Texan wanting to relocate to Tampa Bay... (Safety Harbor, Lutz: fit in, house)

[cjairo191]

Originally Posted by Chanteuse d' Opéra

Can anyone share some info on Brandon/Riverview/Fish Hawk/Lithia/Valrico area? Thank you so much! I am very interested in Fish Hawk. Also, what is the difference between incorporated and unincorporated Tampa Bay? Or the counties? Sorry, I hope I make sense with this...

Valrico, Fish Hawk and that general area has good schools and I would say Brandon and Riverview is very diverse. I have been to FishHawk before, but appears to be too remote(far) from the city. Also, if you don't mind high HOAs and rules, this place may work out. Great schools I guess. Don't move to the city limits of Tampa or St Pete if you looking for good schools with the exception of a small portion of South Tampa. All of them are on the outskirts. Hillsborough has better schools then Pinellas in general. The unincorporated areas are not in the city limits and pay less taxes. They also only have county cops versus city cops. I believe again the HOAs in some of those unincorporated will make expenses high and wash out the tax savings. I am Hispanic and have driven all around Tampa. Tampa is way more scenic then Houston and has great options for water activities.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by cjairo191

I believe again the HOAs in some of those unincorporated will make expenses high and wash out the tax savings.

As a rule, HOA fees are usually pretty low for most communities unless there are common areas like pools, for example. These are often covered by CDDs rather than HOAs. In most communities without common areas HOA assessments are often in the $200-$400/year range.

RM

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Originally Posted by cjairo191

Valrico, Fish Hawk and that general area has good schools and I would say Brandon and Riverview is very diverse. I have been to FishHawk before, but appears to be too remote(far) from the city. Also, if you don't mind high HOAs and rules, this place may work out. Great schools I guess. Don't move to the city limits of Tampa or St Pete if you looking for good schools with the exception of a small portion of South Tampa. All of them are on the outskirts. Hillsborough has better schools then Pinellas in general. The unincorporated areas are not in the city limits and pay less taxes. They also only have county cops versus city cops. I believe again the HOAs in some of those unincorporated will make expenses high and wash out the tax savings. I am Hispanic and have driven all around Tampa. Tampa is way more scenic then Houston and has great options for water activities.

This is very helpful! I have 2 friends who are from Houston, both Latinas (one in Riverview, the other in Lithia) & tell me the same thing. I've also heard that Hillsborough Co. is better than Pinellas for kids' education. We are looking at the South Shore of Tampa. Would you mind sharing how Ruskin & Apollo Beach is as well? Thank you so much!!

[MortonR]

Apollo Beach is older and skewed towards the retirement crowd, although that is shifting demographically because of the development taking place around it. Ruskin is much the same although it’s primary demographic is Hispanic and closely tied to the migrant community that has existed there for decades.

Schools in that area are not “A” schools.

R!

[cjairo191]

Originally Posted by Chanteuse d' Opéra

This is very helpful! I have 2 friends who are from Houston, both Latinas (one in Riverview, the other in Lithia) & tell me the same thing. I've also heard that Hillsborough Co. is better than Pinellas for kids' education. We are looking at the South Shore of Tampa. Would you mind sharing how Ruskin & Apollo Beach is as well? Thank you so much!!

There are charter schools in the south shore area. I would check out Watersets charter school and one called SLAM. There are few others, but Fishhawk would probably have better schools. We are sending our son to private school and hope he can get into a magnet/charter school.

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Originally Posted by cjairo191

There are charter schools in the south shore area. I would check out Watersets charter school and one called SLAM. There are few others, but Fishhawk would probably have better schools. We are sending our son to private school and hope he can get into a magnet/charter school.

Unfortunately, I discovered that Apollo Beach/Ruskin are in the hurricane evacuation zones? Does anyone know if Riverview/Valrico are in the hurricane evac/flood zone as well? Sorry I'm clearly a newbie & am only familiar with Houston-Galveston hurricane evac/flood zones :/

[StopThe Steel2024]

Originally Posted by Chanteuse d' Opéra

Unfortunately, I discovered that Apollo Beach/Ruskin are in the hurricane evacuation zones? Does anyone know if Riverview/Valrico are in the hurricane evac/flood zone as well? Sorry I'm clearly a newbie & am only familiar with Houston-Galveston hurricane evac/flood zones :/

the whole state is possibly an evac zone depending on the storm track; some places are worse because they are flood zones but if you don't like to be forced to evac for a hurricane you are moving to the wrong state

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Originally Posted by StopThe Steel2024

the whole state is possibly an evac zone depending on the storm track; some places are worse because they are flood zones but if you don't like to be forced to evac for a hurricane you are moving to the wrong state

I'm from Houston & no stranger to evacuations, but I've heard that some cities in FL are more susceptible to hurricane evacuation versus some inland cities. *shrugs*

[billl]

Originally Posted by MortonR

One good thing - it's less humid here than Houston.

Although I'm not a native Texan, I lived in Houston for 10 years. This is exactly right!! And that's no small feat given how humid it is here.

Also ... fewer direct hits from hurricanes.

But you might miss the barbecue.

[billl]

Originally Posted by Chanteuse d' Opéra

This is very helpful! I have 2 friends who are from Houston, both Latinas (one in Riverview, the other in Lithia) & tell me the same thing. I've also heard that Hillsborough Co. is better than Pinellas for kids' education. We are looking at the South Shore of Tampa. Would you mind sharing how Ruskin & Apollo Beach is as well? Thank you so much!!

I visited Apollo Beach once recently and altho it's a nice area, the view is dominated by the TECO Big Bend power station. That may not bother most folks, but I know I would not really like it.

And I have heard the same about Hillsboro schools being better than Pinellas. There are some good schools in Pinellas, and they do have a school choice program, but of course the better schools are harder to get in to.