Rent in highland park for the schools while saving? Possible? (Dallas: buy, top schools)

[Pemberly283]

Thanks tc! Appreciate it, we are in private preschool now and it's rigorous, it's not called early childhood PTA, it's an actual school . Anyways, yes I cannot imagine how behind a kiddo maybe if not ready for kinder now a days. I have read your previous posts and you mentioned , I think or someone did, that the price of a home is just the start of the lifestyle and that a 250k earner is on the lower tier. Have I got this right?

[Macbeth2003]

Originally Posted by Pemberly283

it's not called early childhood PTA, it's an actual school .

Early childhood PTA is unrelated to pre-school. It is an organization for parents of infant to pre-k kids who will eventually end up at the same elementary school. It helps support the local schools, and ensure that everyone knows everyone when school starts.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Pemberly283

Thanks tc! Appreciate it, we are in private preschool now and it's rigorous, it's not called early childhood PTA, it's an actual school . Anyways, yes I cannot imagine how behind a kiddo maybe if not ready for kinder now a days. I have read your previous posts and you mentioned , I think or someone did, that the price of a home is just the start of the lifestyle and that a 250k earner is on the lower tier. Have I got this right?

Early Childhood PTA's are organizations that help moms & kids living in a particular elementary school's zone get to know one another before kindergarten. They also raise money for the neighborhood elementary schools. It's open to anyone with a child age 0-5. It is NOT a preschool.

Second, there are two types of people living in the Park Cities: old money/ social types and those there for the schools and community. You'll never see/ know many of the old money/ social types. They are in the $500k & up & up club and tend to have their kids in private or boarding schools. The folks who live in HPISD for the schools range wildly- from renters and divorcees on low budgets to dual income households that need two professional incomes to stay in the district to some competitive "keeping up with the Jones" types to the "Jones" themselves. The thing 95% of these people have in common is they love their kiddos and want to be active in their lives- from coaching soccer and t-ball teams to being room mothers and Sunday school teachers and driving carpool and helping with homework and going to cheer on the high school football team. Most of that takes more time than money.

Yes, the homes are expensive. It takes about $800k before you can look at decent homes --> which yields a $250k-ish household income right there. Yes, nearly all families can afford to eat out 1-3+ times a week. Yes, most families are driving cars that are less than 10 years old- but you'll see as many Suburbans and Jeeps as you do Lexus SUV's and Range Rovers. Yes, many send their kids to summer camps that are in the $2,000/week range for 3-6 weeks. But there are also tons of kids wearing clothes from Target and Old Navy, especially in elementary school. Most people are down to earth- the "pills" are out there but not the majority.

We had to watch our money growing up and the only time I was ever acutely aware of who had what & who didn't was in middle school. I think that's a common experience no matter where a kid grows up- the awkward ages of 11-13 are very much about "who am I?" "do I fit in?" etc.

[Pemberly283]

Thanks tc, I have found when I lived in Plano and when I went to smu , that ironically in plano in the normal suburb land of the 200k houses there was significantly more jones keeping then I ever witness at smu.

[jennifw]

We live in Lakewood, but moved here from Katy. We lived in Green Trails and then Cinco Ranch. I realize now that we moved to Katy for "the schools" but since we didn't have kids yet, I never really investigated what part of Katy we were in We just figured it was all good!

Financially, we moved house-to-house when we moved to Dallas with both houses being about the same. I would say that our expenses are about the same with our taxes slightly lower. (it's been 8 years so I don't really remember). For us, we added private school so there are some sacrifices made. If we were still in Katy, we probably would not have chosen private school so we would be ahead financially, if that makes sense.

When we moved here, we never thought we could afford Highland Park. Now that we are here and paying private school tuition, we have determined that it would probably be a wash. Of course, I love my life, so we are going to continue doing what we are doing. I would take private school tuition x 3 into your equation. I think the math will work out for you to seriously look at HP.

