Should We Move? - Your Thoughts

[YMZ PE]

We live in a 1,900 square foot house in a decent neighborhood, but the public schools leave a lot to be desired. The Mister and I have been going back and forth about whether we move to a better school district (our mortgage would increase by maybe $1,000) or stay here and pay for private school. It would also be nice to have an additional bedroom and more space to host parties. I can't see us getting a return on any improvements we make to our current house since it's already one of the highest valued homes in our neighborhood.

I'd like your thoughts on our situation, especially those of you 35 and up. I would really like a bigger house and to not have to pay $2,000/month toward private school, but I suspect that after the kids move out, we may end up moving back into a home like the one we have now. I feel like there's a lot I might not be considering that will matter as I get older.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Stay put and go private.

Sounds like the school is the only thing in the hood that is lacking, so why move?

 

[Krakosky]

Move to a bigger house so you can host parties and host out of town guests. j/k...sort of

Have you composed the cost of private school to an increased mortgage? If it's just for the school, I would probably stay put. But if you want a bigger house, then go for it.

 

[Judowolf PE]

How old are the lil YMZ's?

 

[YMZ PE]

3 and 1.5. We have a long time of school ahead of us.

 

[Judowolf PE]

In a way I'm with capt, stay put, but home prices should be as low as they are gonna be for a while, so if your thinking of moving, now would be a good time

 

[Judowolf PE]

You'll get some or all of the mortgage money back when it's sold, the private school money will be gone, as long as the new public school is of a similar level to the private school

 

[kevo_55]

I'd personally move.

We currently own our house but it's in a crappy area. My wife and I plan to actually buy something much bigger than what we have and also get into a better area with great schools.

Another thing to think about: if you move now, when the lil-YMZ's are school age the mortgage will seem pretty cheap.

 

[MA_PE]

If it works with your emplyment situation, I'd recommend moving to a good neighborhood with good schools as opposed to stying in a "decent neighborhood, but the public schools leave a lot to be desired" and planning on sending your kisd to private schools.

Some reasons are:

As the kids go through school their classmates may be from all over and not in the neighborhood where they live. Thus they don't get to know thw neighborhood kids as well and might be sort of outcasts.

Property values are typically better in areas with good schools which helps retain and build-up equity with time

You'll get to enjoy the larger living spaces a the kids grow up. It's easy to "downsize" after the kids get older and on their own.

 

[envirotex]

So...

We live in an area where the public schools are excellent. The downside is that we pay property taxes that are through the roof. Here are some of our considerations about public school and why we chose not to send our kids to private school...

Consideration #1: Staying the same school system all the way through (public or private)

We moved to the neighborhood because we wanted to be where our kids could go to school with the same group of kids the whole time that they are in school. My oldest is a junior in high school...he is dating a girl that we have known since he was in kindergarten, so we also know her family. Same with most of my kids friends. We know them, and have known them since they were small. That's kind of nice...

Consideration #2: Outside of school the kids are in the 'hood because of where we live...

If we lived some where else, we could pay lower taxes and send our kids to private school, but then Tex Jr's best buddy wouldn't live down the street, he would probably live on the other side of town and just "hanging out" would be next to impossible. If your kids are in private school, while the rest of the neighborhood kids are in public. I know there are kids in my neighborhood who attend private school, my kids don't know any of them, unless they are kids who went to public school first. This also comes in handy when Jr has a homework assignment he needs to work on with someone else...that kid is just minutes away. And time is precious...don't think you will have more time once your kids are older and in school. You actually have LESS time, so not having to drive them back and forth to school is huge!

Consideration #3: Don't let the big picture fool you for public school systems...

Another thing about our 'hood is that the parental involvement is huge at the school. So that's something else to look for in a school, either way. That can have implications for individual schools, too. Our school district is pretty good, but the schools that my kids track into are the best in the district because the parents are very involved. So don't discount an entire district...look at individual schools.

Consideration #4: Extracurriculars...some of the best advice I have been given as the parent of a high-schooler is to make sure that your kid does at least one extracurricular activity...this will keep them out of soooo much trouble.

It has been my experience that the private schools (in our area, at least) don't have the same type of extracurricular programs. I know they might have some...but probably not to the scale that a public school might have. Our music and band program that begins in middle school is awesome. We have every sports team that there can be...swimming, tennis, soccer, football, golf. (We don't have lacrosse though which Mini-Tex plays, but that would asking a lot.) Then there are the clubs, FFA, FCA, Quidditch (seriously)... even the elementary school has a chess club, robotics.

