Moving to Tampa...south tampa, fishhawk, westchase, new tampa? Help! (for rent, HOA)

[tarheelgal27]

I have 3 kids, am a stay at home mom. Trying to figure out the best place to go for schools, families. Husband working near Westshore Plaza. Thanks for your help!

[Keeper]

You didn't mention your house budget but here are my thoughts. If you like older homes with a decent yard then S. Tampa is the place. You pay more to live there but it is worth it IMO. You are close to shopping and dinning. Lots of things to do too.

Fishhawk is a great community although further away from Westshore and might include tolls if you chose that route.

Westchase a little newer with most homes having very small lots. Nice area and convenient to shopping. During rush hour you are looking at 30-40 minutes to get to Westshore area again depending on which way you go. Good schools with a club house and small shopping center located in the community. There is also a medical center there. I like some of the homes there because they look like older homes but are brand new. The yards though are tiny.

I would skip New Tampa.. too far away and you would be looking at an hour drive each way during rush hour.

[Tim Tim Tim]

If he is working in westshore area i would suggest either S. Tampa or westchase. There both nice in there own ways.

Westchase looks much cleaner. All of the lawns are near perfect and the houses are all very well kept and newer. The downside is that the reason its so nice is because of all of the rules to abide by with the HOA. I would say that as a house wife with 3 kids, you would generally fit right in here. From my experience, I see much more kids playing outside together here vs S. tampa.

S. tampa is nice because (depending where your at) there are some very nice houses, more freedom as far as following the stupid HOA rules go and there is generally more to do at a closer distance (although westchase has all of the things you need ( grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations etc). Also, once you get used to the area its quite a bit easier to avoid traffic. Most of it is kind of a grid system so instead of 1 through street, there are 10 going the same direction so it doesnt generally back up so bad (of course, some spots are un avoidable)

[jcal8]

New Tampa is very nice except the traffic on Bruce B Downs and Bearss is a nightmare. It would take your husband forever to get to work. I lived in Westchase for 10 years and its very nice. The HOA is very nit picky tho...dont you dare put that basketball hoop in your driveway overnite! lol

[vintageflgirl]

I have lived in the Westchase/ Waterchase (zip code 33626) area for 19 years and raised my daughter here.The area is home to several planned communities that were developed starting in the 90s. It is an awesome family area and very convenient to Westshore via the Veterans Expressway. Are you interested in buying or renting? There are homes for rent in this area usually starting at around $2000 a month depending on size and location. The area offers townhomes, villas, and single family homes starting in the mid $200,000 range all the way to the $900,000 range. Schools are good and shopping, business and medical offices are all close by. There are all kinds of recreational opportunities including some social groups for stay at home moms. Westchase does have a HOA that enforces its rules but I never found them unreasonable. Not all yards in the area are tiny.

South Tampa is an older area of town and is much more expensive due to its proximity to downtown. There are older homes, and some new homes and townhomes and condos. The area is varied as it grew as Tampa grew. The area has some of the best public schools in the county and many private schools. Restaurants and shopping are close by depending on the area of South Tampa. It has a different vibe as it is not made up of planned communities. It is very convenient to Westshore.

These two areas would be most convenient, in my opinion, to your husband's workplace. It really depends on your budget and the type of lifestyle you prefer.

[MortonR]

Zombie thread. It’s nearly four years old.

It’s clear that you’re a realtor trolling for customers. Resurrecting old threads won’t do it, ask your fellow realtors who lurk here. You’ll see newbies pop up, resurrect old threads, and slowly fade away as they figure out this is not a venue for identifying new prospects....

Sorry.

RM