Has anyone compromised on house for good schools?

[meadowquark]

Just that. Really. And if you did, what did you compromise on?

Buying in a catchment of very, very good secondary, but can only afford an ugly townhouse. Currently in a charming period house, but schools are not good. My mind says no brainer, school is more important. My heart cries. Please assure me it is worth it.

We could afford the house, but not the garden I love, in the area we needed to be in for schools. Totally worth it, imo.
(I have an allotment to make up for it!)

Not just the house but entire area. I know couples who live apart during the week so the children can go to the better schools.

I don't agree (sort of). I think home/family life is more important than anything and you should by the house that is best for your family with some consideration to schools, but not make ridiculous sacrifices for the sake of education.

If the townhouse ticks all the boxes you want from a home and you can all be happy there, then you probably should go with that, but if it leads to compromises that wouldn't have to make if you lived elsewhere, don't buy it.

I agree with DeanKoontz to an extent, but I do think (in my view) schools make such a difference that its worth making quite big sacrifices for. At the same time however, you need to be happy as a family (so for instance I would never live apart etc).

We moved for schools. Compromise was price. Similar sized house to the house we had before, price was practically double. We could have had a larger house (certainly an extra bedroom and probably an extra reception room) if we'd have stayed in the same area / chosen a cheaper area. House needed lots doing to it which we couldn't afford. Lived with antii-social layout (until we could afford to knock down walls etc), still have peach bathroom suite (nice!).

BUT, we love it here. Area is full of families like ours (because the schools are such a draw), lots of activities for children, neighbours are lovely, real community feel. We will be here for a very long time.

So, long winded way of saying that yes, I would move for schools, but not just for schools if everything else was a compromise. It needs to work for you as a family.

We live in an ugly house close to a good school. As it happens we like the layout of the house as well. But the external appearance of our house was quite far down the priority list.

The thing is - I'm not a believer in the 'perfect home' thing. Every house I've ever bought has been a compromise in some way (maybe my ideals are just too high!). This place has lots of good points, but it's definitely a compromise, and the school element was a really important plus point.

How long have you been looking, meadow? We were looking for a while, and this house (for various reasons) was the only one that came on that we all thought 'yes' to...

My compromise is lack of period charm, low ceilings, open space downstairs, garden a little smaller than I currently have, perhaps will hold value less than the period house. But the school is miles better than any other option around. Miles, miles better.

I am thinking I do not have to stay there forever, and I do not have to increase my mortgage, and I gain 1 extra bedroom, and a garage.

It is just that my heart sinks when I think of losing all that charm which I cannot afford to upkeep

Meadow It sounds like a compromise worth making as you are gaining some things in addition to the good school.

I am wary of these things as schools can change so much. Where we live there is a Secondary School that was notoriously difficult to get in to. You had to live very close to it to get a place and house prices were astronomical. That school is now going off the boil and another that was under special measures 8 years ago is now doing extremely well.

How old are your children?

Eldest is 7.

Yes definately compromised here. My son has some additional needs and we have moved for a very specific school. We have compromised a lot, more expensive but smaller house that needs loads of work, less convenient area etc. I see us being here until we get him through school and then finding a house that is more of what we want.

hmm, that's tricky then. We moved when dcs were 6 and 4 and obviously considered the Secondary School situation.

We went for our 'forever home' but out of catchment of the really good school as there would have been far too many compromises to make (smaller house, busier road, very small garden etc), and just kept our fingers crossed. Our daughter will start Secondary this sept and the school situation is different now; I'm glad we chose to do what we did. The school she will be going to still has a way to go, but I can see that it will get there.

Difficult seeing into the future though.

We're in a similar position. We're in the process of selling our 3 bed reasonable sized house in a rubbish area for both primary and secondary schools (but nice to live in) to move to a lovely but very expensive area for excellent primary and secondary schools - the compromise(s) will be 2 bedrooms, less overall square footage and a smaller garden - all for the same price as our 3 bed house :( rubbish but necessary as we want the best education for our son and, hopefully, his future sibling so are prepared to compromise on the space we live in to achieve this.

I'd definitely prioritise a good school (esp. secondary) over period charm.
In fact, I don't really care for period charm. I like 70's houses for their light, space and the fact that they really lend themselves to modern design. But that's a question of personal taste.

The question is, does the house suit your needs and your way of life?

