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Old 12-12-2010, 08:34 AM
 
Location: Dallas
574 posts, read 1,471,103 times
Reputation: 640

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Hello,

First I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the feedback you (and other long-time posters) give to newbies like me. It is so nice to see people taking the time to inform others in great detail about the area they live in.

We are headed to Dallas in a few weeks to check it out, as my husband's company is relocating us this summer. Although we have until December 2011 to leave Atlanta, our goal is to be there this summer so the kids can start school in August in our new hometown. With 2 kids still in school we are extremely interested in the Highland Park ISD, and are working with a local realtor on finding homes in that district.

One thing of concern to me, however, is the area's affluence. Husband has a very good and stable job, but we are very practical people. We have never been the type of family that tries to keep up with the joneses as we have no interest in playing that game. When we lived in Boston in the 90's, it was nice to see how simple people were, you could never tell if someone had a ton of money or not, everyone lived the practical life. Fast-forward to the ATL, where we have lived for the past 13 years, and it was a big difference. Everyone tries to give the appearance that they are well-to-do, often living beyond their means.

What is Park Cities like in this respect? I'm concerned for my kids, who have been brought up not to pay much attention to labels and brands and the like. As it is we will most likely stick out like sore thumbs since we are not a caucasian household. Trying to get a sense of what life is like in the Park Cities as we try to decide where to settle in the DFW area. Our goal is to find a family-friendly area with a sense of community and welcoming people.

Thank you for any information you can send my way.

Kathya Morales Singh
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Old 12-12-2010, 11:26 AM
 
169 posts, read 430,908 times
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What part of Atlanta did you live in? The Park Cities are very nice, but think of them like the Buckhead/NW part of ATL. Lots of good family values, but due to high level of wealth in the neighborhoods, they still have a bit of keeping up with the Jones. That said, that area is still a fantastic place to live.

Another great alternative with fantastic proximity to Dallas proper is Lakewood, where I would love to move one day from Lake Highlands. Lakewood still contains the very safe neighborhoods, easy access to the city, but does lose some of the pretentiousness and keeping up with the Jones that you may experience in the Park Cities.
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Old 12-12-2010, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Dallas
574 posts, read 1,471,103 times
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Default We're in

the East Cobb area (Marietta). My husband's commute will be into Las Colinas/Irving, so Park Cities is probably as far east of Irving as we would like to be.
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Old 12-12-2010, 02:23 PM
 
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Sure- I grew up there (graduated from HPHS in late 1990's), live nearby now, and have many childhood friends who now call the Park Cities their families' home.

I think that about half of the homes in UP have school-aged kids; in HP it's maybe 20% or so due to the much much higher home prices in HP.

The ONE big thing 99.9% of Park Cities families have in common is their intense commitment to providing the best possible education for their kids. Due to the Robin Hood bill passed by the TX legislature in 1991, "wealthy" Texas ISDs send a huge portion of their propery taxes collected to Austin to be redistributed to "poor" districts. HPISD now sends over 70% of collected taxes (the cumulative amount sent to Austin will hit $1 BILLION this year) to Austin, educating students on the remaining 30%. To help maintain the district's excellent facilites, teachers, etc, a parent-run program called "Mad For Plaid" raises millions each year from HPISD families and businesses to fund teacher pay, for technology upgrades, etc. Additionally, huge bonds (like $50-100M) are passed every 10 years or so, which increase taxes temporarily to pay for major expenses like when the new middle school was built in the 1990's or the additions to the elementary schools that were complete this year and eliminated "portable classroom" trailers from all 4 over-crowded elementary schools. Parents staff each school's cafeteria (serving food & cashiers) and take care of many other tasks so that additional paid staff do not need to be hired. I mention all of this so you 1) understand how precious our schools are and 2) understand the additional monetary and volunteer commitments that are not mandatory per-say (with the exception of a voter-approved bond) but expected for each family to pitch in on some level.

That aside, there are many kinds of people in the Park Cities. The most "typical" family lives in UP in about a $1M home, has 2-4 kids, generally only dad works full-time, mom volunteers or may work part-time from home. They drive newer cars (BMW, Lexus, & SUVs), take nice vacations (skiing or beach in the winter and Europe or a major US trip in the summer), kids will get hand-me-down cars (mom's old BMW or SUV) upon turning 16, allowances are fairly generous ($25-100/week per kid depending on age), etc. They may or may not be struggling to "keep up with the Jones". They may have trust funds or just really successul from an early age. Most are professional (dr, attorney, real estate, finance) or
entrepreneurs. This is the family everyone things of as "typical" Park Cities. Out of my friend group of 15 or so growing up, about 7-8 fit this model to a "t."

Then there are many families where both parents work full-time because that's the only way they will afford the mortgage & taxes in the Park Cities. They sacrifice so their kids can have the best education possible, although they often also live in a $1M home like the "typical" family. They have to work a lot harder for these things and they are one lay-off away from selling their home. There are lots of these people too. My family definitely fit this description....except that back then, the average home was $400k or so. This family is not taking winter break trips or going to Europe every summer. They are carefully paying for kids to have tutors or private tennis lessons (whatever they need to exceed & stand out for college admissions), but no lavish allowances. This is usually the family where kids start to get after-school jobs in 9th or 10th grade to make their own spending money. It is obviously harder and harder to afford the Park Cities as home values escalate....although parts of the market are soft now.

