Husband got a job at Bayfront (Palm Harbor, Country Club: short sales, to rent, condominiums)

[Kelli0604]

HI! My husband will be starting at Bayfront Medical in 2 months and wemyself and the kdis will be moving down from PA at the end of the school year. We want to be within a half hour of his work as he works alot and nights sometimes. I have been reading alot on here and gathered Seminole, Palms harbor are "nice areas" and good schools anyother areas we should investigate when we go down next month? We are open to rentingn or buying just want a small town feel as we come from a upper middle class suburb outside Philly and will miss it. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Kelli

[jambo101]

If you drive up 4th st. there are some nice areas once you get past 9th ave N,
Bayfront Medical center isnt situated in the greatest of areas.
As for small town feel? its St Petersburg, Pop 250,000

[algia]

Tarpon and Dunedin come to mind...longer commute for sure but those towns are adorable!

[Keeper]

Safety Harbor has that small town feel. Palm Harbor is more of a Big subdivision. Nice area though. Oldsmar is another small town but the downtown is not as developed. Maybe Annie from Oldsmar can give you some more info about area. Dunnedin is nice but Tarpon Springs is really far away from Bayfront

There are a lot of great areas all around St. Pete. Mostly older homes in St Pete so if you are looking for a new(er) home then check out Palm Harbor.

[jambo101]

You might want to check out the beach communities of Redington or Indian Rocks, could be pricey but you didnt say what your financial criteria is .

[TampaKaren]

I'd suggest you look around Coffee Pot Bayou, Crescent Lake and Shore Acres. Those will be the closest to Bayfront. Also nice but a little further away in Gulfport are Kipps Colony and Skimmer Point aka Pasadena Yacht & Country Club (not Pasadena Golf Club), and Jungle. Don't rule out Belleair either...nice homes in good neighborhoods. In Palm Harbor, I like Boot Ranch.

Overall, you will find a plethoria of homes from which to choose. Just be mindful that short sales can take a long time to buy and if you're renting, that the owner is not upside and is paying the mortgage (where applicable).

[raggedyann6]

Oldsmar is 27 miles north about a 40 minute commute from Bayside, a friend of mine worked there and it was not a bad commute from Eastlake Woodlands which is in Oldsmar. There are a lot of nice parks in that area and beaches are within 20 minutes. Good schools for FL too.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by raggedyann6

Oldsmar is 27 miles north about a 40 minute commute from Bayside, a friend of mine worked there and it was not a bad commute from Eastlake Woodlands which is in Oldsmar. There are a lot of nice parks in that area and beaches are within 20 minutes. Good schools for FL too.

I second (or is it third?) Oldsmar/East Lake Woodlands. I moved there from Philadelphia two weeks ago and love it! Housing ranges in pretty much all price brackets, from condominiums to larger pool homes. The average 3-4 bedroom pool home is in the 250K range. The area is not as congested as the southern/central parts of Pinellas County. There are a ton of services (restaurants/shopping), it's very safe and the school system is excellent.

[Kelli0604]

Thank you so much for all this info Oldmar is probably going to be our first pick If anyone can recommend a realtor as we dont know a soul besides my husbands employer!

[miles1228]

Kelli, what part of Philly suburbs are you from? If you are looking for the subdivisions with a big yard (Bucks County), I would also suggest the North Pinellas areas such as East Lake, Palm Harbor, Oldsmar etc. However, that is a distance in my opinion. I would also look at the Historic Old Northeast, Coffee Pot Bayou areas in St Pete and also the Pasadena Yacht Cub area in Gulfport is definitely close enough to Bayfront but that development is upper middle class (doctors, lawyers etc).