[pennylane13]

My family is planning to relocate to fl shortly. We love the area of palm harbor for many reasons but are concerned about sinkholes, the palm harbor university high school ratings and traffic. Are these legitimate? Hubby commuting to possibly tampa or st petersburg. Kids entering K, 3rd and 5th. Please help.

[vaughanwilliams]

Palm Harbor schools are better than most, sinkholes DO occur occasionally and the traffic to and from St.Pete is horrendous.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by pennylane13

My family is planning to relocate to fl shortly. We love the area of palm harbor for many reasons but are concerned about sinkholes, the palm harbor university high school ratings and traffic. Are these legitimate? Hubby commuting to possibly tampa or st petersburg. Kids entering K, 3rd and 5th. Please help.

The odds of a sinkhole opening under your home are about equivalent to being run down in a crosswalk by a clown in costume riding a unicycle. The press of course make sit seem as if every other house in Florida is being threatened, along with intermittent hurricanes and face-eating vagrants.

Traffic is a case of what you're accustomed to where you're moving from. If you're in a small town in the Midwest with a few traffic lights then yes it might be a concern. For anyone living in a major metro area, it's slightly better than most areas and not worse.

In terms of Palm Harbor University High School's rating and your concerns, I don't get it. It's ranked #28 in the state overall which includes charter and magnet schools with much more restrictive admissions, and has all kinds of awards and accolades. The elementary and middle schools feeding PHUHS are of similar quality as well.

[pennylane13]

Although the high school has a high rating, when reading reviews from parents and students, they say
1. Tons of trailers
2. Two paths to choose so kids are not connected
3. Not a lot of school unity/spirit

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by pennylane13

Although the high school has a high rating, when reading reviews from parents and students, they say
1. Tons of trailers
2. Two paths to choose so kids are not connected
3. Not a lot of school unity/spirit

That's an issue at most of the highly-rated high schools here in Florida as they've achieved those ratings through magnet programs that attract highly-motivated students who operate separately from the rest of the student body through academics, and the numbers of incoming students put a strain on the physical plant leading to the use of "portable classrooms". School spirit suffers due to the feel of two schools under one roof. I would recommend checking out neighboring Countryside High School which has very good academics and a long tradition of school spirit and overall excellence, without the magnet school "division" or excessive competition.

[Miami HurricaneZ]

I used to live in Palm Harbor so maybe I'm biased. We lived in a two story townhome complex near the Innisbrook Resort on the West side of U.S. 19. Sadly I can't remember the name and am unable to find it on Googlemaps. I would be able to locate it if I was driving through the area though. I really liked Palm Harbor and have fond memories of the area. We were pretty close to restaurants/shops and not too far from Tampa. My only complaint about the area was the traffic. U.S. 19 is a killer and I hear nothing has changed in the last few years.

[midatlanticmom]

Kyle19125
I just found your post under this forum and you really helped me understand the high school situation in palm harbor with the magnets and the overcrowding and school spirit. thanks for your REAL comments because now I have a better pulse on the situation. Can you please read my post titled "moving to Palm Harbor and need the REAL info on high schools? Let me know if you can add anymore information to my situation.
Thanks
Mom in Maryland