[swaptrex]

i have been researching the sunshine state for sometime now, using this site and google to my advantage. my girlfriend and i have decided on relocating to the swfl area and have boiled it down to Tampa/St. Pete, Sarasota, and possibly Bradenton. we love the state and have visited numerous times and know about all the negatives the state holds. on May 19-23 we are flying into Tampa to visit and hopefully sign a lease. we are in the market for a 1b/1b apartment, we also own a medium sized dog. judging from everyone's response on Bradenton, we are going to choose this lastly as a place of residency. as far as price goes, we would like to spend no more than $750-$800/month plus utilities. is this attainable in Sarasota or even Siesta Key areas? St. Pete looks nice, but appears to be somewhat crowded due to it's popularity and size. we would like to plan our trip accordingly and spend our time wisely in Florida. could someone please help us as to what areas we should focus on since we only have five days to look? what are some nice apartments near the beach, etc in our price range? thank you so much.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by swaptrex

i have been researching the sunshine state for sometime now, using this site and google to my advantage. my girlfriend and i have decided on relocating to the swfl area and have boiled it down to Tampa/St. Pete, Sarasota, and possibly Bradenton. we love the state and have visited numerous times and know about all the negatives the state holds. on May 19-23 we are flying into Tampa to visit and hopefully sign a lease. we are in the market for a 1b/1b apartment, we also own a medium sized dog. judging from everyone's response on Bradenton, we are going to choose this lastly as a place of residency. as far as price goes, we would like to spend no more than $750-$800/month plus utilities. is this attainable in Sarasota or even Siesta Key areas? St. Pete looks nice, but appears to be somewhat crowded due to it's popularity and size. we would like to plan our trip accordingly and spend our time wisely in Florida. could someone please help us as to what areas we should focus on since we only have five days to look? what are some nice apartments near the beach, etc in our price range? thank you so much.

If you're signing an annual lease, you could find that deal on lido or siesta, your problem is going to be the dog. Most apartments now take even large dogs, not condo or house rentals...unless you pay a big pet deposit...what kind of dog? My landlord has properties all over downtown sarasota, you might want to call him. pm me.

[swaptrex]

i pm'd you...

were looking for an apartment, we don't want to rent a house. the dog is a small lab.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by swaptrex

i pm'd you...

were looking for an apartment, we don't want to rent a house. the dog is a small lab.

You might try apartments.com, the lab should be no problem in an apartment, they're pretty dog friendly.....I don't know about many apartment complexes being close to the beach, however...

[swaptrex]

thanks for the info...

what specific areas should we focus on?

[swaptrex]

please help us!!

we really want to spend our time in florida wisely and need all the input as to what areas/places to check out. thanks.