Neal Gabler is teaching at Stony Brook Southampton, so I assume he lives there. The high school doesn't seem that bad, dare I even say above average: http://www

Neal Gabler is teaching at Stony Brook Southampton, so I assume he lives there. The high school doesn't seem that bad, dare I even say above average: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-york/districts/southampton-union-free-school-district/southampton-high-school-14089/test-scores http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-york/d... I'm not sure where he might have sent his kids for K - 8. In any event, people generally move out to Long Island suburbs for great schools. He could have just as well made the sacrifice of using that money for private schools instead on a house in a district that met his standards of schooling, which would have had a much lower NPV via a 30 year fixed mortgage than paying for private school annually. Plus, his house would likely have risen more in value. It sounds to me like the author might just be a tad more financially illiterate than he should be given his lifestyle.