Park Cities over Las Colinas? (Houston, Dallas: real estate, condominium, low crime)

[homewifeev]

I am a native of Columbus, Ohio and My wife and I moved here from Palo Alto, California in 2003. I had bought a electronics recycling business. We thought we were getting a good deal when we purchased a condominium for $548,000 in The Warrington. This was probably one of the worst decisions we had ever made. We did not realize we were going to be surrounded by Babyboomers. The only good things about this building is we have a fantastic view, nice amenities, nice location, and customers inside our building. I do not have anything against my neighbors but we have nothing to talk to them about. We have put about $70,000 into decorating the condo and updating the bathrooms. The kitchen was already modern so we decided to take that throughout the house. We have the place listed with Judy Pittman, who is very confident she can get $695,000 for it. In 2005 we had a baby so this place is getting kind of small.

My wife is a Chemical Engineer Consultant. She works at ExxonMobil in Irving. She told me that Las Colinas is very nice and quiet and there are a lot of golf courses. I have not really been around Dallas that much since I am always working and traveling. I have been in that area heading toward the airport. It appears to be very suburban to me. We plan to have another child so we are debating whether or not she will stop working. I would like her to. My Mom stopped working when I was born.

We go to church at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church. We should probably go more and if we lived close by it might be more motivation. We do not have any problems with switching churches. If you know any Presbyterian churches in the areas you recommend please included them in you response. My wife and I would like to get our son into non-religous preschool so if anyone has any links or numbers for that please include them.

My friend and co-owner at ElekTec lives in a nice house that they just paid $800,000 for in University Park. It was overall very nice but he and his wife have no kids, so their house and lot was small for our taste. I was actually surprised that you could get this in an inner-ring suburb of dallas.

I have made a list of things we are looking for:

1. We want a nice vibrant community with a nice mix of shops, attractions, parks, restaurants, and churches. Also a nice mall for my wife to shop for clothes and things that we need. My wife is Canadian so I don't want to live in a anti-Canadian area like most of Texas is. She has a Canadian accent so she cannot pass.

2. I would like to be within 30 minutes of a good golf course, even though I am a bit rusty. A Country Club is probably better (A place with membership under $20,000 a year please!) so I can meet area business people and become more well known.

3. We need good schools. We would prefer to have our kids in public schools but we understand that this is not always an option and that is the price you pay for such a nice community. So good private schools should always be close by.

4. We prefer a nice walking community without a lot of pedestrian traffic. A community with some playgrounds where area soccer moms and trophy wives hang out (kidding).

5. A nice diverse community. When I say diverse I mean a nice culturally diverse community, where people of different races, color, and religion get along. We would prefer that everyone was on the same economic and social level so that there is less competition and keeping up with the Joneses.

6. One thing that interest me in Las Colinas is its proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. I travel a lot so being closer to the airport is nice. I need to be close to our headquarters on Commerce Street. I will be traveling even more because of our new office in Houston.

7. A neighborhood where I know I am making a strong real estate investment. Where the outlook has been nothing but positive. I prefer a more established community or a smart planned community with planned growth and not an overdeveloped area with too much housing stock.

8. Close to a nice hotel. It has been nice to have my parents come down and not have them stay in our condo. My wife and I would have them stay at The Mansion.

9. Low crime would be a major plus. I love being able to go out at 11:00PM and feeling safe where I live now. I do not want to live somewhere where I have to worry about my wife and kids at home.

10. I would like to get some tickets to the Rangers so getting stuck in traffic heading to the games. If anyone can has the name of a good ticket brokerage feel free to include it in your responses.

Thank You For Your Respones!

[Marat]

Texas is anti-Canadian?

[sonshinelife]

I've spoken to many people recently that are new to Texas and they absoultely love it. They can't get over how friendly the people are in Texas.

As for Las Colinas and University Park. UP has more character (as far as homes)however, in my opinion the traffic surrounding UP is very congested. I think you will find both family and baby boomers in UP.

Las Colinas has Hackberry subdivision which is a family friendly neighborhood, but will have baby boomers as well. I really don't think you will find too many neighborhoods in Dallas that are not a mix of ages, families, etc. I use teach in the elementary school, in Las Colinas.Hackberry is a golf course community and you can get to the airport and other Dallas attractions, restaurants, ect. easily by way of highway and tollway system.

[homewifeev]

My wife and I love Texas. We could not think of raising our kids in a better environment. Texas has friendly people, smart people, lots of culture, and many opportunities. I do not mind living next to babyboomers (they make great neighbors) but if I want to be friends and talk to a neighbor on a regular basis it would be nice if there were people our age around. As for the comment by Marat, We have not ran into any anti-Canadianism, at least people have not expressed it.

As for traffic, I absolutely hate traffic. The noise is what really bugs me. Now I live on the 22 floor in a condo so I do not hear the noise. Traffic is a big concern I want my son to be able to walk across the street. A place with light traffic is a must.

