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Old 07-10-2007, 02:50 PM
 
55 posts, read 734,796 times
Reputation: 97

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Hi, Can you please tell me some nice areas near Tarpon Springs with good schools and neighborhoods? Is this really a good area to live ? I have not been there and we plan on coming down there to look around. Can you please tell me if Pinellas is one of the better countys to live in? and how is the weather there & hurricanes? If you live near there , can you please tell me what its really like ? Thanks for your help!!
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Old 07-10-2007, 07:21 PM
 
Location: Tampa Bay Area
169 posts, read 1,066,713 times
Reputation: 172
Well... I lived in Tarpon for 5 1/2 years (on the East side). It depends on what you're looking for.

As for schools, Tarpon Middle School and Tarpon High School have older facilities and frankly, I find them "rough" schools with "tough" kids there. Tarpon is largely a Greek community and the middle school and high schools have Greek gangs. I wouldn't let my daughter go there. She went to private middle school and we "choiced-out" to Palm Harbor Univ. High School so I don't really recommend the Middle and HS. The elementary schools are OK but there are projects in Tarpon on the west side so I don't really recommend being there unless you want a home on the water (the Gulf is on the west shore).

South of Tarpon is Palm Harbor and North of Tarpon you go into Pasco County (Holiday and New Port Richey) Holiday has a lot of seniors and older smaller homes. New Port Richey is a mixed bag of homes and demographics.

The charm of Tarpon Springs is it's small down town. There are turn of the century homes and a small inlet of waterfront restaurants where the Anclote River cuts in. It's a nice day trip but other than the charming homes around Whitcomb bay and some pockets of nice neighborhoods on the west side, I'm not a big fan of West Tarpon. East Tarpon (East of the Lake is known as "East Lake" cleaver huh? - it's lovely but home prices there are going to be high per sq. ft.

What's the attraction of Tarpon?

West side affordable and nice homes - Brittany Park, Pointe Alexis, Loch Haven, Harbor Oaks, Harbor Woods, Westwinds, Oakleaf. East side affordable (under $400K) - Windmill Point.

I would recommend Palm Harbor over Tarpon or go North to New Port Richey (but go east a little to some of the newer construction or nicer neighborhoods). Your money will go a little further in New Port Richey and there's more there now - a new Lowes going in, a super Walmart coming and a Super Target already in. Nice (affordable) neighborhoods there - Magnolia Estates, Key vista, Nature's Hideaway, Wyndtree, Riverside, Oak Ridge, Mill Pond, Mill Run. Schools for the NPR area are better too all the way through.

Good luck in your search. Welcome to the area!
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Old 07-12-2007, 11:34 PM
 
7 posts, read 32,910 times
Reputation: 11
Talking tarpon area

well east side is were i am from. nice but on the other side of us 19 near the tarpon mall publix a very dangers area project and i work at that publix s and we are roboted every day at less 7 times. but east lake are near east lake high school has very nice codos from 1 to 3 bedrooms called pine ridge at lake tarpon . and they are nice, clean greatly mantain and for a 3 bedroom i pay 850.00 with 2 baths. also on the west side of us 19 is flood zone big time. also every big hurraince you must leave that area. it is soon to change big time too. us 19 is work on becoming an interstate , so over pass will pass that all an new walmart and other newer stores coming , along with that keystone soon to be an 4 lane and later east lake rd an 8 lane road (man i remember 12 years ago it being 2 lanes) so change is big another area is changing is oldmar big changes there.
ps tarpon elem. mold problems in the school but tarpon high a nice school for cooking and music ,east lake high science sports, engining too. palm harbor unv. which is a high school the best in the area. if looking for best schools in handicap let me know i have a high functioning autism child in king. at cypress wood elem. in mainstream too.
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Old 07-20-2007, 12:18 AM
 
112 posts, read 363,354 times
Reputation: 56
Key Vista is in Holiday - same things as NPR for the most part. Nice neighborhood, used to live there, seemed to have decent schools (nephew, niece went for a year).
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Old 05-20-2008, 07:24 PM
 
1 posts, read 12,955 times
Reputation: 17
Default Setting the Record Straight

Dear Hello47,

I read ntfeldman's answer to your query and felt compelled to set the record straight as others may also be influenced by the negative inaccuracies you received in response. I have lived in Tarpon Springs for thirty-three years longer than Mr./Ms. Feldman. During that time, I have watched the area grow considerably. I have lived in Tarpon on the water, on the east side that he/she speaks of, and in one of the premier neighborhoods in Palm Harbor off of Alderman road. The east side of Tarpon that feldman speaks of is generally referred to as Eastlake. The Eastlake area sprang up without much forethought or planning as a result of developers' rushing to cash in on the boom of the eighties and nineties. Having lived in that area, I can tell you that while some of the neighborhoods have a certain snob appeal (if that is what you are looking for), the area lacks a feeling of community. Palm Harbor has grown immensely as well over the years, but it retains more of a community feeling in and around the historic downtown area. It is charming and quaint in some areas and modern and ugly in others. As previously stated, I lived in a beautiful neighborhood off of Alderman road (one ntfeldman would no doubt approve of), but these neighborhoods are sandwiched between U.S.19 and Alternate U.S.19, making the location less desirable to those seeking more of a small town atmosphere. Of all of the communities in Pinellas County, Tarpon Springs alone retains a true sense of community and is a wonderful place to raise a family.

