Be there soon...what neighborhoods/planned communities have this? (Miami: sales, HOA fees)

[Beckster2001]

My family and I will be moving next summer. Hubby and I are coming down for a visit in a few weeks to make sure we really want to do this. We have the cities narrowed down to Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor and Countryside. Hubby and I are low 30's and our sons are 5 & 7.

This would be our dream neighborhood:
House near $300k; 3 beds, 2 baths
Houses that are not on top of each other
At least 1/4 acre lot
Kids outside playing
Nearby Bike trail (pinellas trail really interests me)
Sidewalks
Close to baseball field
Great little league baseball organization
We do not want canals or marshes in the neighborhood

Please suggest areas you think we may like. We are open to Master Planned Communities although we are not very familiar with them.

[PhotoProIP]

1. There are no neighborhoods in Florida without a pond, canal, or some type marshes. This is FLORIDA.
2. In Pinellas county the only pace to find a planned community is in Palm Harbor. The rest is older homes, or homes that were tear downs and rebuilt mansion style. Tons of condos too.
3. Can't speak for sports, we're not into sports
4. Pinellas trail is very nice
5. Sidewalks are sparse; they are in planned communities, sometimes just on one side of the road(kinda stupid, but whatever).
6. Few places are close to good schools and have larger lots; larger lots come with much higher price tags.
7. IF in mastered panned community, you need to know that there are HOA fees, CDD fees, and all sorts of insane rules.
8. "Kids Outside" is a rarity in Florida because: a) most kids are at after school and/or after school activity, b) they're smaller and in daycare, and c) most people are not very social here. Fresh example for you: yesterday my little on and I went to the playground inside our subdivision, and the two other mom's that were there packed up and left less than 5 minutes after we came...all we did was say "HI"! This was before 9:30am; so they had just came too...I will never understand this; in Miami, we didn't have kids, but we used to bike everywhere, and I never once had a problem socializing with people down there the way we do here! I don't know who the heck moves here, but their social skills are MISSING!

[Spring Hillian]

The areas you listed should have what you are looking for. Palm Harbor certainly has homes on 1/4 acre lots. Just Google "palm harbor 1/4 acre lots" and you will be presented with a number of listings.

You will find a lot of "dry" areas in Palm Harbor as you will find in most of the state.

The Pinellas trail runs right through Palm Harbor.

Originally Posted by Beckster2001

My family and I will be moving next summer. Hubby and I are coming down for a visit in a few weeks to make sure we really want to do this. We have the cities narrowed down to Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor and Countryside. Hubby and I are low 30's and our sons are 5 & 7.

This would be our dream neighborhood:
House near $300k; 3 beds, 2 baths
Houses that are not on top of each other
At least 1/4 acre lot
Kids outside playing
Nearby Bike trail (pinellas trail really interests me)
Sidewalks
Close to baseball field
Great little league baseball organization
We do not want canals or marshes in the neighborhood

Please suggest areas you think we may like. We are open to Master Planned Communities although we are not very familiar with them.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by PhotoProIP

1. There are no neighborhoods in Florida without a pond, canal, or some type marshes. This is FLORIDA.
2. In Pinellas county the only pace to find a planned community is in Palm Harbor. The rest is older homes, or homes that were tear downs and rebuilt mansion style. Tons of condos too.
3. Can't speak for sports, we're not into sports
4. Pinellas trail is very nice
5. Sidewalks are sparse; they are in planned communities, sometimes just on one side of the road(kinda stupid, but whatever).
6. Few places are close to good schools and have larger lots; larger lots come with much higher price tags.
7. IF in mastered panned community, you need to know that there are HOA fees, CDD fees, and all sorts of insane rules.
8. "Kids Outside" is a rarity in Florida because: a) most kids are at after school and/or after school activity, b) they're smaller and in daycare, and c) most people are not very social here. Fresh example for you: yesterday my little on and I went to the playground inside our subdivision, and the two other mom's that were there packed up and left less than 5 minutes after we came...all we did was say "HI"! This was before 9:30am; so they had just came too...I will never understand this; in Miami, we didn't have kids, but we used to bike everywhere, and I never once had a problem socializing with people down there the way we do here! I don't know who the heck moves here, but their social skills are MISSING!

