Two Questions (Montgomery: real estate market, apartments, best schools)

[EnglishTeacher]

Hi!

Two questions.

1. Where are the best places to live? My friend and I will be sharing an apartment. We're both in our early 20's, recent college grads, the whole thing. We'd like somewhere that's trendy with lots of people our age around, but also somewhere that's clean and safe, where the apartments are nice, but cheap.

2. I'm an English major, trying to break into the teaching world (I'd really like to do High School English). What are some of the best schools to teach in? I'd like to avoid the ritzy private schools with celebrities kids and the like.

Thanks!

[Viralmd]

What's your budget? That will determine where you can live. EVERYONE wants safe and cheap...

Why are you so averse to private schools? The hours are better, the kids are nicer (if not smarter) and generally better behaved. I went to one of those schools and a good proportion of my class of 22 was receiving some kind of scholarship.

[EnglishTeacher]

No, I want to teach in private schools, I grew up in them. I'm just afraid that there are some schools where all of the kids have celebrity parents and act spoiled. What are the kids like in the Upper East Side schools? (I know I probably won't be able to live there, but I'm just wondering.) Also, what is the typical salary of a teacher in that city? I heard around 40K. Is that correct? I'm new, so I'm willing to accept 35K. (I'll have to figure out the budget with my friend. Math's never been my strong point!)

[Viralmd]

I have no idea about a salary for private school teachers. I do believe it's less than public schools, because there's more vacation time.

It's not just upper East side schools that have the clientele you're trying to avoid. There are a number on the West side too (like Trinity and Collegiate). I don't know why you think these kids are spoiled. Because most aren't. There were any number of kids whose parents are/were quite well known in my class and school and I don't think these kids were spoiled. My own family was very well off, but I and my sisters had to make our beds in the morning, do chores (like walk the dog and help clean up after meals, etc) and iron our own clothes...and we had a full time housekeeper. I don't know where you're getting your stereotypes from, but they're not based on fact.

[mead]

What? There are clearly a lot of the kids running around in the city today are spoiled rotten. You might be the exception, but you are definitely not the rule.

I was reading an article a couple months back, I think it was in the times, about little grade school kids on the upper west side making fun of other kids for having less expensive apartments. This type of behavior is somewhat typical in the city, but in the grand scheme of things it is insane. Anyone under the age of 18 should not be well versed with the real estate market.

Yes there are lots of spoiled kids in the city. However if I was in your shoes i would prefer to teach them rather than the hood-rat kids that occupy most of the public schools in the city.

There is not much of a middle class left in the city, and whatever is left of it is mostly to be found in the outer boroughs. Especially in Manhattan you either have the very wealthy or the really poor.

Personally I would go for teaching the rich brats because at least they won't act like little gangsters in the classroom.

[Viralmd]

And I do believe that the stereotype of the 'spoiled rich kid' is overblown and WAY too frequently cited here, based on no personal experience.

[mead]

Just because I live in the Bronx doesn't mean I don't know lots of very wealthy people. Half of my grad school class lives in very posh apartments down in the city. Many of them are very down to earth people, however I would say the majority are not.

[EnglishTeacher]

Alright, look. I did not mean to offend you, Viralmd, nor did I mean to start drama. The thing is, I'm worried about dealing with spoiled kids. I'm in my early 20's, I'm not much older than them, so I don't know if I could handle kids like that. I remember my days in private high school...some kids were extremely spoiled and we were in Southeastern Virginia.

But, as mead said, I would rather teach them than some kids that threaten to beat me up because I gave them a grade they didn't like.

So, Viralmd, now that I have your opinion on the schools, I am a little bit more willing to teach at some of the schools I described. I found a website (www.interschool.org/index.asp (broken link)) that discusses independent schools in the area. What do you know about the following?

Brearley
Browning
Chapin
Collegiate
Dalton
Nightingale-Bamford
Spence (I do know that Gwyneth Paltrow, Emmy Rossum and Elizabeth Montgomery went here, but that's about it!)
Trinity

About the ones in bold: I know you said that they've got some children of well-know people and they're in the West Side. Other than that, what is their reputation like?

[Viralmd]

I went to one of those, my sisters went to two of the others on the list. And VERY well-known people send their kids to ALL these schools. They just don't publicize these things.

[Elvira Black]

Wouldn't positions in these elite private schools be rather competitive, esp for a new teacher?