Gibsonton or Apollo Beach (Tampa, Riverview: insurance, houses, transfer)

[canadagirl74]

Can anyone tell me about these places? Family friendly? I them listed on realator.com as well as Riverview and the prices seem to be not too bad.
Thanks

[wiltznucs]

Of the three Riverview is clearly the most developed and is closest to Tampa. Both Gibsonton and Apollo are quiet towns with Apollo being more desirable location of the two in my opinion. There are a large number of migrant workers in all three towns and schools are not rated very highly. Affordable housing can be found anywhere in the greater Tampa area. Family friendly communities are abundant as well...

[TampaKaren]

My preference would be 1. Riverview, 2. Gibsonton, and 3. Apollo Beach. Riverview is the most populated with newer houses and shopping, plus it's closer to Tampa. Gibsonton is a little quirky as some of the Carnival workers live there during the winter but it's the next town closest to Tampa. Apollo Beach has some really nice neighborhoods next to the water, and it's the furthest away from Tampa. Also, it's dominated by an unsightly power plant on Big Bend Road and it smells bad (but the manatees love the warm water there). This is merely my opinion; others may differ.

[bnepler]

Try the area south of Riverview. At the crossroads of Rt. 301 and Big Bend Rd.

[canadagirl74]

Thank-you so much. Would Pinellas park be a better choice. I have a 4 yr old that I want a really good school for here. What areas have the better schools? My husband may be transferred. I am not sure exactly where the office is but a 30 min commute would not bother him.

[wiltznucs]

[quote=TampaKaren;7059075]Also, it's dominated by an unsightly power plant on Big Bend Road and it smells bad ..QUOTE]

As a Apollo Beach resident I can assure you this statement is false. Sure theres a power plant nearby and to some its an eyesore. However, the plant is among the cleanest in the nation and in my years there I can honestly say I've never smelled the plant.

[BucFan]

Apollo Beach has got to have higher home insurance rates - it seems like it is in one big flood zon, Gibsonton also looks like it would be in flood zone.

I'm near the powerplant occasionally while visiting and golf a lot at Apollo Beach and Summerfield Crossings. Never did once smell the plant.

[Kathleen1971]

[quote=wiltznucs;7064956]

Originally Posted by TampaKaren

Also, it's dominated by an unsightly power plant on Big Bend Road and it smells bad ..QUOTE]

As a Apollo Beach resident I can assure you this statement is false. Sure theres a power plant nearby and to some its an eyesore. However, the plant is among the cleanest in the nation and in my years there I can honestly say I've never smelled the plant.

You can smell it the most when you are headed south on I-75 near the Big Bend exit. It is a horrible sulfur smell and I have been smelling it for the last twenty years whenever I drive by there. We always used to joke around and blame someone who was in the car with us lol.

[wiltznucs]

The sulfur smell many of you have noted is in fact that the smell of Tampa Bay and not the power plant; on low tides the exposed sea bed emits an odor of sulfur throughout Tampa Bay. This phenemenon is noted not only in the shallows near Apollo Beach but also near Terra Ceia, Gibsonton, McKay Bay, Davis Island, and Old Tampa Bay. The odor is particularly strong off Causeway Blvd near the docks or the Crosstown. Dont be mistaken; that is not the plant your smelling.

[Kathleen1971]

Well whatever it is it stinks and I only notice it when I drive by the Apollo Beach exit. Thankfully it only lasts for a few seconds. But what a stinky few seconds they are.