Great schools, cheap homes
The best school value for your housing buck
Spring break is here! Even if you’re not in class anymore, take advantage of the recent Trulia study to find some affordable homes in great school districts. Plus, our analysis shows that living near good schools can help your home maintain its value through the housing market lows.
Using info on over 2 million U.S. homes from Trulia.com and newly launched education data on over 125,000 schools, we found 27 suburbs with great schools at relatively cheap prices just outside nine major cities. Check out three of our favorites here:
Philadelphia
Love cheesesteaks, but worried the kids won’t be able to spell their address? Check out Collegeville, where you can score a pad with awesome schools for about $300K. See other cities here.
Q: Relocating to Philly suburbs, Which neighborhoods have families with young children (baby-ville)… [and] also good public elementary schools?
Asked by Caroline Kesmodel, Buyer & Seller in Philadelphia
A: There are several great suburbs in the Philly area, if you want to be closer to the ocean and don’t mind the commute… see more
Dallas
Deep in the heart of Texas, you can find Allen. This suburb scores 9 out of 10 on the education scale and is less than half an hour from downtown. See other cities here.
Q: [We] need affordable new home with master up in great school district with short commute to downtown? Possible?
Asked by Srp, Home Buyer in Dallas
A: I am a new home specialist, and your best areas for new homes approx 20-30 minutes from downtown will be Mesquite… see more
Boston
With some of the best colleges in the U.S., we know education is important in Beantown. But, finding a place that.s worth the price can be tricky. Check out Swampscott for amazing schools at a reasonable price. See other cities here.
Q: We are currently city dwellers, being forced to move to the ‘burbs b/c of space. We have 3 boys 3yrs and under, and are looking for a great Boston suburb… Where are your favorite towns?
Asked by Lemon, Home Buyer & Seller in Boston
A: I am a new home specialist, and your best areas for new homes approx 20-30 minutes from downtown will be Mesquite… see more
Stay tuned for more house hunting tips! Or sign up for the free newsletter yourself. We’ll love you for it.
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Sylvia Barry said,
April 1, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
While being in Marin county, San Francisco North Bay, we can not claim that we have the ‘Cheap Homes’, but Trulia might have overlooked a couple recent articles about the Town of Novato in Marin and the quality of Marin county schools.
Marin County Schools was voted the best schools for the money by Forbes Magazine http://www.sylviasellsmarin.com/Forbes+Rates+Marin+Schools+Best+for+the+Buck
And our local town of Novato was selected as the Best Affordable Suburbs in California by Business Week.
http://www.sylviasellsmarin.com/Forbe+Magazine+Ranks+Marin+among+Nation’s+Wealthiest+Counties
Granted, everything is relative (meaning affordability), but Novato is the most affordable town in Marin county and probably near and around the city.
A few earlier Trulia blogs -
http://www.trulia.com/voices/Schools/How_would_you_describe_the_public_and_private_educ-3103–
http://www.trulia.com/voices/General_Area/Can_you_describe_how_this_city_looks_and_feels_for-3085–
O.K. off my soapbox; but call me or email me if you want more info .
Sylvia