what’s the disadvantage of living near a primary school?

[niy38]

the advantage is obvious: kid can walk to school and back to home.

the disadvantage is also obvious: noise. especially
backyard facing the play ground. probably it’s better than a high school since it will be quiet down after 3pm.

anything else i miss? by the way, it’s rank 10 school.

[spdrun]

If you have a dog and it bites a kid, you’re more likely to get sued. And kids are more likely to annoy a dog than adults. This was actually a worry for my sister when she was buying her home in D.C.

[earlyretirement]

As you mentioned the big advantage if you have young kids is it’s so easy for them to walk to school. We live in a gated community so not affected by traffic but one potential negative I’d say if you’re right across the school or within a block or so is traffic can be bad in the morning and also in the afternoon when parents are picking up their kids.

I wouldn’t say the traffic is a huge deal because you can typically try to avoid those streets but if you lived right across the street, there won’t be any avoiding the traffic. Cars can be snaked around the block on some of these streets. Or they will have student/kid crossing guards with signs who tend to hold intersections forever so if you can’t avoid these streets you can get stuck with traffic.

Plus during drop off and pick up times there simply aren’t enough spaces in the school parking lot so you’ll have people parking in front of your house. Not a big deal probably unless you are having some function or guests arriving at these times.

I don’t think noise would be a big issue unless you’re right across the street from an Elementary school. These elementary schools all typically have multiple playgrounds outside and young kids scream while they are playing so that probably could get annoying if you’re right across the street.

No way I’d want my backyard facing a playground. Just too much noise. And some of these elementary schools have ESS (Extended School Services) programs where they have daycare until 6 PM and as late as 4:30 PM they are playing outside. Young pre-school age kids are loud.

I’d say noise and traffic are going to be the main disadvantages. I’d think twice about your backyard facing a playground. When I pick my daughter up at Willow Grove Elementary, it’s very loud with kids screaming in the playground. And the thing is that you have various classes all taking turns playing out on the play ground so it’s not even like the noise is concentrated a few hours in the morning or afternoon.

I don’t think the school rank is going to matter when it comes to noise levels. 10 rated school kids will be as loud as 7 rated school kids. LOL.

[spdrun]

Personally, short of constant construction (BTDT, ain’t fun) and/or outlaw bikies setting up a clubhouse across the street, who cares about a little noise during daylight hours? Kids walking in the street and playing outside should be normal, not an annoyance — thank G-d that the neighborhood is safe and nice enough for kids to have the opportunity to be out and about.

For the record, my apt building in NYC is between a grammar school and a park with playground and pool. Lots of kids, emo pre-teen skatepunks, etc – it gets to be no big deal after a while, even on summer weekends with windows open.

[CA renter]

Noise would be an issue, if it’s an issue at all for you. Many people (including my family) don’t mind kid noises at all.

The only thing that’s a bigger deal, IMHO, is people coming into the schoolyard at night. They might simply be annoying teenagers who’re looking for a place to smoke pot and get loud, or vandals, etc. who might be more of a concern. Basically, it’s like living next to a park.

[njtosd]

Also – find out whether the school grounds are rented out to sports teams on evenings/weekends. It’s zoning dependent – but I’ve been told that many schools in San diego (primarily in the city) were built prior to the enactment of zoning restrictions. This can increase the amount of noise. A lot.

[no_such_reality]

Traffic or noise may go all weekend long. For example, the primary school down the block had a lacrosse tournament this weekend. Saturday and Sunday, 3X normal school rush hour traffic, noise all day long from 8-4PM.

Soccer, LaCrosse, some other sport is typically having a big meet there once a month sometimes more.

If I had to rank the noise factor, frankly, one bonehead mid-lifing accountant in the greater neighborhood buying a harley makes more noise and disruption on the weekend.

With that traffic comes another minor annoyance, trash. Not a lot, but an above average amount of food container trash.

Third annoyance, if you have little children. The playground equipment is plainly visible, but may be beyond reach as all entrances may be locked.

[rent4now]

We use to live 2 blocks from an elementary school with a large field/park next to that was used on the weekends for soccer, flag football etc.
When we first moved in during the winter we couldn’t hear the noise because we kept our dual pane windows closed. As spring/summer rolled around and our windows were partially opened, we soon found the noise from the field nearly unbearable.
The sound of kids and especially the referee whistles blowing every 10 seconds really carries even 2 blocks away! The worst part is they start at 7am on saturdays and goes till it gets dark.
We have since sold the house and now live nowhere near a school and are very happy.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=rent4now]We use to live 2 blocks from an elementary school with a large field/park next to that was used on the weekends for soccer, flag football etc.
When we first moved in during the winter we couldn’t hear the noise because we kept our dual pane windows closed. As spring/summer rolled around and our windows were partially opened, we soon found the noise from the field nearly unbearable.
The sound of kids and especially the referee whistles blowing every 10 seconds really carries even 2 blocks away! The worst part is they start at 7am on saturdays and goes till it gets dark.
We have since sold the house and now live nowhere near a school and are very happy.[/quote]

Yep. This was the point I was trying to make. I know when we pick up our kids it’s quite loud with kids yelling and screaming. As mentioned, I wouldn’t want to live with my backyard facing it.

Even if you don’t mind it, when you go to sell your house, the future buyers might want want to deal with it. I think if you live a few blocks away it’s great but no way I’d live right with my backyard facing it for reasons rent4now mentioned.

[Anonymous]

[quote=earlyretirement][quote=rent4now]We use to live 2 blocks from an elementary school with a large field/park next to that was used on the weekends for soccer, flag football etc.
When we first moved in during the winter we couldn’t hear the noise because we kept our dual pane windows closed. As spring/summer rolled around and our windows were partially opened, we soon found the noise from the field nearly unbearable.
The sound of kids and especially the referee whistles blowing every 10 seconds really carries even 2 blocks away! The worst part is they start at 7am on saturdays and goes till it gets dark.
We have since sold the house and now live nowhere near a school and are very happy.[/quote]

Yep. This was the point I was trying to make. I know when we pick up our kids it’s quite loud with kids yelling and screaming. As mentioned, I wouldn’t want to live with my backyard facing it.

Even if you don’t mind it, when you go to sell your house, the future buyers might want want to deal with it. I think if you live a few blocks away it’s great but no way I’d live right with my backyard facing it for reasons rent4now mentioned.[/quote]

Yelling And screaming of Kids shouldn’t be of any problem as far as the school is concerned. As you said the school ranks 10 among schools in your area. It’s bound to have a good disciplinary guidelines for the kids. But the Dog issue can’t be ignored and it’s you who have to take care of your pets. Hope everyone agrees to that!!

[xtina]

Back in elementary school, I remember being very glad I walked a little ways before reaching my house. Reason being, kids are sometimes nosy/annoying/rambunctious. If you lived close to the school, everyone knew where you lived.

– If your parents happened to be in the yard after the bell rang and were wearing something funky looking – got teased.
– If you were an innocent girl walking home, sometimes the teasing boys would follow you home. And walk into your front yard. And refuse to leave.

Those are just two examples off the top of my head. Now, I lived about two blocks away from a high school at one point. I can tell you that THAT comes with a whooooole other set of issues.

[CA renter]

The part about parents wearing funky clothing made me laugh. 🙂

[Author]

Posts