Moving from S. FLA - Advice on burbs (Tampa, Lakeland: sales, foreclosures)

[ldavis]

My husband recently accepted a great job offer in the Tampa area and we will be relocating in the next few months. His office is Northeast of downtown on East Hillsborough Ave. We are expecting our first child so looking for a family-oriented, safe suburb of Tampa to relocate. We don't mind spending a bit if it makes sense. Cost of living is less than S. FL so we are looking to get more house and land for our $.

Also looking for advice on best commutes and times to commute. My husband doesn't want to be in traffic for an hour so I know this may limit where we should look.

So far some folks we know have mentioned New Tampa, Riverview, Apollo Beach and Wesley Chapel. New Tampa seems to be nice but pricey. Riverview and Apollo Beach look great but are they too far?

In my research I am really interested in hearing about Lutz. The schools seem to be great there and you seem to get more land with your house but what's it like? and what's the commute like if you are closer to 275?

Thanks!

[algia]

The Lutz side closer to 275 is not that great...if you are looking for family friendly you want to stay in 33558, 33548 zip codes...there is very little in 33559 and then you're heading twoards the not so noice areas...I mean that area close to 275 is Not close to the good schools and it is one shack next to a newly renovated or build home, very spoty and full of sex offenders....

[imguytpa]

There's many places to consider sice your husband's job is fairly centrally located. Lutz area would work-may want to consider Dale Mabry & west to Odessa part of Lutz. You may want to consider Brandon-Valrico-Riverview-Fishhawk Ranch as well. Some very good schools as well. Good luck.

[Nav]

If your husband is working on East Hillsborough at somewhere near NetPark, you might want to look along the I-4 corridor heading east. You can find larger lots or even acreage in Dover, Plant City or even Lakeland. There are 2 brand new schools that just opened this fall, (an elementary and a High School) off of MacIntosh road and I-4. From the initial reports, both schools seem to be top notch.

The vast majority of homes in the Bay area are built on micro sized tract housng lots so if you want more than something 50 ft wide you will have to look outside of most "planned communities". There are plenty of neighborhoods out there but just make sure you check the recent sales and the foreclosures. Areas with lots of foreclosures mean that the quality of the neighborhood will be changing as more people move in. In a neighborhood of 400k homes, someone who buys a 150k foreclosure may not have the same standard of living or views on the community as the rest of the residents. Also, foreclosures bring a lot of investors, which usually translate into renters. This will overall decrease the property values over the long term. Not that you shouldn't look for a good deal, but just make sure you are aware of what you are buying into. Unfortunately all areas in Tampa bay have their good and bad sides. Just research the area to see the crime stats.

As for commutes, I-75 heading south from the Wesley chapel area is at a crawl every morning. Trying to weave down from lutz to eastern Hillsborough will take well over an hour. Traffic heading up I-75 from the south seems to move better. I-4 heading west into town moves at a pretty nice pace.

Nav