Buying a new home: Riverview or Gibsonton (Tampa, Tamiami: to rent, HOA fees)

[lauriemsr]

Hi!

We are looking into buying a new home. We do not want to be more than 30 minutes away from Tampa (Westshore area). So far, we have seen that the best deals are located in the Riverview/Gibsonton area due to the size of the homes, energy efficiency and community amenities. However, we are unsure which of the two is the best area to settle down?

What are your thought on Riverview? What is your opinion of Gibsonton? Any of you already live in the area(s) and have some pros & cons since living there?

Thanks for your help!

[Sunnydee]

I am biased because I live in Riverview and love it here. Gibsonton is the winter home of the carnival people and they seem to love it there. Just make sure you do your research as far as crime data, schools, CDD fees, HOA fees, amenities, proximity to interstates, shopping, etc. before you buy. I avoid CDD areas, but that's another one of my biases. Best wishes.

[NALEXAND]

Riverview is definitely more desirable. Gibsonton is known as a poor area, with poor schools and sketchy residents.

[wiltznucs]

Riverview... No question...

[the awesomee]

Gibsonton by far... the rest of you are quick to assume huh... Gibsonton is closer to the water and the taxes are lower. The people are friendlier there as well. The traffic in Riverview SUCKS....as with Gibsonton you can go right up Highway 41 to Tampa.

[CMor2Day]

They are all right - Gibsonton is an easier commute into Tampa squeezed between I-75 &Tamiami Trail. Closer to the water... but not swimmable water. If you have a boat or canoe you'll appreciate it. The closest beach is EG Simmons Park which is in Ruskin...and it's bearly swimmable. Apollo beach has a gray clayey bottom and is only knee deep and the shells are too sharp to walk on and the power plant is behind you.

There is a lot of industry in the Gibsonton area due to access to Tampa Ports and the railroad tracks - Big Bend Power Plant, Dump, Mosiac. If you don't mind seeing those things on your daily commute, then the savings would be worth it. Otherwise, I would turn east to Riverview. CONS: You'll add about a 15 min commute to your drive no matter where you're going if you need access to the interstate. The population is not as diverse. I wouldn't say Gibsonton's population is skethcy -colorful and varied would be a better description. There are more poor in Gibsonton, mostly because they are unable to get citizinship which keeps them from working legally and prevents access to higher education. There are carnival connections everywhere - I know a guy who had an invisble parrot show for 20 years and another family that makes a fortune on funnel cakes and has a beach front property.

Riverview has a lot of new development, so it's stores are shiny & new and is more typical of a suburb. I live in Apollo Beach (Covington Park) just across one street (Big Bend) which would put us in Gibsonton. I personally like the diversity and character, am an engineer, so I marvel at, not scorn the power plant I see on the horizon and appreciate the 2min vs 15 min drive to I-75 every morning. My parents live in Riverview (Panther Trace), my kids play soccer over there as well. The diversity is what gets me - every child I see in that neighborhood is white (we're white). I love that my kids are learning spanish from my neighbor's kids (working class, polic officers, not sketchy people), that my daughter's best friends' family are total hippies (Freedom, Summer, Crystal, Talon and have shown my kids an appreciation for art & nature, again not sketchy), that they know of families who experience unfair bias (illegeals who are kind, smart and ambitious...not hiding in the shadows and committing crimes like the stereotype prolifierates and as a result my kids have a real appreciation for the right their father has to work/college, a soft heart and a blooming interest in politics because of it) their school is only 50% white (A School) and they are learning about different cultures and values than our own.

We are in no more danger, we live richer lives at less cost and are more engaged with world that is more interesting than the homogenous neighborhoods of Riverview. There are sketchy areas of Gibsonton, just wanted to make it clear that while some wallow in misery, the majority of Gibsontonians are a pleasure to be around. I am just sick of people judging others so quickly on such superficial levels like color & income and without any appreciation of what differences can offer.

[the awesomee]

Originally Posted by CMor2Day

We are in no more danger, we live richer lives at less cost and are more engaged with world that is more interesting than the homogenous neighborhoods of Riverview. There are sketchy areas of Gibsonton, just wanted to make it clear that while some wallow in misery, the majority of Gibsontonians are a pleasure to be around. I am just sick of people judging others so quickly on such superficial levels like color & income and without any appreciation of what differences can offer.

Same can be applied to Riverview..think Tropical Acres [back behind Shadow Run]...also Southpoint (wasnt there gang trouble there a few yrs back?) Regardless there are nice and "sketchy" areas of both, you just have to find what suits you best and decide for yourself. Of course people living in those said areas are going to favor the area because noone wants to admit to living in a dump

[tinalimey]

I think either of them will be more than a 30 minute commute to Westshore. Have you considered Westchase or Oldsmar instead?

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by lauriemsr

We do not want to be more than 30 minutes away from Tampa (Westshore area). So far, we have seen that the best deals are located in the Riverview/Gibsonton area due to the size of the homes, energy efficiency and community amenities.

Yup - you are right. It seems you get so much more for your money in Riverview than other areas in Tampa. Newer homes, planned communities, neighborhood amenities, schools are decent. What is there not to like?

Oh yeah - we had several homes picked out to look at to rent in Riverview before moving to Tampa. It was far from the beach, but who cares!? I can drive the extra distance to the beach to live in such a spectacular neighborhood and home that I can't believe I can afford. We were pretty set on Riverview.

Then.... we came down and began driving around different areas to see where we would like to live. Riverview was the first stop. Yup - there they were.... nice, newer bigger houses.... in a neighborhood with great amenities..... but something about the areas put us off. It seemed ran down.... it seemed like a place that in 10 years is going to be ghetto.... its near powerplant smoke stacks.... there are trailer parks everywhere.... its not pretty.... Buuuuuuut... you get a lot of house for your money. Long story short..... we decided to never look at places in Riverview again.

Do yourself a favor. Don't buy anything your first year here. Rent a house first. 1) it'll let you get to know the area better 2) it'll make you happier when you buy your house because you'll likely get more home than what you were renting. 3) You aren't missing out on low priced by waiting a year... they'll still be low.

[algia]

I would say neither!

I agree with Kash....it'll eventually be the new crack town! Rent something across from Westshore mall, and look at Westchase, and north on Veterans....you have to include resale value too when buying!