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stockhall Jun 16th 2015 6:59 pm

Tampa/clearwater area
 
can I just have opinions on the tampa/clearwater area for young families , looking mostly at Safety Harbour, which has schools that meet my children's needs almost to the tee. Move is most likely within the next 9-12 months, could be as soon as 6 months from now. This gives us many opportunities in the long term future and have many positive thoughts from the area, but would like some ideas into anyone with knowledge and experience.

(we were thinking Austin Texas until we had a spanner in the works which has made the big change)

RICH Jun 16th 2015 11:32 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
Safety Harbor is lovely. I had a condo off Enterprise road. I think the ex still lives there!
I don't have kids so no idea about schools.

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 6:17 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
Thank you

Lord PercyPercy Jun 17th 2015 1:54 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by RICH (Post 11676997)
Safety Harbor is lovely. I had a condo off Enterprise road. I think the ex still lives there!
I don't have kids so no idea about schools.

Safety Harbor is indeed lovely, nice parks around that area, Philipe Park is a particularly lovely place to spend an afternoon. I will say that the traffic can sometimes be a bit heavy and for as long as I've been here there's been construction going on everywhere in Pinellas county, seemingly for no good reason, but of all the areas in Pinellas, Safety Harbor is is very near the top choice.

Given the choice between Safety Harbor and Clearwater, I would chose Safety Harbor every time. I lived in Clearwater for a few years and found it to be dull, uninspiring and kind of suffocating. Give a look to Dunedin if you have a chance, really nice bohemian vibe there.

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 2:02 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Lord PercyPercy (Post 11677507)
Safety Harbor is indeed lovely, nice parks around that area, Philipe Park is a particularly lovely place to spend an afternoon. I will say that the traffic can sometimes be a bit heavy and for as long as I've been here there's been construction going on everywhere in Pinellas county, seemingly for no good reason, but of all the areas in Pinellas, Safety Harbor is is very near the top choice.

Given the choice between Safety Harbor and Clearwater, I would chose Safety Harbor every time. I lived in Clearwater for a few years and found it to be dull, uninspiring and kind of suffocating. Give a look to Dunedin if you have a chance, really nice bohemian vibe there.

thank you for the heads up regarding traffic, I have found the schools that meet our needs on paper so I need to find a home that fits those (I am very impressed with their SEN provision mostly and is the 2nd thing I check after the rating). I will look into Denedin cheers.:thumbsup:

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 3:26 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
Can I ask a question. I know where I want to live, but if there is no property by the time we go that meet our requirements do you have to choose your allocated schools? Or can you choose obviously if in a reasonable distance from the school?

Jerseygirl Jun 17th 2015 6:08 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
I love Clearwater Beach...but the problem with Clearwater is it's the HQ of Scientology. :eek:

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 6:15 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 11677792)
I love Clearwater Beach...but the problem with Clearwater is it's the HQ of Scientology. :eek:

hahahaha

excpomea Jun 17th 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 11677792)
I love Clearwater Beach...but the problem with Clearwater is it's the HQ of Scientology. :eek:

So that's why they hang around and bug you at the St Pete farmers market.

excpomea Jun 17th 2015 6:27 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by stockhall (Post 11677602)
Can I ask a question. I know where I want to live, but if there is no property by the time we go that meet our requirements do you have to choose your allocated schools? Or can you choose obviously if in a reasonable distance from the school?

You can request to attend any school in the county. Unfortunately the good schools will be oversubscribed and your request is likely to be denied.

I bet if you were to request to attend an F grade school you would be right in.
Best bet find a property in the school district you are wanting to attend. That's the only sure way to get a placement your after.

Lord PercyPercy Jun 17th 2015 6:48 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 11677792)
I love Clearwater Beach...but the problem with Clearwater is it's the HQ of Scientology. :eek:

Don't worry, they're easy to spot. They're the only people wearing trousers in summer.

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 6:57 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by excpomea (Post 11677805)
You can request to attend any school in the county. Unfortunately the good schools will be oversubscribed and your request is likely to be denied.

I bet if you were to request to attend an F grade school you would be right in.
Best bet find a property in the school district you are wanting to attend. That's the only sure way to get a placement your after.

The schools I love are C+ and a B especially as the elementary I believe had a lot of focus on autism and other learning difficulties including speech which is vital for my boys . I assume this will give me a better chance than A rated.

stockhall Jun 17th 2015 6:59 pm

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Lord PercyPercy (Post 11677821)
Don't worry, they're easy to spot. They're the only people wearing trousers in summer.

:)

RICH Jun 18th 2015 2:02 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
Just because I can, I took a spin through Safety Harbor at lunch time today. I rigged up my phone as a dash cam. It is not spectacular video, but in real life it is fab drive. Imagine you can see Tampa Bay and Tampa skyline 50 feet to the left for most of the ride. :lol: And a free sample of local radio as soundtrack:p

Main Street (Downtown SH) then Bayshore Blvd, then Bayside Bridge (McMullen Booth Rd/49th St)

Hope this link works.


stockhall Jun 18th 2015 6:35 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by RICH (Post 11678072)
Just because I can, I took a spin through Safety Harbor at lunch time today. I rigged up my phone as a dash cam. It is not spectacular video, but in real life it is fab drive. Imagine you can see Tampa Bay and Tampa skyline 50 feet to the left for most of the ride. :lol: And a free sample of local radio as soundtrack:p

Main Street (Downtown SH) then Bayshore Blvd, then Bayside Bridge (McMullen Booth Rd/49th St)

Hope this link works.


