St. Petersburg Old NE or Harbour Island Tampa (job market, neighborhood)

[why not]

Hi everyone,

We are relocating to Tamba Bay area and are undecided about whether to live in St. Petersburg Old NE neighborhood or Harbour Island. We have young children and would like a nice family neighborhood. The reason we are having trouble deciding is that we are still both looking for jobs. It seems like there is more work in Tampa, so Harbour Island seems sensible in that it would have a shorter commute if we were to get work in Tampa. Does anyone have experience of commuting from Tampa (or possibly North Tampa) to and from St. Petersburg on a daily basis? What's the commute time and traffic like? How's the job market in St. Petersburg? Can anyone tell us pros / cons about the two areas?

Your help is hugely appreciated!
Thanks!

[SimpleHeather]

I lived in Old NE and drove to Tampa, 4th street area, to work. I honestly never had any complaints. In fact, I really loved the drive. It's beautiful, and traffic is rarely congested now that the I-4/275 exchange was improved. On average, it took me about 35 minutes to get to work. Before I lived in St Pete, I lived in New Tampa, and it took me about the same amount of time to get 1/3 of the distance. Traffic in New Tampa is always bad in the mornings and afternoons.

I won't lie, though. I'm horribly biased towards St. Pete, because I feel the quality of life is much better than in new tampa. And the beach is 10 mins away!

What kind of work are you looking for?