Moving from St. Augustine to Tampa area - Two Scenarios (Jacksonville: real estate, rental)

[JoJoCal19]

So after 17 years of living in Northeast Florida (Orange Park, Jacksonville, St. Augustine) I've decided it's time to move on, for a myriad of reasons. Plainly though, all of my wifes family is in Central Florida and I'm tired of Northeast Florida and it's time for change. My family consists of me, my wife, and our 13 month old.

There are two scenarios in play for my move. First, I am one of the final candidates for a position in Tampa (just over the bridge in St. Pete) and I feel I have a good chance to get the offer. Two, I currently work from home (in Information Technology Security) so I can work pretty much anywhere, and my wife and I have decided next year we will move, targeting May 1st as the availability date that we will rent out our house in St. Augustine. If we move down there around May with me still in my current position, I will probably start looking in Tampa for another position sometime after that. Eventually either way, I will be working somewhere in Tampa.

Before I answer the questions from the sticky, let me continue. My wifes family lives in Wildwood, which is about an hour or so from getting into Tampa (on a good day). We would prefer to stay at most 45 minutes away from there, so we have been eyeing the Wesley Chapel area. I want to also check out Zephyrhills, Land O Lakes area. Although its at least an hour away, Brandon is in play because its very similar to how Orange Park is and would suit us fine. Lastly, I wouldn't totally count out Lakeland as a possibly as it seems a straight shot to Tampa, but I don't know if people actually do that commute and what its like so I'd have to try it myself.

As of now we live in a nice master planned community near the World Golf Village and we are wanting to not live in such a sardine packed neighborhood where the houses are an armspan away (literally). Either a neighborhood where there is at least a house worth of space in between the houses, or better yet, a rural property. Problem is rural properties are usually not listed with a realtor or property manager so it's hard to find listings for them. Townhomes are not entirely out of play if it is in a very nice neighborhood.

I'm looking for any and all input on towns to live in near Tampa and also individual neighborhoods. I will continually answer questions and maybe bring more items into play in this thread for additional input. I appreciate the input (good and bad) and I do plan on visiting and vetting lots of areas ahead of our anticipated relocation next spring.

I'm going to now answer some of the questions from the sticky:

What is your budget for housing. Do you want to rent or buy?
Up to $1300/mo. Our mortgage now is that much and I actually am hoping to come in between $1000 and $1100 if I can find the right place. I want to rent for now.

Are schools a concern?
Sort of, my daughter is 13 months and we are not putting her in pre-k until she is 3 so she has some time. I would like it if there were good pre-k/elementary schools nearby in case we decide the area is where we want to be long term.

What is an acceptable commute time?
Preferably between 30-45 minutes but I can tolerate up to 1 hour door-to-door.

What else is important to you?
Stay away from rough or run down areas. Places with lots of families/kids are a plus. Close to food, Publix, shopping centers and malls is a plus.


Here is a map of the areas I'm looking at. Area 1 is my first choice and range of area to live in. 2 is Brandon and 3 is Lakeland.

[Erricx]

Hi I just read your post and I believe we can help.

I think you're right on with the Lutz FL area as it give great access to I-75 to get up to Wildwood FL and it's about a 30 minute commute to Tampa in decent traffic. I personally don't like Lakeland for a number of reason, but Wesley Chapel is also another good area for the same reasons as Lutz. You will have the trade off, if you want more yard you're getting a smaller or older house for the same price. But that's the rule everywhere.

Realtors here don't have much access to rental properties, but if you do decide to buy, we are the ones to call. Since 2006 we have ranked in the top 3 Realtor offices in Tampa FL for total sales.

Thank you for the chance to help with your real estate needs. Please let me know if there's anything else we can do to help.




I'm not allow to post my site on here, even though it can help you.