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Seven was the right number Murphy home may get a pool

The Murphys left New Orleans after Katrina and found just what they wanted in Seven Oaks.

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published November 14, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes] Dan Murphy, from left, his sons, Matthew, 13, and Brandon, 8, and wife, Kim, play in a park in front of their new Knoll Point home. Their third son, Tyler, 10, isn't pictured. For Kim Murphy, Pasco's slower pace was the clincher in choosing a place to live. The Murphys left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and found just what they wanted in Seven Oaks.

WESLEY CHAPEL - Harry Connick Jr. sang the song, but Dan and Kim Murphy really know what it means to miss New Orleans.

A shelf in their kitchen stands as a shrine to their old life in their north Lake Pontchartrain neighborhood, arranged with gifts from friends who didn't want them to forget what they once cherished.

A zingy collection of Louisiana brands like Zapp's potato chips, Blue Runner red beans and Louisiana State University barbecue sauce were offerings this year at a going away party for the Murphys and their three sons, Matthew 13; Tyler 10; and Brandon, 8.

"The food you can't beat," raves Kim, 36. "And the people are the nicest; they truly look out for one another."

The Murphys rode out Katrina in an experience that Kim compares to "as close to the end of the world as you can imagine."

The couple recently built a 2,700-square-foot house in the Seven Oaks development after Dan took a job with a company that distributes pool supplies worldwide.

They decided on Seven Oaks during a whirlwind house-hunting weekend in early 2006.

After deciding to move to Florida, they chose Pasco County, because it seemed the most livable of all the metropolitan areas.

Kim, who grew up in Coral Springs, decided that the fast pace of South Florida was too much for a family with young children. Orlando was too traffic-clogged for their taste.

But the Wesley Chapel area offered just the right prices and a slower pace that Kim refers to as "a certain dearness of lifestyle" that's important in raising a family.

They were lucky, they say, because they sold their miraculously unscathed home in New Orleans in seven days. The real estate market was still riding a post-Katrina high due to housing shortages.

During their quick house-hunting trip, they asked the Realtor to show them Seven Oaks, which they had heard about from friends.

"We said, 'This is it, this is what we're looking for,' " Dan recalls of the development, a 2,500-acre master-planned community revered for its mature landscaping and easy access to Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Down's Boulevard.

"And with three boys, I like the idea that there's a Sam's Club right here," he said.

They were also drawn to the abundance of trees, the family-friendly atmosphere and the clubhouse, which reminded them of their tennis club back in New Orleans - both Murphys are avid tennis players.

They like new construction vs. something that's been lived in, and were able to contract with Standard Pacific Homes to build a four-bedroom, three-bath, two-story house with a bonus room.

The house, in the new Seven Oaks community Knoll Point, sits on a quarter-acre lot with painterly views of conservation areas. And it has room for a pool, something the couple hope to eventually put in.

Kim stayed behind in Louisiana with the boys so they could finish the school year.

She was impressed with the way their salesman kept her abreast of every phase of construction by e-mailing weekly photos.

Now the couple's best friends - who also moved to Florida for work - are building a house in Seven Oaks, too.

The Murphys, who were displaced from their New Orleans house for 3½ weeks because it was without power, haven't forgotten the ordeal Katrina caused.

While still living there, they temporarily took in Dan's niece, a schoolteacher, whose home had been ravaged by the hurricane.

That same niece will come for a visit in a few weeks, and the Murphys have a feeling she will like their Florida house as much as they do.

"We told her it's a one-week limit - that's it," Dan joked.

Elizabeth Bettendorf can be reached at ebettendorf@hotmail.com.

[Last modified November 13, 2006, 23:43:55]