> People at work talking about paying [my salary * 0.5] for their kid's private school. Sheesh...
Before you judge too much, consider that some (not all) of those folks might be paying that because they live in an area that has failing public schools, and they may be living in that area because they can't afford housing in an area with better public schools. Many middle to upper-middle class people find themselves faced with that choice.
In California overall, aside from anomalies like San Francisco itself, wealthier cities correlate with better public schools, and the correlation is > linear.
And where public schools are good, it feeds back on itself, esp in Cupertino and Palo Alto. Good schools draw in tech millionaires, who supplement their kids' public education with private tutors and summer school booster classes. Scores go up, house prices follow. Seems like there is an infinite supply of newly minted tech millionaires to consume all available housing. And to be fair, who wouldn't want what's best for their kids? It's a culture of being the best.
I'd love to know where all these "tech millionaires" are coming from, because there are only so many companies in the Valley, and they each only have a handful of top execs. Yet there are thousands upon thousands of $1MM+ houses and people are buying them left and right...
Not judging at all--just pointing out how weird it feels to live and work side-by-side with people on all parts of such a massively wide income spectrum.
Before you judge too much, consider that some (not all) of those folks might be paying that because they live in an area that has failing public schools, and they may be living in that area because they can't afford housing in an area with better public schools. Many middle to upper-middle class people find themselves faced with that choice.
In California overall, aside from anomalies like San Francisco itself, wealthier cities correlate with better public schools, and the correlation is > linear.