Pasco County (Tampa, Hollywood, Clearwater: apartments, rentals, crimes)

[Camaro girl]

I was wondering if anyone has some info. on Pasco County. I will be in Florida visting my family in Hernando County at Christmas time and will be taking some trips there to check it out. I am wondering what people thought of Pasco County. I am thinking about possibly moving there in the spring/summer. Is Pasco County a safe place? Would it be hard to meet new people for a 40 something/shy at first person? Are there things to do like fesitvals? Movie theaters? I enjoy going out to dinner with my friends and having a few drinks - nothing fancy or too expensive - just sometimes like a sports bar atmosphere. Also, moving south would mean that I can get outside more months a year and I do like to rollerblade and walk. Are there any groups that do any of these types of things?

[bentlebee]

The Brass Tap at The shops at Wiregrass just opened a few weeks ago and is located in the new mall. (outside mall).
Welcome to The Shops at Wiregrass

Another shopping area just opened a few months ago and has a brand new movie theater. Cobb Cinebistro.

There is nearby an area where many people go for rollerblade and walk and it is down the street of the first mall I mentioned but it is Hillsborough County. It is like 10 min. drive from the Pasco County mall.

Have fun!!!

[rich67]

I have lived in Pasco (west side) for 16 years. I relocated here from LA, looking for a small town feel. Well, it's gone way out of that realm now, and Pasco west is just plain overcrowded. Central and eastern Pasco is still very nice, including Wesley Chapel, and the upcoming "New Tampa" region. Trinity is also very nice. Stay away from Holiday, Hudson (which is south of Spring Hill), and most parts of Spring Hill Pasco (otherwise known as Shady Hills).
The murder rate in this county is at an all-time high. Petty crimes are not too bad. Drugs are pretty free- flowing in Holiday and most of New Port/ Port Richey. Someone is probably gonna pipe in here and say "its like that everywhere", but per capita it just seems absolutely awful.
If you plan on moving out here, stick with Odessa/Trinity/Wesley Chapel. Those areas are very nice, more upscale, and most of the housing is new and so is the shopping.
I'm 41, newly single, and it's a very friendly area. I have no trouble meeting new people and hanging out with strangers, so to speak.
I don't know of any "groups" per se that you can get with that do the rollerblade/walk thing. I mountain bike and jetski, and there is an abundance of people I have met doing this just by going out and doing it. Back in my running days, I met a lot of folks doing 5k runs. Just get out there and do it and talk with people.
We have a great network of trails and riding areas here- Starkey Wilderness Park has a long 14 mile round trip trail through a nice wooded area that people bike, walk and rollerblade on. The Suncoast bike/walk/rollerblade (lol) trail is also within a couple miles of where I am, and that trail is massive. If you dip down into Pinellas County you can ride or walk the Pinellas Trail system at different points for a beautiful view of Clearwater and some other areas (I go off the beaten path, Pinellas Trail mainly goes thru some ho-hum areas but you need to explore).
Movie theatres are all over. Hollywood 18 ( should have been called "Everyone here is under 18") is the lost Pasco County teen weekend hangout. I prefer going into Pinellas and Hillsborough for nightlife. Pasco's nightlife is pretty sorry. The clubs are full of losers and toothless rednecks, and the ones that are nicer are usually dead. There are good movie theatres down there, just drive to them.
We have places like Hooters and Wing House, good spots for drinks and sports, heck, even Beef O' Bradys. No shortage of those.
All in all, I like it here. I miss things that I had in L.A., but I sure don't miss the cost of living and crowds out there. I REALLY miss the mountains and the hiking/mountain biking downhills that they afford. I also miss the western scenery. This FLorida flatlands stuff has me wanting to move back west after I retire, so I shall be doing that. But for right now, it's a cool place and you can't beat the weather. I had a nice bike ride in the sun today while other people are digging out snow from their sidewalks. Ha!

[Camaro girl]

Thank you both for the information. I do have a big "murder rate" concern. I live in a fairly safe town - not to say we don't have our problems, but for the most part it is good in that sense. Like I said, when I visit for Christmas I will be looking around at places I would like to move to. Rich67 I will take your list of towns with me and check them out. Does anyone know about rental apartments or houses?

[rich67]

There are a lot of rentals in the areas I mentioned. When you get here, stop into a Publix (its a grocery store we have in the area), and in the front of the store they have free publications. Once of them is called "RENTALS", and it has a county-by-county breakdown of apartments in the area, along with some prices. There are a few really nice apartments in the Trinity area I'd reccomend, Palms of Wyndtree being one of them, but there are some others near the 54 and Suncoast area that are really nice too.

[xlabel]

I lived off of SR 52 in between Little Rd and US 19,(the Port Richey and Hudson area) and never had any problems. It was safe. I lived in Arbor Villas off LaMadera and they are only about 5 year old apartments and pretty nice, rent was $675 month for 2bd/2ba. I liked being a little further north into Pasco because the closer you live to Pinellas the more traffic your going to have to deal with.

[Margel]

I live in Odessa, in Pasco County. I think it's beautiful, safe, and close to a lot of good shopping as well as to beaches and the airport, but not on top of things to make so congested. I was very happy with my choice when I relocated to Florida.

[Camaro girl]

This is all great information, I can't wait to check out all these places in 2 weeks when I get there. Does anyone know anything about St. Leo University or Pasco County Community College? I am looking at colleges for employment and was wondering if anyone knew anything about them.

[rich67]

What do you need to know? St. Leo is quite a haul from these areas of Pasco- you're talking an easy hour's drive in the morning to St. Leo. And that drive will get old real quick. I drove from Trinity to Dade City PHCC campus for 6 months, and that sucked.
The PHCC west campus is 15 minutes away, and is pretty nice.

[gypsychic]

We lived in Dade City (eastern Pasco) for 10 years. This area is an incredibly beautiful area of Florida, with lush green rolling hills, woods and lakes - it almost looks like the Carolinas. St. Leo is south of Dade City, on a beautiful hill, and near the little village of San Antonio. While the entire area here is rural, it does have a few nice restaurants and sports bars, and it is not a bad drive to Wesley Chapel for a lot more shopping/dining/movies.

PHCC is north of town in Dade City in a beautiful hilly area; many years ago my ex-hubby worked there, it's a great place to work.

If you have any other specific questions about east Pasco, feel free to send me a private message.