Is Highland Park One of The Most Expensive Places To Live In The USA?
Highland Park, Texas made Business Week’s top ten list of the most expensive suburban communities, though we know HP and UP are not really suburbs but an island within the city. Frankly, I was surprised: Atherton, CA was first — no shocker, all the Silicon Valley big wigs live there — median home price $3.8 million, then Highland Park, Texas median home price $937,500., then Scarsdale, NY at $1.23 million. I guess it was HP’s nonretail spending at 245%, which was really a shocker, that upped the cost of living ante. Seems that some financial gurus are suggesting that folks who live in places like HP/UP and are finding it hard to make ends meet sell their homes in the pricier communities and seek shelter in lower cost areas — but to do that here would tack on the added expense of commuting if you moved to, say, Frisco. Or if you moved to a North Dallas ranch home you might end up forking out $20K a year for private school. Why not stay in HP and pay the high property taxes (ouch), at least those are deductible. I don’t know yet what I think about this article. Or this. What do you think?
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Actually, if you read the article — HP is 2nd because the list is sorted by state population (CA is #1, TX is #2, NY is #3, etc).
However, if you look at the affordability — then HP is the worst by far with its cost of living index @ 245%; the 2nd worst was only 206% (for Atherton, CA).
Also, its not the 10 most expensive areas, just the #1 most expensive area in each of the 10 most populus states (which is why some of the indexes are even below 100% — which indicates that they are “cheaper” than the national average).
Face it — HP average home price at roughly $1MM is 2.5 times the average price to live in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Las Colinas, etc.
An HP resident could easily sell their home, buy one of the same size in a perfectly nice part of Plano, send their kids to Plano HS (which is nearly as good as HP HS), and likely pocket about $500k. The only reason not to do it is: ego, and an irrational valuation of commuting time/etc.
Comparing Plano HS to HP is apples to oranges. Plano would be 6A if there were enough jumbo schools to warrant the designation. More than “scores” go into a decision of where to live and educate children.
For various reasons I would not have sent my kids to either school. Just a Dallasite and former parent at 4 different private schools (a choice I would make again if given the chance). One of the great things about the metroplex is our variety of choices.
I wouldn’t send my kids to HPHS and most of our HP neighbors feel the same way. We’re already paying the private school costs. The reason we live there is the location. If it weren’t for that, I don’t think I could stand to live 12 feet from my neighbor.
Of course you could live in Lakewood where we have great schools, a small-town atmosphere and a mansion/ranch/bungalow/duplex mix where nobody looks down on others. And you kids will not have to pay for growing up in a lack of diversity for the rest of their lives.
I personaly think HP is way overpriced and way overated. All the houses look the same and tend to run into another as far as distance from each other. I live in Preston Hollow which isnt much different as far as we try to build the biggest house on the block but at least we have an acre to work with. I can build a 15,000 sq. ft. house with pool and tennis court and still leave room for my kids to play in my yard.
To say that the lots in Preston Hollow are bigger than the lots in Highland Park is untrue. We have several large estates and extremely generously sized lots (Beverly, Euclid, Miramar, Highland, Crescent, etc.) in Highland Park. A lot of people move out to Preston Hollow from Highland Park only to move back shortly thereafter because for they missed the sidewalks and curbs which connected them to their next door neighbor.
Also…compare the total percentage of taxes from Highland Park to Preston Hollow and see which one is cheaper (percentage only); it’s one of the cheapest in the metroplex.
Wow, you mentioned like 5 streets. Everybody in HP assumes that there house, regardless of size is worth what everybody elses house in HP is worth. Having a house in HP is like anything else, people ask “what street” and “how many sq. ft.”. It has turned into a competition to see who has the biggest wallet.I have many freinds who have baught a small HP “starter” home and have found that the neighbors are normaly in shock and disbelief when they say they cant afford to remodel or build a wan-a-be mansion. You can keep your sidewalks for your kids to play on, I’ll keep my estate.
Atherton or Highland Park? I’ll take Atherton ANY day over HP. I’ll take a Silicon Valley asshole anyday over a red state “Welcome Home George Bush” on their front lawn Park Cities prick for that matter too.
amen thackery…
My, my. Aren’t you all a bunch of nasty hypocrites. I live in University Park, and I have really nice neighbors. You pick pick pick on the Park Cities. I cannot figure out why. It’s not like people here go out of our way to be mean to you. I have a 3000 sqaure foot house, drive a Honda and am a Democrat. Please don’t stereotype. Who the heck NEEDS a 15,000 square foot in Preston Hollow? Or an acre of land? I do love living in University Park. We have great police and fire protection and beautiful parks. Very good schools and people who generally love their town. Why is that so horrible or worthy of scorn?
By the way, Lakewwwooder, HPISD’s valedictorian is an Asian immigrant and our salutatorian is Russian. If you looked at the kids winning other scholastic awards, you will find kids of many nationalities. We are not all WASPs anymore. I have lived in Lakewood. It is beautiful, but I could not blindly trust my child to DISD and the crime is sometimes scary. My Lakewood friends were very nervous when that carjacker was on the loose.
Russian – wow – and you have like what percentage of non-whites?
Uh the carjacker was on Mockingbird which also runs into the Park Cities. We found him pretty fast.
Blindly trust your child to DISD – oh my tell that to Princeton and Yale admissions – also to Harvard which invited our mock trial team up in December.
Just because whites are the majority doesn’t make it bad or wrong. And say what you want, Dallas is not as safe as the Park Cities. We have almost no violent crime. Yes, a small number of kids make it to Ivy Leagues in DISD, but it’s like a lottery, and I wasn’t willing to gamble with my kids’ education.
The real issue here is that people who don’t live in the Park Cities just express their hate for us and our schools. You don’t have to like us, but please save the vitriol for something worth getting all worked up about. I’m sure some of you will find something to scorn in this, but many of the HPISD campuses have chosen to focus on helping schools in DISD donating literally thousands and thousands of books, school supplies, coats, etc.
Operating a de facto apartheid school district of .02 blacks is not worth getting worked up about?
From my experience a lot of HPISD hate is directed toward DISD schools – witness the above vitriol, thug and fiesta days at HPHS and the penchant for the “N” word by HP grads. But you “have chosen” to help those poor DISD kids (as long as your kids don’t have to sit next to them). Condescend much?
I know a few DISD grads in the Ivies and they got there by hard work, not by some lottery system. It’s not a gamble.
The hubris of HP is absurdly obvious to all but those who live there – perhaps Robert Burns is not required reading at HPHS.
One of my favorite HP moments was the “Cash vs Trash” signs they had at football games. I also liked when the students were dropping money down to the “lesser” fans from daddy’s texas stadium box during the playoffs.