My take on Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Westchase, Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor (rental, condo)

[lbsuarez]

I have been following the housing market in Dunedin for about 6 months, and visited there twice so far. I think you would be able to find something in the 150-170K price range in Dunedin, but probably not within walking distance to the downtown area.
Our children are grown, so living in a typical development that is wonderful for younger families is not our first choice. We are hoping to find something within walking distance to Main Street. We actually have an offer in on a house which is a "short sale", along with a number of other people. It's been five weeks, and nothing yet. Luckily, we are not in a hurry! Prices in what they refer to as "downtown Dunedin" are quite a bit higher. For a prime location, and a house in good condition, it is not easy to find anything for less than $200K. Hope this helps.

[isa]

Originally Posted by MickeyDachs

Thanks Lives 4 The Water and MeInDunedinFL for the good wishes on our upcoming move to the Florida, the Tampa Bay area, and Dunedin, in particular! Two weeks from today our moving truck will be loaded up and 2 weeks from tomorrow we head out early for our 4 day drive to our new home. Exciting times and the adventure begins. And to remind us partly why we're making this change, today, April 17th, it's snowing to beat the band in the Denver Metro area. 6 inches at our place in Denver proper so far, and up to 15 in some suburban areas. Heavy, WET stuff. The moisture is welcome here, though.

Lives 4 The Water, you asked if our house selling in only 20 days in Denver was due to the market being better here or if it was due to it being different than other homes on the market. Probably a little of both, as Denver's market, though quite soft, still never was nearly as bad as Tampa, or worse yet, Miami, or even worse, Las Vegas, Phoenix, or the LA area. BUT, there are 2 homes a block away from us which have been on the market for over 6 months. Both have similar sq. footage to our house. One has been vastly remodeled, but has been WAY overpriced from the start (probably wanting to pay for their remodel). The other house is priced right, but never did much in the way of getting the house ready to sell---clutter not cleared out, rooms painted bright, garish colors, lots of personal stuff still sitting around. Yes, it takes work to get a house ready, but have the best chance in this market, one needs to at least do the basics (neutral paint, clear out excess clutter, de-personalize). Our story just shows it CAN be done.

ISA: My recommendation for a good hotel in Dunedin (there are more near Dunedin, but not many hotels at all IN Dunedin) is the Holiday Inn Express Dunedin, which is but a few blocks from Downtown Dunedin. It's right off Alt19 too. I only wish they accepted pets, as the location would be much better for us when we arrive in the area in 2 1/2 weeks, since we'll be attending our closing, errands in the area, etc. But we will have our dog and bird with us, so will be spending those 3 nights until the moving van arrives in S. Clearwater, near the St. Pete airport. You can bet once we leave the hotel each of those days that we won't be back until evening. I can give you a good realtor recommendation if you want to PM me.

Meanwhile, our adventure is soon to begin!

i don't know if you have left yet, but i stayed in the seaside artisan hotel next to town, and they accept pets, i will be moving there too!

[magy0726]

Thanks for the info. We are also thinking of relocating from NYC and have mixed feelings. There really is no comparison for conveniences, choices, etc. I too find it disconcerting that all of the upscale homes are far from town. Good luck to you.

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by magy0726

Thanks for the info. We are also thinking of relocating from NYC and have mixed feelings. There really is no comparison for conveniences, choices, etc. I too find it disconcerting that all of the upscale homes are far from town. Good luck to you.

I agree, it made me change my decision on where I was moving to in Florida.
Maybe though the internet isn't really the right place to make that decision, however I saw a a common denominator on this thread, that helped me with a difficult decision(where to live in Florida), and that I won't be relocating to this area.

Thanks everyone for all the info here on this TAMPA board.

[Keeper]

Originally Posted by magy0726

Thanks for the info. We are also thinking of relocating from NYC and have mixed feelings. There really is no comparison for conveniences, choices, etc. I too find it disconcerting that all of the upscale homes are far from town. Good luck to you.

You really should come down for a visit. There are plenty of upscale $$$$ homes near downtown, however there isn't much to do downtown after hours and on the weekends unless there is an art festival or something going on at the performance arts center.

We all have our opinions on the good and the bad of an area. Some ppl only see the bad while others find the good in an area. Some of us can tell you there are both.. good and bad as there is any large city.

