Appeal of Lake Highlands and schools (Dallas, Plano: transplants, real estate, 2013)

[Waterdragon8212]

Having grown up in RISD/PISD, I appreciate the draw to Lake Highlands based on old world charm and schooling...somewhat. When I was in school back in the 80s, RISD was a great draw for good schools and relative diversity. These days, I hear a lot of good regarding Lake Highlands elementary schools, but many people slamming the junior high and high schools for various reasons. I'm struggling to understand the housing prices relative to other areas. There are homes in Lake Highlands elementary zone that are upwards of $450-$500K for 1800 square feet. From how I've understood it, people willingly pay these prices to get into the area. And yet, 2200 square foot homes and bigger in far north Dallas, but PISD (Plano West, no less), sell for MUCH less per square foot. Can someone more qualified in real estate help me understand this? While the elementary schools might be comparatively better in Lake Highlands (and that's up for debate), I can't imagine someone thinking LHHS beats out Plano West on any measure...

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

Having grown up in RISD/PISD, I appreciate the draw to Lake Highlands based on old world charm and schooling...somewhat. When I was in school back in the 80s, RISD was a great draw for good schools and relative diversity. These days, I hear a lot of good regarding Lake Highlands elementary schools, but many people slamming the junior high and high schools for various reasons. I'm struggling to understand the housing prices relative to other areas. There are homes in Lake Highlands elementary zone that are upwards of $450-$500K for 1800 square feet. From how I've understood it, people willingly pay these prices to get into the area. And yet, 2200 square foot homes and bigger in far north Dallas, but PISD (Plano West, no less), sell for MUCH less per square foot. Can someone more qualified in real estate help me understand this? While the elementary schools might be comparatively better in Lake Highlands (and that's up for debate), I can't imagine someone thinking LHHS beats out Plano West on any measure...

Guesses:
1. Proximity to downtown & uptown.
2. Some people like the bungalow thing.
3. Proximal economic pricing pressures for similar items dictate that per foot prices in Far North Dallas must be similar to Plano and LH more similar to Lakewood etc. back to closer to downtown.

[NP78]

Location, Location, and probably Location.

In all seriousness, that's simply it. Not sure what kind of "old world charm" there is to be found in Lake Highlands though.

One thing is that the area referred to as Lake Highlands is pretty large and there is a lot of variation in schools (at least at the elem level) and neighborhoods within that area. Homes in White Rock Valley are almost Lakewood level pricing,but some of the other areas can be a little closer to suburb prices.

[loveandcoffee]

We lived there for a few years and just moved a couple of weeks ago. From what I can tell, it's ideal for people who still want to live in Dallas, but don't want Dallas ISD and can't afford HPISD. There's the close proximity to I-635, I-75, and Northwest Highway, all heavily traveled commuter options. Location is also fairly good for the North Dallas private schools. It's not super close, but it still costs less than Preston Hollow and the other areas that surround those schools. It's a great neighborhood that has a good family feel, great local businesses, and fabulous community support for all the schools from elementary to high school, which is a large part of the "old world charm" being referenced here. Up until the past couple of years, all at this made Lake Highlands a pretty good bang for your buck. In fact, the biggest reason we left was because we were getting priced out.


Addressing the school issue: Lake Highlands has a lot of apartments in the Skillman/Royal/Audelia area, which brings in a lot of economically disadvantaged students. Some elementary schools have these apartments zoned to them (like Northlake), some don't (White Rock). People want to move into the latter for the same reasons they want to move into Lakewood and HPISD (less than 5% economically disadvantaged); that causes high demand over limited supply, which results in higher prices for homes zoned there. Lake Highlands has two middle schools and one high school, so once everyone starts attending the middle/high schools together, scores combine and drop somewhat to a more diversified outcome...hence the perspective of "good" elementary schools and "bad" middle/high schools.

[turf3]

No bungalows in Lake Highlands. You need to think East Dallas (if any are left).

Houses mostly built in the 50s through 70s, so quality of construction probably higher than far North Dallas.

Much more of a stable neighborhood feel than the transient keeping up with the Joneses Plano-esque vibe out there.

Mostly, good sized yards with moderately sized houses.

[jgn2013]

Trees....seriously, the trees.

I was one of those "apartment kids" that was zoned to White Rock Elementary. The PTA involvement was strong but there was nothing like my parents driving down White Rock Trail and then turning onto Crestedge Dr. and Chiswell. The Valley felt special for sure. Visually it's more appealing than northern suburbs with nothing but clear skies and grass for miles. Far north DFW seems to attract more immigrants and out-of-state transplants that want more house for the money while LH and the inner ring neighborhoods are more popular with those that are familiar with the area.

