[skylinetime]

Can anyone help me out with finding NICE AFFORDABLE APARTMENT ???? Also any newbie info on the area would be great as well as good stores, bad roads, etc... ANY TRUTHFUL REPLYS WOULD BE GREAT. Will be working in gateway area next to 275 so would like to stay within 20 minutes of this area....use to be St.Pete sod farm.

[sami]

You are moving to my neck of the woods....I moved here less than 2 years ago and love it here. Other posts will give you the skinny on weather, hurricanes, house prices, taxes, insurance, basic rents, different lifestyles, etc...........................I will clue you in on the St. Petersburg--Pinellas County stuff..... First of all, it is a great time to rent as I write this. Of course, everything is relative......one person's nice rent is high enough to give another a heart attack. I will give you some examples taken from newpaper ads I have read recently. A one bedroom starts at around $450 in the lower class neighborhoods and goes up to $600 or more for a nice or even beach area. A two bedroom can start at $550 at the lower end and $700+ at the higher end. These are average starting prices. Add a $100 or $150 for a three bedroom..... If you rent a house, a 2 bedroom lower class house can start around $650.....up to easily #1,000 or more in the best areas. I do not know how big you want your place, what kind of neighborhood, or if it will be a rental house, mobile, or apartment. However you can budget around $700 for a small 2 bedroom in a reasonable area. Some places give you water, but many don't. Trash service may or may not be included. You almost always pay your own electric. Gas is used only in some places, and you probably will pay for that too. Of course we have cable TV, telephone and cell phone service, and regular and high speed internet--paid for by the renter..... Apartments are more likely to have some untilities paid.....and houses and mobiles will probably have all untilities paid by the renter. ...........................................Roads are mostly good in the city and suburbs.....there may be bad roads, but I haven't seen any in south and central Pinellas County except for a few small alley type street in working class neighborhood like mine. The food stores are all decent from what I can see--at least my friends buy without complaining. I hit the jackpot...I have a Winn Dixie supermarket right by my home....and it has nice food and is the cheapest store around. Really. There may be cheaper, but I haven't found any..........................................I don't drive, but some places are more congested than others......look at local traffic reports on the internet. One of the worst is commuting from Pinellas County to Tampa.....there is one main bridge......need I say more? .................................................. ........................We have plenty of the usual stores--Walmart, Target, Sears, JCPenney, Fast Food like Burger King.....the quality is about the same as elsewhere........ People are a little slower here than say the northeast (like New York or New Jersey), but I like it....... ............................There are tons of shopping malls, just check out an internet map.......You already know about the beach, city entertainments, etc. Disney World is about an hour plus if you don't get much traffic. St. Petersburg downtown is more fun than Tampa...or so other posters say.........................................If you live anywhere in south or central Pinellas county, you are near EVERYTHING---lots of buses, stores, doctors, several hospitals, etc. Lots to do. I think where you are going to live is in central Pinellas--not positive. Clearwater is the county seat. North Pinellas has some out of the way areas, but it is still close to everything. If you like the lifestyle and weather, and think the prices paid for things are worth it to live here, then you should be quite happy. Also, there are tons of jobs around here......they pay less than say the northeast BUT good job skills help a lot...... And remember that it is income verses expenses that is important, not just income..... Lots of luck. Hope you like it here. You may or may not like it here, and it has gotten more pricey, but don't let all the negative sh*t get you down on these posts. Just make up your own mind......

[Muggy]

Working in the gateway area gives you quite a few options for a 20 minute commute.

I always suggest checking out the Gulf beaches (Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, St. Pete Beach). There are a surprising amount of affordable rentals steps from the beach.

I would *suggest* avoiding large rental complexes. They nickel and dime you to death and often have more crime. Find a nice duplex or triplex and meet the owner.

I would try tampa.craigslist.org and enter your own criteria to get an idea of the market. I still think the best way is to drive around and call numbers off of for rent signs. This also lets you experience the response time and friendliness.

If you asked me to name one place, I would say St. Pete Beach. The traffic can get a little nasty during peak season and on weekends, but there is a reason for all of that. It would be at the edge of your commute time limit.

Check out
http://crimetracker.tbo.com/

That thin strip (to the left) with almost ZERO crime is St. Pete Beach. You can get 1Br. here in the 600-700 range.

[skylinetime]

I have been searching for a two bedroom ,two bath apartment near work (which will be off of 275-28th street north ) but seem to only find $950.00 and up. I am currently only paying $600.00 here in NC so would really like to know where it is to find a safe place less than $950.00 that MUST accept CATS. I don't have a problem with full month deposits and high pet deposits but I can't find somewhere nice on the internet or in the apartment books for less than $950.00++++ that is not in the lower pinellas county. So where do you find these safe beach areas and the likes for less?? Thanks so much for the GREAT ANSWERS and any future information would be a help.

[spotrod]

sami - there are three bridges connecting st pete and tampa . they are the gandy , causeway and the howard franklin . just an fyi

[guavajim]

Going through a divorce, I moved here in '86 with only $185 to my name and I made it. Like Muggy says, it is better to drive around and find a place. I found a place off of 54th Ave N. and 34th St, which is not far from 275, which is only a few minutes from 28th St. It was called Briar Hill Apts. A nice 2 BR, 1 BA with a pool in the middle of everything. I stayed in a hotel for a few days until I found a place and I've been here ever since. I think the rentals that you are finding online are going to be expensive, after all they can actually afford to advertise online. You'll have to shop around for the good deals. My wife and I have owned my home here in Oldsmar for about 10 years now and live on a lake. We bought it for the view. The house next door to me is a 2 BR, 1 Ba with a garage and they pay $850 per month. If you are unskilled or don't own your own business, it can be expensive here. But like Sami says, just watch your expenses and you'll be ok. But you should know, it does get HOT here. I know, because with my business, I work outside. And business is good for me because most people don't want to be outside with all that heat. And as far as what Spotrod says, there are indeed 3 bridges, but during the mornings and evenings, it might as well be one bridge. With so many homes up for sale and none of them being sold, you just might find a good deal here as far as renting. But with prices coming down, you might want to consider owning. A 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA down the street sold for $185k. It did need some interior work though. But it has a screened in pool, which mine doesn't. My wife is a realtor and she's seeing homes dropping their prices by tens of thousands of dollars just to get 'em sold. Good luck bro.

[pioneer8]

Hi. I lived in Pinellas for 30 plus years and hope you will find it to be a nice place to live. The replies you've gotten thus far are pretty good. If, by bad roads, you mean torn up... well, there is road work from time to time etc... However, if you mean accident prone... I'd say, watch for U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay. Also, places around Tampa. I don't know that you mentioned from where you are coming??? Someone said that the area is slow compared to the N.East. I understand what they are saying, but on the flip side, if you are coming from the country or a small town of sorts, it will feel very busy. Today, I have a lot of extended family in that area, thoug my family moved with a job relo. Anyway, if you need the name of a nice realtor, we still stay in touch with a woman who was quite good. If you'd like to send me a private message, I'd be gald to give you her name etc... Or- any other info that you may need. Good Luck