cedarsguardian

Hi,

I was wondering what other parents with school age kids think about this.

I know most people prefer to live close to their kids respective schools for a number of reasons, and being from the UK where school bus is almost un heard of, especially in the London area.

So would you consider renting/buying a house where the distance is over 1.6/2 km away in order to take advantage of the school bus.

What would be the advantages and dis advantages of each?


Regards

magnumpi

Not really

We live within a 10 min walk from my sons school. If we used the I wana buy a house so I can make use of a school bus mentality then we would not be living near the lake side and would have to live north of Ajax. Yukk!! And what happens when he leave school next year?

cedarsguardian

Thanks for your reponse.

Lets say you have a choice, both locations are equal and acceptable.

House one is 10-15 minutes walk.
House two requires school bus.

What do you do during the winter months especially if you have a baby, where you will have to walk 10-15 minutes (drive the distance?).

babsi

I would be 100% sure that your house is over the 1.6km to the school. I know someone who's child takes the bus for French immersion. For SK they measured the distance from the normal school to their house (they live right next door to the normal school so obviously have the distances measured) and they just got the school bus based on the distance. Fast forward a year later they came again and did the measurements and they were just under the 1.6km and for the first two weeks had to walk to school until a space became available. It was a 30 minutes walk to the school uphill, four times a day.

magnumpi

Well I can only see it from my own perspective. By 8:40 am, if there was any overnight snow here then it will have been ploughed and clear to drive or walk.

We have lived in other areas were we just fell short of the school bus route. My lad just used a normal bus, at a reduced price, with his student card.

I choose we're to live based on affordability and neighborhood, not if we can get a school bus. We do have two cars though and if it did get proper cold OH can drive him up the road. But He normally leaves home in a tee shirt and jeans at anything above -10c.

cedarsguardian

Thanks for your response.

It seems to me that a school bus is a nice to have, it saves on school pickups and drop offs time especially if you have younger siblings at home and you have to make the journey 4 times a day.
It Seems like a waste to drive such a short distance yet it is sometimes not possible to walk durinh the really cold months.

So either extremes would be best. i.e. over 1.6 km or less than 100m. (where you do not have to really leave home as such but just wait outside for kids to get to school).

magnumpi

We're are you movin to? How do your children get to school in the UK?

Kaye5

We have the school buses here, in the UK (Scottish Borders). We are 7 miles from the high school and 3 miles from the primary school.

Seems like a good idea - until the kids miss the bus. Believe me, that happens all too frequently. No matter how early you get them out of bed, it's the last crucial 5 minutes when it all goes to pot. Worse the more kids you have, and the more buses you deal with (we have 3 kids and 2 buses). Missed bus = we have to drive them there. The older 2 kids, if we have left for work, and they miss the bus = no school, beg a ride from a neighbour... cycle 7 miles.... you get the idea.

If it were me, I'd pick a 10-15 min walk above school bus any day. If the weather is so severe to stop you driving/walking then I would guess it would be a snow day anyway and bus / school will be off.

10-15 mins walk is not a long walk - we walked 30 mins twice a day to school and back (uphill one way) in London - the public transport in London took longer to get there than walking. Kids soon get used to it and actually enjoy it. Walk when you can - drive when it's real bad weather - stay home when it's real, real bad weather.

cedarsguardian

In my case and as it stands:

We have 4 kids. (1 is a baby).

The school is 2 miles away. To use public transport we need two buses, and it will take over an hour, walking is probably a good 45minutes to an hour (not an option) cycling is not an option either becuase I drop kids at school and continure to work and wife picks them up at 3:15.

We will be moving to Ottawa soon, and curently looking for a place to rent and school around the potenial area.

Kaye5 you make a good point of missing the bus.

Kaye5

If both you and your wife are going to work, I'd be cautious about relying on the school bus. You're restricted to what time it picks up from your home - if that doesn't tie in to when you need to set off for work, you'll be taking them yourself anyway. If they miss it - you're probably going to be late for work!

If one of you isn't going to work, then school bus would be fine - they would get it most days, just be ready when they don't!

4 kids - have you got a 3-year old? They're the worst for walking. 0-2 - stick em in the buggy - 4 year olds can walk. 3 year olds, well, say no more.

magnumpi

As I said, choose we're to live based on neighbourhood and affordability. Neighbourhood would obviously include proximity to schooling and stores. Ottawa is OK. It's not like you are moving to sleepy town. Most sub divisions here build schools close to residential areas, you can't drive more than a KM or two without passing a school zone were we are.

PzFus

Being eligible for school bus with us in NB gave us more freedom when my wife started work. It meant we could specify which bus the children could take in the afternoon, so that they could leave school on a different bus, then get off the bus at the child minders. For us this wouldn't have been an option if we lived inside the minimum distance - if you're not eligible because of where you live you are not entitled to use the bus full stop, ( According to our school district anyway), and you would have to pay for a taxi.

cedarsguardian

Ages: 10 month, 5, 6, and 9. So I guess I am alright .

nikki dreaming

Good point, same applies to me , kids get a different bus after school, which means they get straight to sitter, if we didn't have the bus, us both working full time would be problematic

BristolUK

Absolutely right. Mind you, in our case, neither of us parents drive

Good points.

Other considerations are how they get home if they're ill and school meetings. There needs to be a good system in place so you know when school's closed or if a particular bus is running late.

Here we have separate French and English districts. The English website announced such things while the French one didn't. There was a phone number for the French district but all it said was closed or open that day. Either their buses were never delayed by snow or something else like a sick or delayed driver or your kids left at the normal time and waited. And waited.