Originally Posted by Squirl

I would rent or purchase a condo in HPISD if you have 3 children. With one or 2 kids, I might buy in Lakewood and plan for private middle & high school unless my children qualified for the TAG or honors programs.

I agree. If you are looking for schools like Katy ISD, you won't find them in Lakewood. The elem is great, but beyond that, it is very different. It is a huge gamble for TAG qualification. I have several friends with kids who could test in this year and were told not to even try since there were ZERO spots open. They are "stuck" at public school when their plan all along was go to TAG after elementary.


Good luck with your move! You should like Dallas. I thought it would be exactly like Houston, but it isn't.

[GreyDay]

Originally Posted by jennifw

Good luck with your move! You should like Dallas. I thought it would be exactly like Houston, but it isn't.

Well there's zoning in Dallas.

But there are definitely rentals available in Park Cities. Also once all the kids are in school, the stay at home parent could pursue work as well. You could make issues about the expense of camps and what-not, but the most important thing is getting a great education for your kids. And the Dallas magnets are great but as stated earlier, getting in is not guarantted.

From my anecdotal experience as observer- the kids dress like kids anywhere until they get to high school, then the girls dress up more it seems (a good way to talk about a teenager getting a job).

And FWIW, I've never had anyone be snooty and at least in my part of town, there's not alot of 'catching up with the Joneses', just a bunch of boring adults (self included) raising their kids the best way they can.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by jennifw

I would take private school tuition x 3 into your equation. I think the math will work out for you to seriously look at HP.

The financial "rule of thumb" is that 2 kids is the break even point for weighing HPISD vs living out of district in a comprable home (ie, my $300k East Dallas home would be $750k if it were sitting on HPISD land) and going private. With 3 kids, HPISD is a no-brainier for a family who would consider private, even if it means renting or buying something smaller/ older.

[ANLr]

You really don't need private schools in Lakewood. In fact, the private schools are losing students to Long and especially Woodrow Wilson.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ANLr

You really don't need private schools in Lakewood. In fact, the private schools are losing students to Long and especially Woodrow Wilson.

I'm not asking this to be antagonistic. I really am curious--> how many more years will it take before Woodrow turns into the school the Lakewood residents think it already is/ can be?

The school has pretty close to 0% of each graduating class making NMSF vs 2.2-2.5% in the average Highland Park class and anywhere from 3-30% of the elite private schools? It seems like there hasn't been a class in recent memory with more than 1 NMSF @ Woodrow.

36% of WW students take AP exams, but only 30% pass. Lake Highlands has similar demographics and a similar % taking AP's, but a early 50% pass rate. Richardson HS also has similar demographics, but a 55% pass rate with 43% enrollment. This doesn't even scratch the elite schools with 75%+ students in AP and over 60% passing exams.

I just can't find ANY academic proof to recommend Woodrow over privates, HP, or even the nearby RISD schools. Yes, wanting your children to grow up in a diverse environment is great, but it's not enough for me to see backing off on academics.

Wondering if residents other than Lakewooder can give any data to support the academic proof that WW is projected to even rise to RISD quality in the near-term??

[Pete53FR]

I live in East Dallas, my wife is a Woodrow and JL Long Graduate but I sent my kids to private school 80 to 96 cause I watched my friends saving for College and their kids go to Public School and going to Junior College.

I think that every parent needs to be critical of schools and make the best choice that they can.

WFAA had a special the other day highlighting Cathedral H S in El Paso that has a remarkable record of training young men to go to College.

My 11 year old Grand Daughter makes all A's in Allen and two of my Grand Kids are in Richardson.

I encourage all my grand kids to read and do well in school. I also reward them when they do well.

So what is my point? Like Lakewooder so eloquently has stated the School is only a part of the equation. As another aside I am the oldest of 56 grandkids from an Irish Catholic Family from which 54 are College Graduates we were expected to Graduate from College.

My wife also Graduated from College and is a licensed Dietitian.