You'll appreciate the extra bedroom more as your DC get bigger! Not joking - we used to have a cute row of dinky shoes at the bottom of the stairs. Now we have massive shoes going half way up the stairs. And because I'm too 'principled' stubborn stingy to let DS have a tv in his room when he invites his friends over they tend to hog the living room, filling the ground floor of the house with the booms and screams of his charming x-box games. Another bedroom would be bliss!

Definitely worth it for the better school IMO.

Thank you lovely MNetters. I have to keep pinching myself non-stop up until completion and remind myself why I am doing this, otherwise I get too panicky.

I compromised for an outstanding primary school, moved to a smaller house and just sucked it up for a good number of years. Hated it, too small but we relocated so our time frame for finding a house was tight.

We moved 5 years ago for an outstanding secondary to a better area in terms of amenities, much cheaper area, bigger house than we could have afforded in the previous area and all because the local primary was average and 1960's buildings.

The compromise is I still have to take ds2 back to the outstanding primary every day for the next 2 years in the car but it is totally worth it for the secondary. Ds1 was in year 2 when we moved, we wanted to give ourselves time to find the right house (this is our we are never moving again house)

Could you move to this awful house as a temporary measure and look at moving again in a couple of years or is that too horrific to consider?

Absolutely the right decision. When they are flying the nest, well educated with happy memories of their schooling, then you can move to wherever you want.

They'll be at school for more of the day than at home. Could ramble on all day about why that should be as positive an experience as can be, but won't.

Not that it is this extreme, but would you rather live in a beautiful house with your children unhappy because their school isn't living up to expectations? Besides, if the school continues to keep up its standards, then it will hold its value/increase by the time they finish school.

Yes, we wanted DS to have good schools and a nice neighbourhood. That meant a smaller house as properties are expensive in this area

I don't regret it for a second, I'd love for him to have a larger room but knowing his schools achieve good results and that he lives in a lovely community is worth far more than a larger bedroom.

I live in a great catchment. My house is built on land which was probably owned by the school at one point. I would like to move (I get itchy feet, spend hours on rightmove) but then I think about how close we are to this great school, how the dc will be able to walk to school etc and I can't do it. So to cut a long story short I am choosing school over house.

I agree with nobutreally I think any house purchase is a compromise of a whole number of things, and only you can decide which are the most important to you.
Oddly enough I was thinking about this yesterday - my sister and I bought houses within a year of each other. I covet her house - it's a new build, and the layout and space is fantastic. However it's not in a convenient place at all. 10+ years on, with our dc now all teens and into their 20s, my dc can walk to most places they want to go, or hop on a bus, or walk a few hundred metres to the train, or friends pass our house en-route and will pick them up/drop them off. There is no train, nowhere within walking distance, and few buses where she lives, so her and BiL are still having to ferry about dc in their 20s. I didn't really appreciate it at the time, but with hindsight, I'd pay a massive premium to give my dc that independence.

My point is, for most of us - with a finite budget, and needing to get to work and needing schools, etc., - there is no "perfect house" - but only you can decide what is most important for you at this stage of your life. If your dc is only 7, then presumably this needn't be a 'forever' house anyway - buy here until she gets through school, then move to the 'chocolate box' looking one you dream of would seem the best answer. Good schools are very important, and I wonder if people saying otherwise live anywhere near some of the schools that really aren't very good at all.

We packed up and shipped out to be nearer to our DD's school and to free up some capital to spend on school fees. We don't begrudge it for a second, partly because there were other reasons for moving away from where we lived, but school was the number one priority.

I think you have to look very carefully at a school to determine whether it's right for your child before you start sacrificing things to get there. It's very easy to get caught up in local 'hype' and to be blinded by league tables and results.

Obviously there's always a balance to be struck; I don't think anyone would choose a truly dire school just to live in a beautiful house.

We made a big move over a year ago and had a choice between a bigger house in a larger town, more amenities with not so great schools. Or smaller more rural house in catchment area for an excellent school (where the house needed lots of work).

We chose the better school. It has been a compromise. We have to use the car so much more than I'd like. The only house we could afford is right on the edge of the village, 30 mins walk to the school.

But I do love the house now we're here despite its problems. And I do like the security of not having to worry about the DC's school.

For me its a compromise that practically and logistically we have to live with everyday but it will be worth it in the long run.

What constitutes a good school though?

Ofsted?

% 5a-c?

Cohort?

It's got to be a mixture hasn't it? Ofsted can come and go. Local reputation, community involvement have got to come into it as well.