Best Home options within 30 minutes of Downtown Tampa (St. Petersburg, Clearwater: for sale, to rent)

[Ex-Louisvillians]

Hi we're moving to Tampa from Louisville, KY. We don't know the Tampa / St. Petersburg area that well. We're looking for a place that's within 30 minutes of downtown Tampa. (could be more if it was right near the beach ) We are a young couple with no children currently. We'd like some space to grow over the next 5 years.

The kind of house we'd like to have would be built since 2000, have more than 2000 square feet, and have an in-ground pool or be near a beach. Our budget is less than 250k.

We heard about a builder using bad drywall from China ( I think the name was Lenner or something like that) - does anyone have more info about what areas / neighborhoods this affected?

What are good livable beach communities? We've seen a house online around the Southern tip of St. Petersburg, close to Bay Vista Park - is that a swim-able beach? Or a nice place to hang out near the water?

Also, if we were looking farther away from the beaches, what is the general consensus about the better places to live between Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Oldsmar, Riverview and areas in Pinellas county?

[lavender]

All depends on how much you want to spend. There is so much choice in so many differing areas.
Beaches are probably 40 mins from downtown but worth it to be away from it all.

[bentlebee]

The closer to the beach the higher the HO ins. will be....so you have to calculate how many times you will go to the beach and if it is worth to pay so much more for your ins. or that you can drive to the beach and save on HO ins....

From Wesley Chapel it is 1 hour drive to the beach and we don't mind doing so. We are 30 min. from Down Town Tampa and pay less in property taxes since we are in Pasco County. Tampa is Hillsborough County and the property taxes are way higher...so just a different way to look at it...

[TB Fla]

Tampa Palms in New Tampa is a nice area. Fairly new housing projects everywhere. Traffic is bad a rush hour though. You can probably find a home within your price range.

[bentlebee]

Btw...If you look at businesses close to the beach area's...Clearwater, New Port Richey, etc...the amount of business closings is very high so to me it seems that the area is going down, maybe high Ins. and high rent have pushed businesses out, with the result of empty units...

[bnepler]

Try just south of Riverview. It's still a growing area and not as congested than New Tampa. Lived just north of there and lived in my car, it's a rolling parking lot!!. I'm 45 minutes away from the nicest beaches and the work traffic goes the opposite way. It's 30 minutes to downtown Tampa.

[tjax1000]

Originally Posted by Ex-Louisvillians

Hi we're moving to Tampa from Louisville, KY. We don't know the Tampa / St. Petersburg area that well. We're looking for a place that's within 30 minutes of downtown Tampa. (could be more if it was right near the beach )

Hi, we just moved here ourselves. Currently we are renting but we are also trying to target a place to buy. Zeroing in on an area to target has been difficult- everything involves compromise.

First, I agree with not wanting to be more than 30 min. from downtown. If you're here for the long haul and a business person type, you probably don't want to be too far away from here because it might end up being your place of work at some point.

Secondly, for us, I don't want to be too far away from St. Pete either because it is a hub for many jobs (and in fact my current job is there.)

In large part, Pinellas County is mostly older homes. The appeal of living close to great beaches caused this area to get built out many years ago. So there are a few newer homes here or there, but must things you'll find are older.

There are plenty of newer and brand new homes in areas like Westchase and New Tampa. I think they are in reasonable proximity to downtown but a further drive to the St. Pete area and the beaches and the prices aren't horrible. However, you have the HOAs to deal with- what used to be reasonable in dues and expectations of residents has gone over the top in the newer communities in my opinion.

Another thing is who you want to be surrounded by. One thing we've noticed around here in Clearwater is that there are a lot of retirees. I mention this only because it will have some effect on the things you like to do. For example, the gym we are checking out has a big commitment to to seniors classes as opposed to lots of classes that might appeal to younger folks.

I've also heard that Pinellas County is more laid back but I'm not so sure. In just a couple weeks time I'd had several people get violently mad on the road as we drive around looking at homes (doing approximately the speed limit!) My wife has also had bad experiences with people in the grocery store bumping her or otherwise being rude.

Good luck- I think you're really going to have to check the area out to get a feel for things. It is advisable to rent first, even for a month or two, if possible.

[Ex-Louisvillians]

Thank you for all your replies... This really helps! We are planning to come down and tour some areas in the next two weeks. Riverview sounds nice... Anyone know anything about Bahama Shores?

Also does anyone know any websites that publish the Home Owners Associations by neighborhood?

[tyedyed]

Seven Oaks in Wesley Chapel upscale new community in your house price range. Website: Seven Oaks Clubhouse - Home (http://sevenoaksclubhouse.com/home - broken link) Aprrox 30 min to downtown if not hitting rush hour traffic. Everything is new in this area, and continues to expand with new malls (Wire Grass mall), (The Grove), and more to come....Very family oriented community if you plan on starting a family, and schools are excellent in this area! Taxes cheaper too. We love it here , very tropical Florida feel to this community. Homes in Seven Oaks for sale: Moderator cut: realtor website . Just an idea...we rented at the Windsor Club Condos, which is located in Seven Oaks community (and we can still use the clubhouse ammenities, while we searched for a home). Just a thought: http://www.windsorclubso.com/

[kamorra2]

I really loved living in Seven Oaks (Wesley Chapel) but I don't think it's a very reasonable commute to Tampa for work. You're looking at an hour drive each way during work hours.