Help! Relocating to Tampa - Looking for new construction with A+ High School (Palm Harbor: 2014, chapel)

[sunshinejoe]

Job is relocating to St Pete (downtown area).
Looking for SFH new construction ($400k-$500k) but I am not familiar with the traffic.
I have been looking at Wesley Chapel, Riverview, Odessa and Lutz: it looks like there are lots of communities for my range. However, they appear to be a bit far away - or maybe not. High school rating is very important!

1. Am I missing areas with new construction a bit closer to work? if so, what would you suggest?
2. What area should I stay away from and way?
3. I am allocating 45 minutes to/from future home/work. Am I underestimating it?
4. I do not care to be by the water. Inland is preferred but the town's/city's amenities are more important (parks, shops, stores, amusement)
5. I heard all high schools are good in the Tampa area. Is that correct?

Thanks!
P.S. Any other relevant additional info is appreciated.

[Lillie767]

New construction in Pinellas County is hard to find. However, there are a considerable number of new homes and subdivisions being built in Pasco County in the Trinity area and the towns you have mentioned. However, the trip to downtown St. Pete is not a joy from there.

I think you are underestimating the commute time to and from Pasco County, especially in rush hours. Coming home always seems to take more time than going especially during the season. For example, I live in north Pinellas County and I had to allow 45 minutes to get to St. Pete for my covid shot, a distance of about 20 miles.

You should look at the programs available at the different schools. Lutz is in Hillsborough County, Wesley Chapel is in Pasco County, St. Pete is in Pinellas County. Schools are run by the county.

[kab0906]

If you work in Pinellas County you should live in Pinellas County. Trust me, the commute on Google maps doesn't show what a sh*t show it really is. Also, if you're working in downtown st Pete, North Pinellas County isn't suitable either. Don't be fooled by thinking you can take 19 down. It, too, it a sh*t show commute.

A+ schools? No. You won't find them. Some are better then others but none are high quality schools. We sent out kid to private school in Pinellas and that was acceptable, but quite expensive.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by sunshinejoe

Job is relocating to St Pete (downtown area).
Looking for SFH new construction ($400k-$500k) but I am not familiar with the traffic.
I have been looking at Wesley Chapel, Riverview, Odessa and Lutz: it looks like there are lots of communities for my range. However, they appear to be a bit far away - or maybe not. High school rating is very important!

1. Am I missing areas with new construction a bit closer to work? if so, what would you suggest?
2. What area should I stay away from and way?
3. I am allocating 45 minutes to/from future home/work. Am I underestimating it?
4. I do not care to be by the water. Inland is preferred but the town's/city's amenities are more important (parks, shops, stores, amusement)
5. I heard all high schools are good in the Tampa area. Is that correct?

Thanks!
P.S. Any other relevant additional info is appreciated.

Can't do it. Period. None of the areas you suggest are commuting distance to St. Pete. Have you looked at a map?

Pinellas County has been built out for decades, there's no new construction anywhere near St. Pete to speak of.

Schools stink here, no matter where you are. Pinellas will be some of the worst, although not the absolute worst. Few high schools are good here. Typically the ones in the high income areas, none of which are near St. Pete.

If I had school aged children I wouldn't be working in St. Pete unless I was resigned to 2 hours of commuting daily to get to a decent area.

RM

[billl]

Pinellas County is built out. You aren't going to find much there that's new, unless you buy an old house and knock it down. I just moved back here recently, but from what I understand, where you are looking -- North Hillsboro (Lutz and Cheval) -- has some of the best schools in the area. Not sure that makes them A+ schools, but they're the best you'll get without going private. Everyone wants to be in the Steinbrenner High School district. You can still find some new construction around there, but everything in the area will be overpriced. Demand is ridiculously high right now throughout Tampa Bay because everyone wants to move here. Combine that with Steinbrenner and you will pay top dollar. To make matters worse, North Hillsboro to St Pete is a terrible commute. Maybe you can do that in 45 minutes when there's no traffic, and maybe right now (with COVID) traffic is lighter than usual. But in time that's going to end up being awful. One little accident on the Howard Frankland shuts down the whole bridge and will ruin your entire day. Unless you're a real masochist you need to live on the same side of the bay where you work.

[sunshinejoe]

Thanks for your replies. I will be visiting the area this weekend. The traffic you describe sounds a lot like I95 in SFL, which I have learned to live with. However, your input is very valuable to me in making a decision where to live.

I have heard of Westchase but I don't know much either.
Is Riverview a bad idea, too? How about Odessa?

@Lillie767, I will look into the Trinity area. I am not sure if there is new construction going on.

@KAB0906, there has to be suitable public high schools somewhere; or not at all?

@MORTONR, If living in Pinellas was not an option, based on what I originally mentioned, what would be the next best option?

@Bill, you mentioned Lutz and Cheval - will definitely look into those areas.

[billl]

Originally Posted by sunshinejoe

Thanks for your replies. I will be visiting the area this weekend. The traffic you describe sounds a lot like I95 in SFL, which I have learned to live with. However, your input is very valuable to me in making a decision where to live.

I have heard of Westchase but I don't know much either.
Is Riverview a bad idea, too? How about Odessa?

Lots of new construction in Odessa and Land O Lakes, and some in Trinity. In fact we are building a house in Odessa. But all of these communities are in Pasco county, which isn't known for outstanding schools. I've heard that Mitchell High is well regarded but have no direct experience. Personally we don't need to worry about school quality anymore so that was not a deciding factor for us.

I'm not familiar with either Westchase or Riverview, but based on their location I can say Westchase may have a better commute than Pasco or north Hillsboro, but it's still cross-bay which can be very challenging. Riverview is southeast of Tampa so any commute would require going through central Tampa.

[kyle19125]

OP, there are A-rated high schools in Pinellas County. Palm Harbor University and East Lake , both of which are in Northern Pinellas County. If you can lose the fixation for new construction versus a home several years old that's up-to-date, there would be plenty of desirable housing options in Palm Harbor or East Lake (Oldsmar/Tarpon Springs) not requiring another 30 minutes on top of your commute each way.

[kab0906]

My child was in high school from 2014-18, so my experience is fairly recent. Again, we lived in Pinellas and chose to go private school because public just wasn't up to standard.

Not being from the area, please also look at flood zone maps

https://floodmaps.pinellascounty.org/

And sink hole maps

Sinkholes of Pinellas County, Florida , 2008

[Sunscape]

Nobody has mentioned Tierra Verde. I dont know anything about the schools there but it is a nice area, if you buy an existing home.