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Old 01-15-2009, 05:15 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,065 times
Reputation: 16

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Good Morning,
My husband came home yesterday and informed me that he company wants to move him to Tampa. We are a family in our mid 30's with one child who is 4.
She is currently in junior kindergarden. Next year, senior kinder, then grade 1. Does the school system work the same way? Schooling for her is very important. I was looking at the forum and found that someone mentioned to go to greatschools.com. Very helpful.
As soon as he told me about this, I immediately went to realtor.com and started searching. Can someone point me in the right direction where to start to look? We would be looking at the 200-250K range for a house. Is that a reasonable amount to spend on a house. Do I need more? Less?
Anything that anyone can tell me would be appreciated. My daughter in involved in extra curricular activities as well...swimming, dance etc.
I guess to wrap it all up, I would be looking at a a great family neighborhood between Largo (aunt lives there) and Tampa. Also any info on house insurance would be awesome too....Thank you to everyone who can take some time help me. This possible adventure came out of left field. Ironically, yesterday was our coldest day (-22 F) when the news came to me.
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Old 01-15-2009, 08:37 AM
 
892 posts, read 1,577,938 times
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One extreme to the other.......... very cold there, very hot and VERY VERY humid for most of the year here. To much of anything gets old after a while.
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Old 01-15-2009, 09:33 AM
 
102 posts, read 423,168 times
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As far as I know (friends from Surrey, BC, Regina, Calgary, etc...) the schooling is pretty much the same. I wouldn't imagine you daughter having to much difficulty adjusting, especially as such a young age. Kindergarten starts around age 6, first grade around age 7.
Between Tampa and Largo (only about a 30 minute drive), there are many great areas that would have a lot of activities available for your daughter and family. The Carrolwood area of Tampa has a great swimming club, for example. Westchase might be a neighborhood that makes sense for your family, especially location-wise.
As far as housing prices, I'm no longer sure, especially with the markets fluctuations in Florida. When my family moved to Tampa in 1998, we bought the house (4BR/2.4BTH) for less than 150k. At the height of the market upswing, it was nearing 375k... I'd imagine you could find something in NW Tampa in your range.
Good kid friendly neighborhoods to look into are: Northdale, Carrolwood, Citrus Park, Westchase, Town and Country, Oldsmar, South Tampa, etc...
Good luck!
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Old 01-18-2009, 12:24 PM
 
44 posts, read 114,065 times
Reputation: 16
i would like to thank the 1 person out of all the people on this forum who was willing to help me out.
Joelibyan, I appreciate you taking the time....cheers!!
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Old 01-19-2009, 01:36 PM
 
44 posts, read 114,065 times
Reputation: 16
No one else can help me???
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Old 01-20-2009, 05:41 AM
 
Location: St. Croix
737 posts, read 2,588,183 times
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Home Page | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt* is the URL for the Tampa Tribune online edition which has a Real Estate section. Reading the online paper will give you a good idea of what is happening in various areas. Joelibyan's post was fairly accurate in terms of child-friendly neighborhoods. To further narrow your search you may want to mapquest the address where your husband will work versus the listing you're considering. Traffic can test your patience so it would be good know his approximate commute time. If you click on 'Real Estate' you'll have the option of looking at real estate trends. Having been through 2 job transfers with a child I found that a short-term rental provided a better basis for getting acquainted with various neighborhoods before buying. Don't forget to retain your receipts associated with the move for tax purposes. It is a buyer's market right now and although there are exceptional values, keep in mind that a drive through the neighborhood may tell you why a listing is a value (e.g. every other house on the block is for sale or rent, bank owned properties are not well kept). If you find a listing you like but you don't care for the school, investigate private schools as an option. Due to recent job losses in Florida I don't think you'll have a problem finding an excellent deal. As far as the weather - yes it is hot and humid but believe me, your blood will thin in no time and after all, that is what air conditioning is for. Good Luck!
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Old 01-22-2009, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Pinellas County
1,466 posts, read 3,080,207 times
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Do you need to buy a home? Maybe you should consider a long term rental with the market the way it is? Seminole has great schools, its the area where I live and I love it. We used to have some neighbours from Toronto across the street from us. Their children went to Seminole High School. Lots of lovely homes to rent here just now and rates are not bad either. Better than mortgage on a property that may decrease again in value, taxes and insurance. I'm a realtor, so would be the first to encourage you to buy. Maybe take a trip down here and see neighbourhoods first, whether buying or renting and then go from there. How safe is the job? In this market, you don't want to be trying to sell a home if it doesn't all work out and move back. Though I'm sure that's not the tack you want to approach it with, it might be a good one. Good luck to you hope it all works out well for your family.
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Old 01-23-2009, 04:42 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,065 times
Reputation: 16
We would rent for atleast the first 6 months to get a feel for the place. We need to find the right area for us and school are a huge concern for us. Looks like we will be coming down in the next two weeks to look around. Thank you to everyone who helped me out. I will check out all these areas when I come down...Also we will be able to see where his office is exactly and see what some driving times are as well. I don't want to buy straight away but as stated, it is a buyers market....
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Old 01-23-2009, 07:45 AM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,202,996 times
Reputation: 10689
The biggest thing is to find out where your husband's job is located and what commute time is acceptable to you both.

There are a lot of nice areas but living in one that is an hour or more commute may not be the best for your family life.

I hesitate to recommend an area without knowing where your DH will be working.
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Old 01-23-2009, 08:37 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,065 times
Reputation: 16
Okay, I found the area...N. dale Mabry and I 275. We would really want to be anymore the 30 commute.
thanks everyone!
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