Top 8 Pros and Cons of Living in Wesley Chapel, FL

North of Tampa, Florida, is a little town called Wesley Chapel. With its many well-designed neighborhoods and even a pristine lagoon, this is undoubtedly one of the best places to put down roots. The town of Wesley Chapel strikes the ideal balance between rural ambiance and urban convenience. 

It’s hard to find another place like Wesley Chapel, where one minute you’re cruising past green fields and animals, and the next you’re passing a shopping mall with big box stores and restaurants.

Let’s talk about eight pros and cons of living in Wesley Chapel, FL!

Pros of Living in Wesley Chapel

1. There’s a nearby college

Wesley Chapel is a fantastic place to raise a family because of the abundance of high-quality public and private schools for grades K-12 that are conveniently placed near reasonably priced housing developments. 

Wiregrass Ranch High School, Dayspring Academy, Countryside Montessori Charter School, Sunlake High School, and Dr. John Long Middle School are some of the best public schools in the area. 

Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch is a convenient option for local degree- and certificate-seekers. From accounting and aviation to web development and welding technology, the 70 certificates, degrees, and programs offered by the little college come with reasonable tuition.

2. Tampa is only 17 miles away

Wesley Chapel’s location, 17 miles to the northwest of Tampa, makes it a highly desirable place to live. 

This area is perfect if you want to live in the suburbs and have a quick commute to all the fun things to do in the city. From Wesley Chapel, it takes less than an hour to reach the beaches and top-notch educational institutions that surround Tampa.

3. You get to live in a wealthy city

Wesley Chapel is a wealthy neighborhood known for its high-priced real estate. Some houses cost well over $1 million, and many of the individual properties are worth significantly more than that. 

The Tampa Bay area is already a mecca for wealthy people, and many of the millionaires and billionaires who call the Tampa Bay area home can be found in Wesley Chapel. The city is a great option if you’re searching for a posh place to settle down.

4. The cost of living is only 5% higher than the national average

With an index of 105, living in Wesley Chapel only costs 5% more than the national average. Compared to the rest of the country, utility costs in Wesley Chapel are 3% lower. 

The cost of housing has a significant impact on household budgets. Similar to the rest of the country, the median value of a home in Wesley Chapel is $427,970.

An annual budget of $36,570 in Wesley Chapel is needed to cover the costs of a home, groceries, child care, transportation, medical care, insurance, and taxes for a single person.

Cons of Living in Wesley Chapel

1. Summers are quite hot and the humidity is high

Because of its location on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Wesley Chapel has a year-round tropical climate. This results in extremely hot and muggy summers. 

The average high temperature in July is roughly 91 degrees. The months of June through August are notorious for their oppressive humidity. January’s low temperature is only 47 degrees, while the annual rainfall averages 53 inches, compared to 38 inches nationwide.

2. Traffic can be a nightmare

There is always a lot of traffic at Wesley Chapel. Compared to the national average of 27.6 minutes, the average commute in Wesley Chapel takes a whopping 33.3 minutes. This is because there are over 100,000 people living in Wesley Chapel, but only two major roadways entering or leaving the city.

There are a few ways to stay out of the jams at Wesley Chapel. First, if you can, try not to hit the road between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM or 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, when traffic is at its worst. Take side streets instead of the interstate if you must travel then. Second, whenever possible, rideshare or use public transit. In addition to making the roads easier to navigate, this will also lessen your impact on the environment.

3. The city has a high rate of cancer

The incidence of cancer is quite high in Wesley Chapel, with breast cancer being the most common form. The most lethal kind of skin cancer, melanoma, is also extremely common in Wesley Chapel.

Wesley Chapel’s high cancer rate could be due to a number of factors. It’s possible that more people in the area are exposed to carcinogens than in other places. The city may also have a higher-than-average population of people with a hereditary predisposition to developing cancer.

4. The crime rate is higher than the national average

If you compare Wesley Chapel to other cities, you’ll find that only 14% are safer and 86% are more hazardous than Wesley Chapel. 

However, the crime rate is still higher than the national average. The violent crime rate in Wesley Chapel is 24.5. (The average in the US is 22.7.) The property crime rate in Wesley Chapel is 46.4%. (35.4 is the national average).

Conclusion

Some of the pros of living in Wesley Chapel include great schools, proximity to Tampa, and an affluent community with a cost of living that doesn’t break the bank.

However, the city has a high crime rate, terrible traffic, and hot summers.