Boston Globe article-is buying a home in boston worth it? (Newton: how much, best school)

[Whatsnext75]

Where you went to high school has very little to do with it. People spend hundreds and thousands on prep school educations and even those kids don't get into harvard. You seriously think simply sending your kid to newton north will help much in getting them into an ivy league school? Wake up. If anything harvard wants the inner city smart kids, the kids from china, the kids from iran...there is so much competition. You need a whole lot more than just where you went to high school these days. I am actually shocked people are this naive.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by mdovell

There's a strong difference between "opening offices" and actually putting a HQ. HQ means incorporation and where taxes are paid.

Biotech well there's been consolidate of that as well. Wyeth was bought out just as EMC was bought out. There have been many regional companies that frankly have closed. We've seen this with retail (Bradless, Ames, Caldors), technology (Wang, Digital, Lycos (nowhere near where it was back in the day), Lotus etc).

Also look as to what percentage of employees are independent contractors. There's a huge difference between actual FTE status and 1099'd. Heck just look at some of the visa holders. Not that it's bad by any means but just because an organization exists there doesn't mean they are hiring. Companies move for taxes now and then and often times people move with them, just like those in the military.

Jobs are jobs. Those companies open offices here because they know that not all the talent they need are willing to move for them. Yes companies may move for taxes but talent isn't always willing to.

[Whatsnext75]

'Yes companies may move for taxes but talent isn't always willing to.'

From what I've seen lately the young talent is more willing to move. They are tired of the weather and the cost of living. The two combined dont seem to make a good combo for a many people.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Where you went to high school has very little to do with it. People spend hundreds and thousands on prep school educations and even those kids don't get into harvard. You seriously think simply sending your kid to newton north will help much in getting them into an ivy league school? Wake up. If anything harvard wants the inner city smart kids, the kids from china, the kids from iran...there is so much competition. You need a whole lot more than just where you went to high school these days. I am actually shocked people are this naive.

Having gone through the college process with my oldest in the past year, we learned quire a bit. All the top schools are looking to scramble up the kids to make up their population. The want a mix of colors, ideologies, strengths, weaknesses, histories, stories, et al. They don't want every top 10 kid from the same school because most of those kids are exactly the same.

As one admissions consultant told us in the audience:

if you're Asian and you want to go to Harvard, move to North Dakota

tell the college a great story - a home schooled kid was pursued by many top schools because her story was exceptional as her single parent was a long haul truck driver and she and the child traveled all over the country for over a decade

pick two or three activities and commit to them - don't be a butterfly and flit among the 20 activities that are there solely for the resume

don't be afraid to apply to the top "liberal" schools if you are a member of the Young Republicans - that's your story

northeast kids should consider great schools in the south and west - Tulane and Vanderbilt love to poach those kids from Harvard and Northwestern

play the bassoon and live in South Dakota, congratulations you'll get in almost anywhere if your grades are a match.

[Nobodybody]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

It's true to me and a lot of other people Parsec. Yes schools and education are important but people should be able to have that and then some. Many arent getting the 'then some' in trying to provide a good education to their children. Is that a fun way to live? I just dont know. Even if you do spend everything you have on a home in let's say, Weston which ranks high, who is to say your kid will end up performing to your expectations and going to an amazing college and ending up having an amazing career. There's just a lot of factors that go into it. It seems like everyone's excuse for these high prices are, oh well the schools are good.

- I think the excuse is more than the schools. I suspect that people that buy in towns like Weston can typically afford it, comfortably. One thing that I've noticed that exists more in Boston than other areas seems to be that people value their 'class' label, and want to be in a community where their kids and neighbors will be of the same class. So beyond just 'good schools', it's network and community influences, as well as proximity to Boston and many other factors. I do agree that some can get caught up in the top ranked school districts, and that making a decision on this factor alone may not be the best approach. Massachusetts public schools as a whole are often ranked best in the country, so being in the #3 ranked district in the state or the #33 best ranked school in the state isn't going to have a major influence on your life - in this situation you are still within one of the best public school districts in the country, regardless of what Boston Magazine says.

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Look around the country-Boston real estate IS overpriced and that's not just my opinion. Horrible commutes, not everyone is getting a 150k salary despite what this board thinks.

