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I've been poking around the forum and have visited the Tampa area a few weeks ago in preparation for our relocation. Can i ask for some local advice?
My wife has been accepted into grad school, she'll be attending classes near the intersection of 301 and I-4. Her studies are in medicine, she will also need to travel to clinical locations at Tampa General Hospital, Moffitt Cancer center and Sarasota Memorial hospital. She can accept the longest commute to be up to an hour drive, but obviously shorter is better. We have no idea how often she'll need to travel to each site.
We are in our 30's, do not have kids, have no interest in nightlife and live a quiet life. I can work anywhere with a strong internet connection, she won't be working while in school. We do tend to gravitate towards newer developments near modern strip malls, mainly because I've had better luck renting newer houses. I would love something with a little elbow room though, but i haven't come across many houses for rent with larger lots in my price range.
We'll be renting, preferably a 2+ bed, 2 bath 2 car garage house, but we have some town homes on our favorites list. We're looking to move in late October and I would really prefer to keep the rent under $1,300 a month. Even that seems too high to me since I'm paying that much for a 2500 sq. ft. house on a saltwater canal now, but that price is what I'm finding in the Tampa area. It looks like prices are deflating a little now that the moving season is over, think that trend will continue into October?
We are considering Brandon, Riverview, Seffner and similar areas. It seemed like those areas fit our needs when we visited and will have a reasonable commute to all the places she needs to go. I would love to hear some other recommendations for other areas.
Is Wesley Chapel similar to Brandon? I've seen some houses listed there I like, but didn't get to visit there.
Would the commute from the west end of Plant City be reasonable? What are your feelings of Plant City?
Probably Riverview kind of location is best for you, if you are ok with a quieter area, and transport needs are important, then I think you have the right side of the bay, and probably better to look closer to school where most traveling will be to.
Rents over there are a little less, make sure you are in a home owned by owner and its not in foreclosure etc etc. I am sure you have heard the horror stories. Go to a reputable agent who rents or make sure you check out the private ones however you can. I think $1300/mo is reasonable. Over this side of the bay you wont get much at all for that. The type of home you are looking at is not necessarily a family home and so moving season would not really have affected this. Yours is more the singles or couples who tend to move anytime when the job/school situation changes. Wesley Chapel might give you rush hour hassles but its not bad generally to live in . Brandon good too and closer to Tampa and TGH is good via the expressway, and its right by big shopping area.
good luck to you both
Riverview is Quieter! Lot of laughs! Maybe 25 years ago when it was country, any place that grows 200 plus percent in population the last 10 years is far from quiet! I just moved out of state after three years in Hillsborough and 12 years of Pinellas because most recently my neighborhood became a third world country!.. Driving to work off Bloomingdale Avenue to Tampa was a total nightmare. Also, My apartment complex hiked its rent to 1300 a month and was a small two bedroom on the third floor in a complex that was like living in Bombay!. Its a rapidly changing area that cannot keep up with growth patterns and traffic patterns. Saying Brandon is a good drive to Tampa is laughable anymore and Driving anywhere near Brandon Blvd and Causeway Blvd for shopping on the weekends is terrible AND I rather get a root canal! I Lived in the Tampa area for 15 years like I said 3 years in Hillsborough and 12 in Pinellas, Not being rude just telling you straight up how it is becoming in West central Florida! Its a crying shame! The only thing its good for anymore is U Turns, overpriced Food and entertainment establishments and sitting in traffic on hot days!
Last edited by paradiselost; 09-01-2016 at 12:14 PM..
Riverview is Quieter! Lot of laughs! any place that grows 200 plus percent in population the last 10 years is far from quiet!
Could you clarify how it was no longer an acceptable area?
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I just moved out of state after three years in Hillsborough and 12 years of Pinellas because most recently my neighborhood became a third world country!.
As in crime or demographics you find unacceptable?
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What kind of information are you providing here. Driving to work off Bloomingdale Avenue to Tampa was a total nightmare.
in what way? how long did it take?
