Dream Home or School District: Which Would You Choose?

September 11, 2013

Weighing the pros and cons of choosing a home based on school district.

You married the one you love, have the job you’ve always wanted, and have three adorable babes to tuck in at night. Your American Dream is almost complete – all that’s left? The house.
Where a lot of people struggle in this situation is deciding whether to go with the dream home, or the dream school district. The no-brainer here is to buy the better home that is in the best school district, but that isn’t always an option.
There has been a lot of discussion on this topic. Some justify settling for a decent school district to allow them their dream home; stating that children learn most of their values at home. This argument states a home with educated and supportive parents will ensure their child’s academic success, even if they don’t go to the best schools.
On the other side of the picket fence, people find justification on settling for an older home, with less updated features in an exceptional school district; expressing that a nice home is a luxury, not a need. “One can live in a less spacious, older place – at the same price – in order to give the kids the advantages of being in a higher rated school district that has higher expectations of its students,” said one homeowner.
What side of the fence are you on? Dream Home/Decent Schools, or Decent Home/Dream Schools? I mean, can you really have the American Dream with one and not the other? ~Minneapolis Association of Realtors Article