best communities for homeschoolers?

[tinawoman]

i'd love to know where you think are the best places to live as a homeschooler. what i'm specifically looking for are resources for homeschoolers such as homeschool resource centers and organized groups for social and educational purposes. field trips, nearby educational places like museums for kids and such...a wealth of wonderful things for homeschooling kids that are not trapped in school all day.

i'm an eclectic homeschooler that leans toward unschooling...but also enjoy some structure here and there and i'd love to find a place that has things available to me such as educational enrichment classes that we could plug into when we are able to.

i'd sure love to move someplace like this...i've often heard that portland, oregon is a wonderfully family friendly place to live...wonder how it is for homeschoolers?

we're currently living in california so i'd especially love to hear about places that are really great to live for homeschoolers here in california. how is san luis obispo area? i have a dear friend that recently moved there.

if i can find a great place to live, then i can start checking craigslist for potential jobs for dh and start working towards convincing him to move!

[Annikate]

Florida! Tampa definitely. Or Orlando too. FL is an easy state as far as regulations and the resources here are tremendous! Plus the population of h'schoolers here is huge and growing every day.

[phathui5]

Have you asked in the California tribal forum?

[tinawoman]

Originally Posted by phathui5

Have you asked in the California tribal forum?

good idea! i'll do that too, thanks!!

[Collinsky]

We live in the Seacoast area of NH -- it is awesome here for homeschooling. There's a terrific network of unschooling families (which is inclusive and also includes some relaxed/eclectic homeschoolers as well) and we've found plenty of opportunities for socializing, enrichment, classes, sports, etc. Homeschooling law isn't ideal, but also not bad -- notification at the beginning of the year, testing or portfolio eval at the end.

Depending on where one lives, here you're about an hour from Concord NH, an hour from Boston, and an hour from Portland, ME -- meaning that there are greater possibilities for jobs, as well as the additional benefits of urban areas, like larger museums, etc., within easy driving distance.

[St. Margaret]

I can speak about parts of CA.

There's supposedly a big HSing community in Vista, and in general north county San Diego. I know a lot of the AP/NFL folks with old kids go to a homeschooling park day weekly, and there are definitely meetings all throughout the area. I don't know the specifics of co-ops and centers, b/c DD is only 2, but I have enjoyed the very many places to go hang out and explore in the San Diego area, like botanical gardens, the Lagoon reserve nature center and trails, the two zoos, lots of wonderful libraries with great programs (yoga, wonderful storytimes-- DD can make it to one each day going to different close by county libraries)...

I'm pretty sure Davis has a good community, too, and things like a science center and university stuff.

[heatherdeg]

Loving central NJ. An hour to NYC or Philly and a TON of stuff here in NJ. There are homeschool groups (religious and secular--although more secular) and a lot of the big things like Franklin Institute and Liberty Science Center (among others) have "Homeschool Days" where admission is either free or greatly reduced.

Add to it that we answer to nobody: no registration, no attendance, no reviews, no testing... nothing.

The best is that an hour in any direction and you have farms (and some awesome 4-H clubs), hills, beaches, city or whatever. Nothing is very far out of reach.

As for plug-ins, there aren't a lot of free stuff (there are a few coops and the Somerset Co. library system has a LOT of free kids programs, but the coops are usually a drive) but there are a TON of enrichment classes everywhere... language, arts, sports (arts and sports might be free through your municipality's recreation dept. depending on where you live).

I'm currently living where Somerset, Union & Middlesex Counties connect and I love that it's central to everything but with the benefit of the Somerset Co. library programs (kids from birth through teen at any county branch). I can get to Princeton in 45 minutes (non-rush hour) where they have a coop and homeschool choir plus a great pick-your-own (just about everything) and I have a ton of enrichment programs in Union Co. I have my choice of 5 YMCA systems in easy distance (read: 15mins or less), and a free kids nature museum on a reservation with great hiking trails and super cheap kids programs within 10 mins. plus horseback riding stables.

I could go on and on, actually. Tell me what you're looking for (a list) and I'll tell you how many I have of them within your acceptable drive time. Seriously. Every time we considered moving out of state, it was HARD to leave NJ for all the homeschooling amenities it offered (among other things). I never thought I'd find it hard to leave NJ! LOL! Now we're being forced to relocate.

[tinawoman]

heather, that's funny because i actually lived in NJ for 5 years, and graduated high school in freehold. i have never wanted to go back, though. now you're tempting me!

i loved my time in jersey...especially the green (compared to the california gold) summers, all the rain and the fabulous thunderstorms!! but i hate the winters. don't miss all the snow and ice at ALL!

something to think about though...thanks for the great info!!

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by St. Margaret

I'm pretty sure Davis has a good community, too, and things like a science center and university stuff.

Yes, it does. And the greater Sacramento area has a large homeschooling community, as well as lots of historical and government things to explore.

[elizawill]

i used to live in carmichael, CA (sacramento) and homeschooling was HUGE there. lots to do!!!!

[yllek]

I used to teach in Sacramento and live in Davis. I taught at a charter school in the Natomas school district. It had several programs, one of which was a program for homeschoolers. I taught in the academic program (there was also a performing arts program), but I heard nothing but raves about the support that homeschoolers received from the charter school. It was the largest program at the school, and that was several years ago. So yeah, I imagine that there would be tons of homeschoolers in the Sacramento area.

When I living there, I would love visiting the foothill area. So beautiful! While Davis had an awesome community, there was something about it being so flat that was a bummer for me. Give me trees and mountains!

[zjande]

Portland, Oregon has it all.

[deditus]

The TwinCities have a very active homeschooling community and lots of great resources for learning - museums, nature centers, theaters, recreation centers, art galleries, parks, libraries, etc. Many, many of them have homeschool days/classes.

[nov05mama]

I am near Raleigh, NC and there are GREAT local groups and plenty of great resources nearby as well! I just love it here and love the homeschool community

[A Mom's Love]

[CParker]

I'm in Sacramento also and yes, there's lots going on here! We have several large homeschool groups: a co-op, a waldorf group, unschooling group, christian homeschoolers, and several smaller groups. We could go to a park day almost every day of the week if we wanted to!

There are 3 public "homeschool" charter schools that I'm aware of that service this area.

We're also about an hour and a half from the bay area, which offers loads of fun activities too.

Good luck!

[Reebekah]

i hope someone posts about a GREAT place (like Heather described) but that is SOUTH so that I dont have to deal with winter weather!!

[romacox]

Florida is a good place. In Florida, a home school child can attend college for free until he is 18. a good website to research is the Florida Parent Educators Association
http://www.fpea.com/