Carrollwood Questions (Tampa, Brandon, University: apartments, lease, HOA)

[JustMeInBrandon]

So only having lived in Tampa for less than 5 months and not knowing anything more than Brandon, people have suggested Carrollwood since we are looking outside of Brandon now. I see on the map that there is a (1) Carrollwood Village (west of Dale Mabry off Lowell near Emerald Greens Golf Course), (2) Carrollwood near a Lake Carroll (east of Dale Mabry between Busch Blvd. and Fletcher), and finally (3) Carrollwood Meadows Park (north of Gunn Highway near a Hidden Gunn Golf and Driving Range). What is the difference? When people say "Carrollwood" is nice, which Carrollwood are they talking about?

[Keeper]

Most are referring to Old Carrollwood, near Lake Carroll or Carrollwood Village.
There are other subdivisions, some really nice that are in the Carrollwood area of Tampa. At one time, living in Carrollwood was 'the place the live' so many subdivisions will say they are in Carrollwood meaning a defined area of town. Just like some apts will say they 'Westchase' because they are near the Westchase main community.

[annesg]

Yes, Carrollwood tends to be loosely defined at times. It really depends on what you want. I happen to love Carrollwood Village with all its mature trees, sidewalks for walking, and broad variety of housing (from golf course condos to townhomes to small single-family homes to much larger homes). I live just a couple miles N of Carrollwood Village.

The Lake Carroll area is very pretty too, very nice. I guess it depends on what you have to spend, whether you have kids in school, and what kind of housing you want. I love the area--there's plenty of shopping, some good local restaurants, that sort of thing. What are you looking for specifically? We moved over here from Valrico/Brandon 4 years ago.

[Keeper]

I love the Carrollwood area personally.. You can go to New Tampa/Wesley Chapel and get a newer house but you won't have trees (usually) and houses are very close together in most nabes. Traffic while it can be heavy on Dale Mabry during rush hour, you do have other roads in CW so once you learn your way around, you can find other ways to get around in most cases.

[TampaKaren]

Original Carrollwood was built in the 1950s on 325 acres of Citrus Groves (just north of Busch Blvd and east of Dale Mabry Hwy). It's been popular because of its proximity to the University of South Florida. You can read a brief history on Original Carrollwood's HOA website here --> Original Carrollwood (http://originalcarrollwood.com/neighborhood.html - broken link). Carrollwood Village had a website, but it's undergoing a "face lift." Generally speaking, original Carrollwood is located in zip 33618 and Carrollwood Village is located in zip 33624. But as Keeper suggested, there are several surrounding neighborhoods that use the Carrollwood name.

[JustMeInBrandon]

Originally Posted by annesg

What are you looking for specifically? We moved over here from Valrico/Brandon 4 years ago.

We moved to Florida in December. Due to the fact we wanted to get to know Tampa before we decided where to buy, we are renting an apartment now (in Brandon). Thinking Brandon may be too congested for us, we are thinking of moving when our lease expires (possibly to Carrollwood). I have a daughter who is a sophomore now so she needs a good high school for the next 2 years. Also, due to the fact we do not know how stable/permanent my husband's job is, we want to continue to rent for one more year before we buy. So are there decent apartments in any of these Carrollwood areas to try out before we buy?

[annesg]

Yes. There are a few nice places right near Sickles High school--right there on Sheldon. There are also apartments in the Westchase area. And there's Lofton Place on Gunn, I think....I think that's Sickles district.

Gaither is also a really good school, and there are definitely apartments off N. Dale Mabry very close to the school. You could also try renting a condo or house over in Calusa Trace or Northdale or even one of the golf course condos on the golf course at CArrollwood Village. Depends on your price range, but you could try craigslist for privately owned places.

[JustMeInBrandon]

Originally Posted by annesg

Yes. There are a few nice places right near Sickles High school--right there on Sheldon. There are also apartments in the Westchase area. And there's Lofton Place on Gunn, I think....I think that's Sickles district.

Gaither is also a really good school, and there are definitely apartments off N. Dale Mabry very close to the school. You could also try renting a condo or house over in Calusa Trace or Northdale or even one of the golf course condos on the golf course at CArrollwood Village. Depends on your price range, but you could try craigslist for privately owned places.

Thanks! I appreciate that. Regarding apartments off N. Dale Mabry, only really familiar with the Brandon area and not too much up your way, would N. Dale Mabry be really congested, or is it mainly congested south of Hillsborough Avenue? And what about football traffic (not having lived in Tampa during football season)?

[annesg]

It's really not nearly as bad up past the stadium and into the North Tampa area. Plus, there are lots of other roads to take. It's not as bad as Brandon Blvd over by the mall, I can say that

Dale Mabry closer to downtown is much more congested. I never notice anything during football season bc I'm too far north.

[Keeper]

There are several really nice apts in Carrollwood. I had a friend who lived in some right off the golf course. Of course, I don't remember the name at the moment. Quiet area and not too far from N. Dale Mabry and shopping

Not sure how Sickles is now, but they were on double session a year or so ago. I would check into that before deciding. My son went to Gaither and it is a good school.