[frankiea68]

is that your blog...dunedin daily photo...great idea but painful...can you please post the pictures on the main page instead of through links? just a suggestion...thanks

[Island_Guy]

I was also in the area from Philly for a potential job opportunity. Maybe we're going for the same job, lol. It's a great job opportunity too ! So why all the local Tampa folks cry about the job market down here, got me. Job market is horrible all over and from what I remember the Tampa job market is excellent in a normal economy. So local Tampa folks, believe ! If you think it's bad here, check out Jacksonville, Charlotte, Atlanta or Philly. Just as bad if not worse.

Anyway, my wife and I checked out Safety Harbor and have to disagree with you. We loved Safety Harbor. The "hype" is accurate for us. Reminded us of New Hope and Manyunk in the Phlly area. Very quaint and way much more to offer than Chestnut Hill's Main street. Chestnut Main Street sucks. Doesn't offer anything but a coulple of high end stores and maybe 1 or 2 restaurants and it's only like what 2 blocks if that. New Hope, downtown Phoenixville, Skippack and Manyunk blow Chesnut Hill away. The area surronding Safety Harbor was a very nice quaint neighborhood just like New Hope. Nothing wrong with it at all. Matter of fact if I get this great job opportunity I want to rent a home there until I buy in Westchase.

Westchase, very nice area and for us, the best location in Tampa. And from what I heard from locals, traffic there not as bad as the other areas. It's close to both downtowns, Safety Harbor, Dunedin and beach. I mean yea if you need the walking distance thing to shops maybe not, unless you live in the tree tops subdivision. But we loved the area, near all every day conveniences and only 5 minutes away if you like to bet the ponies at Tampa Downs. I telecommute so locaton not so much an issue. However as a "safety net" I'm relocating to the Westchase area just in case my telecommuting job disappers some day, this way I'm in a good commuting location for my next gig in Tampa when the economy comes back.

We didn't have time to see Dunedin or Palm Harbor but living near them in Westchase is fine. Very excited to see Dunedin. We took Gulf Blvd from Indian Shores down to Fort Desoto Park. Nice area. The towns we drove through sort of reminded me of Ocean City NJ with all the shops, restaurants and colorful buildings. And what's up with Pinellas County taxes ?? Wow ! I'd rather be in Hillsborough County.

This was my take on the area in case someone from Philly or anywhere else is looking for another opionion on the area, mainly Safey Harbor and Westchase. Westchase is our kind of town.

Final note. The Tampa area is very nice. I lived in Jacksonville, Atlanta, Philly, Charlotte and NJ. Haven't lived in Tampa but I can tell ya right now. Tampa is a much better place to live and more things to do not to thrown in the great weather than the other cities I resided. I'm surprised how much Tampa gets bashed in here. Check out the Charlotte forums. Those people stick up for their mighty Queen city as it's crumbling right before their eyes with increasing crime and unemployment rates and finally their real estate bubble just busted, lol . I lived there, except for South Charlotte and Lake Norman, it blows. So appreciate this great city cause it ain't better anywhere else.

Originally Posted by hjtoledo

We've been considering a job opportunity that would require us to move from Philly to Tampa. As a result, we’ve spent the last two weekends visiting a few areas, including Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Westchase Community, Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor. Below are some notes that may help others…

We had 2 primary requirements:
- Walking Village/Town (charm): We live in a NWest Philadelphia area called Chestnut Hill, which we love. Like other old NEastern villages/towns (Princeton NJ, Montclair NJ, Doylestown PA and many others), having a community, in which we could walk to the hardware store, grocery store, park etc... was/is extremely important to us
- Proximity to Palm Harbor: Our 6 year old daughter would attend School of the Suncoast (Waldorf) and my wife wanted a short commute (15/20 minutes max), which limited our choices.


Below are some pros-cons based on our limited time in the area:

DUNEDIN:
+ Community Pride: It was very clear that the community is very proud of the area and they certainly show it - in the way the downtown is kept and promoted.
+ Family Oriented: The town’s library, community centers and bike trail make it seem like a nice place to raise a family. Oh yeah – I can’t forget the beach (10 minutes away).
+ Some Shops: Despite not having all the more practical shops (at least I didn't seem them), like hardware stores, small grocery store, drug store in the walking downtown area, the shops are nice, the few restaurants are pretty good too. Bottom line - Dunedin has some great potential...
- Downtown Too Small: We had to constantly remind ourselves that we were not in Chestnut Hill. Downtown Dunedin is very small, compared to what we are used to, but then again Chestnut Hill does not have the beautiful weather and beach.
- Housing near Downtown: I was surprised to find that other than a few streets (Scotland), many of the nicer homes are further away (appx. 0.5 miles – still walking distance) from downtown. This was a real surprise to us, since in the NEast it’s often the opposite. At times, it was also disappointing to see a nice home neighboring a home that was not well taken care of...

