High Schools in Queens (New York, York: sale, college, income)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the OP means that because Rosedale is Queens and not LI, the property taxes are much lower. Nor would they have to pay the additional school taxes that homeowners on LI have to pay.
I also don't believe that LI schools are necessarily better. As has been pointed out already, there are numerous excellent High Schools in NYC. And being that they are part of the Public School system, are free of charge.
They are not free - you and your partner will be paying NYC resident income tax, which you won't pay in LI. Depending how much you earn, it can be a wahck, and you have to add that on to your NYC property tax to make a fair comparison. Also, apart from the specialized NYC High Schools, which are very hard to get into, the city's public schools (when you compare SAT scores, extracurricular activities and sports facilities) come out fairly poor. For example, our school district is right in the middle of the pack in Westchester HSs - but if you put it in NYC it comes in at no. 9 in the city out of over 300. That helps put things in perspective. And I'm sure many HS on LI would do the same. Plus if you buy in a good district in LI - your kid is going to that school, period. You can't buy in the right zip code to go to Stuy, for example, you have to compete. There's a reason the school is 70% asian.
They are not free - you and your partner will be paying NYC resident income tax, which you won't pay in LI. Depending how much you earn, it can be a wahck, and you have to add that on to your NYC property tax to make a fair comparison. Also, apart from the specialized NYC High Schools, which are very hard to get into, the city's public schools (when you compare SAT scores, extracurricular activities and sports facilities) come out fairly poor. For example, our school district is right in the middle of the pack in Westchester HSs - but if you put it in NYC it comes in at no. 9 in the city out of over 300. That helps put things in perspective. And I'm sure many HS on LI would do the same. Plus if you buy in a good district in LI - your kid is going to that school, period. You can't buy in the right zip code to go to Stuy, for example, you have to compete. There's a reason the school is 70% asian.
That's what I was getting at. If you live in Queens and want to send your kid to a specialized school, they have to apply and be accepted not to mention they have to travel. Also, there is no guaranttee they'll get in. If you live on LI and you are in a good school district then your kid is automatically zoned for that school, the tradeoff is you pay taxes as a homeowner and you don't have to search for a "better" school. The benefit of renting is NOT paying homeowner taxes AND having the benefit of being in a good school district. If you remove the specialized HS out of the equation and look only at regular NYC public HS's, then we can't say that all public schools are good.
They are not free - you and your partner will be paying NYC resident income tax, which you won't pay in LI. Depending how much you earn, it can be a wahck, and you have to add that on to your NYC property tax to make a fair comparison. Also, apart from the specialized NYC High Schools, which are very hard to get into, the city's public schools (when you compare SAT scores, extracurricular activities and sports facilities) come out fairly poor. For example, our school district is right in the middle of the pack in Westchester HSs - but if you put it in NYC it comes in at no. 9 in the city out of over 300. That helps put things in perspective. And I'm sure many HS on LI would do the same. Plus if you buy in a good district in LI - your kid is going to that school, period. You can't buy in the right zip code to go to Stuy, for example, you have to compete. There's a reason the school is 70% asian.
I don't know what you mean by this -- NYC Public High Schools ARE Free.
And Rosedale is in Queens, therefore NYC. Everyone pays taxes but NYC people do NOT pay an Education tax like they do on Long Island.
I recently had a co-worker on LI tell me that she wishes her child had the options of applying to different High Schools because seems the High School her child has to go to because of her district is not very good.
Specialized High Schools are NOT quite as difficult as you would imagine. Not only do I have friends who work for the DOE but my daughter attended a specialized high school. It all depends on the school, the specialties, etc.
That's what I was getting at. If you live in Queens and want to send your kid to a specialized school, they have to apply and be accepted not to mention they have to travel. Also, there is no guaranttee they'll get in. If you live on LI and you are in a good school district then your kid is automatically zoned for that school, the tradeoff is you pay taxes as a homeowner and you don't have to search for a "better" school. The benefit of renting is NOT paying homeowner taxes AND having the benefit of being in a good school district. If you remove the specialized HS out of the equation and look only at regular NYC public HS's, then we can't say that all public schools are good.
Not the case either. There are good Public High Schools that aren't specialized. We don't even know the OP nor do we know what sort of grades or skills their High Schooler has. So to make all these assumptions is simply not right. I would not trade having that CHOICE of High Schools vs. being forced to go to a zoned school with no choices at all.
My daughter commuted 90 minutes each way via public transportation and never regretted any of it.
Not the case either. There are good Public High Schools that aren't specialized. We don't even know the OP nor do we know what sort of grades or skills their High Schooler has. So to make all these assumptions is simply not right. I would not trade having that CHOICE of High Schools vs. being forced to go to a zoned school with no choices at all.
My daughter commuted 90 minutes each way via public transportation and never regretted any of it.
