Question about the Gators (and then some) (Tampa, Brandon: houses, neighborhood)

[Kitana1979]

Hello, fellows! It’s great to find such a forum! Have been reading for a week now all the topics here) Hope you can shed some light for me as well.

My family (hubby, I, a 7 y.o. boy and a 3 y.o. girl) will be moving to Tampa Bay area next summer (don't want to take the kid out of school in the middle of the school year, that why we have to wait). We are SO-O-O looking forward to the move! My in-laws moved to FL a couple of years ago, and in 2007 we decided to visit them there (we'd never been to Fl before that). We loved the state so much, we were crying on our way to the airport – we didn’t want to leave! Florida is like a luscious woman – beautiful, hot and gorgeous… Don’t take me wrong, the in-laws are not living in the mansion, but we absolutely loved it! It is love from the first sight!

When we landed in Denver and drove to Gillette (that is of WY), my hubby and I looked at each other and said – “What a hell are we doing here?!” So, we decided to move to Fl. Not a day goes by without us looking at the pictures on the internet, or checking the houses, or wild life, etc. etc. We are set for Riverview or Brandon (I am a city girl, so I need as many people around as possible; preferably gun shots and small packages of white powder changing hands on the street corners – it’s a joke, of course, I don’t need it, just checking if you are paying any attention, lol).

My husband – on the opposite – is a small town dude from New England – native to Warren, RI. When we were in FL, he was driving around with his head sticking out of the car window – smelling the ocean... He really misses it living in WY where the closest ocean is… well… not too close, I tell you that… I grew up on the coast myself. Lookignf orward to delicious seafood))))

And, of course we have two children, so we had to compromise: safety first – we don’t have to live inside the Tampa itself, right? But I need to be as close to the civilization as possible, so I think Brandon would be the right town for me. However, we are leaning towards the Riverview. Well, still have some time to check the place out – hopefully, we will go to Fl this winter to see the towns before the move.

Anyway, I have a question:
I have read many things here about the alligators. Honestly, I am not thrilled, but people, let’s say, in Kenya have to share the space with lions and such… Can’t live on the Moon yet, lol!

Since I’ve got small kids, I have a question. Please, look at the picture (I pulled it out of Internet just for example). If there is a pond like that in a neighborhood, surrounded by the houses… Any alligators in such ponds? Have my eyes on some properties with backyards facing ponds. Concerned a little.

Thank you!

P.S. Any other Riverview or Brandon related advices are appreciated.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/petetasha/untitled-3.jpg (broken link)

[Mozart271]

Hi Kitana,

( I've been through Gillette, and I'm with you on that one!)

First of all, don't worry too much about the gators! They do indeed live in ponds, though, as well as in the rivers. What you need to do is, if you live on fresh water (I don't recommend retention ponds like the one in the picture--they tend to dry up and can get ugly.) --with little kids, GET A FENCE between them and the water. Just as you would protect them from a swimming pool, protect them from falling into a pond. And with a fence, no gator is gonna come into your yard.

I live on the Hillsborough river, and we have a concrete seawall. No gator has ever climbed over it, but I wouldn't say it couldn't possibly happen.

I work in Brandon. It has some very nice residential areas, although Hwy 60 is very congested. If your husband loves the ocean, Brandon ain't exactly close to it. Riverview is on the Alafia River. To my mind, the downside of Riverview is more air pollution from phosphate plant. You would need to look toward the other side of Tampa Bay to get near that seabreeze. Dunedin is a lovely little community over there--not big-city, but not that far from big cities.

Best of luck!

[mquintana]

I live in Brandon and do enjoy it. There are a lot of housing communites here-I, such as yourself, prefer to live away from 60. I live towards to causeway end. You can also tryin Valrico or even the Bloomingdale area. Riverview is nice, my in laws live out there in a very nice community. Alligators, yes there is always the possiblity-it is Fl. but don't feed them and you will be ok!

[On-da-Beach]

I can't imagine how excited you must be. What a change! Great advice above. IMO the nicer beaches are south of the Skyway bridge. Anna Maria Island is really pretty and most things down that way are nice. It makes a good day trip when you're in the area to visit.
The traffic will take some getting used to...

[mquintana]

Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island are the only places I will go swimming at...it's only about 45 mins. south of here (Brandon).

[bnepler]

I live just south of Riverview in a sub-division. We don't have many gators here. I lived in Pasco county, about 40 miles north of here and we did have plenty of gators, mosquiotes, snakes, bugs, birds, deer, bobcats, and they were in my back yard. I lived on a nice size pond with three others behind that one. I don't have any of those problems here. I'm 45 minutes from some of the greatest beaches on the gulf.

[CrowGirl]

I would agree with the previous posters - you always have to respect the alligators and understand that the old saying is true - if it's fresh water it may have an alligator in it. But if they are not fed by people they leave well enough alone and they don't travel that far out of the water in neighborhood areas. There are much bigger things to worry abou than alligators.

[Kitana1979]

Thank you so much, everyone! It is so nice to address the comminity and receive a reply) Just what I was looking for!
We are super-excited, and can't wait... can't wait... can't wait...
Now I have another question: gators - do they REALLY CLIMB FENCES?! I find it hard to believe...
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Also, I assume that I should keep an eye on the dogs as well, even though they are bigger breeds - St. Bernard and Golden Retriever. What about a cat? He comes home for food only... I don't think it will be fine for him just to run around...

[Mozart271]

Well, not to scare you, but...

//www.city-data.com/forum/tampa...tors-yard.html

Seriously, the above thread talks about gators and fences. They do have the ability to climb a fence, but having lived in Florida nearly my entire life, I have yet to hear of one climbing a chain-link fence around here. The danger occurs when a pet or child is allowed to approach the edge of a pond, lake or river. In fact, there are extremely few gator attacks on people (the danger of driving in town is way, WAY worse ), although because dogs, who sometimes wander around by themselves, are more prone to getting eaten if they get near a body of water.

(BTW, a big gator will go after a big dog, so leash or fence yours.)

[Muggy]

I have personally seen a gator scale a nearly vertical 5 foot earthen enbankment. They use their tails for leverage and thrust out of the water. They don't do it often, but they can. I was quite alarmed, because my wife and I would sit at the lakes edge and drink coffee every Saturday morning, always thinking we were out of reach. Then one morning we saw one swimming towards us so we went back inside. Bam, popped right up next to our chairs. It was amazing. Alligators have incredible bursts of energy.

The pond you have pictured could easily have alligators.