PINELLAS COUNTY ONLY: Most Family Friendly and easiest commute to Tampa Int. Airport (Miami: neighborhoods)

[sapphos]

I've been getting some great information both through the replies to my posts and also through all the reading I've been doing here and in some other forums.

I know there are a bunch of posters living all over Pinellas County to I would ask for the majority of the feedback from them if possible

We are relocating from Miami to Tampa area for my husband's job. He will be working for a company located at the eastern side of the airport.

The suggestions I've gotten have been areas around the airport or South Tampa and we have checked all of them. South Tampa is nice but there simply isn't enough inventory to find something that fits our needs. So since he will be working from 2:30 pm to almost midnight we have decided a commute is fine. What we have seen so far of St. Pete, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, etc. has been nice. Reminds us a bit of living in Miami and there are just many more options for us to choose from with our dogs.

So the most important things for us are:
***relatively straightforward and not too many miles overall to the airport. We know it's around 25 miles from most of the areas we have considered but I'm not sure which of the bridges is the easiest etc. We only saw Tampa last Thursday and drove across to St. Pete around 4:30 pm in blinding rain so not much to tell.

Otherwise if we can find an area, town, city that is:
***walkable in case we go back to sharing one car it would be great. We live in a so so area of Miami - not completely ghetto but definitely not far from some really shady areas, and I don't really go out at night in our neighborhood.
***It would be great if we could actually feel comfortable sitting in our back yard at night, had parks/library we could walk to, and
***kid friendly things to do. oh and farmers market.

so which cities/towns/neighborhoods and why,
Thanks

[sapphos]

no one wants to jump in?

[NYPhinfan13]

Originally Posted by sapphos

no one wants to jump in?

We like East Lake (Palm Harbor) alot.

[cariad]

I would recommend you look at Safety Harbor

[Irishiis49]

Originally Posted by cariad

I would recommend you look at Safety Harbor

Second Safety Harbor

[gypsychic]

Safety Harbor is indeed a charming town, and personally I love it; but it is VERY small. Based on OP's previous post, I got the impression they were looking for a bit more urban? If so, I don't think it will fill the bill. I do think somewhere in South Tampa is more what she is looking for, especially to stay within the recommended commute and walking distance to shopping, etc.

[BBI]

Originally Posted by sapphos

So the most important things for us are:
***relatively straightforward and not too many miles overall to the airport. ...
***walkable in case we go back to sharing one car it would be great. We live in a so so area of Miami - not completely ghetto but definitely not far from some really shady areas, and I don't really go out at night in our neighborhood.
***It would be great if we could actually feel comfortable sitting in our back yard at night, had parks/library we could walk to, and
***kid friendly things to do. oh and farmers market.

Look in the Old Northeast section of St. Pete. It's ~20 minutes to TPA at the hours you're talking about (straight shot up 275). It's a relatively short walk to downtown (restaurants, shopping, museums, libraries, art galleries, festivals, etc.). It's plenty safe and family friendly. It's adjacent to parks along the bay (including a little bay beach, public pool, playgrounds, etc.). And there's a farmer's market downtown on Saturday mornings (fall through spring). The public schools that service the neighborhood are average, but probably better than where you are now if you're not even comfortable sitting outside at night.

Safety Harbor is another good option, but I think the town may be smaller than what you're looking for. Much less to do there. The pubilc schools (at least elementary and middle) are reportedly good, and lots of families there.

[TampaKaren]

You should probably include Oldsmar in your search for the right place. Following is a video from the City of Oldsmar but it over-inflates the truth somewhat http://02d3512.netsolhost.com/videos/oldsmar_promo_video.wmv (broken link)