Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Those older "lower profile" homes are ENERGY PIGS. I'll put the electric bills of my two story (which includes a pool/pump) against those homes in Carrollwood, I know mine will be less (and I like to keep my home cool). The newer homes are much more energy efficient, radiant roofs, hybrid water heaters, higher efficiency heat pumps and appliances, higher R value insulation, etc. A neighbor moved from home just up the road that was built 20 years ago. Similar single story home with roughly same square foot. They said they saw their electric bills drop by well over half, now paying about 1/3 what they were paying before. They said their savings is enough to pay the taxes on their new place - wow!
And those low profile older homes may sit low to the ground, but they have older style gable roofs that act like a sail in the wind. The new code is "hip roofs" that sustain much higher wind speeds. They also lack the reinforcement and tied downs that are now build into the walls of new construction homes (required by code). Heck, when we were looking most lacked even the mounting for hurricane shutters. The new homes are built to sustain 140-150 MPH winds. The insurance rates reflect this reality as well. I had quote on similar size home that was built to "older" code, it was 4-5 times the premium I pay. Hopefully we won't have a hurricane pass through. Here's a typical older home in Carrollwood, just imagine the wind hitting the sides of the gable roof and catching the large overhangs.
Here's article by insurance industry on changes to building codes from 2002 which noted
As for greener, not sure where you are going there. I'll bet my community compares quite favorably with whatever you have in your head as we have lots of green space. And heck, there's plenty of green space in the area that is preserved by the county.
But hey, I get it, you lived there (may be wrong, but I think you bailed on the Carrollwood area recently) and I live here. I had a choice, looked at various areas and have no regrets with my decision.
I'm sure you live in a very nice house in a very nice place. For the record, before we moved away, I lived in South Hillsborough since 2000. Ruskin, Apollo Beach. Just not in Riverview. i watched Riverview and other areas explode with development and houses go up where former orange groves used to be, or fields full of cow plops, horse puckey or saw palmettos.
I never lived in Carrollwood, but always liked it. I lived in South Hillsborough because of work. If I could have lived in Carrollwood, I would have, though. I did work there for a while on a short project. That commute from South Hillsborough to the other side of Tampa is horrific, IMO. On that alone I wouldn't recommend it to the OP.
I'm sure you live in a very nice house in a very nice place. For the record, before we moved away, I lived in South Hillsborough since 2000. Ruskin, Apollo Beach. Just not in Riverview. i watched Riverview and other areas explode with development and houses go up where former orange groves used to be, or fields full of cow plops, horse puckey or saw palmettos.
I never lived in Carrollwood, but always liked it. I lived in South Hillsborough because of work. If I could have lived in Carrollwood, I would have, though. I did work there for a while on a short project. That commute from South Hillsborough to the other side of Tampa is horrific, IMO. On that alone I wouldn't recommend it to the OP.
Yep, growth is hearty around here, but must be something that's drawing people otherwise they wouldn't be building. Guess fields full of cow plops and horse puckey is just not considered chic these days and roof tops are. Even Apollo Beach/Ruskin is booming. I had looked there as well when shopping for home. Surprising how much has changed there as well.
Even the nearby sleepy town of Balm (population 1,457) is going to see growth. 600 new homes, going to more than double the population and probably just the first of other developments that will come as people look for reasonable alternatives for housing.
The proposed 1,000-vehical car lot was instead sent back to a hearing master because of an error in the county’s evaluation of the project’s impact on area traffic.
And that post office in Balm is just such a hoot, a real throw back to times past. Where else do you have a post office with one person and only open M-F from 9:30 - 2:30 and closes an hour for lunch?
Yep, growth is hearty around here, but must be something that's drawing people otherwise they wouldn't be building. Guess fields full of cow plops and horse puckey is just not considered chic these days and roof tops are. Even Apollo Beach/Ruskin is booming. I had looked there as well when shopping for home. Surprising how much has changed there as well.
Even the nearby sleepy town of Balm (population 1,457) is going to see growth. 600 new homes, going to more than double the population and probably just the first of other developments that will come as people look for reasonable alternatives for housing.
And that post office in Balm is just such a hoot, a real throw back to times past. Where else do you have a post office with one person and only open M-F from 9:30 - 2:30 and closes an hour for lunch?
I'm not sure if it is still there, but if you travel south of Ruskin on 41, there is or used to be a very similar post office in old Sun City (not to be confused with Sun City Center).
Provided you had a good builder, you probably lucked out in Riverview, as it is not known for sinkholes and those fields are actually pretty good places to build. Some of the stuff that went up on the marsh land in Ruskin and Apollo Beach is a whole other matter.
When we moved to the area, it suited our purposes. Lot of open space and it was easy to zip into Tampa or up to Kazbor's for a beer and a bite. For those of us who lived there before most of the development took place, what we liked was the quiet, low traffic, lower population and the ease of getting around. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Don't get me wrong, there are more conveniences now in terms of shopping, dining and other stuff, but they come at a price we weren't able to pay. There are certain things I miss and Hillsborough County is very well run.
I'm not sure if it is still there, but if you travel south of Ruskin on 41, there is or used to be a very similar post office in old Sun City (not to be confused with Sun City Center).
Provided you had a good builder, you probably lucked out in Riverview, as it is not known for sinkholes and those fields are actually pretty good places to build. Some of the stuff that went up on the marsh land in Ruskin and Apollo Beach is a whole other matter.
When we moved to the area, it suited our purposes. Lot of open space and it was easy to zip into Tampa or up to Kazbor's for a beer and a bite. For those of us who lived there before most of the development took place, what we liked was the quiet, low traffic, lower population and the ease of getting around. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Don't get me wrong, there are more conveniences now in terms of shopping, dining and other stuff, but they come at a price we weren't able to pay. There are certain things I miss and Hillsborough County is very well run.
