Have you considered moving away from the bay area? (Oakland: rental, homes)

[nowhereman427]

schools better in Lafayette or Bencia.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Well if you look at the entire bay area all of the cities SF, Oakland, San Jose have problem with very bad schools. Most of inner east bay has bad schools. And that leaves very few small school districts with good schools (basically smaller cities in the peninsula and lamorinda area) and in those areas housing is completely unaffordable to even the upper middle class! The amount of rent you pay for oh so fancy Russian hill apartment is significantly cheaper than buying a house in the peninsula. This is not true in most metro areas in the country because at least in the suburbs schools are good and housing affordable.

The schools in Dallas/Houston suburbs i.e. the places you tend to complain about most, has much much better schools. If you look at Boston area, which is very similar to bay area in terms of economy, it's a far more advanced civilization compared to bay area when it comes to education.

I don't have children and don't intend to, so it's not an issue for me, nor am I commenting from my personal perspective. I don't have any frame of reference for the schools in Texas suburbs or Boston, either, as I have never had any children. Why do you bring these places up in this topic?

PS-Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, El Cerrito, and other parts of the East Bay are noted for having great public schools, from what I have heard. I'm sure there are many more, but like I said, I don't pay much attention.

[nowhereman427]

I DON'T have kids neither but this is what I hear from other parents.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

I don't have children and don't intend to, so it's not an issue for me, nor am I commenting from my personal perspective. I don't have any frame of reference for the schools in Texas suburbs or Boston, either, as I have never had any children. Why do you bring these places up in this topic?

PS-Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, El Cerrito, and other parts of the East Bay are noted for having great public schools, from what I have heard. I'm sure there are many more, but like I said, I don't pay much attention.

Just because you don't want kids doesn't mean society does not have a responsibility to educate the future generations. I judge an area based on what it offers for regular families and not how easy it's to get drunk there and waste time in frivolities. The comparisons are for reference for responsible adults who will grasp the significance.

LOL@ El Cerrito schools!

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Just because you don't want kids doesn't mean society does not have a responsibility to educate the future generations. I judge an area based on what it offers for regular families and not how easy it's to get drunk there and waste time in frivolities. The comparisons are for reference for responsible adults who will grasp the significance.

LOL@ El Cerrito schools!

Right. I agreed with this. I merely qualified my response, as I am not a parent, don't intend to be one, and as such, am not personally vested in the public schools in the near term. For the long term health of the area, we agree and I stated as such.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Well if you look at the entire bay area all of the cities SF, Oakland, San Jose have problem with very bad schools. Most of inner east bay has bad schools. And that leaves very few small school districts with good schools (basically smaller cities in the peninsula and lamorinda area) and in those areas housing is completely unaffordable to even the upper middle class! The amount of rent you pay for oh so fancy Russian hill apartment is significantly cheaper than buying a house in the peninsula. This is not true in most metro areas in the country because at least in the suburbs schools are good and housing affordable.

The schools in Dallas/Houston suburbs i.e. the places you tend to complain about most, has much much better schools. If you look at Boston area, which is very similar to bay area in terms of economy, it's a far more advanced civilization compared to bay area when it comes to education.

Oakland is diverse... it has both top and bottom public schools...

The city of Piedmont is bordered by Oakland on all sides and has top performing schools...

My neighbors moved from Oakland to Orinda for schools... found Orinda schools lacking and now send the kids to Head Royce back in Oakland...

Now here's a different take...

My friend's daughter went to Skyline in Oakland... every one told her she needs to find a better school...

Thing is she graduated at the top of her class and was guaranteed a spot at CAL... something about automatic admission for the top students from Oakland Public High Schools.

She a good student for sure... not sure if she would have been at the top in another district.

[Tallysmom]

We'll be leaving here and going back to PA in about 5 years. (I dare anyone to count how many times I've used 5 years.... that seems to be my benchmark time term) I'm pretty done here. My favorite fabric stores have changed or closed, my fabric buying habits have changed (Love Connecting Threads online), libraries are merely okay here and I miss my family.

I won't even go into the grocery stores. They're tragic.

Husband waffles back and forth, but if the pot laws become more favorable in PA, it's a go.

Hmmm.... now I know what I should be working on.

[nowhereman427]

Oakland..alot of businesses are starting up in Oakland compared to SF because the rents are alot lower.

[probablyimnotsure]

Next to the cities beautiful setting, the anti-kid vibe is the most appealing quality of SF. Kids can be annoying, especially when their parents let them run wild and are too busy focusing on other tasks. If you're really big on family, move to middle America.

[Ultrarunner]

I love kids that know how to behave and do.

Tallysmom... what do you think of the new Foodsco at Foothill Square... over 45 million was spent updating the center at 106th and MacArthur...

East Oakland is certainly seeing investment dollars flowing into the area.