Grade 2 Test Scores

Last night, after putting the babe to sleep, I got stuck on the couch in front of the computer. I don't know how it happened as I was planning on taking my shower and going to sleep (which would have been a smart move as the babe ended up crying for an hour and a half in the middle of the night, again). But the Internet can be a seductive thing. So, my husband and I spent a nice chunk of time surfing around looking up facts and stats about Montgomery County (Maryland).

As I've mentioned, my new hobby is real estate. We have gone out with my Realtor friends twice now and have seen about 8 places. The babe has been pretty delightful as she's hauled in and out of her car seat to check these houses out. I've decided I like the Silver Spring area (in Montgomery County and on the metro line) as an option. I was getting rather depressed seeing what money will buy you in DC proper. Even though the housing market is on a downward trend in the US, Washington is still up there in terms of prices. Despite the fact that sellers are getting desperate and prices are going down, I still don't know how anyone affords to buy in safe and reasonably close in neighborhoods.

Last night, for the first time, we became the people who look up second grade test scores of Montgomery County Public Schools elementary school students. We have to make sure that wherever we buy, the schools are going to be a place we feel comfortable sending the babe. District lines are an important thing to consider if you don't want to end up sending your kid to private school. We are not private school kinda people, and that's why we need to pay more to be in a district with good public schools. That just makes decision making a whole lot more difficult.

She's only 10 months old now, but one day she is going to go off to prekindergarten. One day she's going to be in elementary school. And one day she'll be in high school (you get where I'm going here). As much as we see her as a baby now (because she still is technically a baby for another 2 months), things are going to change and we need to be ready. I suppose buying a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools is part of being ready. But after seeing what I've seen on the market, winning the lottery would certainly help us in the "being ready" department.