Lakeland: African Family moving to Lakeland (Tampa, University: 2015, how much, neighborhoods)

[temanzi]

Originally Posted by straw71

Hi there,

For a school for a child with autism there is the Monarch School, it is in Bartow about 20-30 minutes from Lakeland, depends on where you live in Lakeland...The Monarch School: Home, Lakeland Christian School, is one of the better Christian schools in the area, it looks like they have an autism program, Lakeland Christian School | Private School | K4-12, Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School.
As far as I know the private schools are christian, the Monarch School says it is non-denominational.
Try Polk County Public Schools Polk County, Florida, for the school board in Polk County. One of the better Elementary Schools in Lakeland is Highlands Grove Elementary school, but if you go to the web site, it will tell you the letter grade of the school, and more about it, there will be links to the schools web site.
You can go to Apartments for Rent - Rent.com® Apartment Finder, Apartments for Rent - Your Trusted Apartment Finder Tool at ApartmentGuide.com, to find apartments those web sites will tell you how to get in touch with the landlords. In south Lakeland, one of the better apartments would be The Village at Lake Highlands, there is Audubon Oaks in north Lakeland, which would be closer to the hospital. If you want to live in a better part of town, I would try the south side of Lakeland, in the zip codes of 33813 or 33811. Most realtors, are more about renting houses not apartments. If you think you would rather rent a house, you can go to Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Apartments & Houses for Rent - realtor.com® and look up rentals.
The commute to the University of South Florida would probably be about 45minutes or so, traffic tends to get backed up on interstate 4, especially during rush hour.
As for diversity you will be fine in Polk County. There are a lot of great lakes in Polk County. Hope I answered enough for you.

You have indeed answered quite a good amount. Thank you. And you are right. I am looking specifically for houses rather than apartments. I did not know there was a Monarch school in Lakeland. (Thanks for that). We have been looking at the Resurrection Catholic School more and more. (We were planning to enroll them in catholic school here in Maryland because my wife is catholic). About the christian schools, is it in like Texas where they are trying to get away from teaching science at all? One of the schools I looked at said they emphasize Jesus teachings.

[temanzi]

Originally Posted by Beezwacks

You are from Africa? Where in Africa?

Hi.
I was born and raised in Uganda but I have lived in the US for almost 10 years now. My wife was also born in Uganda but she's lived in the US since she was about 5 years old.

[temanzi]

Originally Posted by ilikepizza

Are you guys on a work visa or do you have a green card?

We are both US citizens.

[flyboytampabay]

Check out GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community..

[Otto1958]

[quote=temanzi;39284027]Hi there.
. We are pretty liberal ourselves, (I ask parents if they keep guns in the house if my daughter is going over for a sleepover).

And the people in Lakeland, a very conservative place, would tell you, "None of your business if we exercise our Second Amendment Rights".

[LakelandFLNative]

Hello Temanzi, I think somehow you just missed them. I encourage you to look at the City-Data page for race distribution, I think you'll see it's not much different than most of Florida. I've lived here my whole life and I'm sure you would be welcomed here. Lakeland is a great, friendly city. As a real estate agent, I cannot guide you on schools but I can say we have both great public and private schools throughout the city. Much of what some other residents said above is true. Since you visited the downtown area, I would encourage you to come back and spend some time at our two malls. There is Lakeland Square on the north side and Lakeside Village on the south side. This might give you a better feel of our demographics. If you are looking for specifically a Catholic school, there is also St. Josephs and St. Anthonys. I'm sure they would welcome you to visit and check them out...that's what I would do. Good luck!!

//www.city-data.com/city/Lakeland-Florida.html

Oh, yeah as for autism, I have heard wonderful things about the Monarch school. If you lived in South Lakeland (33812-33813), that would not be a long commute. However, that puts you farther away from I-4 for the commute to USF.

[InGateway]

Move to the nearest black area or mixed area that you can. Nobody wants to be the only black family on a white street or I know I wouldn't if I was black. I say this as someone who has your best interest, don't get caught up listening to those who say "oh it will be fine!" when it might not. I never been to the area you asked about but I know universally in many locations, its the same old story.

[flyboytampabay]

Originally Posted by InGateway

Move to the nearest black area or mixed area that you can. Nobody wants to be the only black family on a white street or I know I wouldn't if I was black. I say this as someone who has your best interest, don't get caught up listening to those who say "oh it will be fine!" when it might not. I never been to the area you asked about but I know universally in many locations, its the same old story.

This is a bunch of crap....... I live in a very nice neighborhood with whites, blacks, and Asians..

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by flyboytampabay

This is a bunch of crap....... I live in a very nice neighborhood with whites, blacks, and Asians..

I agree with you - when we lived there, our neighborhood was very diverse as well. And close to beautiful Lake Hollingsworth.

[KPB]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I agree with you - when we lived there, our neighborhood was very diverse as well. And close to beautiful Lake Hollingsworth.

I also agree.