How difficult is it to get into St. Andrew's? (Jackson: rent, HOA)

[ktroccoli]

Hello All!

I'm a New York native maybe planning a move down to Jackson within the next year. I'm been offered a job and my husband is considering relocating as his job prospects are more flexible wherever he goes. We currently live on Long Island and have purchased a house in a very good school district (one of the best in the state) and if we move to Jackson we would want as academically challenging an environment as possible.
It seems that St. Andrew's has similar academic statistics to my kid's current school. However, I don't want to bank on my kids even getting into this school. In New York admissions to good private schools are very competitive and usually only take about 10-20% of applicants.

So, my question is, can we move down assuming that admissions is guaranteed or should we do more research for publics? If it's any concern, our housing budget would be 1.5m (that's with private school tuition accounted for.)

Edit: My daughter's will be entering 3rd grade and kindergarten the year we move (so we will have to apply by this fall.) I'm worried that my older daughter will be entering in an "off" year which might make admissions more difficult.

Thank you!

[Neshomamench]

St. Andrews does have the best academic reputation in the Metro.

As for your chances, they are as good as your check clearing. If your kids have good academic records, they will get in.

As for your housing budget, there are only a handful of houses, in the entire region, in the price range and they usually do not sell very fast. You could end up with a house you can not sell if you want to move. No matter how tempting, unless you know you are going to grow old here, don't do it. My wife and I went through this issue as well. We were used to a house in a price range that the market here simply does not support. The sweet spot is going to be 400-750K. If you decide this is where you want to be grow old, then you can buy whatever you wish.

[madison2013]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can find a nice, safe expensive house. Just not in Jackson. Try the suburbs.

[ktroccoli]

I was checking out houses in the Fondren/Eastover area as it will be a quicker commute for me. I'll be working at the art museum and my husband works from home. We also like that these two schools are a quick drive to the lower school campus.

Are neither Fondren nor Eastover safe? Further north would give me a 30 minute drive back and I prefer to be closer to the city center.

[madison2013]

Originally Posted by ktroccoli

I was checking out houses in the Fondren/Eastover area as it will be a quicker commute for me. I'll be working at the art museum and my husband works from home. We also like that these two schools are a quick drive to the lower school campus.

Are neither Fondren nor Eastover safe? Further north would give me a 30 minute drive back and I prefer to be closer to the city center.

LOL. Have you never been to Jackson? You're in for a rude awakening. I suggest you look at Ridgeland, Madison, or Brandon. If you want to live in Fondren then good luck.

[Neshomamench]

Originally Posted by ktroccoli

I was checking out houses in the Fondren/Eastover area as it will be a quicker commute for me. I'll be working at the art museum and my husband works from home. We also like that these two schools are a quick drive to the lower school campus.

Are neither Fondren nor Eastover safe? Further north would give me a 30 minute drive back and I prefer to be closer to the city center.

No. No they are not. People will tell you they are but here is the reality, they are somewhat nice areas that border very bad areas. There are car jackings, break ins and halfway houses. To the outsider looking in, they observe some nice houses in what seems like nice areas. What you are looking at are the remnants of nice areas. There are some people who believe deeply in these areas, but a look at the change in these areas is the fact based temper to their passion.

People live there and never have a problem but statistically you are just not as safe as if you lived north of town in the suburbs. The problem is the northern suburbs are shockingly dull.


My words, or anyone elses words are pretty meaningless if you have never been here. That is step one. Jackson is one of the poorest and most crime ridden cities over 100,000 in the country. Do you really want to live in a very small island in the middle of that?

BTW, there is no traffic here. Dont let that get in the way of your choices.

[ktroccoli]

Thanks for the info. We are taking a trip next weekend to meet with a realtor and check out houses. I must admit, I'm attracted to Jackson because of the lower cost of living but now I'm beginning to be worried. I was attracted to Fondren for the older houses and the Eastover district for the quick drive to the museum/St. Andrew's. Should we expand our house search to Ridgeland?

Are there any other tangible benefits to living in Madison County (aside from safety?) I find there are HOA but I'm not really sure what that means or what that entails? Is there any benefit to being in a HOA or should I avoid?

Thanks!

[madison2013]

Welcome to the real world.

Jackson is a broken city because most people have left due to crime and incompetent city government. Jackson is like a mini-Detroit. Madison, Ridgeland (north) and Brandon (east) are the suburbs. Boring? Yes. Safe, great public schools, clean, low taxes? Yes.

HOA (home owner associations) are by neighborhood. They can be good or annoying. If you plan on doing something tacky or trashy in your front yard you won't like it. So find a neighborhood that doesn't have one.

Sounds like you are going to be a first time homeowner?

[ktroccoli]

No, we own our home on Long Island and we owned a condo in Brooklyn before this home. If a PP is correct, we may just keep the home on LI and rent it out and find a smaller budget (since apparently a 1.5m has no resell value?) These are all questions I need to ask a realtor down in Jackson.

I asked about the HOA since those are not common in New York. We just bought our home in Nassau County and pay property/school taxes.

[madison2013]

You keep referencing $1.5mill. Have you considered that you're probably going to get much more and nicer house for $500k than you would in New York?