It’s hard to answer this question hypothetically because if you don’t have kids, you don’t pay attention to how the school system works. It’s a beast.
If you have kids and send them to the public schools, you can’t just move into the neighborhood next to the school you want your kid to attend. There’s an entire placement system you have to learn about that takes into account where you live, stated preferences, etc. It’s possible you live next to a school, but your kid has to go to a completely different school in a different neighborhood.
If don’t want to subject yourself to that then you can send kids to private schools that cost between $15k-$45k/year. On top of that these schools hit you up for more money at fundraisers, etc.
Middle School and High School is another can of worms.
I’m also skipping past the huge budget shortfalls SFUSD is facing and the possibility the state of CA takes over.
At some point it just gets exhausting having to think through all this stuff.
A big reason I moved out of SF to a nearby town is because I knew all the schools were great from K-12 in my district and I just don’t have to think through the insane logistics people have to worry about in SF.
Maybe I overthink my child’s education, but for me it didn’t sit well with how much was left up to chance in public education, the expense of private education, and all the logistics and hassle involved for both options.
