Pros and Cons of house right opposite to a Elementary school ? (transfer, to buy)

[Chamakalas]

I found a house that I really like to buy , but it is just opposite to an elementary school, literally just cross the road ? What are the Pros and Cons of house right opposite to an Elementary school ?

[numbersguy100]

The only positives I can think of - if your kid attends, they can walk to and from school. And if the playground isn’t locked after hours, you could use it.

Cons? Carpool traffic. I don’t live especially close (less than a mile but not “close”) to our local elementary or middle schools and I sometimes get stuck in the crap traffic that drop off and pickup create if I don’t think about it.

[Tigerbait73]

Expect a lot of cars parked out in front of your house on the streets after school. It is a major hazard but may not be an issue for you. If you have dogs, they might not be a fan of the constant car and foot traffic.

Access to playgrounds/fields is nice. Usually have some sort of walking trail. Generally should be safer and more patrolled. Will raise property value depending on school.

[stephwin]

Like others have pointed out, drop off and pick up times will have lots of traffic and it can be hard to navigate around that if you need to leave to go to work. Also keep in mind that people may park in front of your house when there are school events going on, like open house because parking is limited. My daughter's school seems to have a big event or two every month.

[stan4]

Oh, geez, no.

[Rakin]

They are gone by 3pm and you then have quite zone in the evenings and a nice play ground.

But a lot of it depends on the layout of the school and the location of the house.

[thumpcbd]

I live across the street from an RISD elementary school and love it.

* about 4-6 nights a school *year* there are cars parked out front of my house but that's nothing.
* School zone traffic in the morning / afternoon is a little crazy for about 10-15 minutes at peek drop off time, but the 20 MPH speed limit makes it sane.
* 20 MPH makes it pretty easy to get out of the driveway because everyone is moving so slowly, and, generally, paying attention
* we get to use the play grounds that are about 100 feet away and way better than any backyard jungle gym we can put in.
* kids walk to school in about 2 minutes

TL;DR -- it's fantastic living in close proximity to a school.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Rakin

They are gone by 3pm and you then have quite zone in the evenings and a nice play ground.

But a lot of it depends on the layout of the school and the location of the house.

Except on days when they have Kindergarten registration, an evening PTSA meeting or "Back to School Night" or some other event. People will be parking on your lawn and blocking your driveway.

[Katana49]

Don't do it. Our last house was about 1/4 mile away from an elementary and that was just about right, I wouldn't want to be any closer. I work from home, and I could faintly hear the kids playing at recess everyday. Living across the street would be way too loud, in addition to all the other problems people have posted.

[numbersguy100]

Personally I would be a hard no for a middle school or high school - they are typically larger, more after school events, and the kids are old enough to leave campus at the end of the day and loiter or throw their trash in your yard (very frequent complaints at our local MS and HS campuses). For an elementary school, I would go visit during drop off and pick up. Sometimes the layout and volume allow this to be very efficient. Our local elementary is very large and has lots of transfer students which means very few kids walk to school and carpool line is a beating for everyone whether trying to leave home or trying to get your kid to school.