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Are there any communities out there, of any size, that have affordable houses, low taxes, a good quality of life (safe, clean, etc.), AND wonderful schools? By wonderful schools, I mean schools where parents are involved (they go to parent-teacher conferences, they volunteer, etc.), teachers care about their students, the administration works for the betterment of all students' educations, there are many quality extracurricular activities for students (not just football, but arts, other sports, clubs, etc.), there is a very high graduation rate (at least 90%), and most of the graduating seniors (at least 90%) go on to some form of higher education?
Does anyone here live in such a place (or heard of one)?
Are there any communities out there, of any size, that have affordable houses, low taxes, a good quality of life (safe, clean, etc.), AND wonderful schools? By wonderful schools, I mean schools where parents are involved (they go to parent-teacher conferences, they volunteer, etc.), teachers care about their students, the administration works for the betterment of all students' educations, there are many quality extracurricular activities for students (not just football, but arts, other sports, clubs, etc.), there is a very high graduation rate (at least 90%), and most of the graduating seniors (at least 90%) go on to some form of higher education?
Does anyone here live in such a place (or heard of one)?
Except for the taxes, that describes the school district I grew up in. Even with the taxes, it may vary depending on the location within the the district and the exemptions a household may qualify for. I will say that the only so-so aspect in terms of education may be in terms of Special Ed, but that is it.
Are there any communities out there, of any size, that have affordable houses, low taxes, a good quality of life (safe, clean, etc.), AND wonderful schools? By wonderful schools, I mean schools where parents are involved (they go to parent-teacher conferences, they volunteer, etc.), teachers care about their students, the administration works for the betterment of all students' educations, there are many quality extracurricular activities for students (not just football, but arts, other sports, clubs, etc.), there is a very high graduation rate (at least 90%), and most of the graduating seniors (at least 90%) go on to some form of higher education?
Does anyone here live in such a place (or heard of one)?
Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC (same school district) fits that criteria. It has excellent public schools, involved parents largely, great teachers/administrators largely as well, a graduation rate of 89% along with 92% as college bound, generally very safe/clean neighborhoods, affordable housing given the desirability (over 80 three bedroom homes/2 bath homes in the 230K-300K bracket currently) and property taxes are decent in both Carrboro and Chapel Hill homes not within the city limits (decent number to choose from) where it averages around $3000-$3500 a year. Bear in mind higher taxes are generally what equates to better schools since states are cutting dollars from public education as fast as they can, and public schools aren't self-sufficient.
In terms of general regions of the country, your neck of the woods (MN, WI, and IA) is generally the area with the highest school achievement overall, although I'm sure there's still a fair amount of variation therein. Still, all of these are low-cost states as well. Thus I don't see any particular reason you should look around for a community far afield.
In terms of general regions of the country, your neck of the woods (MN, WI, and IA) is generally the area with the highest school achievement overall, although I'm sure there's still a fair amount of variation therein. Still, all of these are low-cost states as well. Thus I don't see any particular reason you should look around for a community far afield.
Agreed. The affordable/good-education ratio gets worse the further away from home the family of five gets.
College towns with large public universities often have great school districts. Fayetteville, Arkansas is one. Great town, great schools, engaged community.
Its affordable here, and lots of graduates with degrees choose to stay here, so the teaching positions are very competitive.
There's always a tradeoff somewhere.
Generally, like has been mentioned, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa are the best bets, with a few surrounding states being good options.
Anywhere else will be expensive and/or in a bubble it seems.
There's always a tradeoff somewhere.
Generally, like has been mentioned, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa are the best bets, with a few surrounding states being good options.
Anywhere else will be expensive and/or in a bubble it seems.
I think that you could find something in the Interior Northeast as well, but I don't know if there will be anything perfect anywhere in terms of the criteria.
Any affordable community that has alternatives to government indoctrination centers (public schools) should fit the bill...
? Anyway, many of these areas will or may have private and charter options as well.
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