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View Full Version : Hey, Tampa Bay Area residents...




granolagirl97
03-05-2003, 07:23 PM
I am cold. I am in Minnesota and after 13 years I am ready to be warm. My husband and I are entertaining the idea of moving to your area, so I am wondering if you would help me.

I am wondering where there are health food stores or Whole Foods-type markets...

I am wondering what fun kinds of things your families do in the area - not just the tourist things, but things like... are there interesting community education classes happening in your area? Is there a nice protected park system in your area that you and your families can visit regularly for various naturalist programs and the like? What do your families do for cultural entertainment?

We homeschool and it is important to me that we have access to an environment that enriches what I teach at home.

And on that note, is there a supportive homeshcool network in Florida? We have M.A.C.H.E. (Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators) and they are so knowledgable and well organized with a conference every year, etc. I looked at one sight on the web for Florida and it looked like it was well-organized... are there active support groups available in your area as well?

Oh, and everyone in my family wants to know about bugs. What kind of creatures to we have to look forward to? We got kind of eaten by "no-seeums" (that's what my mother-in-law called them). How about those fire ants? What is necessary to control them in a yard? Are they an issue?
We've got mosquitoes here. That's one thing that really put a damper on the summers that we do have here.

Well those are some of the things we were wondering about.
Thanks so much. I'm really looking forward to reading any responses!




KeysMama
03-05-2003, 07:43 PM
Hey there mama. I just moved away from that area further south but visit now and again so maybe I can offer some info.

Tampa has a nice variety of small health food stores- no Wild Oats or WholeFoods.

The big museum, Museum of Science and Industry, has a co-op school and homeschool day program. Classrooms, hands on stuff, moms welcome. Very cool. Other great museums as well with class room and kid programs.

We do have the Florida Homeschool Association, and it is largely Christian. The annual meeting is in Orlando usually, and that is just across the highway from Tampa.

Don't even bother to control bugs- ants, roaches, mosquitos.....nice breezes, and cold weather in the winter do help control it some. Other than that, what you run off with bug spray, just hangs out next door for a while anyway!

Good LLL groups, doula groups, a midwifery school, homebirth midwives, and USF.

Good luck!

Missgrl
03-05-2003, 08:23 PM
Moving this to Finding Your tribe forum!:hippie