Moving to St Petersburg, FL area. Hello and help!

[matrips]

I saw the Tampa/Brandon thread, but we'll be moving to Pinellas County. House to be determined still :) but we're thinking of Safety Harbor or Seminole. We haven't gone down on our househunting trip yet though. Can anyone address homeschooling groups, get togethers, neighborhoods over that way? Or have friends there? We'll be there mid-July.

[learningmama]

We are in Gulfport (very south of the county). I think Safety Harbor or Seminole would be good ideas. Personally, I would try Safety Harbor or north Clearwater first. Largo seems to be a decent area too. IMO north county is safer, has better shopping/restaurants and more homeschool options. The PPEA (support group) is very popular and now has separate north/south monthly meeting. We are not part of a co-op because they are mostly all towards the north county or way middle east (Gandy area which is also nicer). Traffic can get crazy and I like to stay as local as possible. There is a Pinellas Christian homeschool group, Calvary Chapel has a big co-op and there are a couple of Classical Conversation groups. Dunedin also has some homeschool stuff going on.

We moved here two years ago for dh because of law school and will be moving who knows where next year. We've enjoyed our time here and love the nature and beach time (we are only 5-10 minutes away from several beaches), but south county does not have the family-vibe to it so it can be frustrating at times.

[ssavings]

We're **almost** in Largo. (we're just outside the city limits). Seminole and Safety Harbor are very nice.

 

There's a secular co-op that meets in Pinellas Park, http://www.stpetehomeschool.com/. I am waiting till my kids are a bit older to try it. There's also a Classical Conversations in Largo.

 

I will say that a benefit of the Largo/Seminole area is that I am pretty much directly in between north and south county activities.

[LibraryLover]

I do not like Largo. None of my biz, but I would not buy in Largo. You could rent there reasonably, and learn about the various areas. I would also ask for an At -will rental. Largo is a very transient area. Don't make a big commitment there until you're sure you like it.

Edited May 30, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Pink and Green Mom]

I saw the Tampa/Brandon thread, but we'll be moving to Pinellas County. House to be determined still :) but we're thinking of Safety Harbor or Seminole. We haven't gone down on our househunting trip yet though. Can anyone address homeschooling groups, get togethers, neighborhoods over that way? Or have friends there? We'll be there mid-July.

 

 

How is it going? We are going to be relocating to the area as well - looking at Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Waterchase and Carrollwood. Would love any/all info anyone has on these areas. We're coming from 3 acres in Northern VA so DH was a bit shellshocked when he visited and did a driving tour last week.

[matrips]

We were disappointed in Safety Harbor- didn't have the walkable neighborhood feel we were looking for outside of the little downtown area. Some streets looked quite iffy. Also, the lots were generally smaller.

 

We haven't looked in Palm Harbor or Waterchase- I think they were a bit too far for dh to commute to MacDill.

 

We loved Carrollwood. To us, many homes had large lots (.3 -.5 acres). Then again, we are coming from Arlington, VA and not Loudon so we are used to smaller lots! The neighborhood/walkable feel was incredible though and lots of older, shady trees. All sidewalks. Can walk to shops, golf, tennis, etc.

 

We liked Countryside in Clearwater for similar reasons though not sure it's quite as walkable.

 

It depends on what you're looking for though. We obviously were looking for a place with lots of sidewalks for the kids to bike, scoot etc to friends homes. And to walk to some restaurants or shops or activities. If you want land, I think you might need to be a little more north from what I hear.

[Pink and Green Mom]

We were disappointed in Safety Harbor- didn't have the walkable neighborhood feel we were looking for outside of the little downtown area. Some streets looked quite iffy. Also, the lots were generally smaller.

 

We haven't looked in Palm Harbor or Waterchase- I think they were a bit too far for dh to commute to MacDill.

 

We loved Carrollwood. To us, many homes had large lots (.3 -.5 acres). Then again, we are coming from Arlington, VA and not Loudon so we are used to smaller lots! The neighborhood/walkable feel was incredible though and lots of older, shady trees. All sidewalks. Can walk to shops, golf, tennis, etc.

 

We liked Countryside in Clearwater for similar reasons though not sure it's quite as walkable.

 

It depends on what you're looking for though. We obviously were looking for a place with lots of sidewalks for the kids to bike, scoot etc to friends homes. And to walk to some restaurants or shops or activities. If you want land, I think you might need to be a little more north from what I hear.

 

We used to live in Arlington and I miss it so that idea appeals to me, too. DH said Carrollwood reminded him a lot of Arlington. I had him do a drive-by of several neighborhoods in that area. I'm hoping to sneak down there in between tossing half our stuff and painting rooms to get the house ready to sell:). Carrollwood came highly recommended by a young family that used to live by my parent in Solomons, MD (he worked at Patuxent NAS) who just relocated to MacDill. I'd love to hear how your trip went...

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[matrips]

We used to live in Arlington and I miss it so that idea appeals to me, too. DH said Carrollwood reminded him a lot of Arlington. I had him do a drive-by of several neighborhoods in that area. I'm hoping to sneak down there in between tossing half our stuff and painting rooms to get the house ready to sell:). Carrollwood came highly recommended by a young family that used to live by my parent in Solomons, MD (he worked at Patuxent NAS) who just relocated to MacDill. I'd love to hear how your trip went...

