Dunedin vs Safety Harbor (Tampa, Clearwater: 2013, rentals, crime) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

wgfitz · 01-29-2014, 05:50 PM

We (my husband and 7 year old daughter) will be moving to the Tampa area this summer if all goes well. I've been doing some research on the area and have been reading other threads on here but have narrowed it down and would like input on 2 communities in particular. Versus each other so to speak. The first is Dunedin. We really like the charm and uniqueness of the place. We like that its walkable/bikable, that it has Honeymoon Island, several recreation centers and programs, and many other things. The only thing that we don't like is that the public school system isn't as good as we would like it to be. However, we have found a small charter school that we like called Discovery Academy of Science (btw, would love some input on this if you know anything about it) that looks to be new and is located in Dunedin that we would love to send her to but can't always rely on the charter system of lottery and all that.

The other area is Safety Harbor, which I've heard good things about, especially the schools. They seem to have good recreation opportunities and parks and be family friendly. For some reason though, I'm just not as pulled to it as I am to Dunedin. I know that Safety Harbor is slightly pricier but that's not really an issue. Not worried about crime or age of residents like seniors and what not. If you have any input I would love to hear it. Thanks!

kyle19125 · 01-30-2014, 05:02 AM

I would by all means lean toward Safety Harbor. Dunedin has some great things going for it but has some issues as well. As a family I don't think you're going to find as much activities for your daughter, or a great chance of neighborhood kids being around as the average age in town is 48 and only 18% of households have children under the age of 18 (versus Safety Harbor where the average age is 42 and 29% of households have children under the age of 18). The schools are quite good in Safety Harbor too, and not of the charter school variety. Strangely enough as well there are actually "rough areas" in Dunedin (pretty much most of the southern half is lower income housing/rentals). I think many are charmed by the downtown area and think the town has a similar feel all over, which certainly is not the case. Safety Harbor is quite close and you'll be able to enjoy downtown Dunedin (and Honeymoon Island) often without living there. FYI, Safety Harbor has a cute downtown as well that they're working on to make "more active" and some nice bike trails along Tampa Bay (check out Phillippe Park).

gypsychic · 01-30-2014, 08:01 AM

I agree with Kyle, I would choose Safety Harbor. It is charming and unique, feels "tucked away" yet minutes from Clearwater shopping, and just over the Causeway to big city of Tampa. Definitely a place I would consider living if we weren't already happy where we are. Plus, it's a pretty quick drive to visit Dunedin for the things you like there.

claricemc · 01-31-2014, 03:10 AM

Where does the southern part of Dunedin come in? Since I am not familiar with the area....could you name a couple of streets.

kyle19125 · 01-31-2014, 06:13 AM

Dunedin's southern half is bounded by Union Street to the south, Keene Road to the east, Virginia Street to the north and Edgewater Drive to the west.

wgfitz · 01-31-2014, 12:19 PM

Hey, thanks for answering back guys. As I did a little more research on the areas, I've become confused about the Safety Harbor schools. I believe the government rating system rated them an A school, but GreatSchools (which is supposed to be a fairly reputable school grading site) rated them a 7 out of 10. And looking at FCAT scores provided on that site, it looks to be about average. However I do realize that the internet can really only give so much information and doesn't really tell the teacher and parent involvement and all that, plus I think the public school system and their testing is quite flawed anyway. Just wanting to be reassured I suppose since I've heard and read multiple people saying how good their schools are when on paper they just appear average.

Irishiis49 · 01-31-2014, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wgfitz

Hey, thanks for answering back guys. As I did a little more research on the areas, I've become confused about the Safety Harbor schools. I believe the government rating system rated them an A school, but GreatSchools (which is supposed to be a fairly reputable school grading site) rated them a 7 out of 10. And looking at FCAT scores provided on that site, it looks to be about average. However I do realize that the internet can really only give so much information and doesn't really tell the teacher and parent involvement and all that, plus I think the public school system and their testing is quite flawed anyway. Just wanting to be reassured I suppose since I've heard and read multiple people saying how good their schools are when on paper they just appear average.

I live in Palm Harbor and both my children did private school through 8th grade (religious reasons) however when my son was about to enter 6th grade another parent approached me to ask why I wasn't enrolling my son at Safety Harbor Middle for their great math program...Fast forward 4 yrs and my son is now in Palm Harbor High IB Program and half his fellow IB kids are graduates from Safety Harbor Middle math program. I can't remember the exact name of program I think MEGSS(?) it stood for math...Maybe their is another poster on here that has first hand experience...

kyle19125 · 01-31-2014, 12:45 PM

The current FCAT scores are misleading because the standards from 2012 to 2013 were advanced considerably for higher performing schools, too much in the opinion of many which was reflective of many "A" schools losing that status within the course of one year. It's pretty difficult to see the results legitimate as a result. Student achievement didn't change, rather the criteria. Great Schools utilizes FCAT scores as part of it's grading so it would stand to reason Safety Harbor would have lost some points. If I'm not mistaken Safety Harbor's score was an 8 in the recent past, with some schools scoring 9s.

jaybird45 · 01-31-2014, 03:03 PM

I have a follow up question. We are considering a opportunity to relocate to Tampa with my existing firm. The office is located in downtown Tampa. We were in the Tampa area in November and really liked Safety Harbor. Is it reasonable to commute to downtown Tampa from there?

kyle19125 · 02-01-2014, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaybird45

I have a follow up question. We are considering a opportunity to relocate to Tampa with my existing firm. The office is located in downtown Tampa. We were in the Tampa area in November and really liked Safety Harbor. Is it reasonable to commute to downtown Tampa from there?

Absolutely. Safety Harbor sits at the top of Tampa Bay and has easy access to Tampa via SR60 (Courtney Campbell Causeway) or Tampa Road/SR580. If you're used to or not adverse to a 30-40 minute commute (20 mile distance) it's not bad at all.