Lastly there is the "renter/apartment" family who is barely scraping by at all. No vacations, no cars for kids, no allowances. Just there to work and study. Many of these apartments near SMU have been torn down, but there are still a lot near the high school. This is "typically" - though not always- where divorced families/single parents and minorities fit into the Park Cities picture. I'm not going to lie- life is hardest for this group because they are just so different from the "typicals" and the "two-parents working" homes. I had 2 friends in this situation- one took it in stride and was wildly popular (despite his living in HPISD only because his father was head janitor at one of the schools, whichcomes with on-campus housing)- ended up being captian of the baseball team and got a full scholarship to college. The other always had a chip on his shoulder about everythig he "couldn't" do because he didn't have a car (couldn't date), etc. FWIW, his HP experience shaped him and he's now a very successful big law attorney in Houston.

The kids in the middle, two-working parents (or 1 parent working but not able to afford the extras) usually do ok- ie, play sports, have friends, aren't made fun of in status-concious middle school, etc.
The renter kids can have a tough go of it.
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Old 12-12-2010, 05:41 PM
 
18 posts, read 79,811 times
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I also grew up in the Park Cities albeit several years prior to Turtle Creek 80. Assuming that you are Indian based on your last name I think you might find that the private school route or possibly Lakewood would be a better fit for your family. The Park Cities is a lot more 'integrated' if you will than it was in the 80's but I still think the other two (private or Lakewood) might suit you better -- just my two cents. Good luck!
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Old 12-12-2010, 06:20 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,091,857 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bettylu View Post
I also grew up in the Park Cities albeit several years prior to Turtle Creek 80. Assuming that you are Indian based on your last name I think you might find that the private school route or possibly Lakewood would be a better fit for your family. The Park Cities is a lot more 'integrated' if you will than it was in the 80's but I still think the other two (private or Lakewood) might suit you better -- just my two cents. Good luck!
Wow. That's horrid and very representative of the unfortunate "old school" Park Cities mentality.

In actuality, the minority population in HPISD has DOUBLED since 2005, from 2% to 4%....not huge numbers I know, but that is a huge statistcal shift. 15ish years ago, just in my 15ish friend group, there were two Chinese kids, one Middle Eastern Muslim, and two Jewish kids. All did quite well at HP- including the valediction, two others in the Top 10, 1 played varsity tennis and won state, 1 was an incredibly talented musician who cut a record before going on to Johns Hopkins Medical. Most interestingly, of the 5 minorities, 3 live in Dallas and of those 2 live in the Park Cities again. Middle school was tough for most of them, but let's be honest, it sucks for pretty much everyone, even the people I thought "had it all" hated middle school. By high school, everyone has their friend groups and no one really cares what other people are up to.

In my next youngest sibling's class, there was a black girl who was a Highland Belle (prestigious dance team at HP) Lieutenant and she did just fine, too!

Some of my minority friends were living in apartments by SMU and working 30 hours a week; others were living the life of luxury in their double dr parent's mansion....I'm sure it was easier on those who only had to navigate through one "different-ness" (money or race/religion).

And to Bettylu- if this poster has enough money to consider the Park Cities, they would be looking in Lakewood proper (which is 99% white, btw) so I'm not sure the point of you trying to steer OP towards another neighbirhood where they'd either be the minority or be assumed to be living in the seedy East Dallas apartments that feed into Woodrow Wilson HS.
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Old 12-12-2010, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Dallas
574 posts, read 1,471,103 times
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Bettylu...

Yes we have an Indian surname! We are a most unusual family. My husband was born in Guyana, a British colony in South America, and the only country there to have English as a main language. Indian ancestry yes, but he does not look like your typical East Indian. I am from Puerto Rico (with a mixture of Spanish, African, and Native Indian, Puerto Ricans come in a wide range of skin colors, from fair-blonde-blue-eyed to dark-skinned).

My kids are what I believe a lot of Americans will look like in another 30 years. Were it not for their last name, you would be hard-pressed to figure out what they were. They have no features that distinguish them as either East Indian or Hispanic, other than their olive skin (they are much fairer in skin color than my husband or I).
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Old 12-12-2010, 06:33 PM
 
990 posts, read 2,291,838 times
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I actually know a Dutch/Indian family living in University Park. I've never heard of them having any problem. Both kids went to public school in HPISD. Both seemed to enjoy themselves and participated in school activities. Both went on to college as well adjusted people.
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Old 12-12-2010, 09:13 PM
 
1,190 posts, read 2,618,519 times
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While you are in town, you might as well drive through Lakewood. It is a very family friendly neighborhood, most within a short walk to White Rock Lake. My husband communtes to Irving/Las Colinas (actually Valley Ranch) and it isnt' a bad commute. We love our house and our neighborhood. We probably should have looked at HP, but (like you) were very worried about "keeping up with the Joneses." I am happy with our choice and dont see us moving anytime soon. Good luck!
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Old 12-13-2010, 05:45 AM
 
Location: Dallas
574 posts, read 1,471,103 times
Reputation: 640
Jennifw...

I've been reading a lot of the posts by Lakewooder, and I must admit I was intrigued. So I have been looking up a lot of info on the Lakewood area and it looks like the type of area we would really like. We will definitely be including that area during our visit. What I also liked about Lakewood is that since it is in the Dallas ISD, my kids would qualify for the magnet vanguards and magnet high schools.

Are you happy with the local schools or do your children go to private?

And how long does it take your husband to get to Irving? My husband usually doesn't leave the house until about 8:30a or 9a, but that might change since he will be in a new environment with new staff.
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