 

[snickerd3]

That's a tough call. things I would consider:

1. are the schools in the area you looking to move to on par with the private school?

2. Do you really need the extra space? Having parties is nice, but is worth the extra $$$ the rest of the time vs the alternatives of hosting parties elsewhere for a small fee?

3. REALLY check out the realestate market in your current area? Are you going to lose out on the current house? Have a really hard time selling with the other houses on the market in your neighborhood? Just because it is one of the highest values houses in the area might make it harder to sell...buyers don't care about that, they just see other similar houses that are cheaper. and will price their offers accordingly.

4. Lots of people eventually downsize once the kids leave, so I don't think that should really matter in the decision. You just don't want to get a house that is TOO big for market trends that no one will want the new house becasue it would be too much.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Personally, I'd purchase a cabin in the woods and homeschool. Man vs Wild, Doomsday Preppers, and Dual Survival would be mandatory viewing.

Firearms training would be the PE requirement.

 

[EM_PS]

I'd like your thoughts on our situation, especially those of you 35 and up. I would really like a bigger house and to not have to pay $2,000/month toward private school, but I suspect that after the kids move out, we may end up moving back into a home like the one we have now. I feel like there's a lot I might not be considering that will matter as I get older.

I'd favor moving. We live in a top school district area & like envirotex, pay prop taxes thru the nose. However, like many have already mentioned the bennies for the kiddos for pretty much 18 yrs of their life will be that top notch school system & much more of an involved resident population (and their children) in the schools. When the future rolls aroung, like many in our district are likely planning, once you become empty nesters, you make your exit to wherever you wanna end up (or can afford).

But no, I certainly wouldn't stay in a home because maybe in 20 years or so its the general type of home I think I might want to live in.

 

[Judowolf PE]

One other bennefit to moving now, is that once the kiddos are gone, you may want to move to a totally different location. A cabin in the woods, follow the kids to a different state/city, ect...

 

[Capt Worley PE]

One thing to note is that school districts can change drastically in a short period of time. So what is a great district now can easily become a slum in <5 years. I've seen it happen to numerous districts locallly.

 

[pbrme]

As already stated, there seems to be more benefits to moving.

1. Cheaper in the long haul (1000 more mortgage w/ better district vs. 2000 private school).

2. You'll have the space you want, and w/ two teenagers down the road this could be nice.

3. Upgrading now while the rates are low is smart. Then in 18 yrs, downgrading will be easy, bankroll built equity on larger home for downpayment on smaller home and shorter loan term.

Just my $3.50

 

[Judowolf PE]

As already stated, there seems to be more benefits to moving.

1. Cheaper in the long haul (1000 more mortgage w/ better district vs. 2000 private school).

2. You'll have the space you want, and w/ two teenagers down the road this could be nice.

3. Upgrading now while the rates are low is smart. Then in 18 yrs, downgrading will be easy, bankroll built equity on larger home for downpayment on smaller home and shorter loan term.

Just my $3.50

wow, that's some serious inflation...$0.02 to $3.50!

 

[blybrook PE]

Heres another question to consider: Is the new location closer to your primary employment?

To me, do I stay where I know the quirks of the house and what needs to be done, or move to an unknown?

It sounds like a move is most beneficial for the benefits of the little tikes and it will aid your pocket book ~1k / month (ignoring other bills, taxes, commutes, etc...)

Your youngsters are young enough that they'll be able to handle a move; it gets harder when they get older.

As others have said, buy low, sell high! Good luck with the decision.

 

[mudpuppy]

1900 square feet sounds big to me, my house is 1300, and I grew up in a 1400 square foot house.what are you going to do with all that room?

 

[cement]

I vote for qualtiy of life and return on investment by moving.

It will be much easier to sell and downsize in the better neighborhood if you decide to do that later, or if an opportunity comes up sooner.

I think tex had great advice on extracurricular activiites and I'll take that one further. if you put in the hard work to lead the activity the kids will respect and learn from that model and you will have insight into how thier friends think and what kind of kids yours are hanging out with.

regarding the size of the house, we have had to move into a bigger house every five years because the wife runs out of wall space to hang pictures of the kids.

j/k ... almost