any opinions regarding a suitable small town for a retiree ? (Tampa: houses, buy)

[pervinder]

hi folks ...

• i'm writing to ask for your input with your opinion/s regarding a suitable small town in the western tampa bay area , for a 60 yrs old retiree , with a yellow lab , and who is considering the following townships :

• NEW PORT RICHEY
• TARPON SPRINGS
• PALM HARBOR
• SAFETY HARBOR
• DUNEDIN

• my main interests are the outdoors , & outdoor activities [ walking , biking , hiking ] , with or without my dog

• love the water [ ocean / lake / river .. haven't got into boating and fishing yet , but plan to ]

• love the beach

• i intend to buy a single family , ranch style house , of about 2000 SQ.FT., in a non-gated community

• my only main concern is for a Medical Center [ Hospital Services ] , be available within 5-7 miles ..

• i currently reside [and have lived here , since 1987] , in Batavia , Western NY , [ pop. of about 15,500 ] , and love the small town feel , with EVERYTHING being close by _ within 3-10 mins .. [e.g. the Hospital is only a mile away from my house]

• i would appreciate any form of input

• thank you ..

[Sunscape]

My only exception to your list is New Port Richey.
The rest of the cities are all appropiate for what you are looking for, close to beach, close to the Pinellas trail where you go walking, or bicicling.

[Eastern Roamer]

I haven't been to all the towns, but from what I understand, I'd suggest Dunedin and Safety Harbor. They have the feeling of a town, you know, with sidewalks and stuff.

The other three are going to be suburban nightmares, if you ask me. Good luck.

[xlabel]

Although the towns you mention may be small individually, there will be no small town feel to them, only a city limits sign seperating more asphalt and concrete and congestion.

A more outdoorsy, ranch-home style place would be Citrus County. Inverness has a good hospital in town, but the only thing that area lacks is the sandy white beaches like you'd find in Pinellas. It's smaller and charming and is better for lake and river recreation and a more natural environment.

[pervinder]

Originally Posted by Annie of Oldsmar

My only exception to your list is New Port Richey.
The rest of the cities are all appropiate for what you are looking for, close to beach, close to the Pinellas trail where you go walking, or bicicling.

thank you annie ...

i have been trying to " find " a /the hospital in Palm Harbor , but i keep getting the following with Google , situated in ? Largo , address not of PM .. what gives ? .. is there a hospital in PH or not ? ..:
Sun Coast Hospital
(a facility of Largo Medical Center)
2025 Indian Rocks Rd
Largo, FL 33774
727-581-9474

[pervinder]

thank you , ER

[pervinder]

thank you , xlabel .. i think the call of the white sand is stronger

[Pragmaticus]

My take is

Any one of dunedin, palm harbor, safety harbor, countryside (of clearwater you didn't mention but fits what you are look for), and part of tarpon springs. For some reason I don't really like NPR. As far as Hospital, I actually like Morton Plant in Crearwater (about 20 to 30 minutes from these locations), which may be far for you. But mease hospital is there for countryside and Dunedin and the others.

Trail for biking (pinellas trail) is accesible from any of these places but probably you would have to drive or ride before joining the trail from any of these locations. From Dunedin, I can ride my bike all the way to honey moon island. You can do it also from Palm harbor depending on from where.

But like one of the above posters said, these are not distinct small town but connected one after the other defined by city limits but the houses that you will find close to beach will have different values depending where you are looking for. For example, people like palm harbor because of the good school which my not be your concern.

I suggest that you come down and check the ride and bike and closeness to hospital, etc. of each to make a decision.

Good luck

[ferret111]

I would stick to Pinellas. It may still be sprawly along 19, but it seems to be a lot nicer than Pasco. Safety Harbor and Dunedin are the best on that list, followed by Tarpon Springs. While I don't spend a lot of time north of Clearwater, Safety Harbor and Dunedin still have little, and I mean little, downtown areas. Tarpon Springs kind of has one, but it caters mostly to the tourists. You'd be relatively close to the Pinellas Trail in all three of the cities, but it actually runs through the middle of Dunedin. Also, Dunedin is right next to Clearwater, so you're not far from that beach.

There are some hospitals nearby, as other posters have stated, but I'm from Tampa and I don't know anything about Pinellas hospitals.

[Sunscape]

Originally Posted by pervinder

thank you annie ...

i have been trying to " find " a /the hospital in Palm Harbor , but i keep getting the following with Google , situated in ? Largo , address not of PM .. what gives ? .. is there a hospital in PH or not ? ..:
Sun Coast Hospital
(a facility of Largo Medical Center)
2025 Indian Rocks Rd
Largo, FL 33774
727-581-9474

Yes, there is a big hospital in Safety Harbor,located in Mcmullen Road, which is one of the main ways in this area. It is a major heart health center as well.Safety Harbor is next to Dunedin and Palm Harbor.
Look for it at : Morton Plant Mease

Dunedin also has a hospital, although not as big as the one in SH.
Look for it at the same site as before.
Tarpon Springs also has a hospital: helen ellis memorial hospital
Palm Harbor does not, as far as I know, have a hospital. But it does have one in all the surrounding cities. They are very close to each other.
Driving time 10-12 minutes.