Neighborhoods to look at? (Tampa, Brandon: rentals, HOA fees, houses)

[KarGaro]

I'm having trouble deciding between living in the Sarasota area or the Tampa Bay area so we are going to come down in a few weeks and look around. I'm leaning towards Sarasota because it seems more like where we are coming from which is the Jersey shore. My husband's office is going to be in Brandon. We want to keep his commute to between 45 minutes to an hour. Our biggest concerns are with a good school for our daughter who will be a sophmore and our son who will be in 7th grade. From what I've read that means Sarasota county schools and not Manatee County schools. I'm interested in Palmer Ranch but I am not too thrilled about paying HOA fees. It has also been suggested to live inNorth Tampa by University Drive. We absolutely want to live close to the beach, in a nice neighborhood that is safe for our kids to ride their bikes, etc. The company is going to rent a house for us for the first year but I want to find the area that we are going to stay in so that my kids don't have to switch schools twice. I've read the posts about Pine View and am going to look into that for my daughter. If we don't do Pine View are there any high school/middle schools in Sarasota County that would not be a good choice?

Can anyone give me some neighborhoods to look at when we come down? Thanks!

Karen

[SoFLGal]

I think you're on the right track with Palmer Ranch. Almost any neighborhood that is kept up nicely you are going to have HOA fees. Palmer Ranch does not have CDD fees like a lot of other neighborhoods. OK, getting back to neighborhoods-in Palmer Ranch I would check out Turtle Rock, The Hamptons, Stonebridge and Deer Creek. With Turtle Rock being at the top of the list. There are six bus loads of kids that come out of there! And over 200 middle school kids. Another option would be Rivendell, which runs right by Pine View. The only problem I see is the drive time. It's about an hour from Palmer Ranch to Brandon, depending on where you're going.

You have already missed the cut off date for this year to get into Pineview but if your child(ren) qualified you could start the next school year. I have two kids that attend Pine View and we love it.

The schools for Palmer Ranch are Ashton Elementary, Sarasota Middle and Riverview High. All are very good in my opinion.

Here are some links that you might find useful when checking out schools.
School Accountability Report... click on Sarasota county
www.Greatschools.com for opinions on different schools

Pine View info:
Pine View Website
Duke University Letter
US News-Best High Schools
City-Data
Wikipedia
Newsweek
Public School Report
Truila Schools

Hope this helps

[KarGaro]

Other than Palmer Ranch and Rivendell are there any other neighborhoods that I should look at when I come down? I know that the drive is going to be not so great for my husband but from my other post it seems that the drive from Sarasota to Brandon is much easier than the drive from Brandon to the Tampa area (specifically Water Chase or Odessa) and the time is about the same. My husband is willing to do the drive so that we can live by the beach like we do now. We are only 10 minutes from our driveway to the beach and we spend alot of time there.

I've read alot of your posts on Pine View and it really sounds like a great school! My family is going to be moving down on a kind of staggered schedule. My husband is going to go first - probably by January 1. My daughter just made the high school competitive cheering squad so we are going to stay here with my mother until she is done with that and move down over Easter break. My two older sons are going to also stay with my mother - one is going to be graduating from high school and the other from community college and then they plus my mother are all going to be moving down in June. So I know that it is too late for next year but I will have my daughter take the test for the following year if we decide to go that route.

And on another school note - my older son is going to transfer to Univ. of South Florida - Tampa into their engineering program and my other son is going to go to community college first and then go on to USF. Is there a community college in Sarasota?

How do I find out about rentals in the Palmer Ranch area or any of the other neighborhoods around there? I need to find a 5 bedroom house and would like a fenced yard if I can find one (we have three dogs). Any idea of what the rent would be?

And what do the middle school and high school kids do for fun? Here they go to the beach (alot) during the summer, go the the mall, the movies, parties, Six Flags, the boardwalk, the different fairs that different towns have during the summer, ride their bikes all over the place and just hang out at each other's houses.

Thanks!

Karen

[gypsychic]

My own husband drives from Sarasota airport area to downtown Tampa each day, and it is one hour. I am guessing if you are driving from Palmer Ranch to Brandon you can expect the same, maybe a little less if you are picking up the interstate nearby (and depending where in Brandon he is going). Definitely do-able and worth it to live here. It is a great area to live in, with a high quality of life.

We have a branch campus of USF here in Sarasota (up on the north Trail). Not sure about finding a 5 BR house for rent and with the 3 dogs, but maybe a 4 BR. As far as what kids do for fun, I would say the same things you mentioned in your post! There is lots to do here, they will love it!

Good luck!

