Wife and I are retired. In our state there is a great science and math boarding school available to jr/sr in high school. Locally our son will have few opportunities in hs for math/science as he is pretty accelerated so he/we may consider this boarding school. If he were to go it is about 3 hours away so we might buy a home or rent nearby for those two years. I would not think this is strange. We are not specifically tied to where we currently live and plan on selling and travelling when DS goes to college, so living in another city would not be unusual or helicoptery. We would not do this for college.
Moving closer to a childâs school is entirely dependent on family dynamics as well as affordability and mobility. It is a very personal decision akin to the debate about stay at home or working mothers. I am just amused by judgemental posts from people like @sgopal2â and others who are not necessarily that situation or who have convenient choices.
Hey @allinone: no need to get so touchy. I wasnât judging. I just thought it was strange that parents would split up their family over boarding school. I personally would never do that.
It can definitely be a cultural thing, reflecting the emphasis and huge priority many Asian cultures put on their childrenâs education.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/world/asia/08geese.html?pagewanted=all
Unrelated⊠heli parenting
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/03/20/600-indian-students-expelled-after-footage-shows-parents-scaling-walls-to-pass/
Met a parent who has twins about to attend as day students. Travel time: about an hour to school, than an hour back to work. Current commute to work: one hour. They are the only kids, so parents just sold house and moved into same town as BS. Parent still has same commute to work, but parent 2 is even closer now to work. So, for them, it made sense. When they added up what it would cost to board the two kids for four years, and how difficult it would be arriving back home at 10 oâclock at night, seemed best option.
I think that perfectly makes sense as they are day students. The original thread was about parents buying a second home near their boarding student splitting time between their main residence and a second home near the boarding school.
âThe couple who recently bought a house in a town where they hope their child might attend boarding school a year from now.â
Wow. Thatâs unbelievable! 8-|
When I first saw this thread, I thought âthat is crazy!â However, after Parents Weekend, I can count over two dozen sets of parents who have done/are doing some version of relocating to be closer to the BS. Apparently, it is quite common. Who knew?
Its really alarming that our culture sees parenting as superfluous after the age of 14. It is almost as if parents need to go underground if they, god forbid, care about and want to be physically close to their kids after middle school. No wonder kids donât feel the need to communicate with their parents after that stage. Parents and children are related for life, folks. Why is physical proximity, aka the desire for a family to live together so taboo? After all, we could have totally controlling parents who live a 1000 miles away and the most liberal parents that live under the same roof as their kids. More families need to live together than apart and for as long as possible. Some cultures got that right for many centuries and are the happiest people in the world.
I have an international friend whose parents bought a house nearby (less than an hour). Itâs easier for her parents to come in for vacations than for her to fly across the world.
@allinone - the best parenting is not a binary choice, âalarming, superfluous parentingâ OR âliving together for as long as possible.â Itâs individual case basis. Kids are wired differently, families are structured differently. One size does not fit all. We loved visiting our son 3000 miles away, but from the earliest age, maybe 11 or 12, he couldnât wait for the opportunity to be âindependent,â one of his earliest, favorite words. Eventually, we concluded that his need for independence (note: our family was and is incredibly close) was no different than the need a musically gifted kid might feel to play an instrument. For him, the idea of his parents moving in down the street from boarding school would have been anathema. Thereâs ample room for everybodyâs different parenting styles and points of view.
I just read this and thought it fitting to share:
I hope you realize this is a humor article :-0
NO! Are you sure @harbound? I believe it is serious! Parents flocking to the dorms, usurping kids so they can âbe close to their studentâ. I got a good laugh out of it! 
Perfect! Kill two birds with one stone. I always wanted a do-over and to bond with my child while âgroup studyingâ for the SAT.
Helicopter parent here- moved across the country to be 30 minutes away. Kids are boarders but get all the benefits of Sunday dinners and watching their gamesâŠ
Quite a few parents at CRH moved to CT to either be closer to soon-to-be-boarders or have them be day students. I know at least a dozen just from 3rd formers!!!
Actually, about two dozen.
When we were at Exeter a young girl on a panel from near our home piqued my interest as she lived just 15 minutes away. The moderator then referred to her as local now as her parents either moved or bought an extra house in NH.