scouting towns, ask your help please (Tampa, Clearwater: real estate, insurance, chapel)

[beerme1]

Hi all.
We are going on a scouting mission first week of December and in particular taking close looks at Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Oldsmar, Clearwater, Wesley Chapel, and Westchase, maybe even Treasure Island or St. Pete's beach area.

We are coming for 8 days and plan on spending a day down in Sanibel and probably 2 days around Siesta Key. With that said considering most of the trip is for a relocation scouting mission does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for in scouting a location? Graffitti is one sure thing that will tell me I'm likely scouting the wrong neighborhood or even town.

We are 54 and 42 with no kids and won't be having any so the family neighborhoods don't really appeal to me as the young un's will grow into a nuisance factor eventually.

I'm sure I can find my way for romance around Siesta Key but things to look for in my listed towns and any others that we go through I'm not so sure.
This will be the first and most general of at least 3 scouting trips. No agents on this trip. We will get to that on the next trip and would rather form an opinion of our own (even with your help ) before we get involved with the more serious real estate agent and start to list specific must haves etc.

I thank you for your thoughts!
Willy

[On-da-Beach]

I don't think any of those places will have any graffiti except some of the less than desirable parts of Clearwater. St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island are similar towns. What are your requirements and must-haves? Beach? Quiet? Busy? Close to the action? House or apt. or townhouse?
I'd check each area for traffic flow during rush hours. Also, look into insurance requirements for any home particularly by the water. Not to mention taxes.
The towns you've mentioned are quite different and have their own personalities, but for the most part their all very nice.

[JeepGirl118]

Pass-a-Grille in St Pete Beach is awesome. St Pete Beach in general is the bomb. That's where I'll buy and move eventually after I'm done with South Tampa.

[tampaguy03]

TO me, Dunedin and Safety Harbour in Pinellas County are defined "towns" with a Main Street, quaint and small, easy access to all the bigger city(Tampa/St. Pete) amenities.
Westchase in Hilsborough County is a recently(passed 20 years) developed suburban area, all types of homes/townehomes.
Wesley Chapel in Pasco County is exploding with growth, very suburban, strip malls, new, new, new...can get very congested....mostly all developed within the past 10 years.

IM not familiar enough with Oldsmar, Clearwater to comment.
St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island offer the "beach" life. I have some friends that live there, they enjoy the peace and quiet and closeness to the beach in "off Season", but loathe the crowds of tourists during peak season.

[dziner]

We live in St. Pete Beach...love love love it! We live in a small enclave of townhomes, and have the bay in our backyard for sunrise and the beach across the street for sunsets. My husband and I looked for about 2 years...all over Florida including the Naples and Sarasota areas, but chose this area for several reasons. We were looking for a community that was family friendly, didn't turn the lights off at 9pm, had plenty to do culturally or was close enough to a town that did (Tampa), close proximity to a major airport, and had enough big business and companies in the event of a major economic downturn.
We knew this was the area, but it took a some time to find it. As an interior designer, I was a bit "picky" and my husband was looking for a boat dock, so that narrowed down our choices. I'd could go on and on, but St. Pete Beach is the best!

[annaegel]

I live in the New Tampa area which is just south of Wesley Chapel. There are some very nice subdivisions like Seven Oaks. They have descend schools. The amenaties are awesome. They even have a small movie theatre you can bring in your own CD's and watch them on a larger screen. They have a very nice pool fun area. Great for the little ones. We wish she had bought in there. Warning though. Don't buy a KB Home. They don't have the best reputation. They are the cheapest, but you pay for it in the end. I have known people who have lived in Seven Oaks and are sorry they moved out. There are more and more shops and malls being built in that area.

[TampaKaren]

For Safety Harbor, do plan to drive along the Philippe Parkway. It runs north/south from Gulf to Bay in Clearwater (aka Bayshore Blvd) to Highway 580 (aka, Tampa Road, and Hillsborough Ave). I have friends who live there and it's a nice area in my opinion.

[beerme1]

Thanks folks. These are the exact things I need to know. I feel as though Wesley Chapel will offer us the housing style we desire, (stucco) but will be too far from work somewhere around Tampa.

ON DA BEACH good advice, thanks. As far as must haves the only requirement will be detatched house. Preferably a ranch on at least a half acre. We are not into this far enough yet to decide if living close to the gulf is worth the hassle/risk/expense. Thinking specifically of evac zones.

JEEPGIRL, I have also heard from a local friend that Pass a grille is awesome and need to make sure I visit that spot.

TAMPAGUY 03 your comments as usual resonate with me. Thank you! You pretty much make the case to me that Wesley Chapel while offering what we desire, will be too much of a headache in a daily commute to Tampa for work.

DZINER a second vote for St. Pete beach. Funny you say what you did. Originally I was planning on scouting Sarasota but through research so far I believe it would be unwise as I don't think there is enough employment for me in the area and the commute to Tampa would simply be to far.

ANN AEGEL thanks for the tip on KB. I believe I have seen some ads from them and have been intrigued but I do not want a headache for a new house.

TAMPA KAREN thanks for the pinpoint advice this is exactly what I need to help form an opinion.
I truly appreciate the advice. You can bet I will make that very specific drive as that is what our trip will be for. Basically being in a town and getting a feel for it while driving around, stopping here and there and trying to get a local perspective.

Thanks again folks!

Willy

[dziner]

Willy,
Let us know what you decide....

[beerme1]

We have been here for a 5 days now and I gotta say the Siesta Kety area has me hook line and sinker!
We went and looked at some places and found incredible value in Palmer Ranch and then took the Lakewood Ranch Tour and were blown away. It was time well spent and certainly put hose areas back on the map for us.
Just an update, running out of time and will get to my primary locations over the next 2 days.