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I’ve posted on here a few times in the past few years regarding a possible move to Florida. Unfortunately, the jobs my husband was looking at didn’t work out for one reason or another. However, he recently got a job working from home so we can live anywhere we want. We love Florida....especially the gulf coast. We don’t mind the heat and humidity.....much easier to deal with than the cold and snow here in PA! . We like the Pinellas County and Tampa area and have some friends there. So, we were looking around there. We want to be somewhat close to the beach (maybe 20-30 minutes at most). But, I’m having a horrible time finding a house to rent (or even buy) in Pinellas County that is zoned for good schools. They all seem bad! Wondering if we should consider the east coast, Melbourne area....they seem to have better schools, nice downtown area, etc. but we really prefer the gulf sand, water, etc. Any advice would be great!
FYI: we need a 3-4 bedroom that allows pets (we have one old dog), and a pool would be great (can be community pool).
Thanks!
I’ve posted on here a few times in the past few years regarding a possible move to Florida. Unfortunately, the jobs my husband was looking at didn’t work out for one reason or another. However, he recently got a job working from home so we can live anywhere we want. We love Florida....especially the gulf coast. We don’t mind the heat and humidity.....much easier to deal with than the cold and snow here in PA! . We like the Pinellas County and Tampa area and have some friends there. So, we were looking around there. We want to be somewhat close to the beach (maybe 20-30 minutes at most). But, I’m having a horrible time finding a house to rent (or even buy) in Pinellas County that is zoned for good schools. They all seem bad! Wondering if we should consider the east coast, Melbourne area....they seem to have better schools, nice downtown area, etc. but we really prefer the gulf sand, water, etc. Any advice would be great!
FYI: we need a 3-4 bedroom that allows pets (we have one old dog), and a pool would be great (can be community pool).
Thanks!
What is your budget? That's going to determine where you can or can't live. The closer you are to the water, the more expensive it will be. And understand that rental properties are becoming stupid expensive here, as the market is very hot.
Pinellas schools are some of the worst in the area.
What is your budget? That's going to determine where you can or can't live. The closer you are to the water, the more expensive it will be. And understand that rental properties are becoming stupid expensive here, as the market is very hot.
Pinellas schools are some of the worst in the area.
RM
Sorry....I guess I should’ve specified budget. 😜. We could probably spend up to $2,000 in rent. Yep, I look all over on Zillow and Realtor and see rent is high!! We wouldn’t rule out buying....just thought it might be good to rent first and get a feel for the area. However, it also may make sense to buy because we don’t want the kids to have to switch schools another time and the rent may be higher than a mortgage. If we buy, probably around $300,000. But most of the houses in Pinellas County, no matter the price, are zoned for bad schools. . Heard Seminole, Safety Harbor, and Palm Harbor are good but can’t find much there. And still up in the air about Seminole schools....rating on great schools is bad but everyone says they are ok. So, maybe Melbourne area would be better? It sucks because we love the gulf....and there’s is so much to do in the Tampa Bay Area. But I’ve heard Melbourne is really nice too.
What time of year were you here? I wouldn't say you love the heat and humidity until you've experienced a full summer here. That would be pretty much May through October. I've lived here since 1970 and it's getting worse all the time for me. Yes the winters are nice. They tend to make me forget how awful the summers are. It will be around 86 or 87 degrees and I'll say oh it's not too bad and then wham you get hit with 90 and above and high humidity and night temps sometimes as high as the 80s. As far as the schools go, Seminole and Palm Harbor are good schools. I prefer the Seminole area as once you get away from u.s.19 and McMullen booth rd. traffic is much lighter and closer to the beach. Its more of a contained area, has a new town center, several parks and st. Pete college campus. Lots of new apts.going up too. Check out The Addison on Long Bayou. They are almost complete I think and have a website.
What time of year were you here? I wouldn't say you love the heat and humidity until you've experienced a full summer here. That would be pretty much May through October. I've lived here since 1970 and it's getting worse all the time for me. Yes the winters are nice. They tend to make me forget how awful the summers are. It will be around 86 or 87 degrees and I'll say oh it's not too bad and then wham you get hit with 90 and above and high humidity and night temps sometimes as high as the 80s. As far as the schools go, Seminole and Palm Harbor are good schools. I prefer the Seminole area as once you get away from u.s.19 and McMullen booth rd. traffic is much lighter and closer to the beach. Its more of a contained area, has a new town center, several parks and st. Pete college campus. Lots of new apts.going up too. Check out The Addison on Long Bayou. They are almost complete I think and have a website.
Thanks for the info! I didn’t know about the town center. That’s great....I was hoping Seminole would have something like that. As for the heat and humidity, I didn’t say I loved it....just that we can deal with it. It’s kind of like the lesser of two evils...haha! I’d rather deal with 3 months of extreme heat and humidity than 5-6 months of cold and snow. I hate the feeling of always being cold, even when being inside with the heat on. I grew up here in PA, but then lived in the Virginia Beach area for 13 years...loved it there. Came back here and my body never adjusted again to the cold. People here pick on us all the time because we basically hibernate all winter. . And yep, I’ve been to Clearwater and Tampa in the spring but also in August! I remember walking outside and feeling like my face was on fire! 😳
Thanks for the info on the Addison. I’m going to check it out!
