If the hope is to be in a class of actual peers, then a large metro area is likely needed. There is about 1.5% of the population at any given elementary school age. The HG tail is around 0.1%. So, the general number in an area of 1 million people would be 15 HG students in 2nd grade.
YES.
Plus, as strongly hinted at by Val, the thing to remember is that among those 15 kids, you may still lack a "good fit" for YOUR kid by virtue of things that aren't directly related to cognitive ability-- like religious practices, ethnicity, sense of humor, likes/dislikes, etc.
This is a huge reason why we have
not moved to the east coast, (which would also offer us better medical options related to our DD's disability)--
culturally, we "fit" here. We live among one of the highest concentrations of agnostics/atheists anywhere in the U.S., and we're politically in synch with the locals, etc. etc.
