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Well I'm almost 30 and I really want to live somewhere warm and near the ocean. I have friends in Orlando and St Pete, and I thought of those two places, but I'm almost letting the housing market decide for me. Afte perusing Craiglist for weeks on end, I found a fair amount of inexpensive new 3 bedroom homes in Brooksville (850-1000 monthly rentals), and frankly they look great. Since I'm not limited in any way as to what area I can chose, I am seriously considering Brooksville because the area seems decent (from what I've read) and I really do want to live in a house, as opposed to an apartment or condo, but with no kids, and being self employed (computers) I don't have any real requirements of job locations of schools. I just want to live by the ocean, hehe.
I visited florida last year, and that helped me make up my mind to move there, but I'm currently in North Carolina. Before I zero in on brooksville, can anyone share their opinions of the brooksville/Spring Hill area? I frankly am not a big party person, and I really like the idea of a quiet, spacious, safe, pretty place to live (well, who doesn't?), but I'm still looking for the usual amenities of city life, decent accessible stores to shop from, movie threatres, some culture of some kind.. but my requirements aren't high. What do you guys think of Brooksville? I've heard people use the term "rural" so what's it really like?
I've been here now a year. My husband and I are very early forties with a son in college. We lived in the suburbs of the Philadelphia area of PA and are avid beach people. We moved to zip code 34613 which sometimes comes up Weeki Wachee and sometimes comes up Brooksville. As far as housing and lot size you can beat this area for price. For that it's great. We can go to the beach any day, at least 9 months out of the year. My husband works from home or commutes occasionally to Tampa. I don't have to work so neither of us has the job worry.
There are only 2 movie theatres in the area, one bowling alley. There isn't a ton to do here. But, the area I lived in in PA was not much different. There are strip malls and I can tell you that things are growing. As for chain restaurants, we have Chiles, Ruby Tuesdays, Carabas, and Johnny Carinos. We have Sears, Circuit City, Michaels Crafts, Marshalls, Panera Bread, Linens & Things, etc. The closest larger mall is 20 minutes away New Port Richey. If you're looking for upscale shops like Banana Republic or Abercrombie you will have to go to Tampa but I really do believe that with the amount of younger people moving to this area we will get those stores closer someday.
The most difficult thing as a young person will be meeting people. With a young son in college people try to lump us in with older folks and we still think of ourselves as young 30 somethings. If you like the social aspects of neighborhood I would suggest you look at a master planned community, maybe somemthing like Sterling Hill. If you want the huge lot there are still some deals to be had. But in turn, without neighbors your age, working from home, and without little ones by far your biggest challenge will be meeting people. If you're internet savvy, which it seems you are if you found this site, there is a great site called meetup.com which could help you meet others in the area. That's what we had to resort to and it seems to be working.
Happiness will depend what you're used to. For us it hasn't been that much of a change from living 40 miles outside of Philadelphia other than the weather and our more regular attendance of the beach. We do miss our friends and having been very social people that has been the hardest and most frustrating part - just trying to make friends. We obvioulsy bought on an acre in the middle of nowhere because of our hobbies.
I just wanted to add that most of the above stores are in spring hill, not brooksville. Brooksville sits about 15 minutes east of the hub of shopping at 50 and Mariner. So to get to the Gulfview square mall in pasco from brooksville will take a lot longer than 20 minutes. But with the parkway, you can get to international mall or westshore mall in tampa in about 40 minutes.
Also the same goes for the beach, pine island will be a good 35 minute drive from downtown brooksville. But the 34613 zipcode is huge so if you live farther west, it wont take as long. Brooksville has some wonderful old country homes and has plenty of places that have space. Can you say where you saw the new homes for rent? Were they in one of the newer housing developments going in? If you can provide a more specific location, we can give you more specific answers.....
Ask or pm any questions you may have.....
Last edited by NatureCoastFL; 04-25-2007 at 07:08 AM..