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Also My apartment complex hiked its rent to 1300 a month and was a small two bedroom on the third floor in a complex that was like living in Bombay!
Rent is accelerating everywhere, it's got to be close to a breaking point. Every time my lease expires I'm facing a hike or moving to a more expensive but lessor property. Something's gotta give!
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Its a rapidly changing area that cannot keep up with growth patterns and traffic patterns. Saying Brandon is a good drive to Tampa is laughable anymore and Driving anywhere near Brandon Blvd and Causeway Blvd for shopping on the weekends is terrible AND I rather get a root canal!
I did notice that, and I lived in Phoenix during it's unchecked growth. it sounds like i'm a little more accepting of traffic. how long would the drive take you on average?
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I Lived in the Tampa area for 15 years like I said 3 years in Hillsborough and 12 in Pinellas, Not being rude just telling you straight up how it is becoming in West central Florida! Its a crying shame! The only thing its good for anymore is U Turns, overpriced Food and entertainment establishments and sitting in traffic on hot days!
In the last ten years I've lived in 9 different cities. The long term residents in all those cities have the same complaints you do.
1. Well its not pedestrian or biker friendly that for sure, I seen hit and misses all the time in both Pinellas and Hillsborough county, As far as Riverview Feeder roads like Big Bend and Gibsonton are now log jammed so the quiet smaller suburban feel just is not there anymore. There is hardly any Neighborhood lighting so at night some of the smaller neighborhoods away from the main roads are just dangerous. Car insurance is very high here because of the high accident and fraud rates. For example next to the Walmart there is a homeless camp and across the street they built a brand new overpriced apartment complex next to it on an already busy road and its impossible to get in and out of it.
2. People are just down right rude anymore (no more southern hospitality) and in my complex, people would walk in the middle of the road and not use sidewalks! As far as crime anywhere in Florida can be risky, as people move here rapidly as it is transient state,as i said the accident rate is very high but violent crime is not super bad here yet, but the problem is the rapid growth taxes the local resources and they are well understaffed in Police and Fire coverage especially in South and East Hillsborough.
3. Just getting out of Brandon could be tough at times, 301 between Bloomingdale and Adamo is full of accidents on a daily basis. Now with the new Top Golf and Bass Pro the feeder roads such as Falkenburg are totally clogged somedays. You can take the expressway but you got to pay tolls and there is a lot of accidents at rush hour and people always are driving like idiots. and i75 wow is it rough going northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening and it just bottlenecks at Brandon Blvd everyday. People do u turns all the time around here its very very dangerous
4 Rent goes up but there is no improvements,cut maintenance staff and they do less background checks it seems on the people that move to the complexes. Higher rent for less benefit!
Last edited by paradiselost; 09-01-2016 at 12:41 PM..
If I had your criteria for commuting convenience, I would search the area around the LeRoy Selmon Expressway in Brandon. Grid = EW on Causeway Blvd, NS on either Gornto/Providence, and EW on Bloomingdale. You can see it on the map if you net search Providence Brandon. I have no clue about rents, but that area should have most of what you need, but it will not be rural quiet.
I would not want to drive to Tampa General or even Moffitt from Wesley Chapel or Plant City but I'm sure some will say it's no problem.
I also read this morning that real estate prices are relaxing some, though that was for new construction purchases and not rents. October rentals are likely to be fewer due to the snowbird migration.
1. Well its not pedestrian or biker friendly that for sure, I seen hit and misses all the time in both Pinellas and Hillsborough county, Feeder roads like Big Bend and Gibsonton are log jammed so the quiet smaller suburban feel just is not there anymore. There is hardly any Neighborhood lighting so at night some of the smaller neighborhoods away from the main roads are just dangerous. Car insurance is very high here because of the high accident and fraud rates. For example next to the Walmart there is a homeless camp and across the street they built a brand new overpriced apartment complex next to it on an already busy road and its impossible to get in and out of it.
