<p>And MVHS beat Homestead (twice) in volleyball…just saying…</p>
<p>Public school for 2 kids- one in top HS in Contra Costa, one in top HS school on the Peninsula - Tutoring is the norm and so are private sports coaches- and music teachers- and SAT/ACT test prep. And no, parents in these affluent districts do not chose privates in California because most often the good privates are only near cities with poor High Schools, or only one good magnet, which is lottery only. Yes the parents participate and support these top schools in the affluent suburbs AND most use tutors regularly- to pick up slack of a teacher, or to help support a crazy EC schedule and also carry 4-5 APs.</p>
<p>Another possibility: Davis High School. Living there is cheaper than SF, SD, or LA, especially if you live on the east side of Davis. Your husband could get a job in nearby Sacramento.</p>
<p>Davis a fun true college town. When I was there Davis public schools had a good reputation and were well supported by the local community - not surprising since a high percentage of them are professors or university employees. A lot of people in the area worked in Sacramento and would buy a house in Davis and commute in order to get their kids into Davis schools.</p>
<p>@vballmom…was it only twice?</p>
<p>@OlympicLady, I’ve never used a tutor, and I’ve never known other parents who have paid for private tutors, unless you are talking about situations where a student is diagnosed on the autism spectrum or has ADD without symptoms severe enough to qualify for special assistance through the school. </p>
<p>I also never paid for any SAT/ACT test prep, although I do know many parents who have felt the need to enroll their children in these programs. The FUHSD offers several free sessions per year, so we had each child enroll in one free session and we just purchased the CollegeBoard’s practice book for around $19.00. It all worked out. My daughter is now at MIT. My son (uw gpa = 3.46) was accepted to UC San Diego, Trinity College CT, and five other schools, but has chosen to attend Willamette in Salem, OR. </p>
<p>You know how the Princeton Review and other SAT prep sites always state you can raise your scores 100 points or more through their programs? We found that our kids raised their scores 100 points or more just by practicing at home with the CollegeBoard’s practice book.</p>
<p>Two kids through a central coastal california public high school, never a tutor for either. Kids do get occasionally get math tutors but other than that, I haven’t heard of anyone getting a tutor. Teachers are awesome, staying after school, holding weekend study groups prior to AP exams, evening online tutoring sessions etc. </p>
<p>CA schools can be outstanding. My Nephews and Nieces attend Mayfair in the Long Beach area where they are getting an excellent education - so if you decide to look south, add that one to your list.</p>
<p>Good friend’s kids attend Poly High in Long Beach, extremely diverse, tough urban school with an array of magnet or small academy small programs, including an accelerated college prep one. So, this discussion makes me feel less frustrated at our CA high schools. (Though I still do wish my kids had gone to a school like Homestead; I am in a rougher SD in SJ…). Yet, older child still did make it to a top 5 uni-- whatever these rankings really mean, but just to say, much depends on the kid. Another friend’s daughter went to Homestead, loved it. Leigh High School, Campbell District in the San Jose area, also a nice school without being killer competitive. OP will have many good choices within our large state despite all of the budgetary woes… And since she is a parent who wants to-- and plans to be available-- to volunteer, whatever school they choose will definitely win out.</p>
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<p>Yes, Piedmont is an affluent city. But don’t go by the median stats alone. The city is only 1 mile square. There is a significant percentage of residents who move to Piedmont for the schools. There is some rental housing, there are houses that aren’t astronomically expensive, there are people who live in small houses so they can take advantage of the Piedmont schools. </p>
<p>What Piedmont does offer (in addition to the schools) is:
- a small-town community within a large urban area
- great east-bay weather</p>
<p>In general, east-bay housing prices are less than SF or the peninsula</p>
<p>For the OP, regarding commuting from SF to Silicon Valley, the bay area traffic is nearing southern california congestion levels. Although the highway may be direct, it can take a while to get down it. </p>
<p>Fremont may be a good alternative as it is better located for commuting to SV and I believe has some good schools (although I have no direct knowledge)</p>
<p>Davis is an interesting suggestion. It is certainly less expensive cost of living and has a nice small university town feel.</p>
<p>OP feel free to PM me if you want more info about the east bay. (I’m assuming your son will change his mind about the move)</p>
