Housing's technically an avoidable expense, but in most parts of the country one pays for school quality either directly (private school, in which case that exp

Housing's technically an avoidable expense, but in most parts of the country one pays for school quality either directly (private school, in which case that expense replaces [and exceeds] most of the extra housing cost, if one wants it to) or by paying a premium for housing in a decent-or-better public school district (some of this may end up paid in extra transportation time & expense, as well—the accounting gets complicated, when a commute is part of the picture). One with the means to avoid it could send one's kids to bad schools and save money, but not many people who can avoid bad schools take that option, for obvious reasons. And I assume in a few small, fortunate areas, or if one gets very lucky when house/apartment shopping, it's possible for this to end up not being that large an expense, but it's atypical.