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TurtleCreek80 has been kind enough to share a ton of information, and was hoping to give TC a break, and ask others about their PH experiences. My wife and I are not ready for full blown suburbanism, and initially thought Park Cities or Lakewood. But both those would add to my daily commute (outside sales, all over DFW, but will likely head north west every morning.), and it seems PH has cheaper taxes than Lakewood, and cheaper home prices than Park Cities. We like that Preston Hollow seems near it all, not too far from downtown, the airport, northern suburbs, etc. I understand the elementary schools are great, but kind of spotty after that. we have one child now, only 6 months old, so we have a solid decade before middle school comes into play.
So, just looking for people who have lived in Preston Hollow to give me some insight. which areas are best, is there airport noise, anything you would do differently, etc?
I know you don't want to hear more from me, but I will point out that we don't have any regular posters who live in Preston Hollow. BigDGeek grew up there but lives in Richardson now. FND and SMS Mom may have input as they've been in the Dallas private schools....but unfortunately we are not well-represented in PH- or Rockwall or Coppell or a host of other wonderful suburbs who don't get "promoted" on the forum as much as they "deserve" based on schools/home values/desirability by the general DFW public & media.
The Preston Hollow area (and I am using the term loosely including old Preston Hollow, new Preston Hollow, the Strait Lane area and the areas near Hockaday that aren't technically in either old or new Preston Hollow) is a beautiful area with old growth trees and housing at a variety of price points ranging from about $300,000 to several million dollars. Many of the wealthiest Dallas residents live in the PH area.
At all price points the lot sizes are bigger than in the Park Cities -- this -- and the lower cost of similarly sized housing -- is the major reason someone might choose PH over the Park Cities. It also feels to me like there is less traffic in PH -- especially as you get away from Preston Road and more into the area around Hockaday -- but that may just be because the routes I take through the Park Cities tend to be the major feeder streets.
In general, neighborhood streets seem to be wider in PH than in the Park Cities and it is my perception -- maybe not accurate -- that fewer people park on the streets in PH. Property tax rates shouldn't be lower than in the Lakewood area, however, because both PH and Lakewood are covered by the same taxing authorities. (Though it might be possible that you would pay more taxes for a house with similar amenities and size because overall the price point for houses is probably slightly lower in PH than in Lakewood.)
The PH area has very easy access to many of the major freeways in Dallas -- 635, the Dallas North Tollway, and 75 are all just minutes away and even 35 is an easy shot down Royal Lane. Love Field is an easy fifteen minutes down Marsh Lane, while DFW is thirty minutes away on 635. (Traffic on 635 can be an issue, so during certain times of day, you cannot count on a 30 minute drive to DFW.) Airport noise doesn't tend to be an issue -- and the Park Cities are actually closer to Love Field than most of PH.
The lifestyle is family friendly. Most of the neighborhoods in the area have neighborhood associations that sponsor parades, picnics, crime watches, etc. The Town North YMCA is a major center for sports for area kids in both public and private schools. Many neighborhoods in the area have a park as their centerpiece. Two of the largest are Preston Hollow Park and Northaven Park -- but Crestline Park and the park in the Glen Cove neighborhood are also very nice.
There is easy access to restaurants and shopping and the cultural amenities of downtown Dallas are just a fifteen minute drive down the tollway. The public libraries in the area (Preston Royal, Park Forest and Bachman Lake) are true gems and recreation centers (Walnut Hill and Churchill Park) offer great programing for kids and are city services that I am happy to support with my taxes. There are also many opportunities for Mommy and Me type programs and kid activities like dance, sports and music programs in the immediate area.
The schools in PH and in Lakewood, for that matter, do not match the schools in the Park Cities. While both PH and Lakewood have the best schools in the DISD, they are urban schools and suffer from the kinds of problems you would expect in any urban school district -- poverty, minimal English proficiency, parents who are working so hard to make a living that they feel they cannot be involved with their kids and kids in the upper grade levels who don't see the point of getting an education. (They also suffer from a school board that sometimes seems more motivated by politics than the best interests of the students, but that is a different issue.)
