Need opinions- University Park vs. Highland Park

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by aeh

However, Naima, most homes in UP/HP have their masters on the second floor. It is very common.

This is VERY true. Even a lot of the new homes built in the past 10 years in the Park Cities have the master upstairs.

Naima- if your buyers don't like upstairs masters, that's one thing, but I hope they didn't pass on a good house becasue they were worried about resale, etc due to upstairs master.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

This is VERY true. Even a lot of the new homes built in the past 10 years in the Park Cities have the master upstairs.

Naima- if your buyers don't like upstairs masters, that's one thing, but I hope they didn't pass on a good house becasue they were worried about resale, etc due to upstairs master.

If they were buying a house in the suburbs.......... that would be a deal breaker. In older parts of Dallas like the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Lakewood, etc.......... master upstairs is more the norm.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

This is VERY true. Even a lot of the new homes built in the past 10 years in the Park Cities have the master upstairs.

Naima- if your buyers don't like upstairs masters, that's one thing, but I hope they didn't pass on a good house becasue they were worried about resale, etc due to upstairs master.

I couldn't agree more. In the Park Cities and Lakewood, it is the norm to have all bedrooms on the second floor. It is the outlier that has a master on the first floor and it doesn't appear to affect resale at all.

[aeh]

In fact, I can't think if we have ever personally looked at a home on the market in the Park Cities that did have master down. We do know of one family that has a master down, but that is all I personally know. So no one ever thinks of it as a disadvantage here, it's just the way it is done.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by aeh

In fact, I can't think if we have ever personally looked at a home on the market in the Park Cities that did have master down. We do know of one family that has a master down, but that is all I personally know. So no one ever thinks of it as a disadvantage here, it's just the way it is done.

I can only think of one too. It was in University Park (the horror!) and it was built in the nineties -- I can't remember the street.

[jelf]

A knew a former HPISD teacher who said that Bradfield and Armstrong were a little less snooty or socially competitve than the "new money" (her term) schools in UP. Is there any truth to that?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by jelf

A knew a former HPISD teacher who said that Bradfield and Armstrong were a little less snooty or socially competitve than the "new money" (her term) schools in UP. Is there any truth to that?

Do you mean the 5-year-olds or their parents?

The only big difference I see is this-> HP, in general, costs more than UP. Therefore you see a lot more "older" and "working" moms at Bradfield and Armstrong than at Hyer and UP, where more moms are SAH's and are super gung-ho PTA, Pre-School Association, Room Mothers, etc. I can see how that can be interpreted as "more competitive" but I think it's just the difference in moms of elementary aged kids who are late 20's/ early 30's and moms who are late 30's/ early 40's having different expectations of social fufillment through their kids activities.

My friends were just comparing their experiences at dinner this weekend- 1 Hyer mom and 2 Bradfield ones. The Hyer mom feels "left out" because in her kid's classroom she is the ONLY working mom and she basically has to say no every time she gets called for volunteer "duty". The Bradfield moms said that about half or more of the moms work and they don't feel the pressure or guilt to volunteer.

[mami2emily]

Maybe Naima's clients wanted a bedroom (not necessarily a master bedroom) on the main floor for elderly parents? I know that if my parents were not in a position to purchase a home in Dallas, we would be looking at homes that had at least one bedroom on the main floor so they did not have to use stairs.

I agree that it may be a suburb thing. Most of the homes we looked at out in the 'burbs had 1 or 2 bedrooms on the main floor. Two or three bedrooms upstairs on completely opposite corners of the house. We were joking that our kids might not even see each other while at home!

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by mami2emily

Maybe Naima's clients wanted a bedroom (not necessarily a master bedroom) on the main floor for elderly parents?

That is exactly what their situation was. Resale wasn't the issue, I had already prepared them about the trend of floorplans for the homes in PC.

Naima

[GreyDay]

Originally Posted by hamiltonpl

I was reared in the Park Cities. To a lifetime resident, there are absolutely no differences between the schools or the appreciation in value in HP or UP. You're not splitting hairs. Instead, you're splitting the hair of a hair. It is a useless and wasteful endeavor.

When I went to Highland Park High School I had people (from outside the neighborhood) ask me if I looked down on people who went to University Park. I told them yes. University Park is an elementary school so the students are shorter.

Highland Park High School is in fact in UNIVERSITY PARK. So is the Highland Park Administration Building. So are most churches that call themselves "Highland Park." In fact, Highland Park Presbyterian is literally across the street from University Park City Hall -- in University Park. The two "cities" are treated as the same place. UP Police & Fire will respond to calls in HP if they are closer than HP Police. HP Police and Fire will do the same in University Park. Because the homes appreciate in value due to the school district, which is the same in UP and HP, the homes will appreciate in value at the same rate. The police and fire even function as one unit in many circumstances. Ironically, it is the people from outside the Park Cities who think that there is a big difference in HP vs. UP. There is not.

Buy the house you like more. They are both the same investment because they are both in the same HPISD school district. Armstrong Elementary does not have a stronger PTA than UP schools like Hyer or UP. That is proof that your Realtor is in fact an outsider. The elementary schools are almost identical in every respect. Bradfield Elementary and University Park Elementary are literally identical architectural and floor plan carbon copies of one another. Your child will receive the same education and the parental involvement will be very heavy.

You are right that Stanford -- and most other UP streets -- are narrower than HP streets. It feels more congested now because the alley on Stanford is being repaved and everyone has to park on the street. However, Potomac is the street just north of Mockingbird, which is more congested than anything you'll ever find on Stanford. Residents in both HP and UP park on the street all the time, which will make it feel like you're "threading the needle." You heard good advice from mami2emily about getting a house with a circular drive and staying between Hillcrest and Preston. It sounds like you need her Realtor.

Personally, I would buy the home with less work on Stanford.

To be a rationale human being. Rage, rage against the dying of the light...

The home on Stanford does have a circular drive. To complicate matters even more, I've found a nice home in HP and Armstrong but it's on Cornell about halfway down from Airline, nice house, nothing needed has a pool and a bit of a lawn and is about a 4 block walk to Armstrong. BUT, there's a slight noise from I-75 although it's not visible and I'd assume all the future Bush library traffic would be an issue. The hunt continues until the wife makes me pull the trigger.