I understand but long term it's not smart
Education today: readin', writin', rentin'
Goal is to get kids in top public schools
- Carrie Sturrock, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 22, 2004
The Anderson family, fresh from Texas, figured they would rent a place in Orinda for six months and then buy a home.
Nearly six years later, they're in their fourth rental and have experienced everything from ancient kitchens to raw sewage in their showers in a house they dubbed "Andersonville Horror."
And yet they continue to rent for one simple reason: The schools in this wealthy East Bay suburb are among the best in the state.
"Whatever it takes," said Melanie Anderson, who stays at home to care for the couple's two school age children. "If we have to keep renting, we will keep renting."
Many families, from the Peninsula to the North Bay, rent in prohibitively expensive housing markets with excellent schools even though many can afford to buy in cheaper towns not too far away.
That often means cramped quarters and surrendering perks like home equity and the freedom to install carpet or paint walls. And it underscores the extreme variance in school quality throughout the Bay Area, where top-notch districts sometimes border those with failing schools.
"I will rent until my kids finish school," said Venera Maysuryants, who moved to Lafayette from San Francisco even though she and her husband, who own an upholstery business, could afford a house elsewhere. "When you have your own house, you feel better. When you're renting an apartment, you're throwing money away."
Still, rents are much cheaper than monthly mortgage payments in many communities where home prices approach $1 million.
