what are the prettiest, safest, best schools, best areas of Dallas (Plano: houses, safest area)

[phyll115]

I would like a list of the prettiest, safest, best areas of Dallas with very large houses 5,000 square feet or over. The only criteria is good/best schools. Money not an issue. Close to work, not an issue. Also, somewhere where property taxes are not outrageously high. Where would you live?

[bencronin04]

Highland Park hands down. It has percentage wise some of the lowest property taxes, best public schools, safest area, homes over 5,000sqft and is a beautiful area. It's not really even a contest. Just be prepared to spend 2 million for the CHEAPEST 5,000sqft. property.

*If you looking for other areas as well: Plano & Southlake but they come in a somewhat distant second compared to HP with your criteria.

[Aceraceae]

Highland Park

[GripeWater]

Highlandpark. If you can't afford it then Southlake and West Plano.

[CMC_TX]

+ 1 for Highland Park & University Park, the most expensive areas in Dallas if you can afford it. If not, Willow Bend area of Plano (zip code 75093) or Southlake. The latter areas have a more suburban feel, if you like that.

Other options to consider depending on work location - Colleyville & Flower Mound/Highland Village area, especially if you like the lake.

[abbybaby]

Highland Park or University Park.

[EDS_]

Interesting. Money isn't an issue but property taxes are an issue.

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Interesting. Money isn't an issue but property taxes are an issue.

I thought the same as well, and had a hard time after reading previous posts when they were looking for a 150K house. But who knows, maybe times have changed drastically and they just don't want to pay year after year more than they want to.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Interesting. Money isn't an issue but property taxes are an issue.

Yeah, that is weird. Also, if money isn't an issue, why not try for the top private schools (which I assume would bring Preston Hollow into the mix)? And although property tax RATES in PC are lower, the actual TAXES will be higher because home prices on an apples-to-applesish basis are much higher there (I totally get that you're paying for a lot more than X thousand square feet, though, so there's many reasons why prices are higher).

Otherwise, yeah, Park Cities #1 by a wide margin, then I'd say Westlake (people seem to be forgetting that one), then parts of West Plano and/or Southlake. Westlake is small but Westlake Academy has an IB program, and for most of that area Carroll schools are a backup if for some reason the Academy isn't a good fit.

As noted, Southlake and Plano have a much different feel than PC or PH.

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

Yeah, that is weird. Also, if money isn't an issue, why not try for the top private schools (which I assume would bring Preston Hollow into the mix)? And although property tax RATES in PC are lower, the actual TAXES will be higher because home prices on an apples-to-applesish basis are much higher there (I totally get that you're paying for a lot more than X thousand square feet, though, so there's many reasons why prices are higher).

Otherwise, yeah, Park Cities #1 by a wide margin, then I'd say Westlake (people seem to be forgetting that one), then parts of West Plano and/or Southlake. Westlake is small but Westlake Academy has an IB program, and for most of that area Carroll schools are a backup if for some reason the Academy isn't a good fit.

As noted, Southlake and Plano have a much different feel than PC or PH.

Very true, Westlake is often not mentioned.