just bought a house at Valencia Lakes...what to expect?? (Tampa: new home, living in)

[bluskyz]

I must mention--if you have not already observed, the town of Wimauma is very close to you. You will be rubbing elbows (like it or not) with Wimauma's finest. If not at the Walmart (which is the worse Walmart I have ever experienced ) then on the road driving in that area. A visit would give you a good perspective. This store reflects the area well.

I cannot agree that the Tampa region in general isn't much different than the area your moving to. I have found the Wimauma, Riverview and Gibsonton areas leave much to be desired in many aspects. Residents of Sun City Center a 55+ community of 25K must tolerate the shortcomings, dangers and disrespect of this (you call it) area.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by bluskyz

I must mention--if you have not already observed, the town of Wimauma is very close to you. You will be rubbing elbows (like it or not) with Wimauma's finest. If not at the Walmart (which is the worse Walmart I have ever experienced ) then on the road driving in that area. A visit would give you a good perspective. This store reflects the area well.

I cannot agree that the Tampa region in general isn't much different than the area your moving to. I have found the Wimauma, Riverview and Gibsonton areas leave much to be desired in many aspects. Residents of Sun City Center a 55+ community of 25K must tolerate the shortcomings, dangers and disrespect of this (you call it) area.

I visited Wimauma couple of times already and actually I had some good Mexican food. The city will suffer the fate of every other areas targeted by developers, it will gentrify pushing the poor out further. I read through the Wimauma re-development plan and it sounds promising but, again, the net results will be pushing the poor people out (the plan for the next wave of over 1800 new homes call for 10% of "affordable" housing but even that will definitely not be affordable for some of the folks currently living in Wimauma).

We wanted a 55+ community with a large amenities center and lot of space a bit out of the coast (FEMA Zone X was a must for us)..all of them have been developed in areas that were rural (cheap land) no exception, from Wesley Chapel down to Parrish.

Funny you mention that Walmart...actually I had one of the best customer service (for a Walmart) at that location, a young kid in the tech department very eager to help me find the right USB adapter for my device. The general clientele did not seem to me any different from any other Walmart Supercenter, these are not ritzy retail places. The store was well stocked.

Finally, in order to get to Valencia Lakes I do not have to go through Wimauma ever and I did not notice any worse road behavior than Tampa in general maybe time will tell. Roads are new and well light.

Finally, for what we were looking for (gated 55+ with large footprint and large amenities center, FEMA Zone X a bit away from the coast) sorry but I did not find big differences compared to other areas in the outskirts of Tampa where we did look at (Wesley Chapel, Parrish/Palmetto and few others). To me the relative closeness of Sarasota and Anna Maria Island is a huge plus.

At the time of my purchase I did not find any other home (even going over budget) with a nice water view looking west, a close second was a house in Arbor Greene but it sold before I could look at it.

Overall, I knew very well I was not buying into a downtown Saint Petersburg type of environment

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by bluskyz

I have found the Wimauma, Riverview and Gibsonton areas leave much to be desired in many aspects. Residents of Sun City Center a 55+ community of 25K must tolerate the shortcomings, dangers and disrespect of this (you call it) area.

Those areas are quite different.
I see Riverview is highly praised here and I loved it as well.
Geographically convenient, well developed with really good infrastructure, aesthetically quite nice.
Reminded me Sugar Land TX, one of the best suburbs in the US in general.

Gibsonton kind of messy, weird place. Sometimes I am really jealous to the people who can live in places like that. I decided to settle in more 'normal' place, but I admire that eclectic vibe and geographic convenience of Gibsonton.

Wimauma, I didn't really get it at all. Kind of a mixed bag. The new community next to the landfill is quite nice, but the landfill is a concern.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

Those areas are quite different.
I see Riverview is highly praised here and I loved it as well.
Geographically convenient, well developed with really good infrastructure, aesthetically quite nice.
Reminded me Sugar Land TX, one of the best suburbs in the US in general.

Gibsonton kind of messy, weird place. Sometimes I am really jealous to the people who can live in places like that. I decided to settle in more 'normal' place, but I admire that eclectic vibe and geographic convenience of Gibsonton.

Wimauma, I didn't really get it at all. Kind of a mixed bag. The new community next to the landfill is quite nice, but the landfill is a concern.

Frankly, unless we talking St. Pete downtown, Tampa downtown, Clearwater, the historic districts like Ybor and such or the beach locations in general, there is not much difference between these places....all flat terrain, endless housing developments and retail space.

The rich can stay on the beach all they want with their high risk flooding homes, no thanks!!

