Neighborhood information- South Tampa (St. Petersburg, Sunset: for sale, crime, house)

[melman06]

Hi all- I appreciate all the information that I have read through in numerous postings. It is so wonderful to be able to get so much information without being there. However, I still am a bit lost and when we move- I will have to hit the ground running. We are a family of four with two school age girls looking to buy in Tampa/St. Petersburg....well, maybe buy. We love the idea of the older homes and well established neighborhoods (e.g. Hyde Park and Old NE). However, on review of the homes for sale- Hyde Park is too expensive with the cheapest house on the way to 600,000 (for a 3 bedroom house). Old NE looks great with prices, but I fear the potential for crime (I lived in Durham, NC for a bit and know how it feels to be near crime). We are searching for a community- we have lived overseas and my girls need that neighborhood feel. Yep, the overseas gave it away- my husband would need to commute to MacDill, but we lived in DC in our not so distant past and that does not scare us away. The girls are what matters with this move.....good schools are great, but I am still unsure how good the schools really are (Mabry, Gorrie or others?). Does anyone have recommendations for neighborhoods in South Tampa or any insight about Old NE? Or any information about the schools? Thanks for any help.....

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by melman06

Hi all- I appreciate all the information that I have read through in numerous postings. It is so wonderful to be able to get so much information without being there. However, I still am a bit lost and when we move- I will have to hit the ground running. We are a family of four with two school age girls looking to buy in Tampa/St. Petersburg....well, maybe buy. We love the idea of the older homes and well established neighborhoods (e.g. Hyde Park and Old NE). However, on review of the homes for sale- Hyde Park is too expensive with the cheapest house on the way to 600,000 (for a 3 bedroom house). Old NE looks great with prices, but I fear the potential for crime (I lived in Durham, NC for a bit and know how it feels to be near crime). We are searching for a community- we have lived overseas and my girls need that neighborhood feel. Yep, the overseas gave it away- my husband would need to commute to MacDill, but we lived in DC in our not so distant past and that does not scare us away. The girls are what matters with this move.....good schools are great, but I am still unsure how good the schools really are (Mabry, Gorrie or others?). Does anyone have recommendations for neighborhoods in South Tampa or any insight about Old NE? Or any information about the schools? Thanks for any help.....

South Tampa has some of the better schools on the area, Old NE is great if you can go the private school route. There is a lot more to South Tampa than Hyde Park, I would look into Palma Ceia, Virginia Park, Swann Estates, Sunset Park and Palma Ceia Park. You can try looking at Beach Park, Bayshore Beautiful, Parkland estates, and New Suburb Beautiful but you are less likely to find something under 500k. As far as schools go, IMO, I would try to be in the Roosevelt boundaries or the Mabry Boundaries. The good thing about Mabry is that the Middle school is right next to it so if you have kids of both ages it works out. Coleman Middle and Wilson Middle are both excellent as well.

[GoRays813]

If Hyde Park and Palma Ceia are too expensive, take a look in Westchase. Definitely take a look at the other S. Tampa neighborhoods mentioned above.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

South Tampa has some of the better schools on the area, Old NE is great if you can go the private school route. There is a lot more to South Tampa than Hyde Park, I would look into Palma Ceia, Virginia Park, Swann Estates, Sunset Park and Palma Ceia Park. You can try looking at Beach Park, Bayshore Beautiful, Parkland estates, and New Suburb Beautiful but you are less likely to find something under 500k. As far as schools go, IMO, I would try to be in the Roosevelt boundaries or the Mabry Boundaries. The good thing about Mabry is that the Middle school is right next to it so if you have kids of both ages it works out. Coleman Middle and Wilson Middle are both excellent as well.

Great advice ^^^ and i agree.

OP, In my opinion you should definitely stick to a neighborhood in South Tampa, plus your commute to MacDill will be so much easier. Hyde Park is overpriced, give the above mentioned neighborhoods a look. I highly recommend Palma Ceia.