SAFETY HARBOR
+ "Practical" Shopping. Safety Harbor did appear to provide easy access to the typical day to day convenience shopping (Hardware, Dry Cleaners, Coffee etc...) and a mix of a few restaurants. I hear they have a nice farmer’s market on the weekends.
- Combo of Naples & Depressing. Safety Harbor had this one block that reminded me of Naples (w/out the high end shops), yet it had some streets just a few blocks away that were down right depressing. I had heard that the housing situation in FL was in bad shape and it was very evident as we drove around some streets of SHarbor... I think what made it depressing was the combination of million dollar homes and depressing shacks just a few blocks away. It was really an odd mixture that is hard to explain. Again – the nicer communities where further away from the downtown. This concept is very odd to me...
- Family Oriented: Safety Harbor (Downtown) maybe a family oriented place - it just didn't seem like that to us.
- Expectation. Perhaps, our expectation was set too high. We had heard so much about Safety Harbor....


WESTCHASE
+ Convenience. The area appears convenient to the office (West Waters/Veterans Pkwy and my daughter's school (Palm Harbor).
+ Typical Suburbia. The communities (mostly gated) were beautiful and the homes were very well priced for new homes. Think ‘Desperate Housewives’.
+ Convenient Shopping Centers. Anything and everything you could want (on a regular basis) is in Westchase via shopping centers...
- Suburbia: Westchase - although very nice. It’s just not our style. Westchase has a 'downtown' area, but it’s more for show... It appears to be modeled after Downtown Celebration, except everyone seems to drive there and it’s much smaller than Celebration.

PALM HARBOR
+ Witch Cafe. I can't recall the name of the coffee shop. It’s very cool
- Tiny Downtown. It’s very small w/ shops spread apart from one another.

TARPON SPRINGS
I only spent an hour in the area, but it appeared a bit touristy to me. However, they seem to be investing quiet a bit in the area (roads, downtown etc...)

BOTTOM LINE
We are moving to Tampa. On the plane back from Tampa, a women (originally from Philly) said to me, 'FL ain’t all Puppies and Ice Cream, but if you appreciate and take advantage of the nice weather and the beach you will enjoy living there.’

We'll miss Philly...

[CasinoGuy]

I will be coming down in mid-October to vacation/look for an investment condo. Trying to decide between Dunedin, Indian Rocks Beach, Trasure Island, St. Pete Beach,Clearwater Beach, Madeira Beach. We are also originally from the Philly area (12yrs ago). You guys have been really helpful. Our aim is more directed at Vacation/Retirement.

[G1MIguy]

I was wondering if this is the right place to live for a mid 30's single guy. I was thinking the Palm harbor area for location to city life and the beaches. I was just wondering if this area is full of seniors (as is most of fl) just hoping it isn't overflowing. Looking at condos and I see the shuffle board kinda makes me want to quickly look elsewhere. (nothing against seniors, I am just too young to live in those places). I have found a nice condo in Palm harbor, just wondering to rent or buy since its a good time (i guess) to buy. Any suggestions would be helpful, luckily the job situation is not an issue I work online and will not have to fight traffic (fortunate).

[JeepGirl118]

- @ G1MIguy: You see a lot less Senior Citizens than you would think. I am 38 in Tampa/Westshore - and I see way more 20's to 40's than I do 65+.

See, the 65+ transplants are often off living the good life on the golf course, traveling around and seeing new things around FL, at the Yacht Clubs, giggling and sipping expensive wine aboard their yachts enjoying all of their hard earned money from all years past. People often do not give the area enough credit [nor the Senior Citizens] and see what they want to see and go around smack-talking like little yip-yap poodles as if Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater is Purgatory. I assure you there's enough under 50 in Beach Bunnyland - and if you can't find a life and catch some tail in Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater. . . welp! It won't be the area, I assure you.

Where I live [the Westshore/Hyde Park/SoHo area] - it's young, yuppies - and beautiful gay men that I will not ever have. In the 21 months that I have been here, I have not seen one shuffleboard. Guess what. . you are looking in the wrong places.

My advice - try Florida before you buy.

Good Luck.