Carrollwood/Citrus Park vs Tampa Palms/New Tampa (Wesley Chapel: apartments, chapel)

[joyln]

I will be a graduate student at USF in my late 20s. I consider myself "settled," meaning that I just don't care much for nightlife or things that are typically thought of as "young people" stuff. I'm not much into eating out either, I'd much rather experiment with foods at home so as long as a grocery store is accessible I'm just fine (I have noted the Whole Foods in Carrollwood, which I love!).

I really don't mind having to travel up to 30 minutes or so when I do decide to indulge myself, but most of my time will be spent on campus or in my home office. In my spare time I would like to have access to trails or streets that I can walk/run and other outdoor activities that I could explore. I also enjoy yoga and dance. On a regular evening or weekend I enjoy staying in and watching a movie, playing games, crafting, or grocery shopping and experimenting in the kitchen. On occasion I enjoy going to movie theaters, art galleries and performing arts.

What are some opinions of these areas and which might be most suitable for me. I'm looking for an area that's relatively safe and quite, but is still within a reasonable distance from USF. When I say quite, I mean away from undergraduate students and drunken parties or bars. I generally don't mind noise from children playing. At my current job, my commute is 20-30 minutes, so a comparable commute to school is just fine.

[Tampaite]

Tampa Palms/New Tampa is "newer" compared to Carrollwood - this doesn't mean you'll have younger people but rather a good mix.

Have you driven around?

[joyln]

I have not had the opportunity to drive around. Unfortunately, I will not be able to check out places in person before moving. I have "driven" around via Google maps, but obviously this is not really comparable to physically being in the location. I have fellow grad students willing to look at places on my behalf and I am comfortable enough with this. But I just wanted to get a feel for what others had to say about these areas.

The students in the program say that a lot of grad students in general live in apartments in Tampa Palms close to campus. But specifically in our program, the 3rd+ year students tend to migrate toward Carrollwood because externships are out that way.

In terms of living in New Tampa, I'm not sure I'd go past Hunter's Green, only because I've heard the commute can be frustrating. One person in my program said they lived in Wesley Chapel previously, but it was too far.

Ideally, I would find a place I like decent enough and not have to move for the duration of my program.

[PDF]

New Tampa is definitely nice and quiet. Keep in mind that you can live on BBD before Hunter's Green and the commute would basically be the same. The area definitely has everything you are looking for, but I think Carrollwood would be a slightly better fit.