Affordable family neighborhoods within 20 minute drive of Tampa Int. Airport (Miami: section 8, rentals)

[sapphos]

Looking for some suggestions/insight please.

My husband has a possibility for a job in Tampa so I'm doing some prelim research. We live in Miami so we're already used to So Fl.

We would be renting and have big dogs so not really looking for high rise area. Would love some feedback on areas or neighborhoods within a 20 minute drive to the int. airport.

Prefer following criteria:
Not country feeling been there done that
Affordable ie can rent small house for no more than 1200
Relatively safe - so that we can feel okay with being in backyard with kid
Close to things ie shopping, libraries, parks (walking distance would be great...)
Schools not an issue of right now because we plan to homeschool
Moderate - liberal minded areas

First does St. Pete qualify? And then any other suggestions would be very welcome

Thanks so much!

[ilikepizza]

Town and Country sounds ideal for you guys. Great neighborhoods, all the stores/shopping needed, and only 15 min from the airport. You don't want to live in St. Pete if your husband is working in Tampa just because of the traffic alone.

[Occifer]

Town N Country is an option, as would be the parts of West Tampa around the stadium. Those aren't really great areas when it comes to safety and crime, however if you want a house for $1200 a month down here that's about all you're going to get. Westchase would be a better pick but I doubt you're going to find house rentals in that price range.

[gypsychic]

You could try Carrollwood, you might get lucky and find something in your price range. St. Pete would be too far with the traffic, and you won't find something in your price range in an area you would want to live.

[sapphos]

okay thanks for the feedback. Maybe I can add a few more things to see if we get more options.

First - it would be shift work so depending upon what shift and how long it could be driving around 6-6:30ish am and returning around 3pm ish. Otherwise it would be early afternoon 2ish and returning around midnight. Would this change the possibilities for St. Pete?

Also, does anyone know Miami at all? I'm trying to figure out how to see if some neighborhoods might be more transitional but still okay as long as we are fine with a mix of cultures but working families not Section 8 type neighborhoods.

Otherwise if we were willing to go out a bit further what other options would we have?

We might be able to go a bit higher on rent or consider a townhouse but we don't know until we get further in this process.

Thanks

[Tim Tim Tim]

look around the citrus park area.. Thats exactly what im paying for a 3 bed 2 bath house walking distance to citrus park mall and about 10 minutes from the airport. The area is definitely safe as well.

[tinytrump]

I used to live in Carrollwood the traffic to TIA was horrible, I mean aful! I moved to Clearwater, off McMullen booth -closer to the ocean honey! I am from Miami and I couldn't take not seeying my ocean. Anyhow, I get to work on the causeway in 20 25 min- easy and I work near International mall, best move I ever made. It is super cheap here, compared to So Fl. bit quieter- but to me boring, but very good if you have smaller children.

[crazynip]

Citrus Park isnt exactly 20 minutes from the airport. I live there and should know, but if you can deal with 30 minutes, then go for it.

As far as Town and Country, I am guessing you will not like most of it and feel safe. There are some nice areas, but in recent years, it has been turning into "town and compton"

[sapphos]

Thanks for the replies and Happy Fourth to everyone.

We've been looking at a bunch of areas and have included the ones everyone has suggested so I'm getting a good feel already. I find it really interesting to run different addresses to my Geico to see how the insurance varies and have come to believe that living near a canal or lake is much more expensive rather than the neighborhood itself.

DH is willing to drive a bit further for us to have a better lifestyle. We would probably like certain areas if we could afford them but are much more flexible because we would like a bit more space if possible without dumping 2000 a month.

We've lived all over the place in Miami - on the beach, in lofts downtown, in Coral Gables (which we disliked), and now in North Miami in a very transitional area. For anyone from Miami we actually are used to living along the Biscayne Corridor in the more urban areas. We've also lived in Savannah which was not our fav place to live, in San Antonio which was actually rather okay, and in Ashville, NC (out in the country which was not a good fit for us) and DH spent some time in Nashville working and lived in East Nashville in a very transitional area which he wasn't really okay with. We also spent a year living in Buenos Aires Argentina which is where I had my daughter. I'm originally from Hartford, CT and grew up in the city there, and DH is from France. Hopefully that gives a bit more insight into us.

There is a school in Palm Harbor that we would probably consider if we chose to do school rather than homeschooling so driving to there would probably also be a consideration.

TINYTRUMP how do you think utilities compare to Miami? Not sure where you lived but we seem to pay a lot for water and other utilities and I've read it's more expensive in Tampa for utilities than Miami but that could be because heat is needed more in the winter.

I also searched around the Kenwood section of St. Pete, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, and a few areas in between. Is the driving there bad because there aren't any direct routes or because there is just so much traffic or a bit of both.

Thanks again!

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Citrus Park isnt exactly 20 minutes from the airport. I live there and should know, but if you can deal with 30 minutes, then go for it.

As far as Town and Country, I am guessing you will not like most of it and feel safe. There are some nice areas, but in recent years, it has been turning into "town and compton"

really? I live here too and without taking the expressway I can be there in 20 minutes or less, if I DO take it its under 15 minutes