As for ntfeldman's comments on the school system, I am left wondering what exactly this person's qualifications are and where exactly he/she gets his/her information. I, in fact, am a graduate of this county school system and attended college in Tarpon Springs and Tampa. Unlike ntfeldman, I worked within the local school system, and having spent time in the classrooms of both Eastlake and Tarpon High Schools, I can tell you that he/she is sadly misinformed. While I did not work at Palm Harbor High School, I had colleagues who did, and I knew students who attended there. As for the supposedly superior school at Eastlake, the affluence of the student body simply made it easier for them to get into trouble (usually that of a more serious nature) and to sweep it under the rug, therefore skewing statistics. Students and instructors at the Palm Harbor School have frequently commented that, unless a student is enrolled in a magnet program (which requires qualification and is not guaranteed), the level of instruction and attention can be less than adequate. My own child, who attended accelerated magnet programs in middle school, had the option of attending the IB program in Palm Harbor, but attended Tarpon Springs High School by choice. He had some wonderfully talented and caring instructors, was involved in nationally award winning programs, and we have never regretted our decision. As for the "tough" kids, I wonder if rough and tough aren't ntfeldman's euphemisms for poor or middle class. You might also be relieved to hear that there are no "Greek gangs." This is one of the most absurd, prejudicial, and ignorant statements I have heard in a while. Apparently ntfeldman has issues with persons of Mediterranean descent (and in case you are curious, I am of mixed heritage - my grandparents and great grandparents having come from different locations throughout Europe, so I offer an unbiased opinion here). No school is perfect; each has its share of problems regardless of the location or the socioeconomic status of its enrollees. As both a parent and instructor I, along with many other concerned citizens, have lamented the weaknesses in our educational system as a whole - brought about not by geography, but the apathy and shortsightedness of our legislators on both a state and federal level. What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the difference in the quality of education our children will receive has everything to do with parental and community involvement. It is you who will make that difference for your children no matter where you choose to enroll them. As a member of local PTAs, School Advisory Councils, booster organizations, and alumni groups, I can attest to the fact that there is an impressive amount of community involvement in Tarpon schools.

Instead of disseminating preposterous falsehoods in a negative fashion, perhaps ntfeldman should expend his/her energy in a more positive way by going to the polls and voting for those candidates who have the desire and ability to effect change for everyone (no matter where they choose to live) and by becoming involved and giving unselfishly of some time and resources, thereby investing in a better quality of life for everyone in his/her community. I suppose it is much easier as a relative newcomer to malign our lovely town when not in possession of all the facts, but how much nicer would it be for ntfeldman to exercise some proactive citizenship instead – choosing the designation of “neighbor” rather than “judgmental outsider.” Admittedly, there are both positive and negative aspects of any community, but as with anything else in life, what we will derive from our experiences is determined by the efforts we are willing to put forth. I feel confident that you will find the local residents to be friendly and welcoming, and that Tarpon Springs, a city rich in history and culture, has a lot to offer.
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Old 05-21-2008, 12:20 AM
 
Location: tampa-clearwater (Oldsmar)
2 posts, read 15,545 times
Reputation: 12
Default We recommend Oldsmar Fl for a nice place near Tarpon

Oldsmar Fl is an upscale and affordable area with some of the best schools in Pinellas County. It's 10 min from Tarpon and has many more conveniences as far as shopping, restaraunts, etc. Tarpon is an older community, and though charming in many ways (we visit there often), you can't buy shoes or get a hamburger without driving all over.

We're selling our 2ba 2br villa in Oldsmar soon to move into a 55+ gated community. We lived in Tarpon on the Gulf for quite a while and the lack of shopping and schools was frustrating. And Pinellas is far superior to any other county on the gulf coast.

Good luck!
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Old 05-21-2008, 09:48 PM
 
2 posts, read 14,053 times
Reputation: 10
My recommendations from spending over 20 years in that area of FL would be checking into living in either Palm Harbor or New Port Richey. Both have grown well over the years and are within a reasonable commute for working in the tri-county area of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco. Pay in my experience was less in Pasco, but, then so was the cost of living at the time in comparison to Pinellas and Hillsborough. Hope that helps. It's a very nice area of the West Coast.
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