We live across from an elementary school in the District and it's mostly no big deal. Pick up and drop off traffic is occasionally a little annoying (mostly just when a commuter lays on the horn while a parent in front of them is poking around looking for their kid). There's also a bit more litter in our tree box, though not nearly as much as there would be around, for example, a bus stop. And, the trash truck that empties the dumpster in the middle of the day can be kind of loud when we're working from home.

But there's one huge bonus of living across from an elementary school: during non-school times, there's almost always parking nearby. After all, that entire block has plenty of parking spaces but no residents. We don't have off-street parking, so that probably outweighs everything else.

The houses near our elementary school back into their driveways or have made turnarounds so the can pull straight out. Twice a day for an hour, they aren't getting down the street to their house. Parents line up early for pick up and drop off is painfully slow since everyone thinks their special snowflake needs to be right in front of the door and can't walk 10 extra steps. Back to school night, conferences, concerts, basketball games etc. will have cars parked up and down the road sometimes partially blocking driveways because people are idiots. Hard pass for me. It's not an aggravation I want in my life. Houses directly by the school IME are cheaper than one street over.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the parking and traffic situation. It's not just pick up and drop off, but also school events you have to deal with. Parking at our school is a nightmare for any event.

Just wanted to highlight this. And keep in mind that many community groups use schools for their events. I would check to make sure that a church doesn’t rent the school on weekends. Are sports practices/games/tournaments held there on weekends?

The worst thing about living near an elementary school are the oblivious and obnoxious parents who try to drive their SUVs, while drinking their Starbucks and talking on the phone.

It depends -- do I have quintuplets?

If not, no.

I grew up across from an ES and as a child I loved it and we had easy access to and from for extra curricular activities. My parents were never bothered by the traffic and when we moved the house sold quickly. We were the 2nd house on the left and the street faced the school.

Anonymous wrote:that house has been sold a few times in the last 6 years and the price is kind of low for the area. maybe it is the busy street and the school?

+1

I would just be wary of being very close to a play ground or outdoor play areas. They can get pretty loud.

Not only would I--I do and I love it. My kid isn't even old enough to go to it yet, but it sets a tone for the neighborhood that is really positive.

It gets old quick.

Plus, once your kids aren't ES aged anymore it actually is more of an annoyance.

I have three schools within walking distance to my house. I can see the high school from my front door - it is four houses away, 0.2 miles door to door (I've tracked my steps.) A private elementary school is next door to the high school and is 0.3 miles away and the public elementary is on the other side of the high school and is 0.4 miles away. The high school and private elementary school both end within 5 minutes of each other. The traffic trying to get out of my neighborhood at dismissal is hectic, but I rarely have to go anywhere at 3:00pm and when I do, the traffic is gone within 10 minutes. The only time traffic is really horrendous is a major event, like the first day of school, graduation or back to school night, so only a couple of times per year.

We moved into the house before kids and plan to stay after they graduate from high school. We have all loved being walking distance to school and I love hearing the marching band practicing in the fall, and the cheering from the stadium when there is a game.

Anonymous wrote:We used to live two houses down from a small private school and I was SO glad when we moved. There was always cars blocking the street waiting to drop kids off or pick them up (so we couldn't get down our street if we came home from work early). And at least once a week, someone parked blocking all or half of our driveway - the school's drop off time was around when DH and I left for work. More than once we had to go in to the school to ask them to find the person who was blocking our driveway so we could leave (because the moms would frequently stop and chat with one another after they dropped their kids off). And whenever we confronted someone they'd say "oh it was just for a couple minutes" as if there was nothing wrong with it. We finally just started parking one car on the street all the time so that if we were ever in a crunch, we could take that car and go.

And keep in mind that it's not just pick up and drop off times - there are always going to be after school events. When they have school-wide after school events, there will be a TON of cars on your street. And yes, someone will block part of your driveway.

Really? Why wouldn't you at some point just get a cone and put "no blocking the drive" sign on it?

Sure. Sounds great ot me.

that house has been sold a few times in the last 6 years and the price is kind of low for the area. maybe it is the busy street and the school?

We used to live two houses down from a small private school and I was SO glad when we moved. There was always cars blocking the street waiting to drop kids off or pick them up (so we couldn't get down our street if we came home from work early). And at least once a week, someone parked blocking all or half of our driveway - the school's drop off time was around when DH and I left for work. More than once we had to go in to the school to ask them to find the person who was blocking our driveway so we could leave (because the moms would frequently stop and chat with one another after they dropped their kids off). And whenever we confronted someone they'd say "oh it was just for a couple minutes" as if there was nothing wrong with it. We finally just started parking one car on the street all the time so that if we were ever in a crunch, we could take that car and go.

And keep in mind that it's not just pick up and drop off times - there are always going to be after school events. When they have school-wide after school events, there will be a TON of cars on your street. And yes, someone will block part of your driveway.