Reason: typo
Yes, you will have to be more specific for sure about where you are looking. My zip comes up Brooksville or Weeki Wachee. But I am only a stone throw from those stores. Zip codes down here are deceiving.
Well I found the houses on RentalHouses.com and there were a good 10 homes available in brooksville/weeki/spring hill under 1000 dollars. I really loved the idea of a large new single story home, but I now wonder... NatureCoast you've brought up a good point, working at home with friends hours away, it does seem like it could be somewhat lonely. I really don't know what to sacrifice. I liked the idea of living in my own house with tons of space for all my things, but perhaps not at the risk of being alone/lonely. Undecided...
I am in Royal Highlands which in itself is a huge area. I am very close to Weeki Wachee Springs. If you work from home and are willing to rent why not take the chance. There are a lot of unpaved roads in Royal Highlands and some areas are not as nice as others.
I was the one who said it's hard to meet people as I am now not working and don't have a little one at home. But it is getting better and I am putting myself out there. My husband and I joined a gym and are meeting people through meetup.com. It is work to meet people here. Right now, that's my job
Well I'm almost 30 and I really want to live somewhere warm and near the ocean. I have friends in Orlando and St Pete, and I thought of those two places, but I'm almost letting the housing market decide for me. Afte perusing Craiglist for weeks on end, I found a fair amount of inexpensive new 3 bedroom homes in Brooksville (850-1000 monthly rentals), and frankly they look great. Since I'm not limited in any way as to what area I can chose, I am seriously considering Brooksville because the area seems decent (from what I've read) and I really do want to live in a house, as opposed to an apartment or condo, but with no kids, and being self employed (computers) I don't have any real requirements of job locations of schools. I just want to live by the ocean, hehe.
I visited florida last year, and that helped me make up my mind to move there, but I'm currently in North Carolina. Before I zero in on brooksville, can anyone share their opinions of the brooksville/Spring Hill area? I frankly am not a big party person, and I really like the idea of a quiet, spacious, safe, pretty place to live (well, who doesn't?), but I'm still looking for the usual amenities of city life, decent accessible stores to shop from, movie threatres, some culture of some kind.. but my requirements aren't high. What do you guys think of Brooksville? I've heard people use the term "rural" so what's it really like?
I don't live in Brooksville, but I do live in another small town (Dade City) to the southeast of there. If I were your age, I would not move to these areas. Beautiful, spacious and charming yes, but RURAL. And not that near the ocean. If I were you I would try to get closer to your friends - how about Tarpon Springs? Small beautiful town, much closer to beaches, great historic downtown - seems like a safe place to live. You might really want to visit these places first. The reason houses in Brooksville are cheaper is that there is less demand. Now, I am not knocking the place, as I said, I have lived in the area for many years, and I just don't see it as the best place for a younger, single person (I assume you are single?)
I've lived in Holiday Fl about 30-40 mins southwest of Brooksville since '84 and lived in Spring Hill during my senior year of High School. I'm in my early 30's now. I would never choose Brooksville/springhill/weeki wachee area to live in. Way too rural. Nothing exciting around just a small water park with a freezing natural spring. You'll be too far from your friends and anything else exciting that may go on in the surrounding areas. All the festivities and music events happen in St. pete at Vinoy Park or in Coachman park in Clearwater. Gulfview mall, is an ok mall. Has your 4 basic department stores, a best buy, old navy and linens and things. In clearwater is Countryside mall, 2 stories with an ice skating rink, closer to a Super Target, near a Barnes and Nobles, Best Buy, Old Navy, Pottery Barn, tons of great restuarants and of course clearwater beach. Clearwater and indian rocks beach(about 20 miles south of clearwater) are the best beaches on the west coast. Lots of Touristy shops and restuarants there. They also put on alot of festivals. It is also much closer to your friends who live in St. pete. I think you will feel lonely and a bit isolated in brooksville. You wont be able to just hop in your car and be at a friends in 10 minutes. Traffic on US19 coming from the South is brutal, mainly because of the construction in the clerwater area. My husband works South of Clearwater in Largo about 25 miles from our home and it takes him 1 1/2-2 hours every night to get home and he leaves at 6 pm. It's aweful. I would not live in the Tarpon Springs area and strongly advice you dont either. It's not the safest place. The sponge docks are there(seashell and Fl souveniers)nice to visit. Howard Park is also there. Nice picnic shelters, playground and our favorite beach to visit in our area. Try looking in the Palm Harbor or Dunedin area. Dunedin has a historic downtown and may be a little cheaper than Plam Harbor. In Palm Harbor, If you go West on Curlew you'll find caladesi and Honeymoon island. For a small fee, you can take a ferry ride to Honeymoon Island. I have never been there yet but everyone raves over how beautiful the sand is. It's a very quiet and secluded beach. I can't wait to go. I also like Safety Harbor. Cute little town. If you go East on Sunset off of US 19 South(near cleawater) you'll find downtown Safety Harbor by the water. Just adorable. Country club and shops, they have a gazebo there and put on concerts and fireworks. We love to visit there. All our museums, theme parks and fun attractions are either in Tampa(right over the causeway in Clearwater) or Orlando. Orlando is about 2-2 1/2 hours depending on traffic.
