In Houston, what's the equivalency/most similar spot to Highland Park/University Park in Dallas? (Greenville: house)

[thecityhunter]

Upscale, safe, central access, prestige, etc

[turf3]

River Oaks.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

For Highland Park, the equivalent is River Oaks.

For University Park, the equivalent is West U.

[TurtleCreek80]

HP/UP is really just West U. Independent towns with their own police/fire/city gov surrounded by a major city and adjacent to a university (SMU in Dallas, Rice in Houston). The big difference is West U does not have its own independent school district,

River Oaks is more similar to Dallas' Preston Hollow. Both are in the city, not independent towns. Both more known for gated/acreage estates than HP/West U. Both for residents who want a little more privacy.

The disconnects are that the premier luxury shopping districts don't line up (River Oaks vs HP), nor do the prestigious country clubs (River Oaks v HP). And the elite private schools are all but 1 in Preston Hollow vs a little more spread out across Upper Kirby, Memorial, etc in Houston.

Both River Oaks and West U meet the central location/ safety/ prestigious criteria OP mentioned.

[thecityhunter]

I really appreciate the feedback...

The Villages - Hunter's Creek, Piney Point, etc. How do these compare? Is there an analogy or Dallas equivalency for them as well?

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

River Oaks is more similar to Dallas' Preston Hollow. Both are in the city, not independent towns. Both more known for gated/acreage estates than HP/West U. Both for residents who want a little more privacy.

Name recognition: Highland Park and River Oaks are well-known to outsiders. Preston Hollow is only known by Dallasites. Dubya and Laura identify more with Highland Park (her alma mater is SMU) than their actual location of Preston Hollow.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Name recognition: Highland Park and River Oaks are well-known to outsiders. Preston Hollow is only known by Dallasites. Dubya and Laura identify more with Highland Park (her alma mater is SMU) than their actual location of Preston Hollow.

The Bushes don't "identify" with Highland Park. Yes, they are closely tied to SMU with his library and her alumna status, but they've always lived in Preston Hollow. Before he was governor, they lived on Northwood and the girls went to Hockaday. Since his presidency, they've lived on Daria. Never HP. They don't really hang out in HP either. They're mostly seen at their long-time favorite restaurants along West Lovers or in Preston Hollow. They are members of HPUMC (adjacent to SMU's campus) so I'll give you that.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by thecityhunter

I really appreciate the feedback...

The Villages - Hunter's Creek, Piney Point, etc. How do these compare? Is there an analogy or Dallas equivalency for them as well?

That's a hard one. The Memorial Villages are kind of unique since they don't really have their own school district, but do have a shared police/fire presence across them. The layout is also different than anything else in Houston (primarily due to the influence of Buffalo Bayou) and different from anything I remember in Dallas. Memorial Villages kind of strikes me as kind of a mix between maybe HP/UP and some of the areas near White Rock Creek north of 635. But that's still kind of a stretch...

[madrone2k]

Yeah, I agree. I was fortunate to grow up in Bunker Hill Village back when all the Memorial Villages still had a feeling of being outside the city. Being in a pine forest and strung out for miles along Buffalo Bayou, without any commercial development gave it a different character. It wasn't uncommon for people to keep horses in their back yard. Across from Memorial High School, there was a little old house occupied by a lady who raised hens ... to buy eggs, you just drove up her oyster-shell driveway and tooted your car horn. Plus, having a lot of undeveloped forest, along with open blackberry patches, and small ponds, it was a pretty cool place to grow up. I'm not aware of anything similar in Dallas. My dad bought our 1.5-acre lot for $15,000 back in the late 50s. (Supposedly land there sold for 50-cents an acre back when the German farmers settled there.) I have no idea what it would be worth now. It's actually a bit too hoity-toity for my taste now, even though I could afford it.

One thing I recall in the Dallas of the 70s was the charming area along Greenville Av. north of NW Hwy. Not like the Memorial Villages, but another place that had character. The remains of old farms on rolling hills. Was good bike-riding country. I haven't visited that area for years, but Google Maps indicates a lot of it has been preserved as parkland.

To sum up my main idea, I think it is difficult to find exact analogues between nice neighborhoods in Dallas and Houston. River Oaks and West U are the easiest cases to make for having analogues in Dallas, but it's not a perfect fit. I actually like HP and UP better, but that may just be because it's easier to be charmed by places that one doesn't know as well.