[homewifeev]

How are the schools in Las Colinas compared to those of Highland Park and University Park. My next door neighbor used to live in Preston Park and said Hillcrest High School was a very good school back in the 60's is this still the case?

[homewifeev]

I did not expect this thread to get bumped down so far!

[FarNorthDallas]

Hillcrest is still a great school with kids from all over the world. It's very diverse. I have friends that live in that Preston Hollow neighborhood across the street from there. Some do public school, some private school (more private than public). Some live in original homes and some live in million dolllar re-builds. Preston Hollow Methodist has a preschool/daycare open 7:30-6. A couple of the families I know over there are members of Royal Oaks Country Club and I think a golf membership inititation is $55k. It's near Northpark mall and other good shopping along Preston.

I don't think this area would met all of your desires though. I wouldn't call it a walking community, but people do walk around the block. I don't know if that neighborhood is very diverse (kids come from all over to get to Hillcrest High so it is diverse). The public neighborhood elementary, Preston Hollow, got caught up in a scandal last year. But there is home appreciation. I don't think there are tons of kids in the neighborhood. Some, not tons.

The schools in UP are excellent and very academically competitive and there are a lot of kids there. Home prices are still going up. It's almost exclusively a white area and there is a Keep up with the Jones' type thing there from the people I know, although they are very very nice people. But you get a lot of, Which camp is you child going to this year? kinda stuff and kids getting paid hundreds of dollars for good report cards. I would call it a walking community. They have nice parks, public pool. Folks are members of Royal Oaks and Dallas Country Club (which has a long waiting list). Great sense of community there.

I don't know anything about Las Colinas.

[lh_newbie]

Two thing I wanted to bring to your attention about the location of University Park and your situation:

- You stated you're going to be travelling to Houston a lot
- University Park is about an 8-10 minute drive to Dallas Love Airport.

Love Airport would be your choice for going to Houston. Flights about every hour via Southwest Airlines. Additionally, getting in/out of Love is a piece of cake.

You mentioned you wanted diversity though. I think both places your looking at aren't giong to offer a lot of diversity - they're both manily white. UP's prices are some of the highest price/sq ft in the area. Keep in mind we pay about 2.25% of our property value in property taxes. If having your wife quit her job is a possibility, I wanted to ensure you kept that in mind. Using the example of your friends $800K home, they probably have about an $18K/year tax bill. This is something to be aware of when budgeting.

There are some really nice areas near White Rock Lake in Lakewood that may offer some of the items you requested. I don't know specifics, but Lakewood does have some good schools. Prices are definitely lower - roughly $150-180/sq ft, so you can get a little more space for a lower price. White Rock Lake itself is an amazing amenity. There are some homes with really nice, large lots. You're VERY close to downtown - just like University Park, but Lakewood does offer better diversity, although that is slowly trickling away with the gentrification of Lakewood. Lakewood does have a country club, but I believe the cost is ~$50K or something - but with the $ you save on a home compared to UP (and the associated tax bill), you could easily afford it.

I personally love the feel of Lakewood. Very laid back area. Very mature trees. White Rock Lake is my favorite amenity of the entire DFW region. The trail and pedestrian friendliness of the parks that surround it are awesome. And again, you'd have about a 15-20 minute ride to Dallas Love field.

Brian

[homewifeev]

I just spoke with my realtor and she is going to be showing me two homes. We had previously looked at a house across the street on Turtle Creek Drive but we couldn't see living in one of those places with the amount of foot traffic and late night traffic. It was a nice place, secure like our condo, but the large park right by was a problem. We also felt it was a bit overpriced. Well, we are going to look at a place in Las Colinas that is going for $1.7 which seems to be a good deal. It has a large fenced yard and a pool. It also backed up to a golf course. The other one we are going to see is a place on Beverly Drive in Highland Park for $4.695. yikes! My wife found it online at realtor.com. She thinks it was just so gorgeous. I said it won't look good coming out of our wallet. The place looks like it has no yard. I would like Luke to know what grass is! FarNorthDallas, my friend is a member at both Royal Oaks and Dallas Country Club. I have heard very nice things about the Dallas Country Club. I was told that Lakewood was the third most expensive area in Dallas. I have been to the Lakewood theater once. How is Woodrow Wilson High School. I hear all the elementary schools are top notch. How is East Dallas, I haven't really ventured outside of DFW, Downtown, and Turtle Creek, so I don't know that area well. I am sure it is beautiful as all of Dallas is. Is there a business scene at the Country Club in Lakewood?

[homewifeev]

Wow! The tax part shocked me. So I should expect to pay over $100,000 in property taxes if I buy the $4,000,000 house in Highland Park?

If thats true that is out of the question that is 1/2 my wife's salary!