[Raider111]

Originally Posted by JGBigGreen

Your point is taken in comparing the apples-to-oranges nature of looking at the entire state of Georgia's education system to that of Connecticut. It is important to note though that Georgia is closer to the middle of the pack than the bottom. It has consistently ranked around 30-32 in most measurements and has for some time.

Further, and more importantly, the OP would be living in an area that would allow them to choose from the very best high schools in the state. While I can't spend time digging into GPA's, AP's, etc. to determine if they would make the top 35 in CT for test scores they seem to do comparable at least in comparing SAT's. For the most recent years SAT scores I could find (2016 for GA 2015 for CT):

GA CT
Northview HS 1810 Darien 1811
Johns Creek HS 1730 New Canaan 1785
Alpharetta HS 1714 Weston 1785

Doesn't seem like these Georgia schools would do too badly in comparison to CT schools at first blush. Yes, Georgia schools do fall off quite fast outside of their top schools but the OP would be looking at great schools regardless of the state to state comparisons.

A good friend from up here lived in the Roswell/Alphaville area for a few years, huge house in a subdivision bought for peanuts. Remember them saying how they loved the schools there. These CT school snobs need to stop. Finances, COL and quality of life (ex. short commute) should be first considerations.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Raider111

A good friend from up here lived in the Roswell/Alphaville area for a few years, huge house in a subdivision bought for peanuts. Remember them saying how they loved the schools there. These CT school snobs need to stop. Finances, COL and quality of life (ex. short commute) should be first considerations.

Completely agree. Without knowing statistics, I'd guess CT has more good school districts as a percentage but that doesn't mean they don't exist in other areas.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Raider111

A good friend from up here lived in the Roswell/Alphaville area for a few years, huge house in a subdivision bought for peanuts. Remember them saying how they loved the schools there. These CT school snobs need to stop. Finances, COL and quality of life (ex. short commute) should be first considerations.

I don't think it is snobby to want good schools for your kids. The OP has said he/she wants good schools. No one says there are not good schools in Georgia but the OP needs to know that in general schools in Connecticut are near the top in the country while schools in Georgia are not. The OP needs to look at where they could live with good schools in Atlanta and how the commute is from that location to their job and then compare it to the commute here. Not everyone lives their lives by the almighty dollar. Many are willing to pay more to live where there are good schools for their children. That is one of the reasons some towns are pricier than others and many people are willing to pay higher taxes. Jay

[NewJeffCT]

I never said you could not get a good education in Georgia, just that the level is lower overall. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia was #44 in the country last year. The top public school SAT was 1703 for Northview HS in Johns Creek. The top in Connecticut was Darien at 1811.

http://www.ajc.com/news/local-educat...RWHOJInH3fvJI/

Oh, the median home price in Alpharetta is currently $469,000, which is higher than anything in the Hartford area. I think Alpharetta was one of the towns mentioned upthread? Oh, and I know several people from the Hartford area that moved to Atlanta with ING, now Voya. For the people that lived in Simsbury, Avon, Farmington, Glastonbury, etc, they said that if you wanted good schools, there really is not much of a cost of living difference between the Hartford area suburbs and the Atlanta suburbs


For closer to NY, Trumbull, CT median home price is $356,000, Newtown is $366,000, Brookfield is $339,000. Johns Creek, GA is $435,000

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I never said you could not get a good education in Georgia, just that the level is lower overall. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia was #44 in the country last year. The top public school SAT was 1703 for Northview HS in Johns Creek. The top in Connecticut was Darien at 1811.

2015 SAT: Georgia's top-scoring high schools

Oh, the median home price in Alpharetta is currently $469,000, which is higher than anything in the Hartford area. I think Alpharetta was one of the towns mentioned upthread? Oh, and I know several people from the Hartford area that moved to Atlanta with ING, now Voya. For the people that lived in Simsbury, Avon, Farmington, Glastonbury, etc, they said that if you wanted good schools, there really is not much of a cost of living difference between the Hartford area suburbs and the Atlanta suburbs


For closer to NY, Trumbull, CT median home price is $356,000, Newtown is $366,000, Brookfield is $339,000. Johns Creek, GA is $435,000

Huh, where are you getting your stats? As of Feb 8, median home price in Alpharetta was $319k. The number you've provided for Alpharetta is list price. I'm not sure if you did this maliciously or just don't know the difference beteeen list price and sale price. Sale price, especially in booming areas like Alpharetta where there is quite a bit of inventory, is usually way less than list price. That's the case here.

Additionally, if you compare price per square foot between the CT and GA towns you mentioned, the price per square foot is significantly less in GA than in CT. The average home in these GA towns are also much larger.

The cost of living index (house, groceries, taxes, utilities, car, etc) is much higher in most CT towns when compared to most Atlanta area towns.

These are things you need to take into account, not cherry pick towns when comparing cost of living. You do this a lot and are significantly biased when doing so. Paint the full picture.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Completely agree. Without knowing statistics, I'd guess CT has more good school districts as a percentage but that doesn't mean they don't exist in other areas.

and the relevant comparison here would be Roswell schools vs say Stamford which falls in line with a 30 min commute to Armonk and under 650K budget. Not sure that comparing whole states is helpful, maybe.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I don't think it is snobby to want good schools for your kids. The OP has said he/she wants good schools. No one says there are not good schools in Georgia but the OP needs to know that in general schools in Connecticut are near the top in the country while schools in Georgia are not. The OP needs to look at where they could live with good schools in Atlanta and how the commute is from that location to their job and then compare it to the commute here. Not everyone lives their lives by the almighty dollar. Many are willing to pay more to live where there are good schools for their children. That is one of the reasons some towns are pricier than others and many people are willing to pay higher taxes. Jay

But the almighty dollar dictates where you live

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

The top public school SAT was 1703 for Northview HS in Johns Creek. The top in Connecticut was Darien at 1811.

The challenge is that no GA town is analogous to Darien, which is at a level of affluence and cost that is rarely, if ever, seen in the south. When you have a town that's overwhelmingly wealthy like that, it tends to mean high test scores.

John's Creek is more economically similar to Trumbull or Orange.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Raider111

But the almighty dollar dictates where you live

A lot of people seem to forget that.

[Lalalally]

~30 minutes to Armonk w/ a budget up to $650,000 for a 3 bedroom, and great schools? Ridgefield makes sense to me.