Moving to Tampa Bay with a pre-teen - HELP! Tampa/St. Pete?! (East Lake: rentals)

[ugmf12]

I've finally decided on moving to the Tampa area but now I'm stuck on the WHERE to move to I'm mid-30s female looking for help. I love the beaches, the city and the overall vibe but now I have to get serious and find a rental by August. My son is 12 turning 13 in December - he's entering 7th grade. I really don't want to move to an area where he'd going to feel isolated so kid friendly is a MUST. We have two pups that desperately need running space after spending their first 6 months in a 9th floor condo! What I'm hoping to find is a warm community, safe, and a decent house. I'm bringing my job with my and can afford a really nice house but again, I'm stuck on location. My job will be located off Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa until I accept another offer on the table that will allow me to work from home - say 2 months? Please don't talk about traffic - I'm coming from DC. I know about Cost of Living and how expensive it is - I'm also moving from a condo that's almost $3k... Advice on schools (lets just be constructive vs. negative) - locals - single life - activities outside, etc. I used this site when I moved to DC almost 9.5 years ago and here I am again.

Where I've been looking:

Wesley Chapel - really nice area, good schools, good pricing but honestly just further away from Tampa than I'd like. Doesn't seem to have a nightlife - I'm not a big drinker but I do want to be social outside of the community. Seems like I'd have to drive 30-45 minutes to get into Tampa... Never visited before.

Westchase/Citrus Park - I like this area for its location but rentals are difficult to find. The schools look good but honestly, scores only give me half the puzzle.Visited and loved it. Location to Kennedy Blvd is great.

St. Pete - Its a beach community and the location to Kennedy Blvd is pretty nice. I've visited and loved it. Schools aren't great but again, scores only show half the puzzle. I know there are fundamental schools available but I'm not sure we can apply since we're arriving late summer.

Trinity/East Lake - almost similar to Wesley Chapel but more Northeast. Its closer to the beaches.

Please help!! Thank you

[sinatras]

You are pretty much telling us not to comment on schools, traffic, or cost of living. So what ARE YOU interested in having us comment about?

[ugmf12]

Obviously the area in general. I have already heard “the schools are bad, the traffic is bad and the cost of living is bad” - I’m not entertaining those comments. Now feel free to comment if you have constructive information.

[MortonR]

I’m with Sinatras. You appear to have answered your own questions. “Constructive” does not equate to positive or negative.

It sounds more like you’re looking for validation, or you have no idea what you’re looking for.

And by the way - you’ll be hard pressed to find a rental of any kind in August, as it’s peak season outside of the snowbird areas. And most of the school districts are back in session by the 19th or thereabouts.

How’s that for constructive?

RM

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I’m with Sinatras. You appear to have answered your own questions. “Constructive” does not equate to positive or negative.

It sounds more like you’re looking for validation, or you have no idea what you’re looking for.

And by the way - you’ll be hard pressed to find a rental of any kind in August, as it’s peak season outside of the snowbird areas. And most of the school districts are back in session by the 19th or thereabouts.

How’s that for constructive?

RM

Oh thank god I can rep you again. It had stopped letting me do it too many times.


To the OP: Sounds like you have decided on Westchase. Good choice and I wish you good luck with that know-it-all DC attitude of yours. I'm sure it will go over extremely well here.

[ugmf12]

Thank you for being so nice

[ugmf12]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Oh thank god I can rep you again. It had stopped letting me do it too many times.


To the OP: Sounds like you have decided on Westchase. Good choice and I wish you good luck with that know-it-all DC attitude of yours. I'm sure it will go over extremely well here.

To Siantras - let me clarify a few things. I’m not a know-it-all nor did I advertise as such. What’s the value add to hearing something bad? For instance “the schools are bad” - I don’t believe a school is the only person responsible for a child’s education. I also went to plenty of crummy schools thanks to my parents moving around and I’m an OK person. “Traffic is bad” - I don’t plan on commuting too much - I work remotely more often than not BUT I already got an earful from other locals about the traffic from Wesley Chapel to the Macdill area. No need to revisit that can of worms; lastly, cost of living. I’ve been paying out the bum for much smaller spaces up here. From what I can SEE it’s much more tolerable. If you know the best route to go, please feel free to share.

I’m not trying to get in a battle of words on City Data forums. I’m sorry you felt offended by me not wanting touch on those 3 things.... I wasn’t being dismissive. Constructive feedback is just giving me information that adds value and not just saying something is bad. It’s neither helpful or productive being keyboard warriors for those that don’t know an area. I did ask about activities in the area, single life (not sure either of you know what that is) and overall good communities. I haven’t decided on any one area just yet - I did look up all the school websites to know when each school starts so I know we’ll and clear what my deadlines are. Again, im far from a know it all but I’m definitely not a dummy.

Thanks again.

[MortonR]

Let’s clarify a bit:

To generalize, relative to where you currently live, the schools and education here in general stink. You no doubt understand this. Short of looking at the school grades on the state’s website, any “ratings” site you see can and often are “gamed” in a number of ways. State issued school grades are based on data only, no input from parents or the community, just hard data.

Of the locations you mentioned, all are relatively good except for the St. Pete area. Pinellas County schools are generally worse than Hillsborough.

No nightlife to speak of in any of these areas other than St. Pete. At least not the singles sort of clubbing or nightclubs. South Tampa and the Hyde Park areas in Tampa would be the only ones I can think of. The remaining areas are suburban family sorts of places full of chain restaurants and big box stores.

Look at Fishhawk Ranch and Bloomingdale, too, if you’re willing to do the suburbia thing. Top tier schools, both public and private.

Forget about the beach. Outside of St. Pete, you’re a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour from the beach. People who are coming here gush about the beach, yet they don’t seem to grasp that we don't live in a vacation world around here. You’ll be busy with life, especially with a teenager in the house, and getting to the beach will be an occasional thing, if that. Proximity to the beach just means increased housing costs and potential flood insurance.

So not all sunshine and giggles, but at least this should give you some additional information.

RM

[rgnx]

Hi UGMF12

Just want to say these board can give you perspective of certain aspects of an area you are researching however please do your own research and decide for yourself.

i am currently residing in the DMV area (Maryland) and after traveling back and forth to Tampa over the past 6 years purchased property in the south Tampa area. I will be moving there within the next 6-8 months. It"s a very desirable area if within your budget particularly north of Gandy blvd and is in close proximity to downtown. Plant high school in this area is one of the better schools in the Tampa region.

Did I inquire with the board prior to making a decision? Yes only to let me know my options however in the end my decision was based upon my exposure during my travels over the last 6 years and my perspectives based upon what defines me and not someone else's