Look at where college professors at great schools live. They want their kids educated well but don't always have the budget for an expensive privates. They also volunteer at their kids' schools.

Areas like Pittsford, New York have dirt cheap real estate and good public schools.

Areas like Roland Park, where many Hopkins professors live have less expensive private schools that punch above their weight.

Anonymous wrote:Bentonville, Arkansas

But it is getting more and more expensive every day there. Public schools are very good and it is a very nice place to live.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North Shore suburbs of Chicago
Cleveland suburbs, specifically Avon Lake, Orange, Hudson and similar
Columbus suburbs, specifically Upper Arlington
Detroit suburbs, specifically Bloomfield Hills

Everyone I know in Hudson uses private school.

Anonymous wrote:Columbus, Ohio suburbs. Nice suburbs with people working at the university and companies in Columbus. Dublin is one such suburb, Dublin Jerome High is 10/10 on Great Schools. Dublin Coffman High is also good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in NYC, I work in big tech, kids in private, feel like I'm going to burst into flames.

Looking to relocate, price WAY down, save hard. Possibly keep job, possibly get new remote job.

Would love to live somewhere somewhat pretty, and only other thing that really matters to me is really really good (like A rated) public or very inexpensive private schools.

Any tips? Do you love where you live or have lived that is like this? My proliferating gray hairs and wrinkles and stress related health issues thank you.

I think your best bets would be California, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Massachusetts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:op - would like to hear more about northern va and philly burbs. where there has really good schools? am not super familiar with the areas.

NoVa is a rat race. I wouldn't go there if you are looking to get out of that wheel.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably not as cheap as you’re looking for, but I’ve always felt the Philadelphia suburbs offer good value for the quality of public schools.

Pittsburgh

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chagrin Falls, OH

If it was good enough for Ensign Charles Parker…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:op - would like to hear more about northern va and philly burbs. where there has really good schools? am not super familiar with the areas.

In Philly burbs, look along the Main Line to the west of the city. The closer in suburbs like Bryn Mawr are still quite pricy, but they do get more affordable the further out you go. There are also lots of universities along that line (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Villanova) which results in lots of academics living in these neighborhoods, which contributes to strong schools.

The main obstacle in these neighborhoods will be taxes. Housing is also pricier than it used to be, but not anywhere near as bad as NYC and the public schools are good, so it would still be an improvement for you. Also, if you stayed at your current job, the commute from Main Line burbs into Philly and then up to NYC is really not that bad and you could likely still do it once or twice a week if your spouse can handle the kids on those days.

In NoVa, you're looking at a more suburban lifestyle, definitely more car centric, as the parts of NoVa with strong schools do not tend to be the parts with the best public transit. For example, Alexandria, Clarendon, and Rosslyn are all fairly walkable and have convenient metro stops, but that's not where I'd want to send my kids to school (especially MS and HS).

Instead, I'd look at Falls Church City (would be my top choice because of the combo of metro accessibility, a walkable little downtown, and good schools). After FCC, I'd look at Fairfax, Loudon, and Arlington, in that order. But you need to look at specific school pyramids, some are better than others. As with Philly, the further you get from DC the more affordable it is, and you can still find good schools. But also, in VA it gets more Trumpy the further out you go -- coming from NYC you need to be aware of that and figure out what your comfort level is.

Some more compare and contrast: Philly burbs will have older housing stock, lots more new builds in NoVa (I personally prefer older housing stock but some don't, it's just a key difference you should be aware of). Also I think NoVa burbs tend to have more and better county amenities than the Main Line suburbs, in terms of things like rec centers, public pools, etc., but that might have changed in recent years -- I think the NoVa parks, hiking, rec options, etc. are really, really good compared to other places. Property taxes definitely higher in PA but NoVa finds ways to get you, good schools and amenities are never free. But compared to NYC it will still feel like a bargain. Both have good access to major cities with good museums, dining, major league sports, and other entertainment, obviously.

Ha. We raised three kids in Del Ray and they went K-12 in ACPS. Maury-GW-TC. For undergrad they went UVA, UNC, and Denison. Two oldest are in law school.

I love the garbage people post here.

But OP probably couldn't afford our house at 1.9M.