Crazy to not look North of 635 (Dallas, Arlington: home, schools, pharmacy)

[nakold23]

Honestly you CANNOT get better than Park Cities.

1) Close to EVERYTHING. even though Lakewood is close to downtown and a beautiful neighborhood, it feels out of the way from the rest of the north dallas corridor.

2) Hands down best public schools within 635 and the metroplex

3) beautiful homes, walking ability, strong sense of community.

even if your house is small I would highly recommend it. It is a wonderful place.

[BellaO]

My husband's boss and several other co-workers, work contacts live in UP/HP. Indeed, it does sound wonderful. I do have a couple of concerns about our "family" fitting in there though. It seems to be a very stable community, in the sense that families have laid deep roots there; kids grow up and if they can afford it, settle there as well. This speaks volumes about the town and community, and how the residents really value living there. My concern is that if it is a really close knit community, will people be willing to open up their circles to include an unknown, new family.....i'm thinking esp. In terms of my kids. Will they be able to break into etablished groups of kids?

I also don't know how I feel about being at the bottom of the food chain, in terms of real esate values. There are a lot of affluent areas in NJ, some give off a vibe that I don't care for, others are really great communities with mostly genuine folks. I think this is something I'll readily be able to determine after spending time shopping in town, eating in town, going to a park or two, etc.

This thread has confirmed for me that at least on paper, we'll be concentrating our search inside LBJ

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BellaO

My husband's boss and several other co-workers, work contacts live in UP/HP. Indeed, it does sound wonderful. I do have a couple of concerns about our "family" fitting in there though. It seems to be a very stable community, in the sense that families have laid deep roots there; kids grow up and if they can afford it, settle there as well. This speaks volumes about the town and community, and how the residents really value living there. My concern is that if it is a really close knit community, will people be willing to open up their circles to include an unknown, new family.....i'm thinking esp. In terms of my kids. Will they be able to break into etablished groups of kids?

I also don't know how I feel about being at the bottom of the food chain, in terms of real esate values. There are a lot of affluent areas in NJ, some give off a vibe that I don't care for, others are really great communities with mostly genuine folks. I think this is something I'll readily be able to determine after spending time shopping in town, eating in town, going to a park or two, etc.

This thread has confirmed for me that at least on paper, we'll be concentrating our search inside LBJ

I think you'll find the Park Cities is VERY welcoming to newcomers. Sure, a lot of residents have known each other since their HPISD, UT, SMU, or Camp Longhorn/ Camp Waldemar days, but lots of others have moved in as adults from other cities/ states and get "plugged in" just fine.

It's more of an "old money" mentality where if you live there, people know you can afford if (whether as a duplex owner/renter or as the owner of a $15M new home), and they don't care what you drive, what you wear, etc. There are a lot of families who are very sensible about money and drive their luxury cars or SUVs into the ground vs leasing a new one every 3 years.

It's almost impossible not to meet friends in the Park Cities. In UP, the big family hangout is the UP Pool - open to all residents with a small charge each summer ($100-ish). Many families with pools or country club memberships don't use them much for the pool because kids all want to be at the UP Pool with their friends.

Nearly every block has a "block party" once or twice a year. This is an area where all the kids play in the front & back yards, alleys, neighborhood parks & playgrounds, etc- its not a "stay in the backyard because mok is terrified you'll get abducted" kind of place. So if your kids are old enough, they just need to walk out the front door to start making friends & playmates! Additionally, the schools offer so many opportunities to get involved- parents "work" cafeteria duty (serving & at the register) and football game concession stands to save the district $$$ on hiring staff. Many moms & dads work the same "1st Thursday" or whatever shift with the same group for years! HPISD has been doing this forever! There are very active early childhood PTA's for those who have kids under kindergarten age to meet each other & make adult & kid friends. There are so many other ways to volunteer through the schools to makefriend, too. Most kids play a YMCA sport or two throughout the year in elementary school- parents coach, come to games, and often all go out for a
burger afterwards. There are tons of churches- and even a synagogue- in/near the Park Cities that have most of their membership from the Park Cities. This offers a chance to get to know other families through bible studies, Sunday school classes, mom's groups, Vacation Bible Schools in the summer, dinner groups, etc.

If you're worried about fitting in or have questions, send a PM to some of the people who recently purchased in the Park Cities (mami2emily and ganongrey), both of whom are new/relatively new to Dallas and dont fit the stereotypical "HPISD mold". Additionally, do some searching on old UP threads and you'll find a poster named ACEMOM or something like that who moved to UP from Chicago (I think?) a few years ago and is doing great there!