Sorry....I guess I should’ve specified budget. ��. We could probably spend up to $2,000 in rent. Yep, I look all over on Zillow and Realtor and see rent is high!! We wouldn’t rule out buying....just thought it might be good to rent first and get a feel for the area. However, it also may make sense to buy because we don’t want the kids to have to switch schools another time and the rent may be higher than a mortgage. If we buy, probably around $300,000. But most of the houses in Pinellas County, no matter the price, are zoned for bad schools. . Heard Seminole, Safety Harbor, and Palm Harbor are good but can’t find much there. And still up in the air about Seminole schools....rating on great schools is bad but everyone says they are ok. So, maybe Melbourne area would be better? It sucks because we love the gulf....and there’s is so much to do in the Tampa Bay Area. But I’ve heard Melbourne is really nice too.
For starters Great Schools is not the most reputable site, as they have long been inconsistent with ratings giving A-A+ schools (based on state assessment testings) mediocre scores of 7 and 8. Check out Schooldigger for what is in my opinion much more useful in terms of real world quality indicators. East Lake-Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, East Lake-Oldsmar, Countryside-Clearwater and Seminole all have good school districts which have been quite consistent over time and wouldn't let arbitrary ratings keyed into and spewed out of a computer dictate where to live. Not to get all soap box, but kids are most set up for academic success at home with supportive parents involved in the education process (versus leaving it entirely up to the school)...which you seem to have a handle on. There is so much more to do in the Tampa Bay area and while Melbourne does have some good schools due to the heavy tech/science population living there (NASA and other tech employers), more/less pretty boring and isolated from other population centers.
For starters Great Schools is not the most reputable site, as they have long been inconsistent with ratings giving A-A+ schools (based on state assessment testings) mediocre scores of 7 and 8. Check out Schooldigger for what is in my opinion much more useful in terms of real world quality indicators. East Lake-Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, East Lake-Oldsmar, Countryside-Clearwater and Seminole all have good school districts which have been quite consistent over time and wouldn't let arbitrary ratings keyed into and spewed out of a computer dictate where to live. Not to get all soap box, but kids are most set up for academic success at home with supportive parents involved in the education process (versus leaving it entirely up to the school)...which you seem to have a handle on. There is so much more to do in the Tampa Bay area and while Melbourne does have some good schools due to the heavy tech/science population living there (NASA and other tech employers), more/less pretty boring and isolated from other population centers.
Thanks for the info! Yep, I have heard that great schools isn’t the best site to use, so I’ve started to look at other sites like school digger and niche. And yes, a child’s education definitely begins (and ends) at home. We are very involved parents and on top of that, I taught elementary school for about 8 years and since then have worked as a school counselor. In fact, once we get there, I’ll be searching for a school counselor position. Thankfully, I already have my counseling certification for Florida.
Sorry....I guess I should’ve specified budget. 😜. We could probably spend up to $2,000 in rent. Yep, I look all over on Zillow and Realtor and see rent is high!! We wouldn’t rule out buying....just thought it might be good to rent first and get a feel for the area. However, it also may make sense to buy because we don’t want the kids to have to switch schools another time and the rent may be higher than a mortgage. If we buy, probably around $300,000. But most of the houses in Pinellas County, no matter the price, are zoned for bad schools. . Heard Seminole, Safety Harbor, and Palm Harbor are good but can’t find much there. And still up in the air about Seminole schools....rating on great schools is bad but everyone says they are ok. So, maybe Melbourne area would be better? It sucks because we love the gulf....and there’s is so much to do in the Tampa Bay Area. But I’ve heard Melbourne is really nice too.
South Tampa has one of the highest rated school district (Gorrie or Mitchell Elementary, Wilson Middle, and Plant High School). It's still a 30 min drive to the beach. It would be hard to find a single family home in that school district under $300k but it's not impossible, depending on what areas you're looking at. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have, my son is in Plant High School currently and school district played a huge part in where I decided to buy.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have, my son is in Plant High School currently and school district played a huge part in where I decided to buy.
...And I'm a realtor who would like to sell you a house.
...And I'm a realtor who would like to sell you a house.
No conflict of interest there....
RM
I'm surprised by your bitter tone, have I done anything to you personally to offend you at any time? Whether she buys or rents or uses another realtor, is no consequence of mine or yours. I'm simply offering help as I've done for several others on this forum without soliciting any of them! There is such a thing as being helpful just to help others or maybe you're not familiar with that. Also what conflict of interest are you referring to?
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. We like the Pinellas County and Tampa area and have some friends there. So, we were looking around there. We want to be somewhat close to the beach (maybe 20-30 minutes at most). But, I’m having a horrible time finding a house to rent (or even buy) in Pinellas County that is zoned for good schools. They all seem bad! Wondering if we should consider the east coast, Melbourne area....they seem to have better schools, nice downtown area, etc. but we really prefer the gulf sand, water, etc. Any advice would be great! 
. Heard Seminole, Safety Harbor, and Palm Harbor are good but can’t find much there. And still up in the air about Seminole schools....rating on great schools is bad but everyone says they are ok. So, maybe Melbourne area would be better? It sucks because we love the gulf....and there’s is so much to do in the Tampa Bay Area. But I’ve heard Melbourne is really nice too.
