Feedback needed for: Brandon, Riverview, Dunedin (Tampa, Lakeland: relocating, insurance, rental)

[leepoffaith]

Originally Posted by JeepGirl118

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?

We'll be closing on the house between April 15th and June 1st, so right around that time, definately no later then June 1st though. House takes about 8 months to build so we still have a while until it will be done.

[justNancy]

Also, how prominent is the Christian community in Riverview?

What exactly does this mean?

[mwolnhop]

I lived in the Brandon/Riverview area for about 10 years, prior to moving to Tennessee a few years ago due to my job. We moved to Brandon intially to escape the housing prices and traffic of north Tampa. Brandon has grow a TON over the last 10 years....lots of new housing developments, commercial real estate, etc. We then moved further south to Riverview (Summerfield area) and enjoyed that area very much. We were a bit concerned about schools, as I have a teenager and we were zone for East Bay High which is not a good school. Riverview High also covers the area, and it's new and considered better than East Bay. Bloomingdale High is in the Valrico/Brandon area, and is a very good school. I think if you are looking for reasonable housing costs, plenty of amenities, decent schools and a family-oriented area, Brandon/Riverview is a great area.

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Also, how prominent is the Christian community in Riverview?

What exactly does this mean?

It means, how prominent is the Christian community....

In the past, we had landed in an area without thinking too much about it and ended up in a town that was 90% Jewish without many other Christians around. Made it a bit more difficult for neighborhood Christmas parties when we seemed to be the only Christian family. How did we know, you ask? Christmas/The Holiday was the dead giveaway. We were the only ones with X-mas decorations up and not blue lights and Menorah's in the windows. They were great neighbors - we are just looking for more of a balance in this regard. Mixed, fine - just some balance so we don't feel like the odd man out again. Know what I mean?

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by mwolnhop

I lived in the Brandon/Riverview area for about 10 years, prior to moving to Tennessee a few years ago due to my job. We moved to Brandon intially to escape the housing prices and traffic of north Tampa. Brandon has grow a TON over the last 10 years....lots of new housing developments, commercial real estate, etc. We then moved further south to Riverview (Summerfield area) and enjoyed that area very much. We were a bit concerned about schools, as I have a teenager and we were zone for East Bay High which is not a good school. Riverview High also covers the area, and it's new and considered better than East Bay. Bloomingdale High is in the Valrico/Brandon area, and is a very good school. I think if you are looking for reasonable housing costs, plenty of amenities, decent schools and a family-oriented area, Brandon/Riverview is a great area.

Easy Bay - in the Summerfield area. . . what part of Riverview is that? Nearest major cross streets/area to avoid moving to so that we may avoid renting near that school?

[bnepler]

Try down south of Riverview near "Big Bend". Lots of new homes going up and older one for sale in the sub-divisions. Great bargins on inventory homes being built now.

[LandShark99]

Thanks Cariad (Post 13)!

[mwolnhop]

East Bay High is located on Big Bend Rd between I75 and Hwy 41 (Tamiami Trl). That school has an odd zoning, as it goes north along 41 and 75 up through Gibsonton (a bit of a rough area), and the reaches west to encompass more affluent neighborhoods in Riverview, such as Summerfield. If you look at the state test scores for Hillsborough county, you'll see that East Bay consistently ranks the lowest in the county.

[Keeper]

I don't think you will find any one religion in any neighborhood in Tampa. I have lived in South Tampa, Riverside Heights, Odessa, Carrollwood and Town N County at various times and never ran into any one religion. I know certain areas of NYC/ LI seem to be known by the religion or by the country they immigrated from. Ybor City use to be known for the Cubans and Italians who worked and lived there. The mafia was part of Ybor City many years ago.

[JeepGirl118]

Thank you!