Very generous of you cheers

All i can say is wow from what I have seen. It appears to have a very Mediterranean feel to the place and incredibly green. Good perspective on what a commute may be like that bridge is quite some distance. I simply can't wait to get out there.

RICH Jun 18th 2015 7:52 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 11677792)
I love Clearwater Beach...but the problem with Clearwater is it's the HQ of Scientology. :eek:

Oddly, where I work, there are a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses, but they do not do anything to stand out. I only found out by accident.

indigogirl1976 Jun 22nd 2015 1:34 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 
I live in Dunedin....hubby works in clearwater. Of all the places I have lived in the states I find this to be the most kid friendly. Tons of parks and activities and a lovely outdoors lifestyle. The winters are the best :-) We are very happy here. I was homesick when I arrived but not at all now.

Safety Harbor is one of the nicest towns in the area. We go there fairly regularly as they have a great little downtown. We get ice cream there and walk the pier some weekends. It is well placed for getting to Tampa and pretty much has everything you need in terms of grocery stores, libraries, nice parks and city facilities. The city do really nice events and it has a nice community spirit.

Our eldest is starting kindergarten in august and I just finished a rather exhaustive tour of all the schools in the area. Palm harbor is said to have the best school district. Dunedin the worst lol. Clearwater is dependent on which school zone you are in. Safety harbor is good but said not to be as good as Palm harbor. The thing in this area and which are the absolute bain of most parents existence are charter schools. Charter schools are public schools in that they are free to attend and publically funded but they are smaller and can pretty much run themselves so they typically are much better than the public schools. Most run a lottery to see who gets in. if you are on Facebook look up the Dunedin moms meetup group (I'm the admin). We have tons of mums from safety harbor and all the other towns around and you can ask specific questions about the area....or just ask me directly here. You said you had already looked into the schools but if you need more info I'd be happy to help.

stockhall Jun 22nd 2015 6:25 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by indigogirl1976 (Post 11681132)
I live in Dunedin....hubby works in clearwater. Of all the places I have lived in the states I find this to be the most kid friendly. Tons of parks and activities and a lovely outdoors lifestyle. The winters are the best :-) We are very happy here. I was homesick when I arrived but not at all now.

Safety Harbor is one of the nicest towns in the area. We go there fairly regularly as they have a great little downtown. We get ice cream there and walk the pier some weekends. It is well placed for getting to Tampa and pretty much has everything you need in terms of grocery stores, libraries, nice parks and city facilities. The city do really nice events and it has a nice community spirit.

Our eldest is starting kindergarten in august and I just finished a rather exhaustive tour of all the schools in the area. Palm harbor is said to have the best school district. Dunedin the worst lol. Clearwater is dependent on which school zone you are in. Safety harbor is good but said not to be as good as Palm harbor. The thing in this area and which are the absolute bain of most parents existence are charter schools. Charter schools are public schools in that they are free to attend and publically funded but they are smaller and can pretty much run themselves so they typically are much better than the public schools. Most run a lottery to see who gets in. if you are on Facebook look up the Dunedin moms meetup group (I'm the admin). We have tons of mums from safety harbor and all the other towns around and you can ask specific questions about the area....or just ask me directly here. You said you had already looked into the schools but if you need more info I'd be happy to help.

Thank you so much for this reply. Very helpul.

I am very keen on safety harbor elementary as their SEN Provision seems very comprehensive and that is what i need for my 8 year old with GDD. I need the same for my 11 year old but no info the middle school. Countryside seems to be on the ball as well when it comes to speech therapy which my daughter needs acess too. So yes based on what I have read and the few images i have seen these seem to be the schools I want so the area I need. I will look up the fb group thank you.

stockhall Jun 22nd 2015 8:47 am

Re: Tampa/clearwater area
 

Originally Posted by indigogirl1976 (Post 11681132)
I live in Dunedin....hubby works in clearwater. Of all the places I have lived in the states I find this to be the most kid friendly. Tons of parks and activities and a lovely outdoors lifestyle. The winters are the best :-) We are very happy here. I was homesick when I arrived but not at all now.

Safety Harbor is one of the nicest towns in the area. We go there fairly regularly as they have a great little downtown. We get ice cream there and walk the pier some weekends. It is well placed for getting to Tampa and pretty much has everything you need in terms of grocery stores, libraries, nice parks and city facilities. The city do really nice events and it has a nice community spirit.

Our eldest is starting kindergarten in august and I just finished a rather exhaustive tour of all the schools in the area. Palm harbor is said to have the best school district. Dunedin the worst lol. Clearwater is dependent on which school zone you are in. Safety harbor is good but said not to be as good as Palm harbor. The thing in this area and which are the absolute bain of most parents existence are charter schools. Charter schools are public schools in that they are free to attend and publically funded but they are smaller and can pretty much run themselves so they typically are much better than the public schools. Most run a lottery to see who gets in. if you are on Facebook look up the Dunedin moms meetup group (I'm the admin). We have tons of mums from safety harbor and all the other towns around and you can ask specific questions about the area....or just ask me directly here. You said you had already looked into the schools but if you need more info I'd be happy to help.


I have requested to join. x


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