Maybe choosing Tampa over Clearwater but wanted to know what part of Tampa has the easiest/fastest commute to the beach (Palm Harbor: rental, insurance)
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Very nice area! Aghhhh, this is so hard to decide...what looks like it would be close isn't close at all maybe stay in Pinellas County/Clearwater...just hoping he will get as much work...we already have a possible 'in' with him maybe being able to sub contract out of Lowes for flooring but are there any Lowes around Clearwater??
If you really MUST be that close to beaches, you will have to stay in Pinellas, that is all there is to it. If you live in Tampa, easiest access will be from somewhere in south Tampa, you can probably make it to St. Pete beaches in 30-40 minutes depending on traffic. Best schools are also in south Tampa, I would really strongly consider this area if I were you (but it will be the priciest)
If you really MUST be that close to beaches, you will have to stay in Pinellas, that is all there is to it. If you live in Tampa, easiest access will be from somewhere in south Tampa, you can probably make it to St. Pete beaches in 30-40 minutes depending on traffic. Best schools are also in south Tampa, I would really strongly consider this area if I were you (but it will be the priciest)
Good to know!!! I guess I can sacrifice a few extra minutes drive to the beach for better schooling...any recommendations for townhouse rentals?? If not it is okay I just don't know what qualifies as 'South Tampa' when I am looking for townhome rentals...
Hmmm....I am just trying to make sure we find an area that can 'have it all' meaning good schools, quick access to stores etc., more opportunities for work while not being far from the beaches...but 45 minutes is just too long...even 30 is too long but do-able...this is tough...and so hard to try and do from Massachusetts lol...we will be visiting in the next few months but want to have some solid areas in mind so we don't just drive mindlessly looking around...I do hear of the awful 19 traffic?? So I get a little nervous, not sure how it compares to Boston/ Cape traffic...then I could gage it better...I am used to leaving for the beach around that time because in the summer here if you want to go to the Cape we have to leave at 6 am or be ready to be stuck in stand still traffic for 2+ hours!
There is no "have it all" around anywhere in Florida not just in Tampa Bay as a whole.
The good schools are either private, or are newer tucked in subdivisions inland. There are small tiny patches in Seminole that may have better schools, but you will have to see in person. Same goes for Dunedin. You can drive US 19, but doing that will not show you the homes as US 19 is filled with businesses on both sides...what you have to do is check out greatschools.net, then pick up the school address and then go see the school and its surroundings. There is no other way to find what you're looking for. Pick 10 schools and check them out when you come down so you don't overwhelm yourself. There is ALWAYS a hassle to get to the beach because of the tourists, and stop lights, and people sleeping at these stop lights, and also because of those who have a need to leave a 4 car length between them and the car in front of them...if everyone would keep the normal distance, then the traffic would flow better. But ppl here are not into paying attention to traffic rules...more like traffic wars.
It all depends where you will be working though, because unless you work from home, you will have some sort of a commute somewhere.
Palm Harbor is the closest with good schools to the beaches, but its becoming crowded...and yes you will be driving on 19 if you want live in Pinellas County. There's just no escaping that. Clearwater doesn't have good schools unless their private, and you will have to re-search very well on that as well to see if they're good per YOUR standards.
Howard Park, Sunset Beach both have a very small beach area, and are nothing like Honeymoon Island, or Clearwater Beach or St. Pete Beach etc.
There is no "have it all" around anywhere in Florida not just in Tampa Bay as a whole.
The good schools are either private, or are newer tucked in subdivisions inland. There are small tiny patches in Seminole that may have better schools, but you will have to see in person. Same goes for Dunedin. You can drive US 19, but doing that will not show you the homes as US 19 is filled with businesses on both sides...what you have to do is check out greatschools.net, then pick up the school address and then go see the school and its surroundings. There is no other way to find what you're looking for. Pick 10 schools and check them out when you come down so you don't overwhelm yourself. There is ALWAYS a hassle to get to the beach because of the tourists, and stop lights, and people sleeping at these stop lights, and also because of those who have a need to leave a 4 car length between them and the car in front of them...if everyone would keep the normal distance, then the traffic would flow better. But ppl here are not into paying attention to traffic rules...more like traffic wars.
It all depends where you will be working though, because unless you work from home, you will have some sort of a commute somewhere.
