Relocating to Tampa - waterfront real estate

[pinkybluesky]

Thanks for all the advice - I have one more question - does anyone have a view on schools : Madeira Beach Middle and Osceola Middle/High Schools specifically...it is really hard researching from the UK - or any advice on Pinellas County schools near to the beach areas.....I've been trawling through GreatSchools.com but there is soooo much there I am having trouble extracting the wood from the trees. Any advice on good schools in the area and views on public vs private ones would be much appreciated - we are hoping to visit in May and want to set up appointments if possible.

[TampaKaren]

If it were me, I would choose a single family home with deeded gulf access in a less populated area. But to answer the original question, I would suggest Crystal Beach (zip 34681) or Ozona Shores in Palm Harbor (zip 34683). They're in the north portion of Pinellas County. Some of the best public schools are located here. Below is a link to an education guide for the Greater Tampa Bay area including public schools with rankings, private schools, colleges, universities, etc. It isn't as easy to read on the web as the hardcopy, but informative nonetheless --> Education Guide - Greater Tampa

[ukdame]

Just want to let you know that Florida Legislators are making a huge ( millions $) cut in school spending and many other government funded programs in all Florida cities just announced this past week. If you really want to move to Florida better put the kids in a private school and forget about using city libraries and parks because there are going to be big job cuts and decreased services which are already stretched to the limit. The Safety Harbor, Dunedin are is very nice and not too urban .Pretty close to the beach too.