[Ghost Town]

I haven't been to Ybor yet.
Was initially interested.
You can even get a new 2023-2024 house there for about 300K.
No CDD and HOA.
But pictures of the area look kinda 3rd worldish and there are some safety concerns.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

Frankly, unless we talking St. Pete downtown, Tampa downtown, Clearwater, the historic districts like Ybor and such or the beach locations in general, there is not much difference between these places....all flat terrain, endless housing developments and retail space.

The rich can stay on the beach all they want with their high risk flooding homes, no thanks!!

There’s a different vibe in different parts of town. Riverview is different from Lutz, or Dunedin, or Tarpon Springs, etc. Brandon/Riverview/Apollo Beach all feels pretty much the same though.

For what it’s worth, not everywhere is flat. You might be surprised by the hills in Northern Pinellas. Then again, it’s nothing like where you’re coming from.

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

I haven't been to Ybor yet.
Was initially interested.
You can even get a new 2023-2024 house there for about 300K.
No CDD and HOA.
But pictures of the area look kinda 3rd worldish and there are some safety concerns.

Ybor is still rough. For 300k, you’re probably looking north of 275 which is considerably worse. That whole area has improved over the past decade, but it’s got a long way to go before I recommend it. The main strip is pretty sleazy and dirty.

[MortonR]

Gibsonton is an outlier.

If you're not aware, it's an area with zoning laws that allow the parking of amusement rides and the keeping of circus animals on the property. This is unique in Hillsborough County.

Gibsonton is the "home" of carnival or "carny" people and has been for decades. So much so that years ago special zoning was established for the area to accommodate the residents and their way of life.

Wimauma is a place where many migrant workers live in the winter, starting out in Florida picking berries, tomatoes, and other early crops. From here they move north, following the harvests. The whole enrollment of the local schools used to turn over at least once during the school year from the movement of people in and out of the area.

RM

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

There’s a different vibe in different parts of town. Riverview is different from Lutz, or Dunedin, or Tarpon Springs, etc. Brandon/Riverview/Apollo Beach all feels pretty much the same though.

For what it’s worth, not everywhere is flat. You might be surprised by the hills in Northern Pinellas. Then again, it’s nothing like where you’re coming from.


Ybor is still rough. For 300k, you’re probably looking north of 275 which is considerably worse. That whole area has improved over the past decade, but it’s got a long way to go before I recommend it. The main strip is pretty sleazy and dirty.

Dunedin is coastal (lovely town) so yes, it's different.

Lutz feels rural but it has a lot of large (and pricey) estate.

Whatever "hills" Northern Pinellas could have consider that the highest point of Florida is 345 ft......

What always surprise me of Tampa (probably is a Florida wide phenomena) is how very expensive homes can sit almost next to 3-400K ones. In Seattle, when prices rocketed higher, everybody got lifted nowadays you cannot even buy a shack for less than 800K in the city....not so in Tampa, nice properties on the water can be as pricey as comparable ones in Seattle but you can still buy a house for 350K in Tampa proper...for Seattle these days are long, long gone.

Valencia Lakes is Wimauma by address but in practice is Sun City Center/Caloosa, right next to hwy 301on the right side. You never touch Wimauma in your daily errands or when you go to Tampa, the beaches, etc...

Well, wish me luck, we are closing on the 5th and I will catch a red eye that night to take physically possession of the house the morning of the 6th.

This is how Wimauma will eventually look like in the eyes of the planners for the development of the area...another gentrified cute little town with retail spaces, bike and golf cart trails, etc... for new residents.



Happy New Year to everybody!!

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

I haven't been to Ybor yet.
Was initially interested.
You can even get a new 2023-2024 house there for about 300K.
No CDD and HOA.
But pictures of the area look kinda 3rd worldish and there are some safety concerns.

Ybor is a lovely historical area to visit during the day a bit reminiscent of New Orleans and it was bustling at night too but recently, after a wave of crime including a drive-by shooting, the nightlife part cooled a lot.

Where Ybor is far from being a 3rd world environment, I would definitely not live there, is considered a bit unsafe at night but you owe to yourself to try the La Segunda Central Bakery on Sunday morning....excellent.

When you visit there, be aware of the Columbia restaurant with its Flamenco show.....it's a tourist trap. The Flamenco part is nice but food is mediocre, frankly the worst meal we had in Tampa Bay (we generally had excellent eating experience in the area).

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by saturno_v

When you visit there, be aware of the Columbia restaurant with its Flamenco show.....it's a tourist trap. The Flamenco part is nice but food is mediocre, frankly the worst meal we had in Tampa Bay (we generally had excellent eating experience in the area).

Heh. Yup, many a tourista have fallen for this one.

RM