Palm Harbor is the closest with good schools to the beaches, but its becoming crowded...and yes you will be driving on 19 if you want live in Pinellas County. There's just no escaping that. Clearwater doesn't have good schools unless their private, and you will have to re-search very well on that as well to see if they're good per YOUR standards.
Howard Park, Sunset Beach both have a very small beach area, and are nothing like Honeymoon Island, or Clearwater Beach or St. Pete Beach etc.
This ^^^ is definitely good info, which again, is why I recommend south Tampa for this person. South Tampa has the best schools, is close to all the good shopping and entertainment, and will be the easiest location to get to beaches, it is relatively easy to get to St. Pete Beach from there. Northern Pinellas County is a big ole mess of traffic if you want to drive anywhere. There is less traffic going over the bridges and interstate from south Tampa, and I have never, ever encountered heavy traffic in St. Pete, not even in season or when they are having a festival of some sort. It is very very easy to navigate that city.
Anyway to the OP, sorry I don't have recommendations of places to rent, but perhaps some of those here who live in south Tampa currently can make some for you.
Good to know!!! I guess I can sacrifice a few extra minutes drive to the beach for better schooling...any recommendations for townhouse rentals?? If not it is okay I just don't know what qualifies as 'South Tampa' when I am looking for townhome rentals...
That is South Tampa. There are townhomes around Ballast Point Park...I am not sure what other ones are around there...those I mention are very nice. I circled that area.
Very nice area! Aghhhh, this is so hard to decide...what looks like it would be close isn't close at all maybe stay in Pinellas County/Clearwater...just hoping he will get as much work...we already have a possible 'in' with him maybe being able to sub contract out of Lowes for flooring but are there any Lowes around Clearwater??
There are Lowes around....
Use the "Store Locator"!
Thank you Algia for the post of the area to narrow it down I researched Clearwater out of curiosity to see how their schools ranked and there were 3 that had a pretty high score (8 out 10 with 10 being the top score) and it was Plumb Elementary, Leila Davis, and Plato Charter which actually had a 9 score...those sound pretty good and are in CLearwater...I am sorry to bother you all with my indecisiveness again it is just hard to do from so far away...also I have so many friends that keep trying to scare me saying my children will not receive the same level of education in Florida as they would here in Mass. but when I do the research on Great Schools there are a few schools that get higher scores than the one my kids attend up here..so it just is a lot to think about and where I am def. not close to being the smartest due to poor choices when I was a 'know it all' teenager I just want to try and focus on my kids doing better than I did..I don't see how people can try and make it seem as if Florida has a bunch of kids entering highschool with a 2nd grade education, they have to have some kind of standards they have to 'live up to' academic wise I think people are just jealous that we the option of packing up and moving, where they have too much to leave behind and have to stay up here in this frozen state so they want to point out that I am making bad choices for my kids and their education, while being 'selfish' looking for year round warmth therefore it taking 'priority' over my kids..simply not true...thank you all for always providing me with the information I ask for ...can't wait to live in the Sunshine State esp knowing I cn always come on here if I need any type of help learning about my new area
There is no "have it all" around anywhere in Florida not just in Tampa Bay as a whole.
The good schools are either private, or are newer tucked in subdivisions inland. There are small tiny patches in Seminole that may have better schools, but you will have to see in person. Same goes for Dunedin. You can drive US 19, but doing that will not show you the homes as US 19 is filled with businesses on both sides...what you have to do is check out greatschools.net, then pick up the school address and then go see the school and its surroundings. There is no other way to find what you're looking for. Pick 10 schools and check them out when you come down so you don't overwhelm yourself. There is ALWAYS a hassle to get to the beach because of the tourists, and stop lights, and people sleeping at these stop lights, and also because of those who have a need to leave a 4 car length between them and the car in front of them...if everyone would keep the normal distance, then the traffic would flow better. But ppl here are not into paying attention to traffic rules...more like traffic wars.
It all depends where you will be working though, because unless you work from home, you will have some sort of a commute somewhere.
Palm Harbor is the closest with good schools to the beaches, but its becoming crowded...and yes you will be driving on 19 if you want live in Pinellas County. There's just no escaping that. Clearwater doesn't have good schools unless their private, and you will have to re-search very well on that as well to see if they're good per YOUR standards.
