Feedback needed for: Brandon, Riverview, Dunedin (Tampa, Tamiami: for sale, real estate, renting)

[LandShark99]

Single woman over 40 looking to move to a place with more activities for singles. I've been reading about some singles cruises out of Tampa and other things to do. I'm planning a trip over to the Gulf side soon and this has been very helpful. I wasn't sure where to start with all the towns there are over there. Kinda overwhelming when you look at the map and wonder what that town is like...

I lived in Tampa for about 1.5 years and loved it except the traffic was horrific even on the surface roads and even weekends.

Great info Cariad. Of the towns you mentioned which one would you live in if you were single? I plan to rent once again until I figure out where to put down roots. Sure glad I changed my mind and decided to rent here in Palm Coast.

What do you consider decent rent Palm Harbor? I am paying $1000 for 2070 sq ft on a saltwater canal here and rents have dropped $100-$150 in the area. Equivalents can now be had for $850 up.

What is name of the local paper? I want to look at the classifieds on line. Is there a County or area paper or does everyone just the Tampa paper? Refresh my memory. What's the name of the Tampa Paper? Surely there would be a "Pinellas" edition.

How about Taxes and Homeowners? Here on the east coast the "dividing line" is I-95. If you live west of it good for your homeowners' tab. Those on the east side pay thru the nose. Everyone knows that's the dividing line. What's yours?

Sorry for all the questions. I want to move somewhere and rent long enough to find where I want to stay permanently then I will buy. I hate, hate, hate moving. Palm Coast was a mistake. I don't want to make another.

Thanks.

[JeepGirl118]

Valrico - I have seen a lot of people mentioning here and up until you mentioned exactly where it was, Schilly - I was clueless - thank you. Sounds like another option we should definitely research and consider.

The one thing that bothers me about the area that we are in now (Fountain Hills, AZ - town just east to Scottsdale's border) - that there is NOTHING for teenagers to do at all. In fact, Phoenix in general has nothing for teens to do. That is part of the reason why we had pulled out from going to Lakeland - as much as we like Lakeland -to us it seems comparative to where we are now in this aspect and we do not want to be in a similar situation again. We feel being more toward the Brandon/Riverview area would provide more options to kick boredom and "idle minds."

What do your teens in the Valrico/Brandon/Riverview area do for fun? What are the town enforced curfews for teens at night, if any? There has been a bunch of great info here to really help direct Mr Jeep and I in our decision - many thanks! Keep it coming!

Oh! One more thing - the area that we live in now is NOT very neighborly. Do neighbors actually (and hopefully) talk to each other in the towns that we are discussing? Having the neighbors over for a BBQ *here* is almost unheard of and it's disturbing really. We enjoy being neighborly and a part of the neighborhood. The one thing we don't want is to be stuck in another Scottsdale-Fountain Hills type of situation where neighbors are afraid to extend themselves in conversation or hospitality. Cool (approachable) and down-to-Earth neighbors are a must. Tired of the "keep up with the Joneses lifestyle" that this Phoenix valley offers between adults and the kids. . . we did not get that vibe at all in the areas mentioned that we had visited there.

[cariad]

LandShark99

Most of my daughter's friends are singles who live in St. Pete, St. Pete Beach, Tierre Verde, or Safety Harbor. Daughter lives in Safety harbor and loves it. There are singles scattered throughout all the communities I mentioned in my other post but most night life takes place in downtown St. Pete,or the beach communities and all are an easy drive. The 30/40 yr old singles I know tend to go to Tampa rarely.
If I were single and money was no object, I would want to live on St. Pete Beach(preferably Pass A Grille). Second might be downtown St. Pete-see I'd like to live there for awhile to see if I would like it!.......but I also like
downtown Dunedin, downtown safety harbor..........and I'm not sure I'd ever want to leave Palm harbor..............so, that's an impossible question for me to answer coherently.
Tampa Tribune-the tampa paper
St. petersburg times-for Pinellas
craigslist tampa bay will give you a good idea of rentals around here.
I don't know if 1,000 directly on the water/gulf access is doable but 1200 in some of the beach communities is. I've seen that price lately in Indian Rocks and Redington Beach. Not 2000 square ft, though.
For 2000 sq. feet in palm Harbor- if you could find it on the water, it would cost 14000-1600 or likely more because anything that big is going to be in the most expensive communities.
But I could be wrong because there are so many rentals and who knows what you could negotiate now.

[JeepGirl118]

Valrico: Population: 6,582 (US Census 2000)

Is it still this small of a population or has it grown some since?

On August 15th I sold my cleaning company and gained employment with a Fortune 500 company (offices in Tampa and Orlando) and will be transferring to FL in Dec per my request (so income still flows in - no money tree here in our family yet) - I would like to restart my cleaning business out there again and eventually quit it as it builds. In the areas discussed in this thread - how are the opportunities for GOOD service businesses in the area?

Sorry I have so many questions, just posting them as they come to mind.

[Schilly]

JeepGirl:

As for the teens post above, I don't really have the answer for that one because I don't have teens yet. Perhaps others can help. Brandon/Valrico/Riverview are all relatively close to downtown Tampa, which has Channelside, Aquarium. There is kayaking on the Alafia, a few golf courses, ice skating (in Brandon or a little south in Ellenton, Disney in about an hour (from most of the area), and a few state parks. There are a lot of kids in this area.

