Living in Palm Harbor (Tampa, Clearwater: insurance, townhouses, to buy)

[Grahamclan25]

I am interviewing for a job in Clearwater with my company (Saint Gobain). My wife and I have been researching places for places to live. We think Palm Harbor would be a good fit because the high school has a good rating (we have 15 and 12 year sons) and it would be a reasonable commute to work. We wanting to buy a 4 bed, 2 bath home with a pool for under $220,000 and have seen some reasonable options. I need some feedback from you folks that live in the area:

1. Positives and negatives of Palm Harbor community

2. Any Chinese drywall issues?

3. I have seen that you do not need flood insurance in a lot of the homes in this area. Is this true?

4. Is the high school as good as it's rated?

5. If you use a service like Terminex, will you still have issues with bugs in your house?

6. Do you get any kind of breeze from the ocean or is it to far inland?

Thanks everyone!

[Caa]

We are looking into moving to Palm Harbor too! WE may move there, but having a kinda hard time getting anyone to answer, though several have answered very positively about that area. We have a 7 year old daughter and are concerned about amount of things for kids to do in Florida as it is geared towards retirees, but I think the Palm Harbor area may be good for families too. I will watch this post and see what replies you get!

[Sunscape]

Originally Posted by Grahamclan25

I am interviewing for a job in Clearwater with my company (Saint Gobain). My wife and I have been researching places for places to live. We think Palm Harbor would be a good fit because the high school has a good rating (we have 15 and 12 year sons) and it would be a reasonable commute to work. We wanting to buy a 4 bed, 2 bath home with a pool for under $220,000 and have seen some reasonable options. I need some feedback from you folks that live in the area:

1. Positives and negatives of Palm Harbor community

2. Any Chinese drywall issues?

3. I have seen that you do not need flood insurance in a lot of the homes in this area. Is this true?

4. Is the high school as good as it's rated?

5. If you use a service like Terminex, will you still have issues with bugs in your house?

6. Do you get any kind of breeze from the ocean or is it to far inland?

Thanks everyone!

PH is a nice community, with many young and old people living there. If you do a search on this forum you will find plenty of postings on the area.
The only negative I can say about it is that traffic is heavy, but that will be like that in other places too.
Whether you need flood ins is going to depend on how close to the water you are. I don't think this will be an issue there , unless your zone is clasified as such. This is established in FEMA maps.
The high school is very good.
If you use a good exterminator, you don't have any issue with bugs.
That;s all I can answer for you right now.

[heyshan]

I think that it is a stereotype that Florida is geared toward retirees! People in other states don't realize this!! I mean, the only city I know of in the state of Florida strictly devoted to retired people is The Villages out in the middle of nowhere.

As a Palm Harbor University High School graduate, I can assure you, it's rated accurately. They have a Medical Magnet and IB Program, as well as a "traditional" High School all in one. It attracts some of the brightest in the county.

I personally LOVE Palm Harbor, so I can't really say any negatives!

I have heard about some of the newer homes/townhouses in the area have had chinese dry wall, so you do need to be careful about that.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them, just send me a direct message and I'll do what I can to help.

-Shannon

[Caa]

I used tio live there and yes the state does cater to retirees. restaurants offer lower prices for seniors along with Snowbird specials etc and the food is so bland! Most young people like some spice to their food. Not to say that younger people cannot enjoy it there though.



TE=heyshan;13184748]I think that it is a stereotype that Florida is geared toward retirees! People in other states don't realize this!! I mean, the only city I know of in the state of Florida strictly devoted to retired people is The Villages out in the middle of nowhere.

As a Palm Harbor University High School graduate, I can assure you, it's rated accurately. They have a Medical Magnet and IB Program, as well as a "traditional" High School all in one. It attracts some of the brightest in the county.

I personally LOVE Palm Harbor, so I can't really say any negatives!

I have heard about some of the newer homes/townhouses in the area have had chinese dry wall, so you do need to be careful about that.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them, just send me a direct message and I'll do what I can to help.

-Shannon[/quote]

[heyshan]

Caa --- I'm a 27 year old that lived in Palm Harbor from age 2 to age 20 and now live in neighboring Clearwater.... I think I know what I'm talking about!

I have NEVER in my life seen a special for snow birds! NEVER.

[kdubose]

Originally Posted by heyshan

Caa --- I'm a 27 year old that lived in Palm Harbor from age 2 to age 20 and now live in neighboring Clearwater.... I think I know what I'm talking about!

I have NEVER in my life seen a special for snow birds! NEVER.

I agree with you! Ive lived in Pinellas my whole life and have never seen a snowbird special either... not sure where those are offered
Also, to say that every restaurant's food in this area is bland and has no spice just makes absolutely no sense.

It is known that Palm Harbor University is one of the best high schools in the county (them and Seminole). I went to Dunedin High and when they opened Palm Harbor...everyone flocked there to register to try and get accepted into their awesome programs.

I wouldnt say Florida "caters to" retirees... Theres so much here to be enjoyed by EVERYBODY of ALL AGES! Its not like if youre in line somewhere that they stop you to let all of the retirees go first, or they kick you out of your seat at a restaurant because some retirees came in and need the table. I mean to define a senior citizen discount as "catering towards retirees" is totally absurd.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by heyshan

Caa --- I'm a 27 year old that lived in Palm Harbor from age 2 to age 20 and now live in neighboring Clearwater.... I think I know what I'm talking about!

I have NEVER in my life seen a special for snow birds! NEVER.

I guess maybe that they only do it in Cape Coral, Ft. Myers area and all over the east coast of Florida.-they are called "early bird specials" and Tampa area may not be as geared towards them I guess.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by kdubose

I agree with you! Ive lived in Pinellas my whole life and have never seen a snowbird special either... not sure where those are offered
Also, to say that every restaurant's food in this area is bland and has no spice just makes absolutely no sense.

It is known that Palm Harbor University is one of the best high schools in the county (them and Seminole). I went to Dunedin High and when they opened Palm Harbor...everyone flocked there to register to try and get accepted into their awesome programs.

I wouldnt say Florida "caters to" retirees... Theres so much here to be enjoyed by EVERYBODY of ALL AGES! Its not like if youre in line somewhere that they stop you to let all of the retirees go first, or they kick you out of your seat at a restaurant because some retirees came in and need the table. I mean to define a senior citizen discount as "catering towards retirees" is totally absurd.

WEll whatever, I am just saying that when I lived there, we were pretty much ignored at the bar at restaurants when the snowbirds came flashing in with their rolex watches and wad of money-move over locals there is a retireee here so ********* is the attitude I got in more places than one. You must not have ever visited Sanibel Island to be a witness to this fact. Also, not to be petty, but mANY locals in south Florida had no "free snacks" at the little restaurant bar in the summer, but in the "seasonal months" my goodness, free sncaks on the bar all you want-then "season is over" and bam, no snacks for the locals who frequent these restuarants all year-just a FYI. It gets worse than this, but I guess not in central Florida....

[It's Cin!]

An "Early Bird Special" is not necessarily a snow bird special. It is for anyone dining before a certain hour. Granted, I think it tends to be aimed at the elderly clientel who tend to eat dinner earlier in the day, but anyone of any age can order the Early Bird Specials. And it's not just for Florida. Early Bird Specials can be found all over the country.