Tampa neighbourhoods (Clearwater, Brandon, Sarasota: best neighborhood, real estate, lease)

[OneWorldHome]

With a couple of job oppurtunities around America and the UK, we are seriously considering Tampa as a place to relocate. So I was wandering what family friendly, safe neigbourhoods there are? We can afford to spend a lot on a house, as long as theres at least 4 bedrooms.
Any ideas?

[heatherm941]

We have been looking into Tampa, from what I have learned Lutz, Carrollwood and West chase are nice neighborhoods. I don't have personal experience yet, going to look myself this weekend but it might give you a place to start
Best of luck

[Keeper]

Before recommending any place we need to know where you will be employed and your price range. Also what is an acceptable commute time?

Public transportation is lacking and rush hour traffic can be horrendous.

[ferret111]

Check out the South Tampa area. It's the best neighborhood for families within Tampa's city limits. You'd be close to everything and your kids would have great schools. The real estate boom really pushed up prices down here, but it sounds like you might have some money to spend.

[thetruth33nthe813]

South Tampa, New Tampa, and basically all of the suburbs are very nice areas for families.

[rezfreak]

I just moved to Brandon, FL and it seems to be very family friendly and a nice area to live too.

[FloridaKash]

14 days until moving day for me. I am going to be looking for 3bd 2bath 1500+ SF homes to rent in the following areas in this preference order. Unfortunately the areas lower on this list are the ones more in my budget, but I can occasionally find places within my budget in the areas ranked to the top. Budget is $1200/mo BTW. IF any of my assessments are off base, please let me know. This si what I have determined from my research.

1. Carrollwood - Close to my work in Rocky Point convenient central location and shorter trips to St. Pete and Clearwater. Some good schools, some not so good schools. Homes within my price range are old. Lacking community pools in my price range. YMCA near by??
2. Oldsmar - Nice little family friendly community close to the bay. Again, somewhat close to work and short trip to beaches. Good Schools. Older homes.
3. Safety Harbor - Unlikely to find any places within my price range in this area and schools can be poorly rated. Very close to the causeway to get to work and looks like a great lifestyle. Most likely wil have to settle for a townhome to live in this area.
4. Dunedin - In Pinellas County, close to beaches and mixed bag on schools. Looks like traffic might be a bear for work. Supposedly a nice family neighborhood but the home are going to be older.
5. Odessa - Northern Hillsborough County but a quick trip down the Suncoast Expressway to get to work. Not too bad of a drive to beaches. Very nice areas with homes out of my budget. Good schools as well. Most likely will not be able to find a place in my budget.
6. Land O Lakes - Good family friendly communities. Some excellent schools and newer homes within my budget, some 1800+ within budget. Quick trip down the Suncoast Expressway to work, stipulation is I have to find a place near the expressway (30 - 40 Minutes or so??). Just have to hope I don;t get a place that is swallowed by a sinkhole.
7. Riverview - Lots of home for your money in new communities with amenities. Decent to good Schools and seems to have a real sense of community along with an awesome YMCA Camp. Drive to work is long as is the drive to the beaches. (45 minute - 1 hour commute to work??)
8. Brandon - This place is closer to my work (compared to Riverview and Apollo Beach) but some of the homes are older and the communities do not have the same amenities as Riverview has down the street. Furthermore, I hear you do not want to have to commute on 60 because traffic is terrible. Schools are hit and miss but there are a lot of ways to spend money on family fun in this community.
9. Apollo Beach - All I know about this place is it is near the water, pretty inexpensive and I can find places that have slips for a boat in my price range. Schools seem mediocre to average and I believe there is not much of a 'city' here. I'll be driving to Riverview to shop.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by AlaskaKash

14 days until moving day for me. I am going to be looking for 3bd 2bath 1500+ SF homes to rent in the following areas in this preference order. Unfortunately the areas lower on this list are the ones more in my budget, but I can occasionally find places within my budget in the areas ranked to the top. Budget is $1200/mo BTW. IF any of my assessments are off base, please let me know. This si what I have determined from my research.