[lh_newbie]

Most homes in HP have a "scale" issue to me. Huge homes - especially the teardowns - on relatively small lots. In Lakewood, for the same price, you get more land and a better scale. Purely an architectural issue if you ask me, but I am not a fan of the Park Cities primarily for this reason.

Brian

[Macbeth2003]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

There are a lot of families who are very sensible about money and drive their luxury cars or SUVs into the ground vs leasing a new one every 3 years.

There was a fascinating article in the paper a few years ago comparing the Park Cities with West Plano. I remember it talking specifically - and accurately- about cars, pointing out the driveways in the park cities with 5 year old and older Ford and Chevy Suv's and a mixture of luxury and normal sedans vs the brand spanking new Mercedes/Lexus/Range Rover Suv's in West Plano.

Not knocking West Plano here (before everyone leaps in to defend it) ust pointing out a difference.

[elan]

I would not rule out a Preston Hollow or an in the district parent looking at Hillcrest. Most of them do go to private schools and Hillcrest did lose their TEA rating (due to not knowing the whereabouts of 17 Black dropouts, not test scores). However, there is still a small group of notable folks like the editor of Texas Monthly and the President of Forest Hills who continue to send their kids there.

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2009/0...n_Mar.aspx?p=1

http://prestonhollow.advocatemag.com/2010/10/lab-rats/

these kids crack me up, lol

http://hillcrestcyclone.blogspot.com...2_archive.html

[mami2emily]

BellaO...

As TC80 mentioined, we took the plunge and bought in University Park. On our short list were Southlake, Grapevine, Coppell, UP/HP, and far-away Allen (at my husband's colleagues' insistence). We were divided on Lakewood (i loved it, hubby wasn't keen on the schools). Loved Allen...what a perfectly planned community!

We move Memorial Day weekend. Husband wanted top schools and making a relatively safe real estate investment; I wanted top schools and being in a close-knit community walking distance to shops, restaurants, parks, etc. Can't tell you how excited I am to move to Dallas. Time will tell if we made the right choice, but right now we both feel like this is the best place for our family at least until our youngest gets through high school.

Definitely plan a trip down here to drive around and scout different areas. Visit grocery stores, coffee shops, local strip malls...check out the kind of people living in the area you wish to call home.

[loves2read]

just for my own info--how often do you really walk to the grocery store or other place that you do shopping or to restaurants---and in the summer months especially--since you were living in UP last summer...
not criticizing--just curious if you actually do that--I don't think I am walking to the store to do grocery shopping and wheeling it back in a pull-me cart or walking to restaurant when it is 90 degrees at 730 pm
maybe walk to park with kids but for the rest...just don't think that is really top of my chart

[mami2emily]

Originally Posted by loves2read

since you were living in UP last summer

Actually we did not live in UP last summer, we are about to move this year to UP so 2011 will be the first summer there. The ability to rely very little on a car was very important to me...even during what I am told will be a brutal summer.

Currently I live about 1/3 mile from a grocery store. And even in our GA summers, the kids and I often walk to the grocery store maybe once/twice per week. Not to do a week's worth of groceries, but definitely to pick something up for that evening's meal or grab a subway sandwich from the deli. When the kids are out of school we try to do less driving. We bike 2 miles to my mom's house, or bike to the Italian ice store (2 miles) or to Wendy's (1/2 mile). We bike or walk to the neighborhood pool. During the school year we live in the car because the kids' schools are each about 8 miles away...then after school activities...I personally get tired of having to drive everywhere for everything.

A good chunk of my adult life I lived in Boston where you walk just about everywhere. Even when we moved out to the burbs in MA it was less than a mile to a pharmacy, library, restaurants. Towns up there are just planned a little better.

We might have to do some of this walking early in the day or very late in the evening...but yes I can't wait to have a little bit of a pedestrian lifestyle in Dallas.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by mami2emily

A good chunk of my adult life I lived in Boston where you walk just about everywhere. Even when we moved out to the burbs in MA it was less than a mile to a pharmacy, library, restaurants. Towns up there are just planned a little better.

We might have to do some of this walking early in the day or very late in the evening...but yes I can't wait to have a little bit of a pedestrian lifestyle in Dallas.

I wish you luck, but Dallas and UP are not Boston. I do not consider it walkable and hope you aren't in for a rude awakening. Walking in DFW means walking around the block after work for exercise, not walking to any destinations. Very few exceptions to that in DFW.

Brian