I've learned that schools are not just rankings but a reflection on a whole environment or philosophy of the majority of people who go there.
I agree with this, and most of the rest of everything bzylzy said
FWIW, I think the school you described sounds great - but what you know so far is only what you've been told by the school staff, who have a vested interest in having their school look good. It most likely is a very good school, but I'd want to (if possible) know that from hearing about it from parents who's kids have attended there in the past and are currently attending. We chose our first elementary school for our kids based on a really good school tour, and we really liked what we heard - but most of what we heard about from the tour didn't pan out once our child was actually in school. We eventually moved our two gifted kiddos out of the school - but to two different schools - because even though they are both high IQ kiddos as they grew and moved forward in school we realized they are very unique individuals and what works for one at school isn't the ideal solution for the other. So - that may not happen to you, but just fwiw, what I feel about our kids' school needs changed so much as they grew older from what I thought going into kindergarten.
We've also found, as have many others here, that for EG kids, the typical gifted programs aren't really a solution for our kids - they may be better than the regular classroom, but if I was moving into a school where there are so many kids considered to be "gifted" and such a large percentage in differentiated "advanced" classrooms... to be honest... I'd wonder how advanced those classrooms really are?
I would also really really think through what you want your lifestyle outside of school to be. A small house may be a really good thing for your family, or downsizing may be something that you'd regret doing. What are the neighborhoods like in general - lots of kids, do you want that? Activities within close range for your kids, grocery stores nearby, crime rate, how long is the commute to work, what is the resale potential for the house you're buying, etc. Tons of things to think about. For my family, we'd consider the school choice - absolutely - but we wouldn't put *everything* into school choice - what we have going on outside of school, as a family, is for me a large part of the equation.
Hang in there - moving is tough! It sounds like you have good options in several directions though, which is good!
polarbear