I actually enjoyed my elementary experience at both Bonham in DISD (1st to 3rd grade) and WRE (4th to 6th grade). Bonham was much more diverse and the education seemed more well-rounded but from a purely academic standpoint, WRE was better. Transferring from another district and being an "apartment kid", I think it took the teachers time to realize that I wasn't behind but was in fact ahead of most of my peers.

Best part was going to Northlake every other Monday for REACH (RISD's answer to Dallas' TAG program). Dallas TAG seemed more focused on cultural enrichment while REACH was like a smart kid's camp complete with logic puzzles and chess boards.

[loveandcoffee]

Originally Posted by jgn2013

Best part was going to Northlake every other Monday for REACH (RISD's answer to Dallas' TAG program). Dallas TAG seemed more focused on cultural enrichment while REACH was like a smart kid's camp complete with logic puzzles and chess boards.

That's interesting...I went to Anderson in Pleasant Grove, where we had TAG in house. We did logic puzzles at the beginning of every TAG class session, along with a good mix of cultural enrichment. I think my TAG experience was a combination of both of yours. I guess that goes to show that it really does vary by teacher.


By the way, I didn't mean to imply anything negative about the apartment kid thing, I was just going by demographics alone.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by loveandcoffee

That's interesting...I went to Anderson in Pleasant Grove, where we had TAG in house. We did logic puzzles at the beginning of every TAG class session, along with a good mix of cultural enrichment. I think my TAG experience was a combination of both of yours. I guess that goes to show that it really does vary by teacher.


By the way, I didn't mean to imply anything negative about the apartment kid thing, I was just going by demographics alone.

TAG was awesome plus we had the violin program (Suzuki method) which really made me regret having to go a little north to RISD.

I didn't take the apartment thing as an insult....it's just the way things were. The kids living in the homes around WRE almost uniformly brought their lunches to school and had moms that either stayed at home or worked part-time. They were always involved in school functions, as chaperones and in the PTA.

The apartment kids were mostly free or reduced lunch. At that time, my parents made too much money for free/reduced lunch but we went the cafeteria route each day (the well-to-do kids always wanted to trade their Lunchables for my pizza!). The students like me walked home or caught the bus to an after-school program like the YMCA. Kids with stay-at-home moms living in the houses always played soccer, baseball or football for local rec teams like the SVAA after school.

[Waterdragon8212]

Thanks for all of the thorough replies! It helps give me a better sense of things, though I still wonder why people would pick LH over homes in Dallas that feed into Pearce and/or Plano schools - especially when their jobs are up north. Three families I know have consistently maintained they bought in LH for the schools, but at least one partner in each family works up in Plano or Frisco. The thought of that commute gives me fits.

Though there are many people on this board that regularly praise Plano and Frisco schools, I get not wanting to live in the burbs - it's just a different environment. However, from what I've seen, there are pockets of RISD within the Pearce feeder that have older, more established neighborhoods and a community feel. At least from what I've heard (both on this board and in social circles), Pearce seems to have a better reputation than LH, so I've just always been skeptical about the "schools" being the reason these families we know live in Lake Highlands. I imagine the "close to Lakewood and HP" part might have more to do with it in these particular cases, especially given their commutes don't make much sense. There's nothing wrong with that - I just wish people would be more upfront about it.

I agree the trees are really gorgeous . Trees make such a difference in a neighborhood looking established versus new and really add to the charm!

[loveandcoffee]

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

Though there are many people on this board that regularly praise Plano and Frisco schools, I get not wanting to live in the burbs - it's just a different environment. However, from what I've seen, there are pockets of RISD within the Pearce feeder that have older, more established neighborhoods and a community feel. At least from what I've heard (both on this board and in social circles), Pearce seems to have a better reputation than LH, so I've just always been skeptical about the "schools" being the reason these families we know live in Lake Highlands. I imagine the "close to Lakewood and HP" part might have more to do with it in these particular cases, especially given their commutes don't make much sense. There's nothing wrong with that - I just wish people would be more upfront about it.

Haha, yeah, that was us. I liked the culture of being in Dallas. I grew up in Dallas, then lived in the suburbs for several years and was shocked by how much I hated it. I liked the proximity to the amenities of Lakewood and HP without the heavy price tag that came with it. However, since we don't have young children in the house, I was always really honest about the fact that our reason for living there was because we liked the location and the cultural feel of the area. I totally agree, if that's the reason, own it.