I never said that NONE of the public schools weren't good. I said if you remove the specialized ones, we can't say that all the public HS's are good. Not sure what you misread there. When most people buy their house on LI, they look at the school district they are moving into. At least that's what I did. I didn't buy solely based on the area-I bought my house based on the district and I moved into the 5th top school district in Nassau County. Some people move to where the taxes are very low so they're going to be in a school district that isn't great. If you think about it, the neighborhoods in the boroughs that aren't that desireable do not have great HS's. If the kids aren't gifted or smart enough, they can't get into a specialized school and have to go to the school in their area. Not saying anyone is right or wrong but just putting other information out there to the OP so they have an idea how the school systems work and the different options that are out there. I also know people whose kids applied for certain schools and although they were smart, some weren't smart enough. Some specialized schools are a little easier to get in to than others.
"I don't know what you mean by this -- NYC Public High Schools ARE Free.
And Rosedale is in Queens, therefore NYC. Everyone pays taxes but NYC people do NOT pay an Education tax like they do on Long Island."
If you live in NYC and work you pay "NYC resident income tax". Part of that tax goes to paying for the NYC public schools, ie it includes the "education tax". If you don't live in NYC you DONT pay that income tax. Instead you pay a school district tax (but ONLY if you are a homeowner).
"I recently had a co-worker on LI tell me that she wishes her child had the options of applying to different High Schools because seems the High School her child has to go to because of her district is not very good."
No. 1 investigation when moving to LI, Westchester or NJ with kids - check out the schools at all levels your child will be attending. Can't fix that. Suburban homebuying 101.
Not sure what you mean by you get way more for your money in Rosedale. You have to keep in mind that with LI, you pay taxes and generally the schools are better than in NYC (that includes all the boroughs). So, just because your rent may be cheaper in Rosedale, is it worth sacrificing the quality of education? Your other option may be to look into other areas rather than focusing on Rosedale unless your kids don't mind traveling to go to school. Have you actually been to Rosedale or Valley Stream at all?
Excellent point bellakin123. Yes, you need to be aware that in choosing Rosedale you're also choosing a half hour commute (at least) for your high school age kid to get to a decent school. There's no subway and your child will have to wait for at least 1 bus, or a bus to the subway, or a transfer from 1 bus to another. And the winter weather doesn't make it any easier. The elementary/middle schools in that area are not particularly good either.
My in-laws lived in Rosedale for 10+ years and one issue with that area is the closeness to JFK and the planes flying right over.
If you really feel that the demographic mix is the most important issue and that it makes Rosedale worthwhile for you then go for it but be aware of the disadvantages. I know that a co-worker of mine chose it for that reason (she's white, Jamaican husband, 2 kids, 40 minute work commute for her) but they ended up moving to another part of the city because of better schools for the kids.
"I don't know what you mean by this -- NYC Public High Schools ARE Free.
And Rosedale is in Queens, therefore NYC. Everyone pays taxes but NYC people do NOT pay an Education tax like they do on Long Island."
If you live in NYC and work you pay "NYC resident income tax". Part of that tax goes to paying for the NYC public schools, ie it includes the "education tax". If you don't live in NYC you DONT pay that income tax. Instead you pay a school district tax (but ONLY if you are a homeowner).
Indeed - we do have a NYC Income Tax, BUT we get Tax CREDITS
NYC Child and Dependent Care Credit: Full-year and part-year New York City residents who paid child care expenses for children under the age of four may be eligible to claim this credit. The credit amount can be as much as 75% of your New York State dependent care credit depending on your income. This is a refundable credit.
NYC School Tax Credit: The New York City school tax credit is available to a New York City resident or part-year resident who cannot be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s federal income tax return. If you are married and filing a joint return and you have income of $250,000 or less you can take a refundable credit of $125. All other taxpayers with income of $250,000 or less can get a refundable credit of $62.50. There is no credit allowed for taxpayers with income of more than $250,000.
I agree that if someone decides to move to Long Island, they SHOULD do the research regarding schools in their area. I'd still however prefer a CHOICE of High Schools and not having to be forced into going to your zoned school. But that's my choice. Everyone of course has different priorities in life.
Perhaps the OP should also look into some other Queens areas as well.
Ok, so we're considering a place in Rosedale, Queens. We are a mixed (white husband, haitian wife) couple with 4 kids, one in High School. Valley Stream was our first choice, but too expensive....you get WAY more for your money right next door in Rosedale.
However, I've heard the HS there (Springfield Gardens High) sucks! Is this true? If so, how can I get our HS aged child to a different school? Especially being that we're in Atlanta until this summer? Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Have you looked into other areas of Queens? FLoral Park, Bellerose, Glen Oaks, Oakland Gardens? These are in District 26 - the best school district in NYC.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