- Overpriced is debatable. Higher priced relative to many other parts of the country, sure. But nobody is really forced to buy a house here, it's done voluntarily. And in many hot-spots, homes receive offers well over the asking price in sometimes less than 24 hours. If homes were overpriced, they wouldn't be selling.

People can buy in many other parts of the country for much less, and still be in that area's top school district. Salaries may be lower, but the net effect is the same, or sometimes money even goes further in these other areas. In Boston, you have access to so many things that you might not in these other areas, so it's all relative as far as pricing goes.

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

'I don't like the idea they article puts out that a house is a way to make money. Yes, people made money on their houses but buying a house with the hope to make money off of it is short sighted and leads to even more financial issues in the long run, IMO.'

I dont think the article was saying that. If anything I thin they were saying, hey buy a house if you want one, but dont expect to get any financial gains from it.

The greatest generation bought their smaller homes, lived in them for long times. Yes Boston realestate is expensive but you have access to higher salaries than you do in the ex-burbs but there are ways to offset the housing costs.

- I hope you are wrong on this ! When I sell my home in 10-20 years, I certainly hope to turn a decent gain!

[Whatsnext75]

Right they want kids who are 'different'. Unfortunately a white kid who makes the honor roll and plays sports at Winchester High is not different-even if they've taken AP courses. I'm not saying it's fair or even right...at all. But it's the way it is.

My dept recently interviewed a guy who went to Harvard and we didnt hire him. People didn't like his personality. Where you went to school these days certainly isn't everything. When we've done hiring where they went to schools isnt even discussed. It's all about past work experience, would they be a good fit, personality, etc. These days plenty of people cant afford Harvard even if they could get in.

[Boston_Burbs]

IMO, NESCAC schools are a better value than Ivys because of their small alumni associations that are filled with very successful people.

Although where you went to school may not matter to some, a connection for your alumni organization sure can open the door for you. My major has an alumni specific group that has annual meetings/events and I have gotten 2 jobs out of connections from that group. One company which was an industry leader NEVER advertised positions, internal referrals only. Most of my colleagues went to 3 schools, with a few others mixed in.

Also, Harvard and other top schools are need blind, including all the top prep schools as well.

https://college.harvard.edu/admissio.../affordability

For families earning between $65,000 and $150,000, the expected contribution is between zero and 10 percent of your annual income.

The Winsor School: Affording Winsor

Income Range: Average Aid Award
$25,000 - 89,000: $39,400
$90,000 - 129,000: $35,300
$150,000+ $26,600

[Whatsnext75]

'One thing that I've noticed that exists more in Boston than other areas seems to be that people value their 'class' label, and want to be in a community where their kids and neighbors will be of the same class.'

Oh i definitely agree with this. I find it almost sad that people seem to place so much value in themselves based on where they live. A friend of mine really wanted to buy in Milton but everything she found was more than she wanted to pay and needed work, etc. She finally found a house in quincy, right on the milton line that was a nice house that needed no work. She was so worried about having a quincy address and not a milton address because the milton address was so much more prestigious to her. A co worker is toying with the idea of moving to Medford, but is disappointed that she wont have a Somerville address if she does this. I guess having a Somerville address is cool??

'I hope you are wrong on this ! When I sell my home in 10-20 years, I certainly hope to turn a decent gain!'

I hope I'm wrong too. I'm looking to sell my place in about 5 years. I look at prices now and what we paid for it and I just cant fathom that prices could continue to climb??? I know my salary doesnt seem to be climbing that high.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

'One thing that I've noticed that exists more in Boston than other areas seems to be that people value their 'class' label, and want to be in a community where their kids and neighbors will be of the same class.

I'm trying to think of a suburban place in the United States where this isn't the case. I'm stumped. It's like that anywhere I can think of. In the United States, people self-segregate along socioeconomic lines. Texas, for example, is an extreme example. In Texas, affluent sections of towns split off from the rest of the time to have their own school system. Metro-Atlanta is another extreme example of socioeconomic self-segregation. California is stuffed full of examples in the Bay Area and LA. You don't see affluent New Yorkers flocking to the Bronx.

[Whatsnext75]

but here it seems to be more of a, do you live in a hot spot place??? And everyone wants to be in that hot spot. I would have no idea what someone's socio economic class is whether they were from Somerville or Medford.