2. People are just down right rude anymore (no more southern hospitality) and in my complex, people would walk in the middle of the road and not use sidewalks! As far as crime anywhere in Florida can be risky, as people move here rapidly as it is transient state,as i said the accident rate is very high but violent crime is not super bad here yet, but the problem is the rapid growth taxes the local resources and they are well understaffed in Police and Fire coverage especially in South and East Hillsborough.
3. Just getting out of Brandon could be tough at times, 301 between Bloomingdale and Adamo is full of accidents on a daily basis. Now with the new Top Golf and Bass Pro the feeder roads such as Falkenburg are totally clogged somedays. You can take the expressway but you got to pay tolls and there is a lot of accidents at rush hour and people always are driving like idiots. and i75 wow is it rough going northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening and it just bottlenecks at Brandon Blvd everyday. People do u turns all the time around here its very very dangerous.
If I had your criteria for commuting convenience, I would search the area around the LeRoy Selmon Expressway in Brandon. Grid = EW on Causeway Blvd, NS on either Gornto/Providence, and EW on Bloomingdale. You can see it on the map if you net search Providence Brandon. I have no clue about rents, but that area should have most of what you need, but it will not be rural quiet.
I guess i should say my version of "quiet" is generally in a neighborhood with families. Maybe quiet isn't the right word for it, but essentially I want to the feeling of safety and security and to not have to deal with parties, bars, etc at night. If I go to the street view and see every house with "no trespassing" signs on the chain link fence and the occasional house with bars on the windows I generally pass.
Cookie cutter, middle class, bland tract home developments are the first thing that comes to mind when i think of a place I want to rent.
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I would not want to drive to Tampa General or even Moffitt from Wesley Chapel or Plant City but I'm sure some will say it's no problem.
We tend to be more tolerant of longer commutes, we've each lived with our share of 1-1.5 hour one way commutes when traffic was good...my worst was 6 hours to get home when there was a snow storm and many crashes. In all my moves commute times were always the hardest to gauge by online opinions, 5 minutes might be too much for one person and an hour might be fine to the next. Some people can't stand being stopped in traffic at all, others could sit in bumper to bumper for the whole ride...
We could tolerate a longer commute for a good house in a good neighborhood since we know this is only for 28 months. But if there are equal houses, equal neighborhood and equal prices we'll certainly go for the shorter commute! I would guess under 30 minutes would be great, 45 acceptable and over an hour is starting to push it.
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I also read this morning that real estate prices are relaxing some, though that was for new construction purchases and not rents. October rentals are likely to be fewer due to the snowbird migration.
Will I be competing with snowbirds for long term leases? Don't they typically look for a furnished seasonal place, so they could migrate again in the spring? I'm really hoping that I could get a bit of a lower price in October being off season.
I don't see how much more rent prices can increase. There is more supply and higher prices, is the demand really there in tampa? Some of my higher priced favorites on Hotpads that have been vacant for 2+ months.
OP, I think the Brandon area would suit your needs perfectly. Wesley Chapel is too far, and the commute is HORRIBLE from the north, especially if she needs to go to Sarasota. There are also some developments in Apollo Beach, just south of Tampa that you might look into.
I rather live in Detroit than Brandon! Lived in this area for 3 years and just moved out of state because of how poor the quality of life is. Seriously I do not know what the appeal of Brandon/Riverview is. First of All Brandon, Brandon Blvd first of all between Adamo and Providence is a nightmare every single day of the week. Try shopping at the mall and nearby places at rushhour! you could go crazy between the accidents, uturns and mass congestion its down right a horrible place. Then go south of there to the next east west thoroughfare Causeway Blvd, this features a bunch of below average chain restaurants that are overpriced aka fords and first watch, a ghetto possibly creepiest Walmart in America Man shopping for coffee creamer at Walmart attacked by vigilante for carrying gun he was legally permitted to have | Tampa Bay Times
along with the nearby homeless camps and also have to put up with people who constantly cross 6 lanes of traffic going in and out of apartment complexes!
Last edited by paradiselost; 09-02-2016 at 11:05 AM..
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