Both PH and Lakewood schools have a solid core of super involved volunteers at all levels who help improve the educational environment for all the children in the school. A child of involved parents shouldn't have a problem in the schools in either area and both White and Woodrow send their 30 - 40 top students to great colleges. (There just aren't as many top students at White and Woodrow as at HPHS.)
Because the area is generally pretty wealthy and some the best private and parochial schools in the Dallas area tend to be concentrated in the area, parents do not necessarily send their children to the public schools. For instance, there is a large concentration of families in the area who are committed to providing a Catholic education to the children, who choose St. Monica or St. Rita for elementary school and then send their children to Ursuline and Jesuit or Cistercian. There are also families with long histories at Hockaday and St. Marks who would not dream of sending their children elsewhere. However, the neighborhoods around the schools tend to support the schools even if not all of the neighbors send their children to the public schools because it is in everyone's interest for the DISD to be a solid school system.
Sorry- one more thing. Lakewood and Preston Hollow have the exact same tax rate as they are both subject to Dallas County, City of Dallas, and DISD taxes.
You MUST be sure you are looking up each home's taxable value on Dallas Central Appraisal District and calculating the tax formulas yourself. Do not take the taxes listed on a property flyer or the taxes the current owner is paying according to dcad- it may be taking into account tax breaks you do not qualify for (over-65, etc) OR over-estimating if it is not the current owner's primary home (is, buying from a builder or someone who already bought a new home)- the 20% & 10% Homestead Exemption is ONLY on your primary home (homestead).
TurtleCreek80 has been kind enough to share a ton of information, and was hoping to give TC a break, and ask others about their PH experiences. My wife and I are not ready for full blown suburbanism, and initially thought Park Cities or Lakewood. But both those would add to my daily commute (outside sales, all over DFW, but will likely head north west every morning.), and it seems PH has cheaper taxes than Lakewood, and cheaper home prices than Park Cities. We like that Preston Hollow seems near it all, not too far from downtown, the airport, northern suburbs, etc. I understand the elementary schools are great, but kind of spotty after that. we have one child now, only 6 months old, so we have a solid decade before middle school comes into play.
So, just looking for people who have lived in Preston Hollow to give me some insight. which areas are best, is there airport noise, anything you would do differently, etc?
We live in PH or "New PH" as my mom, an old school Dallasite calls our area. We're just north of Royal just east of Midway.
There are a lot of issues to think about.
1. It's really easy to get in and out of here.
2. Lots of 60's/70s era homes here look like they might be worth about the same from the outside but vary widely in price because many have been completely re-modeled. A few have not - these sell for right at raw land value.
3. Zillow and the other real estate sites are often WAY off, to the low side, regarding stated values in PH. I'm sure some of our real-estate pros can explain that. Our home v. Zillow was off by $200,000+.
4. I've heard about all these great steal deals in PH. We looked for months and we still look to buy a second and maybe third place. Amongst the PH properties without a glaring problem there are no steals.
5. We paid slightly, about $5K, over appraised value. Our second choice home went for more than $50K over appraised value. Something about appraisers not making positive market adjustments absent the buyer paying cash for the adjustment.
6. In my sub-neighborhood there is an issue with a local rich guy who owns multiple homes, at least three, for sale - each is FAR over market and he simple does not care. So they sit, beautiful and empty.
7. I'd also be careful about home values relative to HP/UP. That completely depends upon which part of PH you are talking about. I would guess that the homes along Park Lane and Strait Lane cost more than similar homes in HP.
8. Lots of PH is covered with magnificent trees and many of the lots are large.
I would absolutely agree with the previous point about PH streets generally being wider than HP/UP streets. It's a lot easier to get around in most of PH.
