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Old 07-24-2008, 05:32 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,184 times
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Hello...My husband & I currently live in California, but will be moving to Florida in mid August due to a job transfer with my husband's company. He will be working in St. Petersburg, but I was told the school district in Pinellas County wasn't that great (we have a 5 yr. old who will be entering Kinder this year) so I've been checking around but without having actually been there, I'm just not sure where to start and I would hate for this to be a bad experience. We are looking into Lutz or perhaps Wesley Chapel but I am concerned about his commute. We have that now and would like to cut down on the traffic. He would like about a 20-minute commute from a nice, safe, quiet neighborhood/community with great schools and close to shopping with things for young people to do. I've also heard a lot of good things about Carollwood??....

If anyone could offer any suggestions on where to look for a family of 3 to rent, that would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 07-24-2008, 11:20 PM
 
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Hi

In Pinellas County, St Petersburg there is a lot of "Drugs". However, I had a friend move from NJ to
Wesly Chapel, FL and she stated that the area was very nice, clean, quiet and safe. Good Luck.
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Old 07-25-2008, 06:09 AM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,183,403 times
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Sorry, but I disagree with the previous poster . There is no way you would want to live in Lutz or Wesley Chapel and have to commute to St. Pete every day. That would be at least an hour or more. Even Carrollwood would be very long. S. Tampa would be my suggestion for Tampa. Maybe Riverview, but I don't know how long the drive is to St. Pete. You might want to check out Bradenton, if DH doesn't mind driving across the Skyway Bridge every day

We do have several posters who are very familiar with the St. Pete area, hopefully they will chime in soon. There are some good schools in St. Pete and all St. Pete is not drug haven by any means. Check out greatschools.net
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Old 07-25-2008, 08:13 AM
 
Location: Out of the frying pan....
151 posts, read 798,570 times
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We are currently renting (while we search for a home) in Wesley Chapel, and are looking in Lutz. The few times DH has had to drive "home" from St. Pete, due to a customer location, or to meet with one of his sales people who live there, he has had THE GRUMPIEST face on him upon arrival. The drive was nothing short of brutal. Keep in mind we are coming from Houston, and he regularly had long drives home (over an hour)...but this is not one he would willingly make regularly. Definitely look farther south for a home....your hubby will thank you!
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Old 07-25-2008, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
877 posts, read 1,911,777 times
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We're in a somewhat similar situation and we have narrowed it to South Tampa and Northeast St. Pete.
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Old 07-25-2008, 10:03 AM
 
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Thanks for all the information everyone! Also thank you - Keeper Of The Peace- for the suggestion to check out greatschools.net! I love this site and use it frequently, which brings me to my next question...The schools in Bradenton seem to be good, does anyone know what kind of commute this is to St. Pete or if there are certain zip codes to stay away from?? Same thing with South Tampa??

Thanks!!
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Old 07-25-2008, 10:40 AM
 
3,124 posts, read 4,934,612 times
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I'm like the unoffical Mayor on here for S. Tampa (particularly Hyde Park and Palma Cei) LOL! It's a wonderful area and commuting to St. Pete is a breeze, especially if you can go via the Gandy Bridge as opposed to the Howard Frankland (I-275). I don't know what your price point is, but PLEASE check out Beach Park and Beach Park Isles. It's pricy, but beautiful area with great schools and easy access to all parts Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater. Zip is mostly 33609 (that does also cover less desirable, but not terrible WestShore Palms too).

Also, commuting within Pinellas County is a TOTAL nightmare. RT. 19 and most of St. Pete get terrible with traffic; so if you want to live in St. Pete try to live within a few miles of work.

This is a lovely area. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn special IMO.

I'm starting to think I should get into local PR or something..LOL!
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Old 07-25-2008, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Tampa
37 posts, read 104,438 times
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I have to concur with Angel..... As a happy 30 year resident of South Tampa, I consider myself one of its biggest boosters. It is a great area. We live about one mile from the Gandy Bridge (maybe even less). We live in the "Guernsey Estates" area which is a GREAT neighborhood. Quiet, pretty, older, homes with lots of well kept yards. Not as expensive as Beach Park, Beach Park Isles or Culbreath Isles, we are right off of Westshore Blvd just North of Gandy Blvd. 3 or 4 bedroom homes in our area are running around $250K to $300K depending on how updated the property is. We hop on the Gandy bridge and hit St Pete all the time for restaurants and shopping. Its closer than going across town in Tampa for the same thing. I don't have children, so I can't speak to the schools, but my 19 yr old nephew was raised in S. Tampa his entire life and turned out to be a great kid and is starting his sophmore year at Univ of Fla. We never heard him complain of any major problems with the schools or teachers. He seems to be a smart, ambitous kid.
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Old 07-25-2008, 01:50 PM
 
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Thanks Angel & Tracyintpa! Sounds like really beautiful, ideal areas! i have a friend who lives in Brooksville and says South Tampa is mostly a club, party scene but that sounds like a complete difference from what you describe. I'm hoping it's more of what you say it is because if so then it sounds perfect! I'm looking to rent first for about a year until my hubby and i get settled in so just in case these areas are out of my price range (sounds a little pricey), are there any areas in south tampa i should avoid?? i don't want to live on the "good" side of town but cross the street and be in the "bad" side of town

Thanks again for all the great info., this really helps!!
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Old 07-25-2008, 02:21 PM
 
3,124 posts, read 4,934,612 times
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S. Tampa itself isn't a club scene. SoHo (where I live, Yay!) is probably what your friend is thinking of. Most of S. Tampa (BTW S. Tampa is defined as anything South of Kennedy Blvd and North of Gandy Blvd) is residential. Do you know how to use Google Street Level? Find a S. Tampa address (maybe on a real estate site) and plug it into Street Level and toodle around the streets to get an idea.
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