 

I've been offline for quite awhile! But if it still helps, here goes. We did love Carrollwood, but once I started looking into schools (we still like being in good school district) and then nearby homeschooling groups and get togethers, I was coming up empty. I wasn't liking what I read about schools from middle school and on, and I couldn't really find close homeschooling options. So we went back to Countryside (in Northern Pinellas/Clearwater) and ended up buying there. The neighborhood was very walkable with sidewalks everywhere and you could walk to the Country Club that runs through the development (golf, swim, tennis, gym), and the Rec Center (playground, ball fields, gym, gymnastics, volleyball and typical rec center type classes), and the library. The mall is technically walkable, only 1/2 mile away but across a big street, and it has an ice rink for skating. And there are lots of shopping centers and major stores all around the outskirts of Countryside. Not sure that we'd walk to them, but they are close. We close on our home on Wednesday.

 

How is your search going? Let me know if you have any questions. I plan to be online more now!

[learningmama]

I've been offline for quite awhile! But if it still helps, here goes. We did love Carrollwood, but once I started looking into schools (we still like being in good school district) and then nearby homeschooling groups and get togethers, I was coming up empty. I wasn't liking what I read about schools from middle school and on, and I couldn't really find close homeschooling options. So we went back to Countryside (in Northern Pinellas/Clearwater) and ended up buying there. The neighborhood was very walkable with sidewalks everywhere and you could walk to the Country Club that runs through the development (golf, swim, tennis, gym), and the Rec Center (playground, ball fields, gym, gymnastics, volleyball and typical rec center type classes), and the library. The mall is technically walkable, only 1/2 mile away but across a big street, and it has an ice rink for skating. And there are lots of shopping centers and major stores all around the outskirts of Countryside. Not sure that we'd walk to them, but they are close. We close on our home on Wednesday.

 

How is your search going? Let me know if you have any questions. I plan to be online more now!

 

:hurray: Good choice. That area has much to offer!

[shernandez]

We live outside of Carrollwood and LOVE it! I hope this does not offend anybody, but Florida schools are not near as good as northern schools, so you probably won't be happy with them (even those rated as A). There is so much to do in that area and it is very family-friendly. Check out meetup.com for some homeschool groups near there (and don't be afraid to try Pasco county groups, too...many of us in Pasco do most of our stuff in New Tampa area because it is so awesome!!!)

[Pink and Green Mom]

I've been offline for quite awhile! But if it still helps, here goes. We did love Carrollwood, but once I started looking into schools (we still like being in good school district) and then nearby homeschooling groups and get togethers, I was coming up empty. I wasn't liking what I read about schools from middle school and on, and I couldn't really find close homeschooling options. So we went back to Countryside (in Northern Pinellas/Clearwater) and ended up buying there. The neighborhood was very walkable with sidewalks everywhere and you could walk to the Country Club that runs through the development (golf, swim, tennis, gym), and the Rec Center (playground, ball fields, gym, gymnastics, volleyball and typical rec center type classes), and the library. The mall is technically walkable, only 1/2 mile away but across a big street, and it has an ice rink for skating. And there are lots of shopping centers and major stores all around the outskirts of Countryside. Not sure that we'd walk to them, but they are close. We close on our home on Wednesday.

 

How is your search going? Let me know if you have any questions. I plan to be online more now!

 

I just returned on Tuesday, DH is down there working already (off Carrillon so close to where you are). I was shocked that our house here sold in 5 days. But we are now in a pinch as we close here on Aug. 23 and with the convention in Tampa the 23-28th, I have no idea what will become of us for those 5 days since every hotel within 100 miles is booked and my husband will be kicked out of his extended-stay suite for those 5 days.

 

I think we will end up in Lansbrook in Palm Harbor, since that is where the homes are. I liked Westchase but there were very few things in our price range and the one I really liked backed up to the main road through there. I feel like we are about a week too late in househunting because lots of homes we saw two weeks ago went under contract by the time I travelled there a week ago. I'm trying to get DH to realize we won't have what we had here (4500 sf, 3 acres) and while he knows that, it doesn't seem to be sinking in :glare:.

 

I will PM you sometime soon if you don't mind. Not sure if I'm coming down again this weekend (if something great comes on the market...) or if DH is coming home instead. But I'd love to chat and even meet up once we get down there or next time kids and I come down to house hunt.

[matrips]

I just replied to your PM and then thought to look here! Yes, let me know when you come down. We'd love to meet up with you. I have 7.5 yo triplets.

 

You might just have to take a mini-vacation and drive slowly down here after closing! Stop and do some sight-seeing along the way; there were lots of places I would have loved to visit. We'll fortunately be out of town for most of the convention I think.

 

We didn't homes moving that fast while we were here; in fact, many seemed to be on the market for eons. But I didn't think there was that much on the market either. And finding a large home was not very easy; we settled for a smaller one just because of it's location and condition. Congrats on your house selling so quickly; isn't that a huge relief?!

 

I hear very nice things about Palm Harbor. It has good schools too. We had already pushed DH's commute to the limits though with Countryside though and didn't even really look in Palm Harbor for that reason, even though it is just north of us. I also think the Rec Center that does Thursday P.E. for homeschoolers is in Palm Harbor.