went house hunting. It SUCKED.

[midnight armadillo]

Clearly, going to graduate school for a phd was a massive waste of time financially and I am certainly far behind my friends who did not do so. I don't make enough to afford more than run-down shacks in the towns with good enough school systems to provide our boys with the special ed services they need.

Or I can give myself a 2 hour commute, each way, and never see said children.

This sucks.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. We have no more than B.Ss and you are not likely behind us financially. But

We do own our trailer (though not the land under it) and are in a good town with a nice school. As much as I prefer real houses, this was a good choice for us in the long run. :)

Hope you all can figure out something that works for your family too.

[midnight armadillo]

3. in eastern MA, there's no such option

The median house price around here is in the $495k range (i.e. WAY more $ than we have to spend!) for the better school systems, without moving very far from where I work...which isn't a good option in the long run when gas prices rise.

Condos aren't really much cheaper :(

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Ouch! That's wayyy too much. $300K will get you a ratty little ranch house here, but I wouldn't

pay that. (Not that I could.)

Good luck with your search. May it become more fruitful. :)

[AlCzervik]

2. Are you looking at houses only or have you checked out condos as well?

we started in a condo because we couldn't afford a single family house that didn't need a wrecking ball.

[no name no slogan]

4. I could never afford a house in my neighborhood

I live in a historic Victorian neighborhood, and single-family houses start at around $400k, if you're lucky (that's big $$ for the midwest). However, you can get a decent condo for under $200k, if you're willing to look and/or wait for the right one.

I bought a condo last fall after renting in the neighborhood for three years. If you don't mind sharing a few things, they're not too bad a deal.

[City of Mills]

5. You must be looking where I'm looking

I'm lucky though, I don't have to worry about school system quality yet, that has to be tough. I'm looking in eastern MA, north of Boston. I might have to stay put for now.

[midnight armadillo]

6. we were in Wayland today

Too damn pricey, but the schools have what our kids need. Waltham, where we are now, definitely does not from 1st hand experience. crap.

[City of Mills]

7. That's a tough market

I'm looking around Merrimack Valley, prices are cheaper than your area, but schools aren't that great. It's hard to find good housing and a good commute! I'm lucky for now, I'm in Lowell and I work here, but I don't know if i'll ever be able to afford other options...

[OmahaBlueDog]

8. This is one reason we moved from South Florida to Omaha

There are many 4 br homes in neighborhoods with very good schools for under $200K, and $300K + buys a lot of bells and whistles. Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Des Moines also have a lot of positives in these respects.

[distantearlywarning]

10. I'm currently in grad school in Pittsburgh, and we already own a house

It's small, but awesome, with hw floors & a little yard, and in an up-and-coming neighborhood. I know at least 4 other grad students in my program who own houses here, while they are still in school. The cost of housing is really amazing here! The median home price is around $130K, lots of pre-war housing with character. We have a 3bd 1 bath carriage house, 4 car garage, and we paid 100K for it.

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. I looked at several jobs up in that area

In the end, Omaha won out, but I was thoroughly impressed with the Pittsburgh area. Great town, great people, and not the gritty steel town people imagine. I 'd looked at places down near Greensburg, and was blown away for what you could get for under 100K.

[Mike 03]

12. Intelligence is no longer rewarded in our society. I was listening to Bob Brinker today reel off

statistics about education and employment, and the top percentage were those who (like me) only had Bachelor's degrees. There was no extra credit for people who had gone beyond that in education.