The Real Housewives of New York City

[tictac]

I don't think it was one they could afford. It was one that would accept them.

Maybe simon wore that outfit to the interview and made a bad impression.

[jaymes4u]

From what I have read, she owns some fortune 500 company (she's got the money). How she had the brains to start (and maintain) anything successful I'll never know. She is definately a few bricks short of a wall...

are you talking about alex?....her and her gaylike husband have a family.com website and she doesnt mention anthing about owning a company...she says she works for a company as a visual merchandiser...im sure if she owned a fortune 500 company the other women would be kissing her butt...and the snooty schools would be all over her to put franswah there....jill is right about him getting his ass kicked everyday at school...

[New Mommy]

My friend has a pre-schooler and a kindergartner. Two adorable little girls. The mother is beautiful, the father is a power player in NY politics. They own an $11 mlllion townhouse in the Village. He's well -connected and plugged in. They got wait-listed into Friends, rejected everywhere else. They are going to Claremont, on Wall St. ($29-39,000 depending on grade level). It's new, and started by someone who I think wanted another alternative. They are Jewish, I wonder if this worked against them (diversity allotments). There is a big baby boom here and simply not enough spaces at the best schools. We might use my Soho address for my godson. I'm in the zip code for the two best public grade schools in the city. Ya gotta love this town.

Sink or swim, 4 year-olds! The McCords should have moved to Soho or The Village and sent them to P.S. 3 or 41. They're just as chic as a private school.

Being Jewish is a definite problem. My FiL wants us to live here fulltime so our girl, who is less than a year, can get the best, as he puts it. Yet he is ready to open up his checkbook to overcome the anti-semitism. The big baby boom you speak of is due to the overwhelming births of IVFs and twins. Notice the double strollers everywhere.
I'd rather go to CT for schools or stay in TX. There are plenty of private schools here (Hockaday, Kinkaid, other parochial or religious) and we won't have to worry about being Jewish. Simon and Alex don't have that in their mix but I do believe that what they can afford and keep up the lifestyle of wearable art does take a bite into private school tuition.

[luvsginger]

Being Jewish is a definite problem. My FiL wants us to live here fulltime so our girl, who is less than a year, can get the best, as he puts it. Yet he is ready to open up his checkbook to overcome the anti-semitism. The big baby boom you speak of is due to the overwhelming births of IVFs and twins. Notice the double strollers everywhere.
I'd rather go to CT for schools or stay in TX. There are plenty of private schools here (Hockaday, Kinkaid, other parochial or religious) and we won't have to worry about being Jewish. Simon and Alex don't have that in their mix but I do believe that what they can afford and keep up the lifestyle of wearable art does take a bite into private school tuition.

There are many fantastic private Jewish schools, too! And most of the private schools in NY that they are looking at are non-denominational.

[Erie]

I remember laughing at the kids' names but I can't remember them. Please refresh my memory (and tickle my funny bone)! Just a thought, if they had had a boy and a girl they could have named them Pugsly and Wednesday!

Happy to oblige. The older one is François and the younger is Johann. Pugsly and Wednesday might have been an improvement. And all their obsessing about schools makes me never want to live in NYC. Of course, I'm thinking that they want their kids to go to the "right" schools so they can connect with parents in better social circles. I don't get why they want to get into society other than for the sake of it.

The other kid I'm feelings sorry for is crazy eyed Ramona's daughter, Avery. The kid seems bright and mom is pushing her into show business. She really seems like she would rather just go to school and thinks that is a better path to success. Much more levelheaded than her mom will ever be.

[Juliana]

A lot of the "non-denominational" schools started as religiously affiliated. But the religious affiliation is not the problem. The schools don't want any one group to predominate.

I don't think it's anti-semitic as much as pro-diversity.

If all the boys interview better one year-they are not going to make the class, all boys. These schools want a balance. Let's not forget any given school only has 20 spots.
Maybe 40 if they have two big classes.

Let's not forget all the foreign nationals that have moved here since 9/11 (Go figure?) competing too for these coveted spots. Being the child of an alum helps too.
I don't think it's that easy to buy your way into these schools. They just don't need the money or the dent to their reputation.

And yes- the parents want two things-the very best placement for their offspring and the social opportunities for themselves. There's lots of fundraisers, cocktail parties, etc. Private school life is a lot of fun.

[Aranea]

Also, I find it is amusing that even adults make fun of their kids' names. I don't know why they thought it was such a good idea to give them those names even if they are family ones. Why couldn't they call them Frank and John or some other more popular variation. But no, they have to be phony even about their kids names.

I admit that I haven't watched the past couple episodes, but who on the show was making fun of the kids' names? Adults making fun of kids is pathetic. Honestly, given the fact that NYC is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, I'm suprised that anyone living there would even blink upon hearing a name like Johann or Francois.

[evoce?]

why do i like this show?! why?????

[jaymes4u]

I admit that I haven't watched the past couple episodes, but who on the show was making fun of the kids' names? Adults making fun of kids is pathetic. Honestly, given the fact that NYC is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, I'm suprised that anyone living there would even blink upon hearing a name like Johann or Francois.

jill makes fun of their names..and shes right, the other kids will be very unforgiving and mean...no one is making fun of the children, we are making fun of the adults for being so stupid as to name their kids something that will cause them grief at school. kids by nature are not cosmopolitan, they will look for anything that they can use to make fun of a peer....sometimes the wealthier they are the meaner they are...if you have only seen 1 episode then maybe you dont understand why everyone feels the way they do about these women..

[nliedel]

jill makes fun of their names..and shes right, the other kids will be very unforgiving and mean...no one is making fun of the children, we are making fun of the adults for being so stupid as to name their kids something that will cause them grief at school. ..

If kids don't like you there is no name in the world that will save you. If they want to make fun of you there is no name that they won't find a way to abuse. Of course, this is coming from someone who has kids with unusual names, but I don't see a different name as a detriment. I think Jill is out of line for making fun of them.