1. Carrollwood - Close to my work in Rocky Point convenient central location and shorter trips to St. Pete and Clearwater. Some good schools, some not so good schools. Homes within my price range are old. Lacking community pools in my price range. YMCA near by??
2. Oldsmar - Nice little family friendly community close to the bay. Again, somewhat close to work and short trip to beaches. Good Schools. Older homes.
3. Safety Harbor - Unlikely to find any places within my price range in this area and schools can be poorly rated. Very close to the causeway to get to work and looks like a great lifestyle. Most likely wil have to settle for a townhome to live in this area.
4. Dunedin - In Pinellas County, close to beaches and mixed bag on schools. Looks like traffic might be a bear for work. Supposedly a nice family neighborhood but the home are going to be older.
5. Odessa - Northern Hillsborough County but a quick trip down the Suncoast Expressway to get to work. Not too bad of a drive to beaches. Very nice areas with homes out of my budget. Good schools as well. Most likely will not be able to find a place in my budget.
6. Land O Lakes - Good family friendly communities. Some excellent schools and newer homes within my budget, some 1800+ within budget. Quick trip down the Suncoast Expressway to work, stipulation is I have to find a place near the expressway (30 - 40 Minutes or so??). Just have to hope I don;t get a place that is swallowed by a sinkhole.
7. Riverview - Lots of home for your money in new communities with amenities. Decent to good Schools and seems to have a real sense of community along with an awesome YMCA Camp. Drive to work is long as is the drive to the beaches. (45 minute - 1 hour commute to work??)
8. Brandon - This place is closer to my work (compared to Riverview and Apollo Beach) but some of the homes are older and the communities do not have the same amenities as Riverview has down the street. Furthermore, I hear you do not want to have to commute on 60 because traffic is terrible. Schools are hit and miss but there are a lot of ways to spend money on family fun in this community.
9. Apollo Beach - All I know about this place is it is near the water, pretty inexpensive and I can find places that have slips for a boat in my price range. Schools seem mediocre to average and I believe there is not much of a 'city' here. I'll be driving to Riverview to shop.

Pretty good assessment - is this first hand experience of the area, or just your personal research which includes this forum?

Anyway, I think any of your top 5 would be a great choice. And just cross off the bottom three, too long of a commute with nothing really to make it worth commuting that long.

Is there any reason you are against "older homes?" You may have to settle for one to get into a great neighborhood in your budget.

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Pretty good assessment - is this first hand experience of the area, or just your personal research which includes this forum?

Anyway, I think any of your top 5 would be a great choice. And just cross off the bottom three, too long of a commute with nothing really to make it worth commuting that long.

Is there any reason you are against "older homes?" You may have to settle for one to get into a great neighborhood in your budget.

I have never even visited the Tampa Bay region, so its based off research and receiving feedback from you fine folks here on CD.

Only reason I am against older homes is that we want to have a community pool or at least a pool we can pay to go to near by. Seems there are not many public pools in Tampa (could be wrong), but I believe there is a nice YMCA in Carrollwood. Other reason is, most older homes seem to not be very energy efficient and are more likely to have more significant bug problems... especially cockroaches. I am willing to take an older home for a great neighborhood with good schools and if it provides a better quality of life than being out in BFE.

I keep hearing Riverview is quite the haul, which may be a shame since it seems like a family friendly area. We will be staying at a hotel on Rocky Point while looking for homes, so we get a much better idea on what distances really are. And of course we'll make a rush hour run to see how bad it really is before signing a lease. Also, is there a huge difference in traffic if one works 7 - 4 compared to 8 - 5?

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by AlaskaKash

Also, is there a huge difference in traffic if one works 7 - 4 compared to 8 - 5?

No, traffic starts getting bad even before that. Believe me, my husband has been commuting from various directions for YEARS (16 in all), it would only make a difference if you were going to work at 5 a.m. and getting off at 3 p.m. perhaps.

Well, when you come here, you can visit these areas and see what is the best. Tampa does have some nice YMCA's (I belong to the one in Sarasota) and there are nice pools you can use.

As long as you are looking in Carrollwood, check out the Lake Magdalene area, a little NE of there - it's a real pretty area convenient to the interstate.

Lake Magdalene, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think it might be pricey in there, though.