I know Fountain Hills and that area is much more isolated (with what I thought was an older retiree population) than the typical Tampa 'burbs. Geographically, its situated similarly to New Tampa, but further out. Although Phoenix has a lot to do, it is sooo huge geographically that I could see the problem with kids venturing too far from the nest.

I'd assume valrico has grown substantially since the 2000 census, but population numbers can be deceiving. Valrico is very small geographically. You can drive through its widest point in about 10 minutes. It is probably similar in size to Fountain Hills. Brandon has the mall, retail, etc, which are about 10 minutes from my home.

I think people in this area are very friendly. 2 out of every 3 people you meet come from somewhere else, so everyone is in the same boat.

Good luck!

[bnepler]

Go south 0n Rt 301 south of Riverview toward Big Bend and you'll find plenty of newer sub-divisions and more being built just south of Big Bend. It's a growing area.

If you live in this area you can afford a boat and find your own beaches in the gulf.

[leepoffaith]

I currently live in Milwaukee Wisconsin and after doing tons of research, reading message boards, talking to locals and taking several trips to the Tampa area, my partner and I finally decided on Riverview. We just signed a contract to build with William Ryan homes. The community only has 28 homes and is located right off Boyette road about 1 mile east of the highschool. It seems like a great area that is growing rapidly. We got a great deal on the house and we are really looking forward to living in the area. We looked at Brandon and Valrico as well, but Brandon seemed way to congested w/ the mall and Valrico seemed a little... shady. Maybe it was just the area I was in. Riverview seemed like a happy medium. We are less then 5 minutes away from a boat launch into the Alafia, about 15 minutes away from Tampa Bay, 5-10 mintues from the highway and just seemed to be in the middle of everything. The fish hawk community is about 10 minutes down the road and I hear that is a nice area to live if you want the self contained community feel. I think Riverview is going to continue to grow into a wonderful town and I look forward to being part of this growth. Just my 2 cents.

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by Schilly

JeepGirl:

As for the teens post above, I don't really have the answer for that one because I don't have teens yet. Perhaps others can help. Brandon/Valrico/Riverview are all relatively close to downtown Tampa, which has Channelside, Aquarium. There is kayaking on the Alafia, a few golf courses, ice skating (in Brandon or a little south in Ellenton, Disney in about an hour (from most of the area), and a few state parks. There are a lot of kids in this area.

I know Fountain Hills and that area is much more isolated (with what I thought was an older retiree population) than the typical Tampa 'burbs. Geographically, its situated similarly to New Tampa, but further out. Although Phoenix has a lot to do, it is sooo huge geographically that I could see the problem with kids venturing too far from the nest.

I'd assume valrico has grown substantially since the 2000 census, but population numbers can be deceiving. Valrico is very small geographically. You can drive through its widest point in about 10 minutes. It is probably similar in size to Fountain Hills. Brandon has the mall, retail, etc, which are about 10 minutes from my home.

I think people in this area are very friendly. 2 out of every 3 people you meet come from somewhere else, so everyone is in the same boat.

Good luck!

Schilly and everyone who has taken time to help me out,

Thank you. Ftn Hills has a lot of retirees starting after X-mas until Easter - pretty similar to how your snowbird season runs in FL. When the snowbirds are gone, the average age here is 30-45 and probably 35% of the houses and condos are vacant off-season. Ok, so if Valrico is similar in size to Ftn Hills then we need to look bigger - Brandon or Riverview. Something definitely appeals to me about Riverview. Something definitely appeals to me about Brandon. Choices - uhg. I think we'll have to decide by pulling it out of a hat.

Sorry I was MWI for a few days. I appreciate everyone's time that they have taken to respond. Will have to let you know what the hat decides on our move.

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by leepoffaith

I currently live in Milwaukee Wisconsin and after doing tons of research, reading message boards, talking to locals and taking several trips to the Tampa area, my partner and I finally decided on Riverview. We just signed a contract to build with William Ryan homes. The community only has 28 homes and is located right off Boyette road about 1 mile east of the highschool. It seems like a great area that is growing rapidly. We got a great deal on the house and we are really looking forward to living in the area. We looked at Brandon and Valrico as well, but Brandon seemed way to congested w/ the mall and Valrico seemed a little... shady. Maybe it was just the area I was in. Riverview seemed like a happy medium. We are less then 5 minutes away from a boat launch into the Alafia, about 15 minutes away from Tampa Bay, 5-10 mintues from the highway and just seemed to be in the middle of everything. The fish hawk community is about 10 minutes down the road and I hear that is a nice area to live if you want the self contained community feel. I think Riverview is going to continue to grow into a wonderful town and I look forward to being part of this growth. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck on your new home, Leep! Will have to check out that community when we get down there. When are you and your partner making the move down?

[Superbecky79]

This is what I have found on Valrico's populations. Not sure if it is correct!

Total Population:48086 ( Valrico ZIP Code 33594 in Tampa, Florida)

Population, town and surrounding area: 52,080 ( CNNMoney.com: Best places to live: Valrico, FL snapshot )


Thank you all for the info, I am too looking to move there!