Moving to Florida from Ohio... (Jacksonville, Tampa: HOA fees, chapel, how much)

[dmc0715]

My husband and I are planning on moving from Ohio to Florida by the end of the year. He owns his own construction business (commercial plumbing contractor) and we are trying to decide between the Tampa area or Jacksonville. We have 2 small children under age 3 and have been checking out suburbs like Wesley Chapel and Valrico near Tampa. I have my heart set on Tampa area, but husband would also like to check out Jax area. Good schools are important, nice neighborhood, young families and obviously somewhere where there is LOTS of construction (which there seems to be in most of Florida everytime we are there). Would also like to be close to water, hubby is a big fisherman. Any info on either or both areas would be appreciated.

Of course hurricanes are also a worry of mine...

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by dmc0715

My husband and I are planning on moving from Ohio to Florida by the end of the year. He owns his own construction business (commercial plumbing contractor) and we are trying to decide between the Tampa area or Jacksonville. We have 2 small children under age 3 and have been checking out suburbs like Wesley Chapel and Valrico near Tampa. I have my heart set on Tampa area, but husband would also like to check out Jax area. Good schools are important, nice neighborhood, young families and obviously somewhere where there is LOTS of construction (which there seems to be in most of Florida everytime we are there). Would also like to be close to water, hubby is a big fisherman. Any info on either or both areas would be appreciated.

Of course hurricanes are also a worry of mine...

Check out the New Tampa area. They have lots on new building going on. Also Landolakes is right next to wesley chapel and is building also. Next year they should have a new mall opened. The beaches are maybe 1hr away which means you
dont need to evacuate with storms. New Tampa has lots of new young familes living there.

judy

[crabbydebbie]

try world golf village it 1 exit past the st augustine outlets also 210 a few exits above that .st john's country club right aross the street is jacksonville cheaper taxes really a nice area also go to morrison homes and check bartrum springs jacksonville good luck lots of people our moveing north due to scare of storms

[karinb]

Originally Posted by dmc0715

My husband and I are planning on moving from Ohio to Florida by the end of the year. He owns his own construction business (commercial plumbing contractor) and we are trying to decide between the Tampa area or Jacksonville. We have 2 small children under age 3 and have been checking out suburbs like Wesley Chapel and Valrico near Tampa. I have my heart set on Tampa area, but husband would also like to check out Jax area. Good schools are important, nice neighborhood, young families and obviously somewhere where there is LOTS of construction (which there seems to be in most of Florida everytime we are there). Would also like to be close to water, hubby is a big fisherman. Any info on either or both areas would be appreciated.

Of course hurricanes are also a worry of mine...

I live in Cape Coral - west coast, south of Tampa and North of Naples, west of Fort Myers and north of Sanibel Island. I love living here. There is definitely a lot of construction here - it is probably the biggest industry here. Several new developments have housing starting at $200,000 and there is one in south Fort Myers that is starting at $800,000 going to $6 million Cape Coral has a younger median age with more kids than some of the surrounding areas. The parks are awesome (they built in a large number of parks as part of the city plan). There are also more waterfront homes in the city than probably any other city in the state because they dug hundreds of canals throughout the city before the city was developed. GREAT fishing (especially in Matlacha and the Pine Island area).

The price of housing went sky high during the last year but has come down to more reasonable levels (probably because it went higher than it should have). If you check out the MLS listings there are a lot of 3 BR 2 BA homes available under $200,000 - many with a pool. There are good schools and not so good schools - you just need to check them out. There are also many new schools being built because of the growth. I homeschool so I am not totally "in tune" with the schools.

[Elzejb]

I also live in Cape Coral & somewhat recommend it. 3/2 houses have definetly come down in price, but are still $230-$250 for a nice neighborhood. It's a safe sunny place to live. If you have any questions let me know!

[Candler Homes]

Try just south of Jacksonville in North St. John's county. 210 corridor, rated the 7th fastest growing area in the nation.

[brocks50]

you forgot to tell them how awfull the traffic is ,and getting worse as we speak as i live in florida and have for 20 yr . no relief in sight but thaats everywhere in the state

Originally Posted by karinb

I live in Cape Coral - west coast, south of Tampa and North of Naples, west of Fort Myers and north of Sanibel Island. I love living here. There is definitely a lot of construction here - it is probably the biggest industry here. Several new developments have housing starting at $200,000 and there is one in south Fort Myers that is starting at $800,000 going to $6 million Cape Coral has a younger median age with more kids than some of the surrounding areas. The parks are awesome (they built in a large number of parks as part of the city plan). There are also more waterfront homes in the city than probably any other city in the state because they dug hundreds of canals throughout the city before the city was developed. GREAT fishing (especially in Matlacha and the Pine Island area).

The price of housing went sky high during the last year but has come down to more reasonable levels (probably because it went higher than it should have). If you check out the MLS listings there are a lot of 3 BR 2 BA homes available under $200,000 - many with a pool. There are good schools and not so good schools - you just need to check them out. There are also many new schools being built because of the growth. I homeschool so I am not totally "in tune" with the schools.

[jdebarros79]

My husband and I just moved to a place called Heritage Landing(we moved here from Boston, Ma.) It is located in World Golf Village. It is about 15 minutes away from St augustine beach. We love it here! We choose Heritage landing because it is geared toward families, as we to have to young children. One is 3 and one is 7 months. My husband works in Jacksonville. We chose St. Johns County because my daughter will be starting schools and they have a highly reputable school system. There is a lot of construction in the world golf village area, including two new schools. Good luck in your decision and if you need any other info I'd be glad to answer!

[lvmy3grls]

We are also looking for a home in Heritage Landing and am glad to hear how much you like it. May I ask what are the hoa fees and cdd fees at this time? Also, are there lots of activities for the kids and/or adults to do? Do you feel safe in that area? Is there any areas in particular to stay away from within the development? Thanks for all of your help! Maybe one day we will be neighbors..haha!!

[kbarjae]

there are 650,000 construction workers out of work in fla,st johns county has been hit really hard,as for schools they are losing huge amounts of budget money that means cuts in all areas,you really should do your own research,i have worked construction in st augustine for many years and we are moving out west ,okla ,ark, wyoming,south dakota are still very good