<p>Yep, this is exactly how it is here. Teaching to the test! My daughter took AP US History as a junior and I remember the teacher telling us at Back To School night that it was going to be VERY fast-paced. And, unfortunately, she would have to *power *through the chapters so they could stay on track for the AP exam. She apologized to us parent and admitted that they wouldn’t be spending much time on any one area. No *wonder *my daughter didn’t care for APUSH! At the beginning of this year, her AP Gov’t teacher told us he had taken a break from Advanced Placement classes because it was frustrating to teach like this. I actually don’t think he was enjoying it this year, either. Again, it wasn’t one of my daughter’s favorite classes. She’s in AP Econ and AP English and of those two, I think she prefers the latter. But even *that *teacher told us she wouldn’t normally assign some of the books she does. She doesn’t even feel they’re appropriate for this age level. However, this is what will be on the AP exam. Sigh.</p>
<p>Our int’l school where we pay private school fees has some lousy teachers too, one loves to fail the kids…the other had to go to rehab and a handful of others are very burnt out. All these are AP teachers.</p>
<p>I’d point out that the pay and benefits at many private schools can be substantially less than at public schools — so many excellent teachers prefer public schools for that reason. Of course the flip side of the coin is working conditions and environment – the teacher at a private school may feel relieved not to have to deal with the sort of student discipline problems or number of students the public teacher routinely faces. But the point is – there are many experienced and dedicated teachers in public schools who are there precisely because they like the job security, pay and benefits they have earned by sticking to their job over time.</p>
<p>re post #86: Wow, as a Poly alum (and my three nephews have gone there), I’d be very careful about recommending it. You need to know exactly what you’re getting into with an extremely diverse student body and you also have to be very sure you are in the PACE or International Commerce programs. That said, there are tons of very capable students at Poly. There are some very nice areas in Long Beach to live. OP, if you really want to explore this further, PM me.</p>
<p>Also, re tutoring and SAT prep: paid private tutoring seemed to be almost non-existent in D’s HS since there was peer tutoring for math and English after school.
SAT prep, on the other hand, was very standard. At first I said no way, but then since EVERYONE else is doing it, you don’t really have a choice. And since then, I’ve seen where no one takes the MCAT without a prep course similar to a bar exam review, whereas we just reviewed our bio and chem notes and had vocabulary flash cards. Times change.</p>
<p>I attended the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, a public middle and high school that is consistently ranked in the top 50 high schools in America. Although I do not know how magnet points work for people out of state, you should certainly have your son apply to LACES if it is a feasible option.</p>
<p>FYI: I did not have an impressive work ethic but managed to get into Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and a full-ride based on merit at USC after my LACES education.</p>
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<p>LACES is a great school. Unfortunately, due to the way that magnet programs select students, it’s not a feasible option for the OP.</p>
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<p>Just for the record, I graduated from NYU already. Name one town in coastal CA in which you wouldn’t get shot/mugged/murdered/otherwise become a victim of gang activity, and in a reasonably good school district, where a family of four can buy a house with 20% down (not just mortgage, PITI too), own two reasonably nice cars, have 1 year’s pay in savings, and have adequate and reasonable college savings for both of the two kids, and still not eat ramen, all on $100k, gross. Most would be hard-pressed to do that for $100k NET let alone $100k gross which is about $60k net, generously speaking.</p>
<p>Oh, that’s right, CA schools are some of the worst in the country, so that’s impossible. :rolleyes: Btw I’m in Coastal CA right now and groceries here are more expensive than MANHATTAN of all places. And plus turnover is nonexistent so the food isn’t all that fresh either. CA is one of the worst places to live in the country for someone not sitting on a 7 figure trust fund. At least in NYC you get paid commensurate with the cost of living (btw median household income in NYC Metro=$394,000. Median household income in Chicago Metro=$225,000 per realtor.com).</p>
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This statement alone proves to me you know nothing about finances. </p>
<p>What is your income? You net only 60% of that? Time to get a new accountant.</p>
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<p>This is some sort of entitlement? Everybody has to live on the coast? Everybody has to have two reasonably nice cars and college savings (even people without kids)?<br>
