Job in Brandon but where to live ? (Jacksonville, Tampa: HOA fees, chapel)

[Fireblade3]

Hi,

Just a little bit about us...family of 4 ( kids aged 5 and 7 ) looking to move into FL. Tampa and Jacksonville are on our list.We currently live in Atlanta and after 4 months we have had enough
I have an interview for a job in Brandon,FL. If we do sign up what areas are family friendly with good schools within reasonable commute to Brandon (reasonable commute is 30 min one way for me).

The areas I have shortlisted were
1.South Tampa (Palma Ceia) to be specific but very few newer homes...
2.Cory Lake isles ( but I am reading about some issues with the developer and the homes listed are too good to be true, so am I missing something )
3.Wesley Chapel (just started looking into it) so folks here can chip in more....

I will highly appreciate your inputs and thank you in advance.

[NHborn]

Originally Posted by Fireblade3

Hi,

Just a little bit about us...family of 4 ( kids aged 5 and 7 ) looking to move into FL. Tampa and Jacksonville are on our list.We currently live in Atlanta and after 4 months we have had enough
I have an interview for a job in Brandon,FL. If we do sign up what areas are family friendly with good schools within reasonable commute to Brandon (reasonable commute is 30 min one way for me).

The areas I have shortlisted were
1.South Tampa (Palma Ceia) to be specific but very few newer homes...
2.Cory Lake isles ( but I am reading about some issues with the developer and the homes listed are too good to be true, so am I missing something )
3.Wesley Chapel (just started looking into it) so folks here can chip in more....

I will highly appreciate your inputs and thank you in advance.

Have you looked into Bloomingdale/FishHawk area? Good schools and a very short commute to Brandon.

[Fireblade3]

I have not looked into Lithia,FL. It seems promising and will look into more closely as its very much commutable to Brandon.
The schools especially Fishhawk creek,Colleen Bevis seem to have nice ratings !
Anyone with direct knowledge of these schools ?

Thank you for the input !

[MortonR]

Yes. Definitely some of the best schools in the county (and I work for the school district and used to work at these schools as well.)

Fishhawk is pricey, so depending on your budget you might also consider Bloomingdale East, which has very good schools as well but also has a much broader range of properties.

RM

[Pragmaticus]

The last time I checked Bevis is the number 1 ranked school in Florida, not in Tampa Bay but in Florida. If you are looking for ranking, it can't get better than that.

[Fireblade3]

Thank you for the inputs...

Will look into Bloomingdale East too.
I have always come across Pineview (Sarasota) as the number 1 school in Florida but I could be wrong and the rankings change every year. A few rankings here and there do not mean much as long as the school is good overall.

Lithia is looking very promising

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by Fireblade3

Thank you for the inputs...

Will look into Bloomingdale East too.
I have always come across Pineview (Sarasota) as the number 1 school in Florida but I could be wrong and the rankings change every year. A few rankings here and there do not mean much as long as the school is good overall.

Lithia is looking very promising

I went and checked since you brought my curiosity. You are right Pineview is number one but it is under a combination school category (those that has a high school element in them). Bevis (according to the 2011) ranking was number one ranked from the state considering only elementary, a better apple to apple comparison.

Here is the reference for my statement. You can see the top 10 in the state in each category: elementary, middle, and high. If you look around you can see the combination group where Pineview is ranked number one too. I couldn't find quickly for 2012.

Good luck in your move!

https://app2.fldoe.org/Ranking/Schools/Default.aspx

[gulfer]

If FishHawk prices are not what you are looking for, you still have opportunities in Apollo Beach and around Riverview. Some very nice Master Planned Communities as well as smaller suburbs will provide options. Staying South of the HWY 4 may be something to consider depending on working hours. It can get thick around there.

Cory Lake had some issues, but I think (could be wrong haven't discussed it in a while) was something with the HOA. Again, could be wrong. Some of the taxes, CDD to go along with the HOA fees made that lower price of the home be more costly each month. I had seen one property a while back with taxes over 10K annually!

Wesley Chapel is nice, I live right next to it in Land O Lakes. It could be further North than what you are looking for. I never really minded a drive for work as long as I lived in an area I liked and was comfortable. Had 45+ minute commute when I lived in San Diego and North of Seattle. But I liked my place/area enough to where it was never an issue for me.

[Fireblade3]

Originally Posted by MeInDenudinFL

I went and checked since you brought my curiosity. You are right Pineview is number one but it is under a combination school category (those that has a high school element in them). Bevis (according to the 2011) ranking was number one ranked from the state considering only elementary, a better apple to apple comparison.

Here is the reference for my statement. You can see the top 10 in the state in each category: elementary, middle, and high. If you look around you can see the combination group where Pineview is ranked number one too. I couldn't find quickly for 2012.

Good luck in your move!

https://app2.fldoe.org/Ranking/Schools/Default.aspx

Thank you for the link ! So far so good

Originally Posted by gulfer

If FishHawk prices are not what you are looking for, you still have opportunities in Apollo Beach and around Riverview. Some very nice Master Planned Communities as well as smaller suburbs will provide options. Staying South of the HWY 4 may be something to consider depending on working hours. It can get thick around there.

Cory Lake had some issues, but I think (could be wrong haven't discussed it in a while) was something with the HOA. Again, could be wrong. Some of the taxes, CDD to go along with the HOA fees made that lower price of the home be more costly each month. I had seen one property a while back with taxes over 10K annually!

Wesley Chapel is nice, I live right next to it in Land O Lakes. It could be further North than what you are looking for. I never really minded a drive for work as long as I lived in an area I liked and was comfortable. Had 45+ minute commute when I lived in San Diego and North of Seattle. But I liked my place/area enough to where it was never an issue for me.

Thank you for the input !
I dont mind 45 min commute as long as its flowing reasonably ( 30-45 mph), what I do not want is the bumper to bumper traffic. Currently spending close to 2.5 hrs daily in traffic (Atlanta) which is not sustainable for me in the long run.
I will have to check Wesley Chapel,Land O Lakes and do some dry runs in traffic from areas up north (Lutz also which I think is getting lower on my list by the day).

Also pardon my ignorance about sink holes.....Do home buyers need to look for something specific? Does the builder have to do any tests to rule out sink holes??/reinforce the foundation??. If its a older home what should a buyer look for ? I guess my question is how can buyers find out if there home is not around a skin hole?
Thank you all again !