I'm not aware of any similar PO in Sun City (not center). I guess perhaps the time shroud had been lifted on that.
I can get that if you came with the expectation of slow and quiet, this probably is no longer what you are looking for. But people looking today aren't coming in with that want or expectation. Honestly, if this area was still the sleepy town before the growth it wouldn't have been of interest to me. I don't want the big city, but I don't want Mayberry RFD either Guess I've lived almost my entire life in suburbia so this just fits and feels right for me.
I'm not aware of any similar PO in Sun City (not center). I guess perhaps the time shroud had been lifted on that.
I can get that if you came with the expectation of slow and quiet, this probably is no longer what you are looking for. But people looking today aren't coming in with that want or expectation. Honestly, if this area was still the sleepy town before the growth it wouldn't have been of interest to me. I don't want the big city, but I don't want Mayberry RFD either Guess I've lived almost my entire life in suburbia so this just fits and feels right for me.
Getting back to the OP, housing wise, it sounds as if Riverview is what he wants. If he's willing to sacrifice the schools and the commute, then it would work for him. But it's pretty much close to an hour to the airport. If there's no major traffic jams. And it gets old. I did it for three months and hated every minute.
Getting back to the OP, housing wise, it sounds as if Riverview is what he wants. If he's willing to sacrifice the schools and the commute, then it would work for him. But it's pretty much close to an hour to the airport. If there's no major traffic jams. And it gets old. I did it for three months and hated every minute.
I'm still not sold on anything yet. I'll be staying in a short-term rental in SoHo for at least a month. My plan is to do some fake commuting after work just to get a feel for the traffic to all the different areas that we're looking at. Like I said, I'm used to a 30-40 minute commute already. I also work 7am-4pm so hopefully I can still do this which also could help some. The school part is what I'm mostly worried about. I can sacrifice myself but I don't want to hurt the kids.
Getting back to the OP, housing wise, it sounds as if Riverview is what he wants. If he's willing to sacrifice the schools and the commute, then it would work for him. But it's pretty much close to an hour to the airport. If there's no major traffic jams. And it gets old. I did it for three months and hated every minute.
Honestly and respectfully, I don't think you can generically make a statement about sacrificing on schools. My kids long out of school, but those in the community are pleased with the quality of both the public and charter schools. Most of those in the public school are in honor programs and the parents find that their kids are getting a great education, regardless of what the score of the school was. Some are happy with the charter schools in the area as well, no idea why they chose those over public except perhaps their children need a different curriculum that the charter schools offer.
The commute is def something the OP should be aware of, going in eyes wide open. I've done an hour commute when I lived in Chicago thanks to a promotion to another office, heck it was closer to 90 minutes. I did it for the kids, lasted 3 years then moved to another much closer office. It was what it was. Fortunately I had flex hours and got in and out early to avoid the real rush.
I'm still not sold on anything yet. I'll be staying in a short-term rental in SoHo for at least a month. My plan is to do some fake commuting after work just to get a feel for the traffic to all the different areas that we're looking at. Like I said, I'm used to a 30-40 minute commute already. I also work 7am-4pm so hopefully I can still do this which also could help some. The school part is what I'm mostly worried about. I can sacrifice myself but I don't want to hurt the kids.
If it was me, I'd keep them out of the Riverview schools if I could. But that's just me. When I think back to my own school days and compare it to what kids have to put up with now, I shudder.
This didn't happen at the school, it happened at the library. I'm sure you don't want that for your children.
You'll have people comment that "Oh, it's just one incident" etc, etc. Riverview has had other rough incidents as well. I don't get the impression it's a great place for kids. The high school used to be nice, though.
Part of the problem with Riverview is that it has grown so fast, and a lot of growing pains have come with the growth. The advantage of an area like Carrollwood is that it is established with a stable population. What you see is what you get.
Yes, she was special needs. Frankly she should probably have been at a different school with closer supervision, but still.
Quite frankly, I'm down on much of the Hillsborough County school system anyway. Having lived in the area from 2000 to 2017, I'm familiar with some of the ugly stories over the years about perverts who work in the system. Just google "rape of student in Hillsborough County" and check out how many different results you get. Some of the perverts are teachers, some are other students. Really gross.
And here's the infamous case of Deborah LaFave that put Hillsborough County Schools on the map:
If it was me, I'd keep them out of the Riverview schools if I could. But that's just me. When I think back to my own school days and compare it to what kids have to put up with now, I shudder.
This didn't happen at the school, it happened at the library. I'm sure you don't want that for your children.
You'll have people comment that "Oh, it's just one incident" etc, etc. Riverview has had other rough incidents as well. I don't get the impression it's a great place for kids. The high school used to be nice, though.
Part of the problem with Riverview is that it has grown so fast, and a lot of growing pains have come with the growth. The advantage of an area like Carrollwood is that it is established with a stable population. What you see is what you get.
Amazing KMarc - you pull an incident, from 10 years ago, and try make it relevant today and apply to the general area at large - - just freakin' absurd. Grasping at straws -
Ya think Carrollwood is a place of rainbows and unicorns.... sorry to burst your bubble.... Let me share a more general picture of both areas. Based on this, the area of Riverview I live has less crime than Carrollwood.
And as a reference, compared to Cincinnati either is an improvement - so perspective for the OP on the relative crime vs. area he lives today. Numbers can be someone scary without relative context to go by.
You might find this interesting too, note that this area has a higher median income.
Your welcome
Last edited by bobandsherry; 10-18-2018 at 03:57 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Guess I've lived almost my entire life in suburbia so this just fits and feels right for me.
