charming/cute or nondescript/cookiecutter? (Tampa, Clearwater: rental, houses, neighborhoods)

[nicolepsy]

hi everyone,
im looking for ideas. we accepted an offer on our house and i need to find a rental house quick. i thought i had narrowed it down to dunedin or old historic st.pete or even historic tampa because i love the old bungalows but im having trouble finding a 3bedroom that we can afford. didnt want to spend more than 1000 month (i know that is not much but i have found some cute places but they are usually 2 bedrooms). the other members of my family would rather have a nondescript cookie cutter house with a pool which i have been able to find in places like holiday and port richey. it seems that holiday and port richey are a far cry from places like dunedin and old ne st pete so im wondering if there are any other towns (w/in an hour commute of tampa) that i am overlooking. i may have to settle for a regular subdivision but was really looking for a more charming place. i have heard only good things from most of you when it comes to dunedin and old st pete so those were my first choices. any other towns (preferable coastal but doesnt have to be) that i should look into more agressively would be most appreciated. thank you, nicole

[deckardc]

There is no shortage of bungalows or Spanish mission style in the either Tampa or Pinellas Co. unfortunately a lot of the older neighborhoods are not the nicest areas to live in and houses built prior to 1950 were typically small. St. Pete in particular can be complicated. You can have a high end historic neighborhood and only 3 streets away is a total slum. There are fewer historical structures in Clearwater but there are also more middle class areas. You might consider Seminole Heights in Tampa or Safety Harbor in Clearwater but the rents there might be over $1000.

Here are a few zip codes you might want to check out. They are both old and new areas and some are higher priced than others but you never know what you'll find.

St. Pete: 33704, 33703, 33701
Gulfport: 33707, 33711
Safety Harbor: 34695, 33759
Oldsmar: 34677
Belleair: 33770, 33756
Tampa: 33673, 33605, 33606, 33609, 33629