Pinellas County, I'm relocating! (St. Petersburg, Orlando: apartment, house, neighborhood)

[RioKohitsuji]

Hi! I just signed on to the Pinellas County School Board to teach Middle School and will be relocating in August. What can you tell me of this area? So far I do not know which school I will be at, so I'm just trying to find out all there is to know! My fiance is also coming with me and will be finishing up his Art degree, how are the universities?


And lastly, anything to say about the school district?

[summergal]

I don't know about the schools as I have no kids but the area is very busy! This is the most populated county in the state. There are beautiful beaches all around us and many great parks and lots to do here. Lots of different housing options. There are quite a few good Universities/schools as well.

[EB2]

I'm in Pinellas County....and while I try not to be negative, if you can (it's very hard), try to get a teaching job north county. The children south county seem to be harder to handle (I live south county, and attended high school north county, and my mom is also a substitute teacher).

Many of the cities in the county are rather expensive...but it's a nice setting. There are plenty of nice beaches all over, and a lot of "touristy" things to do (even if you're not a tourist ;P). Lots of stores, parks, and such, as well. Busch Gardens is about a 20-30 minute drive from St. Petersburg, depending on traffic, and Orlando and Gainesville are only an hour and a half-3 hours away (again, depending on traffic and how quickly you drive).

Despite being a highly urbanized county, we have a good amount of nature preserves throughout the area. We also have a nice amount of horse stables if you go to the right areas. Also, if you go north or east of the county towards Pasco and Hillsborough, there's still a good amount of land that's undeveloped. There's also a lot of other nice places throughout the state.


Summer can be rough, as far as heat goes. Other than that, if you're coming from the north and you're tired of cold/snow, FL. is ideal. We have nice "shorts and tank-top" temperatures almost year round.

I welcome you to the area. If you have any other questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them for you.

[RioKohitsuji]

Thank you both for the replies!

EB2, right now I stand a 90% chance of getting in at the Dunedine Middle School and I know that's more northern so I guess that a good thing!

[Floridasunshine]

Welcome to Florida, Dunedin is nice area, where are you moving from.

[summergal]

yes another thumbs up for Dunedin! Would be one of my choices.

[RioKohitsuji]

I'm relocating from RURAL Ohio (or as we say, "ahh-hi-yaw"). So yes, this will be quite the change for me!

Now, in case I do not get Dunedine, where are the other "nice" communities to try for? I'll be going down in the beginning of June for my placement and I would like to have a heads-up!

[SunshineState]

Originally Posted by RioKohitsuji

I'm relocating from RURAL Ohio (or as we say, "ahh-hi-yaw"). So yes, this will be quite the change for me!

Now, in case I do not get Dunedine, where are the other "nice" communities to try for? I'll be going down in the beginning of June for my placement and I would like to have a heads-up!

Funny you are moving from rual Ohio and we are looking to move to Rual Ohio! I live about 20 minutes from Dunedin and it is a nice area. You will be blown away by the traffic! If not Dunedin Saftey Harbor or Palm Harbor are very nice areas but you won't get away from the traffic anywhere in Pinellas or Hillsboro Counties.

[EB2]

Originally Posted by SunshineState

Funny you are moving from rual Ohio and we are looking to move to Rual Ohio! I live about 20 minutes from Dunedin and it is a nice area. You will be blown away by the traffic! If not Dunedin Saftey Harbor or Palm Harbor are very nice areas but you won't get away from the traffic anywhere in Pinellas or Hillsboro Counties.

Tarpon's pretty nice too.

[pinellasBUSdriver]

I agree that the north county kids are USUALLY easier to handle, but there are bad kids at every school! There are good kids at every school, too. We've lived here for 4 years, and recently moved from an apartment in Seminole to a house in Pasco County because that's what we could afford. I would suggest maybe living in the middle of the county? You are never more than 45 minutes from most everything in Pinellas, and there are nice areas. We rented a 1br apt for $680, and were super-convenient to shopping, dining, a jillion parks, and the beaches. It was a quiet neighborhood, and there was a pool. Our biggest sacrifices were sq footage (only had about 700), and there was no dishwasher. I really miss the location now....

Pinellas School District can be really backwards sometimes, but it's been good to me for 4 years. I hope you get your first choice school, they're really all about the same now, due to School Choice!