Best city to live in Near tampa for Family? (Brandon: rent, insurance)

[Pharmdee077]

My family and I are Moving to the Tampa area from Rochester Hills Michigan within the next month for a job relocation. My wife and I have a 7 year old daughter who is now in second grade. We are looking for a very safe city with great schools, and a low crime rate.

I have researched Brandon, lutz, Seffner, Riverview, Mango,etc.

All of the cities have a high crime index 5-7 compared to where we currently live 1. (10 being the worst)

I have looked at the other forum posts for moving around the Tampa area and I did not find them helpful.

any Helpfull ideas, suggestions, etc would be appreciated.

[LGaudette]

I relocated here from NH in 2004 with my husband and three children. I, personally, highly recommend the New Tampa area. All of our elementary and middle schools have an A rating under the Florida's state scoring system. The area is extremely family oriented. The schools have very strong PTA's, sports and extra curricular activities are abundant, and it is a VERY low crime area. Yes, some will say our property prices are high, but it is relative to where you are moving from. I found the housing prices to be less then in NH and I know it is definitely less then the NY/NJ areas. New Tampa is located in Hillsborough County. In Hillsborough County, you can still find several home owner's insurance choices vs. Pasco County which only has policies written by the state run Citizens insurance program. New Tampa's zip code is 33647 if you are searching online for homes. It is basically a "suburb" of the city (Tampa zipcode) in the Northeast area of Tampa.
Good luck!

[RedWingsFan]

Hi there,

We are orignally Michiganders too! We are from and my family still lives in Troy. We left Michigan 9 years ago and went to Las Vegas. Stayed there until last week when we moved to the Tampa area. Like you, I was searching for a good family friendly area to raise our two kids, something with lower crime and good schools and affordable nice housing.

I did lots of research and I chose Land O' Lakes (which is right next to Lutz). We have been here a week today and I really like it a lot! It's beautiful, very nice, seems very family oriented... The communities are nice and I believe we are really going to like it here. I think it's a great place for families. I would highly suggest checking out either Land O' Lakes or Lutz, both are right next to each other and are just what you are looking for.

[MrMeisterMan]

Check northern Manatee County.....the drive is going to kill you living in New Tampa, etc....forget Brandon...or anything near St RD 60......

[nicci0125]

We also will be re-locating to Tampa this December. My husband will be stationed at the Reserve Center (I believe on York Street) so we are looking to live within 30-40 mins drive from there. We have 2 young children...ages 6 and 3 years so we are primarily looking for areas with good elementary/pre-schools. We are looking to spend approx. $1200 in rent (is this reasonable for a good area?). Any suggestions on "family friendly" areas would be extremely helpful!

[Tampa Joe]

Pharmdee where is your job where is your job located? Its tough to say where the best area for you might be. Everyone always says driving in New Tampa is a killer !! Guest what ? Driving anywhere in Tampa is a killer. Try driving down Dale Mabry or 275 at 8am....No where near New Tampa, but every bit as congested. If you want a safe area for the kids and good schools, New Tampa is a great area that makes the drive worth it. Everyone that says driving is so bad in New Tampa might wonder why ?? Because alot of people who want good safe neighborhoods live there. Check your police trackers, thats what I did before I moved to New Tampa 6 years ago. I drive Bruce B Downs every morning on my way to work..Its crowded with folks who know they live in the safest neighborhoods in the Tampa area!!!

[jackacc]

New Tampa and Wesley Chapel are both very nice areas. Lots of stores for convenieice, low crime, schools are decent. But as others have said, commuting to Tampa is going to take the better part of an hour if not more on the bad days. When school starts up and when the snowbirds are in town, the roads lock up worse than usual.

Westchase is another good choice, it is a masterplanned community. Very safe, great schools, especially westchase elementary, lots of stores, parks, trails, 30 mins to the water, and pretty close to Tampa downtown. About 20 mins from the airport. It is a bit more expensive there though, but you get what you pay for it seems. Some people say that Westchase is a little too much like "stepford wives" for them since there are HOA's and rules to keep it all looking so nice. But I find it to be a great community in general.

Carrollwood is also another nice community that is closer to Tampa than New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

[Margel]

I live in Odessa, 30 minutes north of Tampa, close to Land o Lakes. It is a little more rural, very safe with good schools. It is in easy driving distance to just about everything and very family friendly. New developments up and down rt 54. I researched before I moved and am very happy with my choice. Good luck, you'll love Florida.

[bluejean53]

try looking in the area east of brandon. Plant City isn't too bad. I've lived in the Dover area for 30+ years, and if you pick your area carefully, it's not too bad. I've lived in the same house for 33 years, not far from I-4, and I like it here ok. I get tired of the summers, but i love the winters.
Also , check the Thonotosassa area north of Plant City. More rural, bigger lot sizes. If you've got kids, and want a little slower pace of life, check out Plant city. They have some decent schools, and both of my kids went to middle school, and high school there. If I needed to move, thats the first place I'd consider. It has more of a small town feel, and the people are definetly more friendly than in other urban areas.

[mquintana]

Stay away from Seffner/Mango. That would be a huge mistake to move to.

I would suggest Brandon (on the side of Causeway but not closer to 60), Valrico, and Riverview. I actually prefer Riverview the best. These places have good schools and lots of families around the area with a lot of sports and activities for the kids to get involved in.