Hi JunLi,
Thanks for sharing your two points about the benefits of buying a top school district home. Two points are easy to remember!
A) If I own a home in a top school district, my kids will go to those good schools rated 8-10.
B) The home I buy is likely to appreciate over the period until we graduate from high school. Easily sell at a profit.
I’d like to put on the critical thinker’s hat.
For (B), actually many non-school-district homes appreciate faster. It depends on your horizon. Over 5Y, I think some school district homes don’t appreciate a lot; whereas some non-school-district property appreciation can be faster. Over a 10Y horizon, I agree a school district home is very likely to appreciate. I see very stable demand from many, many parents not only immigrants [1] and Asians.
How many years do I want to live in such a school district? Until my kids graduate from high school? Well, that may be too long for my liking…
[1] Immigrants are unfamiliar with the education system so naturally many of us go for the best-known top schools. Safety in well-known brands. On average, local parents tend to be more confident and are willing to accept “lesser-known brands” like schools rated 7 and below.
For (A), I agree it’s better if my kids can go to a top-rated school. The rating and ranking is 100% academic benchmark-based (as illustrated in my previous mail) and it does correlate with quality of the learning environment.
Overall, I feel A) is more certain than B). In other words, higher probability of realizing the benefit.
However these two benefits come at a price.
- One of them is longer commute. It eats into family time and time for rest.
- Another drawback is bigger financial commitment. I would have to cope with 600k [500k ~ 800k range] rather than a 250~400k price tag in a non-school district. It ties up more of my free cash. It entails higher pTax and mortgage monthly burden. With my single income, I can afford up to 500k only, so 600k is burdensome, and truthfully “beyond my means”.
- Probably the pricier home is bigger or better, but I don’t need such a big home actually. It’s luxury I can hardly afford.
- Most such locations require more driving than my favorite locations — walkable communities with kids and old folks on the street. I may get used to more driving.
Since the two benefits come at a hefty price, I need to re-evaluate the benefits. For (A), I explained to a few friends that what I care about is conducive learning environment and esp. engagement of the young mind. I believe many 6 or 7 rated schools provide that. So the value of (A) is lower for me.
Academic benchmark is not my target and I deliberately play down its value, in defiance to mainstream Chinese/Indian conventional wisdom. In a top school, my kids are likely to perform better on standardized tests, but not necessarily happier or get more “engagement”. I have heard of isolated, anecdotal incidents of kids switching from average schools to top schools and suffer. They drop to the lower half of the class. They study under overload, and have less time for extra-curriculum programs which could otherwise engage their mind — what if one program is their true interest?
I urge all parents to take a critical look at academic benchmark performance. A friend pointed out that at middle school level, parents have more influence than the school. If my son is able to score 80/100 in a top school but only 70/100 in an average school, then we parents could perhaps push him to 80/100 even without the top school.
As you and many friends pointed out, ultimately, focus should NOT be academic benchmark or branded university. Focus should be the individual child, as a different individual from other children. The best learning environment for “majority of children” could be different from the best environment for my daughter. Specifically, for my kids, a particular 5/10 school may be a better environment than an academically driven top school. For example, the high school in south Edison, NJ is rated 5/10 but I believe it has lots of Chinese and Indian students and probably has good peer influence.
I try to be objective and incisive. I don’t want to unfairly play down the two benefits or exaggerate the drawbacks. I hope today I have done a fine job.
No doubt I have strong opinions. Unavoidable! These are important questions and have direct impacts on my children’s future and my family life. To join the same “rat race” as my fellow immigrants, and pay the hefty prices of a top school district … could be a burdensome decision.
Lastly, it’s prudent to rent in whatever school district for a while before buying.