How is Brandon? (Tampa, Bell: house, construction, school district)

[jeffreda30238]

I am wondering how the Brandon area is as far as family and schools. I saw my dream house in the Bell Shoals Gardens subdivision and I want to make sure I am moving to a decent area. It will just be me and my 1 child who is 8...all feedback is greatly appreciate

[kowboydmac]

My friend had a cousin that lived there... we visited him once and went to the mall, it was a reallyyy nice area where we were at.

Just a one time visit though, would definitely go back.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by jeffreda30238

I am wondering how the Brandon area is as far as family and schools. I saw my dream house in the Bell Shoals Gardens subdivision and I want to make sure I am moving to a decent area. It will just be me and my 1 child who is 8...all feedback is greatly appreciate

Brandon, like many other areas, has its good and bad spots. While I am not familiar with the area you mention, I suspect it is somewhere off of highway 60 on the east side of Brandon. There is a lot of newer construction in that area, which is good.

As for the schools, they vary again depending on the area. Most of the schools in the Brandon area are good ones, but the best way to start figuring this out is to go to the school district's Web site and determine what school serves that area/address. The school district's Web site is:

Hillsborough County Public Schools-Tampa Florida

There is a "locator" feature on the Web site where you can put your address in and see what schools serve it - look around, it's probably on the "Schools" page.

From there you can go to the school's Web site and check out all sorts of information - you want to see what the school's "grade" is from the state. While not absolute, this will give you some idea of the school's quality. Obviously, an "A" grade is the most desirable, but lower grades do not necessarily mean it's a bad school. Demographics can play a big part here, so do your due diligence and look closely at the area the school serves.

Wile Florida's schools have taken hits in the past, they are rapidly moving up in the nation as far as graduation rates, test scores, etc. You can also go to the Florida Department of Education Web site http://www.fldoe.org/ and check out the details on the school's grade and FCAT scores (state mandated achievement test.)

Good luck in your move!

RM

[JUJYFRUIT0]

its' VERY nice.