highland park homes (Dallas, Plano, Southlake: foreclosures, crime rate, house)

[jdallas]

That's why education and the effectiveness of individual districts is a different topic.

As for the park cities real estate market and how the other poster mentioned a myriad of good and bad reasons for firm valuation, one possible bad reason I see is because the general area is a bit homogeneous and that the perceived value is rather irrelevant outside of the fishbowl of Dallas.
One person mentioned the architecture of the residential area to be a 'good reason'. I would be interested to hear what Mark Lamster thinks of the overall area before conceding that particular point.
It really doesn't matter. If you live there, great. If you only maintain and address there for education reasons while you live in Manhattan, wonderful.

The OP received his/her answer. How is the housing market if you wanted to own a home in that area? The market is just fine, thank you.

[GreyDay]

Originally Posted by jdallas

That's why education and the effectiveness of individual districts is a different topic.

As for the park cities real estate market and how the other poster mentioned a myriad of good and bad reasons for firm valuation, one possible bad reason I see is because the general area is a bit homogeneous and that the perceived value is rather irrelevant outside of the fishbowl of Dallas.
One person mentioned the architecture of the residential area to be a 'good reason'. I would be interested to hear what Mark Lamster thinks of the overall area before conceding that particular point.
It really doesn't matter. If you live there, great. If you only maintain and address there for education reasons while you live in Manhattan, wonderful.

The OP received his/her answer. How is the housing market if you wanted to own a home in that area? The market is just fine, thank you.

Real estate is all about placing a price tag on perceived value...

[GripeWater]

We can highlight all the studies that schools don't matter in a child's life and for home values but reality is that good schools improve chances for a child and for a neighborhood.

[TX75007]

Originally Posted by GripeWater

We can highlight all the studies that schools don't matter in a child's life and for home values but reality is that good schools improve chances for a child and for a neighborhood.

We've been down this road before. I agree with Gripewater based on my own observations and my own periapaedia.

As for the OP. A lot of well paid people work downtown and the HP schools are good. Add in a two family income, peak earning years, and the 2nd or 3rd home with equity to roll in and people can afford it. Taxes are low even though the valuations are quite high. The values also hold up over time. A net present value analysis of the options shows that HP is worth it if you can get into the house with equity.

I've also mentioned on here that my wife is a former CEO and has said repeatedly that she has more in common with HP wives than in other areas. They take her looks and professional history in stride and there are no social dominance games. The comfort factor is also important.

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by TX75007

I've also mentioned on here that my wife is a former CEO and has said repeatedly that she has more in common with HP wives than in other areas. They take her looks and professional history in stride and there are no social dominance games. The comfort factor is also important.

That is fascinating to hear. My wife is a professional as well and she feels she a bit out of place with the stay at home moms in Frisco, Plano, etc. This is a huge generalization, but she feels that many of the UP and Preston Hollow stay at home moms are former professionals that gave up good careers (and are highly educated) to be moms. She does not get that feeling in Frisco or Plano. She gets the feeling that the moms had jobs that they were all to happy to leave once they got preggers.

Mind you- that is one mom's opinion. I do know at Hockaday and my son's school (which always remains nameless), the stay at home moms are former lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, etc. Almost all of the stay at home moms have at least an MBA and are nobody's fool.

[TX75007]

Originally Posted by HockDad

That is fascinating to hear. My wife is a professional as well and she feels she a bit out of place with the stay at home moms in Frisco, Plano, etc. This is a huge generalization, but she feels that many of the UP and Preston Hollow stay at home moms are former professionals that gave up good careers (and are highly educated) to be moms. She does not get that feeling in Frisco or Plano. She gets the feeling that the moms had jobs that they were all to happy to leave once they got preggers.

Mind you- that is one mom's opinion. I do know at Hockaday and my son's school (which always remains nameless), the stay at home moms are former lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, etc. Almost all of the stay at home moms have at least an MBA and are nobody's fool.

These are my wife's observations as well. This is a big deal for my wife. She gave up a lot to be a SAHM. At work she was highly respected, called the shots, and was used to the perks and being deferred to. She also had a lot of high powered friends focused on getting things done. She really misses it and is thinking of returning. She got a lot out of that identity and gets little out of SAHM - other than time with the kids.

As a SAHM she feels isolated and ignored. And almost all of her "peers" are focused on mundane things like they are the most important things in the world - needlecraft, sports, and cooking. And dumber things like female social dominance and cliquey stuff.

She has been getting involved with girls' athletics out of two of the privates and the group of moms and coaches there are all fantastic. She does not have to dial down her mind or her drive or her athleticism or hide her corporate past or not chat with the husbands. And having uber bright and quirky kids is normal. The overt Liberalism of some is very annoying to her - but other than that - its fun and is a boost.

[GripeWater]

Most of the SHAMS of West Plano in my wife's PTA, Literature, Enviormental and Tennis clubs are highly educated and very supportive and accommodating of professional moms. I think its a matter of how a person connects, if a professional/ex professional woman considers herself somehow higher than others or her time more valueable than of a SHAM then they do put her back in her place.

You have to respect other people's personal choices and meet them on equal footing, a chip on your shoulder is no good for networking. My wife couldn't do needle craft if her life depended on it but she respects people who can and enjoy it. You have to value people for who they are, not what they do.

[Lakewooder]

Ha, I was at a recent WWHS PTA meeting and when a certain subject came up, one lady felt the need to assert that she is an attorney. I was sitting in the back and I heard another lady say, "there are a lot of lawyers in here"... some were rolling their eyes...then of course we talked about bringing a pie for every teacher to take home for Thanksgiving.

[MckinneyOwnr]

I always find discussions of HP/UP interesting. For me personally, I don't think the price paid is worth it for real estate in those areas. Not even factoring in schools, especially when you have Plano and private schools that can provide for just as robust an education or even better than HP. The proximity to downtown just isn't that important to me. Lived in Uptown before, got it out of my system I guess.

Now, if money is no object, and you want it all, large house, good schools, and proximity to downtown, then HP can meet that criteria. But for the amount you'll pay... well, you'll pay triple or more what you could get in Plano that is comparable.

[Puppy3D]

Some people try to put a price tag on priceless things. Nobody cares if you spend most part of your waking hours outside your homes pursuing lab rats or pursuing perfection in needle craft in your living room. Its your choice or need but that doesn't oblige others to accommodate you.

My best friend is a highly paid and exceptionally talented web designer with a doctorate and fat bank account from sale of his start up but prefers to be a full time SAHD, gardener and part time telecommuter, he rarely tells people about his work and thoroughly enjoys the fact that many snobby worker bees look down upon him because he doesn't go to work and can't match their "intellect". :-)