keira-2007

Crumbs! Thats quite a list. I'll have to double check exactly what illnesses were included in her first lot of injections.
Well for all those injections I;d like to think that that must mean kids are an awful lot healthier over there!

jumping doris

I have said this many times....choose your school wisely and you'll be very surprised.
We chose where we live because of the schools. Ours offer all the IB, Honors, AP etc and my children struggled here at first.
My then 14 year old was classed as gifted and talented in the UK and went to one of the top grammar schools in the country. It took her a year to get into her stride here. Most of the children in her high school are very, very clever and very motivated and it is very much the same throughout the schools in my township, at all grades.
We might be lucky, but our schools are much better than the schools we used in the UK.
Also there is a lot more parental involvement in schools here. There is more sport and we aren't sporty but we still go and support the high school football team because it is a big community thing and we were really proud when they won the State championships.

Everyone seems to think that UK children are so educationally superior to US children. We haven't found that, in fact quite the reverse.
Just choose your school district wisely and swallow hard when you get your property tax bill.

keira-2007

Thanks jumping doris. Okay wise words. So would you suggest that we find school first then find house? (We will be renting for a few months before we buy.)

Oh and what do you mean about the property tax bill? Is this a one off payment when you buy or a monthly charge?

penguinsix

Property taxes are assessed annually, but sometimes you pay them in two payments (or more). In some cases it is just applied to the principle of your mortgage and you make the payments as part of your mortgage payment. You pay it on property you own, so you usually won't have a bill when you rent. In some states you even pay a property tax on your cars or boats.

Needless to say, higher property values = higher property taxes = more money for schools. Lower property values = lower property taxes = less money for schools.

Renting is a great idea--you nailed that one. Once you start to find houses on sites like http://www.realtor.com, head over to http://www.greatschools.net and check out the schools. Many realtor sites list the school districts and specific school your child will attend (schools are assigned by where you live. Sometimes kids on different sides of the street will go to different schools).

Jerseygirl

Over $1K per month of our property taxes go to funding the local schools...we don't have any kids.

jumping doris

If you rent you may have to use the schools in the area you rent in. That's OK if you eventually buy there. We weren't able to do that because the town we now live in is really a small suburb and there is no rental property, it just isn't available here.
We could have rented in the next suburb but we would have to have used those schools. (Which are good but not as good). Then when we bought, our children would have had to move schools.
That seemed so unfair after having made the big move over here so we decided to buy.
I wish we could have rented because although we have a lovely house, I would have chosen a different neighbourhood within the same township.

Our property taxes are really high but the schools have everything they want, no expense spared.
When the last daughter leaves so will we...to a cheaper area

jumping doris

Our taxes are about the same That's why we will move when they all leave school

Jerseygirl

That's not our total property taxes...that's the portion that goes to the schools and we've not received next year's yet.

Maz

Ours are nearly up to $6K a year in Aurora. We're in Oswego school district. They're just a tad higher in Naperville next door.

Jerseygirl

$6K a year!!! Maybe we should have moved to Chicago instead of NJ.

jumping doris

That's our school portion. We also pay a township tax on earned income.
The township tax is quarterly and is due tomorrow!

Glen Ellyn Service Crew

$6K a year to live in Aurora! Mental, I have a 4 bed 2.5 bath in Glen Ellyn and pay $6,500 and I don't mean to be a snob or anything but Aurora is no Glen Ellyn.

Maz

Well that is being snobby, quite exceptionally so. Aurora is the 2nd biggest city in Illinois, you can't lump the entire city together just judged by the affordable property tax bill of one house. We're equidistant between Aurora and Naperville centres, and in Oswego school district and Will County. Rather difficult to pigeon-hole us... do carry on trying though.

another bloody yank

Are you the Mayor or something?

penguinsix

Aurora is also the home of Wayne Campbell, of Wayne's World.

Enough said...