House Hunting: How to choose location?

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by emm74

I am going to disagree with Hotzcatz about walking distance to an elementary school though - while I'm not sure about the OP's state, many states have latchkey laws, or at least recommendations, that kids aren't home alone for an extended period of time until age 12. With both parents working, elementary school age kids (especially in the early years) aren't walking home to an empty house. One parent would need to be able to flex their schedule to be home after school or the kids would go to an afterschool program. On the other hand, by middle school, they would be more likely to come home on their own so I'd think about prioritizing walkable proximity to a middle school over an elementary school, at least if you intend to use an afterschool program.

Actually very few -- almost no states have a codified law stating that a child cannot be alone at home until the age of 12. Those charts you see in women's magazines are based on guesses, usually informed by CPS guidelines, and even those take into consideration the totality of circumstances. If the child can use the phone, understands things like not to set the house on fire, has some adult nearby (maybe a neighbor) who is home and they know they can go to for help, and the parent can get home within a reasonable time, it's usually not a big deal. The biggest factor is the individual child and their maturity level and general behavior -- some children could not even be left alone at 12.

Walking to an elementary school is considered desirable for many reasons other than the fact that the child would be capable of walking home alone and entering their house. Our town has as a priority that they want the majority of elementary school students to be able to walk to school because it is healthier, better for the environment, etc. Most parents walk their kids to school in groups. It isn't really possible to do this for the middle schools or high schools because there are fewer of them and the town is relatively large.

[BoBromhal]

the vast majority of people pick "location" based on 1 of 2 factors:

1. Commute
2. Good education for the kids

Since we don't know much about the education system where you are - much less your kids ages - we have to rely on you to inform us of the degree of difference between where you are and where these other schools are.

I'd certainly advise against over-worrying about the middle or high school if your kids aren't past 2nd grade.

I can't imagine 10 minutes making a difference to family that will come see you (or vice versa).

[Marie Joseph]

I would pick option C. You won't see an increase in expenses, the house is likely a good investment since the area is up and coming, and you are going to get a larger lot/house for your money.

I know a lot of people are going to answer this based on commute but I like to look at the long term and personally don't care about the commute.