Most people living anywhere don’t have all these things. If you have to live on the coast for some reason, you are probably not going to be able to buy a house on 100K. But you can rent a decent place for less than $2000, in some cases less than $1500. And I know plenty of people making less than 100K who are content with living here.</p>
<p>We get it. You don’t like California. Don’t live here.</p>
<p>I’m not in a position to compare COL for the various states, but a colleague I just met yesterday, a new teacher from the East Coast, is moving back to the East Coast in fall to continue teaching. She has two primary reasons for returning; one of those two is the cost of living in CA. (She’s from CT.) Btw, contrary to popular mythology on CC, the typical teacher in CA is not necessarily rolling in money. Starting salary is below 50K; that kind of figure would be a struggling salary for just about any middle-class (non-luxurious) location in CA. As to the question of being in a location which is not high-crime (and still being able to survive financially), there is a floor below which you are unable to survive, period. There was an article about a year ago in the local paper about the rent for cockroach-infested single rooms in SF costing $1000/mo. It’s not as if one can get a room or an apt “in a bad part of town” (any town) for something below the base market value.</p>
<p>In that respect, I should not have been surprised about the young teacher’s comments. She was also responding to the vagaries of the CA budget affecting her job longevity, but the comment about COL for someone living in a modest middle-class suburb was certainly revealing.</p>
<p>This is a side-track from the thread topic! Not a sign of unwelcome! Just an observation.</p>
<p>If you have to live on the coast for some reason, it is not likely you will be able to buy a decent house on 100K. But you can rent.</p>
<p>A couple years ago I was between houses and I rented a three bedroom apt in Palos Verdes for $1800. Very possible for someone making 80 to 100K. There is not a lot of mugging going on around here.</p>
<p>If you are not such a beach bum you can buy nice new Lennar condos and homes in Valencia for $300,000 to $400,000. This is possible for the typical family income (my sister’s family is low on the income side, as I said, but still manages to live here without a single mugging, believe it or not).</p>
<p>And if you move further from major urban areas it is less.</p>
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<p>As some have probably pointed out, certain areas of SF are more affordable, and more pleasant, than others. (Just like most any big city.) But also consider up-and-coming South SF (the city of that name), which used to be “a joke” when I was growing up, but is becoming more attractive as a location choice now. Also San Mateo. Both are close to highway 280, which is often preferred as a link to the SV (longer, but more scenic and usually less congested). I also think that choosing a denser area than LA will make the research aspect more navigable for you. JMO. Makes sense about the distance from older son, too. Good luck, best wishes.</p>
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<p>No</p>
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<p>That’s where all the (relatively) high paying jobs are. Even so, CA jobs are still low paying compared to the rest of the country.</p>
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<p>Yes (double income couple=two commuting schedules, and public transport is not a reasonable option in CA) and yes, if you have kids (and if not, you still have to save for retirement). It would be negligent not to. I’m not saying they have to have all four years saved, I’m talking about a reasonable amount (say $150k cash per kid-which isn’t unreasonable given UC tuition hikes-there’s someone my mom knows at work that makes $120k gross combined, and has to pay $40k tuition/room/board at UC Irvine, and didn’t get a cent of aid).</p>
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<p>They don’t but they should (especially the college savings and 1 year’s pay in savings-oh, and retirement savings)</p>
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<p>The school districts suck. And “decent” is relative. Most of the rentals I’ve seen in my area that are in the $2k range, a family of four can’t reasonably fit into. We’re talking a 2/2 or a TINY 3/2 for $2k, if even that. Fine if you’re single, otherwise, no way.</p>
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<p>Nothing wrong with having high standards. And unlike the CA subprime fairytale money people, I’m willing to deal with the cold and god forbid, occasional snow, and omg, work long hours, and forgo things like beaches at your doorstep that you never go to, to achieve said high standard of living.</p>
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<p>That’s exactly my intention. Enjoy living in what will become the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.</p>
<p>If the kid’s going to end up at state school anyway, then go to Michigan or VA. Unlike the UC system, UMich and UVa aren’t on the verge of bankruptcy.</p>