Question about living near a Waldorf School

[jfrank411]

I don't know if this is the right forum to ask this question, but. . .

Dh and I will be moving soon and we've been house shopping. We are considering a house that is right down the street from a Waldorf school. Would living by a Waldord school mean that there *may* be a bigger population of AP practicing people in my new neighborhood? I've always lived in areas that are so mainstream, it might be refreshing to live in a community that shared some of the same views/lifestyles as me.

It's kind of a wierd question, but I was just wondering.

[Deborah]

Answer: it depends. Schools vary and some waldorf schools are probably more AP than others. Further, depending on housing costs, families and teachers may or may not live close to the school.

One way to find out would be to look for a local neighborhood newsheet or an alternative newspaper which lists events for the whole city. Look to see if LLL meetings are listed, look for playgroups or whatever else you might like to have around. Check out the ads for natural food stores. Phone some of the numbers listed for the events and ask a few questions about the flavor of the neighborhood.

My only experience around this has to do with the Chicago Waldorf School. They were renting a school from the Archdiocese. The neighborhood was not thriving. After a few years the neighborhood was thriving. I don't know that the school played any role in the change in real estate values. The school moved up to another building owned by the Archdiocese, located in Rogers Park. This neighborhood was really scary. One of the teachers even got mugged, early one morning. After a few years the area began to turn around, prices began to rise, etc. The school did one thing that clearly helped: working with Loyola University (landowner) and the local Catholic Parish (running a food pantry) they founded a community garden. Children and parents planted flowers and vegetables and most of the food went to the pantry to be distributed to hungry families. The garden definitely improved the look and feel of the neighborhood.

The second part is definitely off-topic, sorry.

Nana

[Rhonwyn]

I live near a Waldorf school and in a fairly crunchy area.

A lot of the school families have moved close to the school so their kids can walk to school and they are very AP. Most of the families in the area are AP supportive and their kids attend either public or Catholic schools. Many though look at you weird when you tell them your kids don't watch TV and are not allowed to eat lots of suger. I don't think that the school has made it anymore AP than it already was.

If you are thinking of sending your child there, it is really great to live near the school.