Neughborhoods in Tampa area (Keystone, Hudson: to rent, low crime, houses)

[sithlord72]

Hi, will probably be moving to Florida in a few years, we are looking for a decent semi rural suburb in the tampa area with low or no crime and good schools. My kids will be 9 & 5 by the time we move. I currently live in the Hudson Valley area (Orange Co.) and we are looking for sometjing similiar in terms of open space, low crime and good Quality-of-life. Hanks to all in advance for your help.

[TampaKaren]

It's different here. Hillsborough County (Tampa and suburbs) encompasses over a thousand square miles with ~1.3 million people. Lots of people move here and that's created a lot of residential developments. Some builders today are putting 4,000 square foot houses on 5,000 square foot lots. While that's not the norm, the average lot size in a planned development is less than 1/4 acre with the average being 50x100.

There are still a few semi-rural areas in the far eastern (Seffner) and far southern (Ruskin) portions of the county. But, the landscape is changing as more developments have been pre-approved on the long range plan. There is an additional bit of rural area in the far northwest part of the county (Keystone), but it's very hard to get and it's expensive. These areas do not typically have the best schools. I am very sorry to lower the blow, but you will find out eventually anyway. You can verify numbers on Census.gov here --> Hillsborough County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Please plan to rent until you get familiar with the topography. If you have other questions, there are some really helpful people on this board.