A little help...

[tigerlily]

I need a little help researching a possible new relocation. My biggest concern would be the education system. I was wondering if any of you have any good places to compare schools side by side, or even just a little help wading through all that info. (as I said this is VERY preliminary - just gotta know if I need to put my foot down and start kicking and screaming )

Any websites that you found particularly help with cost of living comparison or other sites would help too.

[JLC]

It's VERY hard to get a really good idea of what schools and/or districts are best in an area you are unfamiliar with. Your best bet is to talk with someone who's lived there for a long time and has an interest in and familiarity with the local school systems. But...to do some comparing yourself, here is a site that helped me:


http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

Also, google the Department of Education for the state you have in mind and you may come up with a site like this one for AZ...

http://www.ade.az.gov/srcs/find_school.asp

That one was very helpful for me when we moved to Tucson. Hopefully other states have something similarly useful.

I try to narrow down school districts I want to get my kids into and then look for real estate within those neighborhoods...rather than falling in love with a house that happens to be attached to crummy schools.

I've never really done a cost-of-living comparison because we don't get to choose where we move to. But here's a great site for finding virtually any available real estate listing in your area, with very customizable search features:

http://realty.com/ That's my favorite site for browsing for homes in a new area.

[tigerlily]

It's VERY hard to get a really good idea of what schools and/or districts are best in an area you are unfamiliar with. Your best bet is to talk with someone who's lived there for a long time and has an interest in and familiarity with the local school systems. But...to do some comparing yourself, here is a site that helped me:


http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

Also, google the Department of Education for the state you have in mind and you may come up with a site like this one for AZ...

http://www.ade.az.gov/srcs/find_school.asp

That one was very helpful for me when we moved to Tucson. Hopefully other states have something similarly useful.

I try to narrow down school districts I want to get my kids into and then look for real estate within those neighborhoods...rather than falling in love with a house that happens to be attached to crummy schools.

I've never really done a cost-of-living comparison because we don't get to choose where we move to. But here's a great site for finding virtually any available real estate listing in your area, with very customizable search features:

http://realty.com/ That's my favorite site for browsing for homes in a new area.

That definitely helps. I don't know ANYONE in this area, but this 'promotion' keeps coming up. It's NOT where I would like to move, but like you sometimes I don't have a choice.

I'll start there and see what I can find. THANKS!

[JLC]

Oopsies....wrong real estate link:


http://www.realtor.com/Default.asp?l...s1&poe=realtor

That's the one I meant to give ya!

As for the rest...if you want to PM me the possible location you may be uprooting to, I'll see if I can track down some local info for ya. I've done a LOT of that in the last few years.

For now though, I'm off for the rest of the evening, so will check it out tomorrow. Take care!

[mlededee]

if the public school system is what you are basing your decision on then DON'T move to georgia or south carolina (in that order). you would be appalled at what they call an education here. appalled. on the other hand, the public schools in virginia are generally good.

[frankykeno]

Can't be as bad as what Toledo tries to pass off as a public school system. I'm disgusted and currently researching charter schools, private schools, montesorri, alternative learning centers, etc. for Mikey. Best of luck Christie!

[tigerlily]

If the school system is that bad, then I may have to resort to private schooling or possibly consider home schooling. I'm going to try and contact the local Chamber of Commerce to have info sent out, but they're only going to speak highly of the area.

Actually, I am looking at the Pensacola, FL area. This is something that I will likely have little choice on. It will put me closer to my grandparents and Daytona so that's a bonus, but it doesn't get me any closer to my family in MD and PA.