The people here a mix of older folks and younger couples with kids. Everyone I've met has been great. The day before we moved in my neighbor sent his lawn guy over to mow our grass - and he paid for it! People brought over all manner of food and deserts - we were invited to parties etc.
We love it here and I suspect we will never move.
All of this is to point out that you need to find a realtor that knows PH inside and out especially regarding traffic and the school situation which is not easy to figure out from afar.
ETA - Regarding airport noise.....every once in a while in my back yard usually late at night I can hear a plane leaving Love. Never in the house. People further south in PH doubtlessly do hear planes everyday.
TC - by no means was I trying to push you away, I was trying to give you a break!!!
SMS - thanks for the insightful post, sounds like a great area. I'm still confused on schools though, if it is a wealthy area, shouldn't the children attending be of the wealthy families? I don't understand how the lower income kids get blended in with the higher income kids, unless the neighborhoods themselves are blended, which doesn't seem to be the case. thats how it is in Chicago, but we have $3M houses next to apartments that rent for $600/month, so it makes sense, but I don't see that setup in PH?
what are ballpark figures on catholic and parochial schools in PH? Is there much concern of neighborhood kids not knowing each other due to all the different schools? on one hand i see it as an issue, on the other, my wife will stay home as i'm sure many other moms do, can't they drive to a friends house?
I know Dallas is not a "walkable" city overall, but do people walk around anywhere? do they have to walk in the street due to an absence of sidewalks?
why are there no Preston Hollow people on here, seems like a large area?
EDS - thank you, your post hit as I was typing, great information!
you make a good point, PH is a bit hard to navigate, so many schools, and "paths" to be mindful of. again, our son is 6 months, so we have some time to go on that, but we definitely at least want to be near a great elementary school, so we know we can commit 10 years here.
I know you don't want to hear more from me, but I will point out that we don't have any regular posters who live in Preston Hollow. BigDGeek grew up there but lives in Richardson now. FND and SMS Mom may have input as they've been in the Dallas private schools....but unfortunately we are not well-represented in PH- or Rockwall or Coppell or a host of other wonderful suburbs who don't get "promoted" on the forum as much as they "deserve" based on schools/home values/desirability by the general DFW public & media.
I'm in the PH area (as someone else called it). The elementary schools are fantastic. My daughter is in a magnet school for middle school, which is always an option, but I have friends who have kids at Franklin and Hillcrest and are thriving. When your child is old enough for middle and high school, I think these schools are going to be incredible.
1. School populations- there are a lot of apartments on the fringe edges of the neighborhoods- that's where you get the low income/ low English proficiency demographics. Since many neighborhood families do go private, the school boundaries are probably a little wider than they would otherwise be in order to fill the schools.
2. Private school tuitions are all listed on the school websites. Google the names SMS gave you.
3. Walkability is extremely limited. You'll see lots of folks out walking for exercise, but as with any other Dallas neighborhood, only a few peep live within walking distance (.5 mile or so) or a shopping center/ restaurant row. You would NEVER see a woman out in high heels walking .5 mile to dinner....you would see a mom with a stroller dressed in Lululemon walking up to Starbucks.
4. No idea why not many PH people are active on the forum. As I mentioned earlier, we have no one from Coppell (middle to upper middle class suburb with 3rd highest SAT average in North Texas) and no one in Rockwall (eastern middle class suburb on Lake Ray Hubard with excellent public schools and desirable lake living), either. It's certainly not a "black" mark against PH or those other areas though!
That's why I posted the D Mag links so you could get some "outside" insider's scoop on life in the PH neighborhoods.
I'm in the PH area (as someone else called it). The elementary schools are fantastic. My daughter is in a magnet school for middle school, which is always an option, but I have friends who have kids at Franklin and Hillcrest and are thriving. When your child is old enough for middle and high school, I think these schools are going to be incredible.
I agree with your thesis. There is a strong move a-foot to step up the public middle and high schools around here.
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