advice please!!! where should we move to...?? (Tampa, Madison: rentals, houses)

[shanae0709]

My husband is medically retiring from Army soon. ( we are mid 30 couple) We are thinking about moving to Tampa bay area but not sure where would be a good fit for us.... we both love city atmosphere and beach view , love walking /running/bicycling instead of driving...so if there is a area where we could be close to all of this plus close to good schools for our 7 years old daughter would be perfect. we traveled to the area last year, loved st.pete and clearwater downtown eventhough they are a bit small and quiet for my taste( ai am from tokyo....so i love city noises and busy life) the views were beautiful and loved the fact that a lot of ppl were joggin or walking. also i loved the area around international mall, (international mall area is very similar to the area I used to live in tokyo..) but I am not sure these are the places that is good for living...some ppl say both st.pete and clearwater are not safe... ..I thought living closed to mcdill would be convinient since we will be using facilities on base often but lot of ppl said south tampa is very diverse and you have to be careful which area to choose..(we have no idea which area has nice community off base within walking distance from school for my daughter...) .. my friend suggested living in riverview but she said it does not have anything to do but just nice houses and also you have to drive for good 30 minutes to base and good shopping mall.......so yes we are so confused where to look for.....if you have any suggestion please provide us...it would be sooo appreciated . and sorry for my bad english..

[Amyyd71rn]

Sorry Shanae0709, I'm in the same boat as you except 45/43, empty nesters non military. I too am confused as to what places to look for. We have decided to rent for first 6-12 months! I just wanted to say hi and welcome and good luck!! I'll be watching for replies as well!!!!

When would you be moving???

Amy

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by shanae0709

My husband is medically retiring from Army soon. ( we are mid 30 couple) We are thinking about moving to Tampa bay area but not sure where would be a good fit for us.... we both love city atmosphere and beach view , love walking /running/bicycling instead of driving...so if there is a area where we could be close to all of this plus close to good schools for our 7 years old daughter would be perfect. we traveled to the area last year, loved st.pete and clearwater downtown eventhough they are a bit small and quiet for my taste( ai am from tokyo....so i love city noises and busy life) the views were beautiful and loved the fact that a lot of ppl were joggin or walking. also i loved the area around international mall, (international mall area is very similar to the area I used to live in tokyo..) but I am not sure these are the places that is good for living...some ppl say both st.pete and clearwater are not safe... ..I thought living closed to mcdill would be convinient since we will be using facilities on base often but lot of ppl said south tampa is very diverse and you have to be careful which area to choose..(we have no idea which area has nice community off base within walking distance from school for my daughter...) .. my friend suggested living in riverview but she said it does not have anything to do but just nice houses and also you have to drive for good 30 minutes to base and good shopping mall.......so yes we are so confused where to look for.....if you have any suggestion please provide us...it would be sooo appreciated . and sorry for my bad english..

What is your budget? that makes all of the difference. If you can afford south tampa, somewhere around plant highschool would be good.. Good schools, good area, close to macdill and the whole international mall area but quite expensive.

[shanae0709]

Amy, thanks!!! I wish the best for both of us!! we are planning to move within couple of months...

Tim, ok thank you, that area was one of the area I def was thinking about as well, I would love for my gaughter to go to plan high if we will be in tampa for a long time, we will do more research then, thanks!

[BucFan]

Other than the commissary, what other facilities do you plan on using at MacDill? PX prices are pretty steep for most things compared to somewhere like Walmart, Target or equivalent. Are you required to use the medical clinic there or can you use Tricare Prime because there are other options for healthcare - or would you use the Tampa or St Pete VA hospital/clinics?

I have access to MacDill (as a retiree) and the only place I seem to visit a lot on base is the golf course. Any money I save in the commissary I end up giving to the bagger.

[rd711]

I live in South Tampa in the Bayshore Beautiful area, I am two streets out of Plant High School boundaries, but still two blocks from Bayshore the homes here are very nice and just as expensive most in this area send their kids to private school in middle school. I have a child in Kindergarten that goes to Ballast point, its a great school and I see many military there. Many of the people we know have kids that go to Grady, Mabry and those are great as well, just not in the district. The middle school...have mercy, Madison Middle, i wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy's child so i would steer clear from that, I learned the hard way, luckily there are choice options or private school as well. Depending on where you work you may qualify for the downtown partnership and can send you child to a school that has a partnership with that. My older son is going to Robinson High IB/Areonautical program, I have seen and get very good reviews on it, so although Plant High has all that old money and high class about it Robinson is a great option as well.

BTW, I got out of the Navy on 2012, I havent set foot on a base to include Macdill since, I don't see any savings except possibly meat items. I go to little league games with my boys right outside the gate and don't go on, I'm not sure if those military facilities seem as appealing once you are away from them for a while.
Prices are not cheap, we got a pretty good deal $1600.00 but I went directly through the owner and we live in a cute ranch style home as are may of the houses on our street but a new build went up right next to us and now we live next to "jay-Z and beyonce" in terms of size of house compared to ours. I'm sure you can get more house for the money elsewhere and probably a more recially diverse area but we enjoy it.

I'm two blocks from bayshore, two blocks from the YMCA, I can walk to Publix and Target and there are so many shops and resturants, its just an overall nice safe area. I love the UNsuburban feel, its a great comprimise for myself and my husband, I'm a New Yorker he's from Mississippi so we kind of have a little of both and our kids love it.

Just my two cents on this area of South Tampa. Oh, I found my home on Craigslist and there are one or two rentals in this area but they go like hotcakes, I never see a sign ou tlonger than a week.