ha! I remember when we (rented) lived in a townhouse when our kids were little. Our son, probably around 6 at the time, had a friend over who told him that "we were part of the problem of driving down property values in the neighborhood b/c we lived in a townhouse." Neither kid actually knew what it meant; the friend was just parroting what he'd heard his dad say. My son asked me after the play date what property values meant and then told me what his friend said. The next time I saw the kid's mom I let her know that her son was parroting things he'd heard his dad say.

I remember when I was growing up that it took a ton of convincing for my mom to let me play at my friend's apartment. She thought the stereotypical things... apartment = low income, low income = drugs, drugs = full of bad people living there. She never would let me spend the night there.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Toronto, Canada and that is also the attitude here. Living in an apartment or renting is considered a sign that you're character is bad. I live in a house and disagree with this, does anyone have any practical advice for us that wish to dispel this myth?

Are income inequality and student performance outcome gaps as drastic in Canada as they are in the US?

Because unfortunately in some people's minds, the following is true:

Apartment (or renting or townhouse) = poor = parents who don't value education = people who make their kid's school worse

Sadly, too many people do make this ridiculous assumption. My son's friend told him he must be poor because our family lives in a townhouse. It's a $700k townhouse that we chose because it was less than 10 years old, has a 2-car garage, and backs to a park. The comment really bothered me, and I'm not proud but I did check property records and found that the friend's family paid the same as we did for their 1950s SFH with a bad kitchen and no garage.

The apartment mentality does not apply to people living in cities, since most people in cities (at least on the east coast) live in apartments and everyone knows some of them are gorgeous and very expensive.

The mentality OP is referring to is a cruel stereotype about people living in suburban apartments.

I live in Toronto, Canada and that is also the attitude here. Living in an apartment or renting is considered a sign that you're character is bad. I live in a house and disagree with this, does anyone have any practical advice for us that wish to dispel this myth?

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if this is in the wrong place. It seems like in every thread in the MD Public School forum, when a school is mentioned people will tell them to avoid it because there’s kids that live in apartments that attend. Why is this an issue? I’m currently living in an apartment and this is disappointing to know that certain parents wouldn’t want their kid around mine just because of her address.

OP how old is your kid, do you think this is happening, and are you seeing an impact on your kid?

Anonymous wrote:In NYC this is not an issue. Anyone with any sense knows that there’s a huge range of apartment types and quality. In any case, being poor is not a sin.

Exactly. I live in the suburbs and own my home. I have 5 year plans of relocating downtown to an apartment that costs more than my house.

Anonymous wrote:It's not just people in apartments, OP. It's also people who rent.

Good, solid people are supposed to live in single-family-detached houses that they own, in neighborhoods made up of single-family-detached houses, where you get around by driving. Or, anyway, that's the suburban belief. And much of Montgomery County is still a very suburban county.

I think that is changing, though, as young people are both increasingly unable to afford this suburban dream and increasingly unlikely to want it.

+1. My spouse and I, both well educated and concerned with our kid's education, are seriously debating whether to buy a SFH right now because we just aren't sure if the tradeoff of space, yard, and equity may not be worth becoming more car-dependent, commuting longer, and giving up spontaneous play with the neighbors in our hall. You have to be a millionaire to get both the space of an SFH and the walkability/transit access you can get with an apartment.

But it seems like the "next step" because the value of owning a home is such an ingrained cultural thing. I assume looking down on renters is taking it a step further...but it's very unkind.

In NYC this is not an issue. Anyone with any sense knows that there’s a huge range of apartment types and quality. In any case, being poor is not a sin.

The stereotype is that poor people live in apartments. Section 8.

Because unfortunately in some people's minds, the following is true:

Apartment (or renting or townhouse) = poor = parents who don't value education = people who make their kid's school worse

Of course this is completely untrue, but it's the sad reality that this stereotype exists.

It's not just people in apartments, OP. It's also people who rent.

Good, solid people are supposed to live in single-family-detached houses that they own, in neighborhoods made up of single-family-detached houses, where you get around by driving. Or, anyway, that's the suburban belief. And much of Montgomery County is still a very suburban county.

I think that is changing, though, as young people are both increasingly unable to afford this suburban dream and increasingly unlikely to want it.

Because people think living in an apartment is a sign that they are poor. Because poor people are considered less educated or caring less about their children's education. Which is bunk and a stereotype. I moved to the us at 10 and lived in an apartment with my parents for 8 years. Two phds with great steady jobs just not a lot of money. Lots of our neighbors were similar.

Sorry if this is in the wrong place. It seems like in every thread in the MD Public School forum, when a school is mentioned people will tell them to avoid it because there’s kids that live in apartments that attend. Why is this an issue? I’m currently living in an apartment and this is disappointing to know that certain parents wouldn’t want their kid around mine just because of her address.