Especially congested around Celebration and Disney. All those HAPPY people going to work! I hope I helped some. If you have any more questions about the areas, just let me know. We've been here a long time and we are always on the go. We've been everywhere and have done and seen everything. Good luck.
Well I found the houses on RentalHouses.com and there were a good 10 homes available in brooksville/weeki/spring hill under 1000 dollars. I really loved the idea of a large new single story home, but I now wonder... NatureCoast you've brought up a good point, working at home with friends hours away, it does seem like it could be somewhat lonely. I really don't know what to sacrifice. I liked the idea of living in my own house with tons of space for all my things, but perhaps not at the risk of being alone/lonely. Undecided...
The sample house you showed is up in royal highlands, which is considered a rural part of hernando county. You will most likely have a well and septic tanks up there, and will have to use DSL or dial-up as I dont think Brighthouse has run any fiber that far north. You will have to ask them or the homeowner for exact details. It will take you a good 10+ mintues to get to anything you need, like grocerys or shopping. Your only 2 choices would be to go out hexam to 19 then south, or take 493( sunshine grove road) down to 50. I'm not trying to discourage you, just want to you be informed of where that house actually is...
From the Satellite photo, that house looks to be on a dirt road, so in the spring, you will have limerock dust everywhere because when limerock gets really dry, it turns to a powder that flies everywhere when you drive on it. (I used to live on a limerock road and sometimes it can get bad)
Now the good, it will be much quieter and seculded up there than down in spring hill proper. It looks like there are no neighbors around that house(at least when the photo was taken, that may have changed).
If you had a choice I would try to find a house in the spring hill area, zipcodes 34606, 34608, 34609....
Just one more thought, yes, pinellas county does have much more to do, but it also has almost 8x as many people as hernando county does, and for the most part, it is more expensive to live down there. Just think about renters insurance, car insurance etc, monthly rent, utilities.....
Maybe where this ONE rental is located is quite rural but not all areas of Royal Highlands are in the sticks and without ammenities.
I live in what is considered Royal Highlands. Yes I have well and septic. But I AM on a paved road and drive nothing but paved roads to get here believe it or not! I DO HAVE cable/Brighthouse and I do not have to drive far for anything. I am closer to Oak Hill hospital and obviously very close to Route 50. I can also easily access 19 through Woodland Waters or just go right to 50 and 19. And YES I have neighbors. It's nearly completely full of large homes where I am.
All of Royal Highlands is not off of Hexam or Sunshine Grove roads. That would take me 10 minutes to get to.
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re: Spring Hill/Royal Highlands
I DO HAVE cable/Brighthouse and I do not have to drive far for anything. I am closer to Oak Hill hospital and obviously very close to Route 50. I can also easily access 19 through Woodland Waters or just go right to 50 and 19. And YES I have neighbors. It's nearly completely full of large homes where I am.