Howard Park, Sunset Beach both have a very small beach area, and are nothing like Honeymoon Island, or Clearwater Beach or St. Pete Beach etc.
I would agree with the bulk of this, with one major exception. Living in Palm Harbor does not mean you have to drive on 19. If you live off the 611/East Lake Road section, like we do, you can very easily avoid 19 if you want to. You would on,y have to cross over it to get to the beaches and that is very easy to do.
Now you can choose to drive up and down 19 if you want to, but there are so many east/west roads, there really is no reason to drive north and south on 19. However, if someone really wants to drive 19, please keep in mind they have been doing lots of overpass work on it and it has greatly improved the flow.....up until the part in Clearwater where they are still working. Once it is all done all the way down, estimated 2 years, it will all flow far better.
Thank you Algia for the post of the area to narrow it down I researched Clearwater out of curiosity to see how their schools ranked and there were 3 that had a pretty high score (8 out 10 with 10 being the top score) and it was Plumb Elementary, Leila Davis, and Plato Charter which actually had a 9 score...those sound pretty good and are in CLearwater...I am sorry to bother you all with my indecisiveness again it is just hard to do from so far away...also I have so many friends that keep trying to scare me saying my children will not receive the same level of education in Florida as they would here in Mass. but when I do the research on Great Schools there are a few schools that get higher scores than the one my kids attend up here..so it just is a lot to think about and where I am def. not close to being the smartest due to poor choices when I was a 'know it all' teenager I just want to try and focus on my kids doing better than I did..I don't see how people can try and make it seem as if Florida has a bunch of kids entering highschool with a 2nd grade education, they have to have some kind of standards they have to 'live up to' academic wise I think people are just jealous that we the option of packing up and moving, where they have too much to leave behind and have to stay up here in this frozen state so they want to point out that I am making bad choices for my kids and their education, while being 'selfish' looking for year round warmth therefore it taking 'priority' over my kids..simply not true...thank you all for always providing me with the information I ask for ...can't wait to live in the Sunshine State esp knowing I cn always come on here if I need any type of help learning about my new area
I would go with the one on Landmark drive, that area is nice, lots of shopping around there. Yeah Plato is charter...don't know how easy is to get in. Also if you end up in that area, you'd be pretty close to Honeymoon Island which is a very nice beach.
Well academically speaking Boston has some of the best schools! that's a given...BUT...I hear soon the entire US will be held to the same standards in public schools, and those who move a lot (e.g. military families) won't have to worry about their kids being dragged down educationally in states like Florida, AZ etc. because they'll all adhere to the same curriculum...so they're telling us.
I would agree with the bulk of this, with one major exception. Living in Palm Harbor does not mean you have to drive on 19. If you live off the 611/East Lake Road section, like we do, you can very easily avoid 19 if you want to. You would on,y have to cross over it to get to the beaches and that is very easy to do.
You don't have to, but if one works on it, or one needs to go shopping its hard to avoid it since it IS the main drag in Pinellas.
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I researched Clearwater out of curiosity to see how their schools ranked and there were 3 that had a pretty high score (8 out 10 with 10 being the top score) and it was Plumb Elementary, Leila Davis, and Plato Charter which actually had a 9 score...those sound pretty good and are in CLearwater...I am sorry to bother you all with my indecisiveness again it is just hard to do from so far away...also I have so many friends that keep trying to scare me saying my children will not receive the same level of education in Florida as they would here in Mass. but when I do the research on Great Schools there are a few schools that get higher scores than the one my kids attend up here..so it just is a lot to think about and where I am def. not close to being the smartest due to poor choices when I was a 'know it all' teenager I just want to try and focus on my kids doing better than I did..I don't see how people can try and make it seem as if Florida has a bunch of kids entering highschool with a 2nd grade education, they have to have some kind of standards they have to 'live up to' academic wise I think people are just jealous that we the option of packing up and moving, where they have too much to leave behind and have to stay up here in this frozen state so they want to point out that I am making bad choices for my kids and their education, while being 'selfish' looking for year round warmth therefore it taking 'priority' over my kids..simply not true...thank you all for always providing me with the information I ask for ...can't wait to live in the Sunshine State esp knowing I cn always come on here if I need any type of help learning about my new area 
