Too many neighborhood choices (Brandon, Palm Harbor: apartment, renting, attorney)

[MyluckyPenny]

So my family of 3 (if you don't count my cat and dog) is relocating from MO in the next year. We will be renting for at least the first 6 months to get a feel of which neighborhood to move into. My baby is now 1, and I am a SAHM until she gets into school. We want private school, but figure we should still live somewhere with decent schools as back-up. Because, you never know. My hisband will be working downtown and we would like to keep the commute under 30/40 mins. If possible. He will be making good money, but we would still like to keep our home in the 250k-350k range. Lower is better because, why not? Is there any areas to look into while I can research from my computer? I still need to research because I do not want to end up renting a junk apartment if I can help it. If I fall in love with a neighborhood while I am at it, all the better!

[MortonR]

Unless you're hung up on new construction, I would suggest Bloomingdale East. Great schools, a nice community with parks, a golf course and a YMCA, close to shopping and an easy commute on the Crosstown Expressway for work.

Plenty of homes in the area in the price range you're looking for, too.

RM

[roadtrip75]

MortonR's idea is great and Fish Hawk is also good. But you should definitely think about the locations of your desired private schools before picking a home. If you like a school that's in Pinellas and you live in Bloomingdale, you're going to hate life.

Another thing to remember is that schools change. The trajectory in Brandon et al is downward, albeit slowly and with variations from place to place. By the time your daughter is in high school 14 years from now, your public high school backup plan might not look so good.

[MyluckyPenny]

Good point roadtrip. Schools can change. If it came to that, we would probably move. So is there any areas with decent schools that have private schools close by?

[MyluckyPenny]

Thanks mortonr! All.of that sounds good. I know everyone wants near the water, blah, blah. But how often do uou actually go? Plus, my daughter is number 1. Safety, schools, and commute time are all much higher in my list of priorities.

[jeffc12]

Palm Harbor has awesome public schools allowing you more budget for your house - houses are expensive here but $250-$350k is right in the budget- you would be about 40 minutes out....

[MyluckyPenny]

Jeffc, thanks! 40 minutes isn't too bad. Especially in the grand scheme of things.

[stevo75]

Originally Posted by MyluckyPenny

Jeffc, thanks! 40 minutes isn't too bad. Especially in the grand scheme of things.

That's with no traffic.

It has taken me up to 90 minutes with traffic.

Depends on work hours.

If PH make sure you look at the zoning for schools. I live in PH and elementary school is zoned in Dunedin which doesn't have the best rating. My kids go there and are doing very well though.

If I lived 100 yards Northwest they would be zoned for Ozona.

Good luck

[MyluckyPenny]

Ugh. That's the stuff that makes me so confused. 40/90 minutes is a huge difference. Thanks for letting me know.Can I get commute times for traffic? My husband is an attorney and will most likely be commuting in the morning during traffic and go home late, after traffic has died down.

[roadtrip75]

Brandon/Bloomingdale would be a much better commute than Palm Harbor.

You can look at traffic live on Google Maps.