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by KarGaro

Other than Palmer Ranch and Rivendell are there any other neighborhoods that I should look at when I come down? I know that the drive is going to be not so great for my husband but from my other post it seems that the drive from Sarasota to Brandon is much easier than the drive from Brandon to the Tampa area (specifically Water Chase or Odessa) and the time is about the same. My husband is willing to do the drive so that we can live by the beach like we do now. We are only 10 minutes from our driveway to the beach and we spend alot of time there.

I've read alot of your posts on Pine View and it really sounds like a great school! My family is going to be moving down on a kind of staggered schedule. My husband is going to go first - probably by January 1. My daughter just made the high school competitive cheering squad so we are going to stay here with my mother until she is done with that and move down over Easter break. My two older sons are going to also stay with my mother - one is going to be graduating from high school and the other from community college and then they plus my mother are all going to be moving down in June. So I know that it is too late for next year but I will have my daughter take the test for the following year if we decide to go that route.

And on another school note - my older son is going to transfer to Univ. of South Florida - Tampa into their engineering program and my other son is going to go to community college first and then go on to USF. Is there a community college in Sarasota?

How do I find out about rentals in the Palmer Ranch area or any of the other neighborhoods around there? I need to find a 5 bedroom house and would like a fenced yard if I can find one (we have three dogs). Any idea of what the rent would be?

And what do the middle school and high school kids do for fun? Here they go to the beach (alot) during the summer, go the the mall, the movies, parties, Six Flags, the boardwalk, the different fairs that different towns have during the summer, ride their bikes all over the place and just hang out at each other's houses.

Thanks!

Karen

Karen-
I would say those two neighborhoods fit your needs the best. You can drive through Rivendell but you would not be able to get into the specific neighborhoods in Palmer Ranch without a Realtor or living there. They are all gated.

As far as rentals go you might want to try Stringer Management or Rossi and Company-Terri. Just Google them. 5 bedrooms are not that common and even four bedrooms are hard to find sometimes. To be honest with you, neither neighborhood has a lot of rentals. I'm not too up on the rental rates here cause I don't handle/do rentals. I'm pretty sure you'd have to put a pet deposit down if you could find a place that would take one.

Gypsychic answered most of the other questions. I would add though that Rivendell and Turtle Rock both have community pools and Turtle Rock also has basketball courts and tennis courts. There's also the YMCA and Potter Water Park right next to Palmer Ranch so that's pretty popular with the kids as well. So, add those to the lists above and you pretty much have it.

[KarGaro]

Thanks for the info. We definately need a 5 bedroom - we have four kids and my mom is moving in with us. So hopefully we will find what we need to rent!

Karen

[smiledoc1]

Originally Posted by KarGaro

I'm having trouble deciding between living in the Sarasota area or the Tampa Bay area so we are going to come down in a few weeks and look around. I'm leaning towards Sarasota because it seems more like where we are coming from which is the Jersey shore. My husband's office is going to be in Brandon. We want to keep his commute to between 45 minutes to an hour. Our biggest concerns are with a good school for our daughter who will be a sophmore and our son who will be in 7th grade. From what I've read that means Sarasota county schools and not Manatee County schools. I'm interested in Palmer Ranch but I am not too thrilled about paying HOA fees. It has also been suggested to live inNorth Tampa by University Drive. We absolutely want to live close to the beach, in a nice neighborhood that is safe for our kids to ride their bikes, etc. The company is going to rent a house for us for the first year but I want to find the area that we are going to stay in so that my kids don't have to switch schools twice. I've read the posts about Pine View and am going to look into that for my daughter. If we don't do Pine View are there any high school/middle schools in Sarasota County that would not be a good choice?

Can anyone give me some neighborhoods to look at when we come down? Thanks!

Karen

We have a house in the Village Walk subdivision within Palmer Ranch. From what I read on this forum and from driving around, Turtle Rock seems to be more kid friendly than VW. The HOA fees are quite reasonable for the amenities we get.
I cannot comment on schools as we are beyond that stage.
We like the Palmer Ranch area very much.

[Scots]

If you like Palmer Ranch but don't want to pay HOA fees for amenities you may not use, take a look at Wellington Chase on Palmer Ranch. The HOAs are low because there is no associated pool or clubhouse, but you are still on Palmer Ranch (next to the Hamptons) and so get all that has to offer. We love it.

[itsawonderfullife]

What developments in Palmer Ranch have a community pool?

[gionelli]

have you considered lakewood ranch? it's much closer to your husband's job and a great family community as well. pine view isn't a school you just "go to", your children have to be accepted by passing various tests, it's a school for the gifted..didn't see that was posted anywhere and thought you should know. just throwing another idea out there!