Tampa vs. St. Petersburg (Miami, Sarasota: apartments, lofts, condos)

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

So years ago, Ybor had actual hippies with VW busses?
And fast forward to today, when you mean edgier, you mean Hipsters or fancier coffee shops? Ritz Theatre maybe?
If this is the case, it seems like those ex Ybor hippies moved themselves into St Pete as Ybor became more "douchey" maybe. If that sounds right.

I never said hippies, I said Bohemian - as in artists of all kinds, vintage clothing shops, coffee shops, used records and books, etc. - all in the pre-restored historic buildings. Some of them could have been hippies I guess.

The last time I was in Ybor, it seemed to have a mixed vibe - part "biker" scene, part upscale, and a touch of goth thrown in, just weird to me. I was only there in the daytime to eat lunch, however. Just my impression.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

It is true. Go out downtown st pete on a friday night and check out the hobgoblins and gremlins that troll the establishments.

Then go to S. Tampa on a friday night and compare.

That said, the people in Tampa have far worse personalities, but if I am going out with friends, the ambience of pretty people is far more appealing than chain smoking heifers in st pete.

Ive done both places, quite a bit. I am over St Pete. Nobody takes care of themselves or dresses nice. As a single late 20s guy, my life revolves around nightlife. I am spot on with saying what I did. People in Tampa usually refer to nightlife in St Pete as "Amateur Night" (With the exception of The Venue).

I'd want no part of South Tampa on a friday night then. Give me St Pete. I will take the more artsy, attractive but not glamorous types there anyday. It looks like you truly base your life around image and looks. Although you do notice that people in Tampa do have worse personalities so thats a start. I'd be around less pretty people indeed if its less of a nuissance but it seems like you dont even wanna.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by xbillyx

IMO, South Tampa is way overrated. Take a look around once you're in the area.

I 100% agree. Although charming, I cant bear the thoughts of having those fancy high end stores near my house. It might as well be a cookie cutter run of the mill kind of place in mentality. One time I was behind a taxi cab in South Tampa.. Its a funny story but here goes...
The people in the taxi getting out of it were taking their sweet time. I yelled out the window something like, "Oh, he took his sweet time just to drop you off". Then the uptight *******s they were were like Shut the **** up! instead of laughing it off. Thats why I did it too because I had the feeling they mighta been South Tampa douches. It was so funny.

If I were to live in South Tampa, I'd wanna be closer to Channelside, not the high end stores out there in that square.

[xbillyx]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

I 100% agree. Although charming, I cant bear the thoughts of having those fancy high end stores near my house. It might as well be a cookie cutter run of the mill kind of place in mentality. One time I was behind a taxi cab in South Tampa.. Its a funny story but here goes...
The people in the taxi getting out of it were taking their sweet time. I yelled out the window something like, "Oh, he took his sweet time just to drop you off". Then the uptight *******s they were were like Shut the **** up! instead of laughing it off. Thats why I did it too because I had the feeling they mighta been South Tampa douches. It was so funny.

If I were to live in South Tampa, I'd wanna be closer to Channelside, not the high end stores out there in that square.

To each his/her own, but I don't even find South Tampa appealing. There's not much of anything there. South Howard is extremely overrated. When I visited, I just couldn't believe I was in the area everyone was speaking of so highly.

I guess that's why there are different places. Everyone has different taste. If we didn't, everything would look the same.

[tan clutch]

So to sum up:

St Pete: Hobgoblins and gremlins.
Tampa: Werewolves and vampires.

Zombies live in the suburbs, I'm guessing.

(Delurking just to say hello, and thank the posters here for their various opinions, in this thread and others. I'm yet another person considering a move to the TBA, and probably like what I hear about St Pete better than Tampa--bohemian-ness sounds nice to me, as does artsyness--I mean there's a freaking Dali Museum there!--and I don't really care about nightlife. Plus St Pete, at least in the Old Northeast, is supposed to be the closest the area has to actual urban, walkable living.)

[tjax1000]

Originally Posted by tan clutch

So to sum up:

St Pete: Hobgoblins and gremlins.
Tampa: Werewolves and vampires.

Zombies live in the suburbs, I'm guessing.

HA! Might be the best first post ever. Good one. Welcome to the board. The nice thing about a board like this is you get so many different perspectives. Everyone likes different things so you really have to listen to all sides and at some point just jump in and experience things for yourself.

Renting in a couple different areas on a short term basis (month or so) is the best thing you could ever do. After just a month or so you such insight into an area, assuming you are able to get out and explore and take it all in.

[Artsywoman]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Please remember not everyone likes the same thing or feels the same way. This board is all about opinions, so the very things one person finds appealing will seem abhorrent to another.

There are a lot of nice family neighborhoods in south Tampa, it is by no means all completely pretentious as some posters would have you believe - I have relatives who have lived there for years, and they are as normal and un-pretentious as you can get. The pretentiousness seems to be centered on Hyde Park/SoHo.

We live in Sarasota now(which we love), but personally enjoy the atmosphere in downtown St. Pete more - we aren't "party people", we like nice restaurants and a beautiful tropical waterfront setting, and the Bohemian atmosphere - we personally enjoy "people-watching" and like seeing all kinds of characters.

The great thing is, there seems to be something for everyone here in the Tampa Bay area.

I am not a partier either and think I would love St. Pete as I am a bohemian, writer and sociologist. I find Tampa a very odd and interesting place. You have rednecks, then you have upscale suburbs where the craziness is behind closed doors until it hits the news. I refer to the rich nut who killed her two teenagers in New Tampa. I noticed a hodpodge of characters there and it does make it interesting. To me it is a lot like the Carl Haissen novels.

[xbillyx]

Originally Posted by tan clutch

(Delurking just to say hello, and thank the posters here for their various opinions, in this thread and others. I'm yet another person considering a move to the TBA, and probably like what I hear about St Pete better than Tampa--bohemian-ness sounds nice to me, as does artsyness--I mean there's a freaking Dali Museum there!--and I don't really care about nightlife. Plus St Pete, at least in the Old Northeast, is supposed to be the closest the area has to actual urban, walkable living.)

Bingo. St Pete definitely seems to be the most walkable area in Tampa Bay. That's a major reason I'm going with St Pete.

Where would you be moving from?

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by xbillyx

Bingo. St Pete definitely seems to be the most walkable area in Tampa Bay. That's a major reason I'm going with St Pete.

Where would you be moving from?

Just keep in mind that only a very small portion of the city is walkable. North and South St. Pete are basically rows of 50s-70s homes and neighborhoods that could be Anytown, USA.

[craigm1841]

I agree DTSP is more walkable than anywhere in the bay area, but as previously stated by ferret, it is a very small area, larger than SoHo with more options, but the options arent as good as SoHo IMO. Taking the people out of the equation, it is a toss up, DTSP coming out slightly ahead of Tampa.