They did not rule out ponds in the OP, just canal or marsh.

Our neighborhood has sidewalks on both sides of all roads.

We are near excellent schools and we have larger lots, but as you say you will pay more and in our neighborhood those lots are out of the OP's price range.

Ours is a master planned community and we do not have CDD fees nor all sorts of insane rules. What we do have is one heck of a good looking, upkept, nature friendly neighborhood.

We have kids outside all the time. That is one part I could do without. At least there is a mix of demographics here, so we are not over run with kids.

Most everyone says hi here. Not sure what more you want on that. A friendly hello is nice. I don't want the entire neighborhood in my house all the time. If I had kids at home, I would expect them to be playing with the neighbors kids as they are doing in our neighborhood. Luckily we do not have kids at home.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

They did not rule out ponds in the OP, just canal or marsh.

Our neighborhood has sidewalks on both sides of all roads.

We are near excellent schools and we have larger lots, but as you say you will pay more and in our neighborhood those lots are out of the OP's price range.

Ours is a master planned community and we do not have CDD fees nor all sorts of insane rules. What we do have is one heck of a good looking, upkept, nature friendly neighborhood.

We have kids outside all the time. That is one part I could do without. At least there is a mix of demographics here, so we are not over run with kids.

Most everyone says hi here. Not sure what more you want on that. A friendly hello is nice. I don't want the entire neighborhood in my house all the time. If I had kids at home, I would expect them to be playing with the neighbors kids as they are doing in our neighborhood. Luckily we do not have kids at home.

You just sold your community since that is what most people like to get when they move and it is not every where that you will be able to get that.

The only thing you forgot is to mention the name of the community since positive news should be appreciated by lots of home owners and helping the values of the community as well.

[csohio]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

They did not rule out ponds in the OP, just canal or marsh.

Our neighborhood has sidewalks on both sides of all roads.

We are near excellent schools and we have larger lots, but as you say you will pay more and in our neighborhood those lots are out of the OP's price range.

Ours is a master planned community and we do not have CDD fees nor all sorts of insane rules. What we do have is one heck of a good looking, upkept, nature friendly neighborhood.

We have kids outside all the time. That is one part I could do without. At least there is a mix of demographics here, so we are not over run with kids.

Most everyone says hi here. Not sure what more you want on that. A friendly hello is nice. I don't want the entire neighborhood in my house all the time. If I had kids at home, I would expect them to be playing with the neighbors kids as they are doing in our neighborhood. Luckily we do not have kids at home.

What community do you live in?

[Irishiis49]

Originally Posted by csohio

What community do you live in?

I'm guessing Lansbrook...

[Beckster2001]

Thank you for the responses thus far. I know we will probably not find a neighborhood with all the amenities I listed, but something that has the majority of them would suite us just fine.

Also curious as to where PriusH8r lives??

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

You just sold your community since that is what most people like to get when they move and it is not every where that you will be able to get that.

The only thing you forgot is to mention the name of the community since positive news should be appreciated by lots of home owners and helping the values of the community as well.

Ours is just north of Tampa Road off Eastlake Road in Palm Harbor. There are many great neighborhoods in that stretch, as well as in the neighboring Countryside area. Our sales are already brisk and prices have and continue to rise, so no need for me to try to draw people into this specific neighborhood. I prefer pointing out the area from Safety Harbor, through Countryside, up through the Eastlake Road area, including parts of Oldsmar instead. That way perspective buyers get a wider range of homes, rather than getting hooked on just one neighborhood. There are just so many great options in the noted area. A realtor can easily pick out some great homes in that area for their clients.

[SeaSpur]

I don't know if I've ever seen a master planned community or subdivision where you weren't "on top of each other". Mainly the reason I could never behind the gates of one.