which is more desirable? (Tampa: new house, to live in, prices)

[Lior Arel]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Old NE - St. Pete. I would not call it "hippie", just bohemian. Lots of unique cafes and galleries, plus the museums downtown, music venues, that sort of thing. Less pretentiousness in general.

Yeah, I don't think I'd classify the several hundred multi-millionaires that live in Old NE and Snell isle as "Hippies".

Old NE/Snell Isle has money. South Tampa pretends to

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Angel and The Dolphin

Yeah, I don't think I'd classify the several hundred multi-millionaires that live in Old NE and Snell isle as "Hippies".

Old NE/Snell Isle has money. South Tampa pretends to

I just browsed around on Old NE St. Petes...it looks like mostly bungalows? Very cool-looking bungalows too, I might add, but bungalows nontheless.

Are they really the homes of multi-millionaires?

[chi_tino]

Go a few blocks north and look at the homes in Snell Isle on Brightwaters Blvd and around Coffee Pot Bayou. There are some monstrous waterfront properties.

[BBI]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

By that logic you should buy in central tampa more room for rebound. I am not negating the more risk more reward theory, but bottom line is a majority of home buyers will look at schools over a walkable downtown.

Sure, but most people have some max level of risk they're willing to take. Central Tampa (I'm assuming you're talking Seminole Heights-ish?) is beyond my limit. The Old NE isn't some always-up-and-coming neighborhood. It's a long-established neighborhood. Betting on high demand returning to an affluent area isn't a terribly risky play, and I'm fairly risk averse.

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

What are the downsides to Old NE?

I'd say school quality is the biggest. The zoned elementary and middle schools are basically average, and the zoned HS is only good if your kid is in the IB program. You can play the magnet/charter/whatever school lottery, but it's a lottery. The long-term trajectory seems good: when prices were rock bottom, a lot of snowbirds sold to younger folks (like us), so there are almost as many strollers as dogs being walked around the neighborhood now and I expect that will drive better schools over time. Great risk to take for those of us who don't have kids (yet), but not for everyone.

There are other issues in the Old NE that may be individual to you (e.g., distance to your work, distance to the gulf, almost no new construction, no mandatory HOA, few waterview homes, etc.), but I don't know what you're looking for. I'd prefer a larger yard/lot, but that was an issue almost everywhere we looked.

[sinatras]

South Tampa is where all the building is going on, all the investment. I think that's what newcomers like OP see, and wonder why St. Pete is not as desirable to investors as South Tampa. If South Tampa fared better during the downturn, then I think that qualifies South Tampa as the better investment. Clearly the majority do as well.


LOL it's also clear that no matter what city people are talking about -- LA, DC, NYC, Chicago, etc. -- people always bash the upscale neighborhoods as "pretentious", "keeping up with the joneses," etc. Life is too short to live it with such envy.

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by sinatras

South Tampa is where all the building is going on, all the investment. I think that's what newcomers like OP see, and wonder why St. Pete is not as desirable to investors as South Tampa. If South Tampa fared better during the downturn, then I think that qualifies South Tampa as the better investment. Clearly the majority do as well.


LOL it's also clear that no matter what city people are talking about -- LA, DC, NYC, Chicago, etc. -- people always bash the upscale neighborhoods as "pretentious", "keeping up with the joneses," etc. Life is too short to live it with such envy.

This was my point, this thread was never meant to be a S. Tampa vs NE topic, it was simply which area is more desirable. South Tampa is more desirable to a greater base, which translates to more demand. It is also not an apples to apples comparison, South Tampa is a much bigger area. I personally chose S Tampa because of the schools and familiarity with the area, as big as a S. tampa booster as I am, if it was just the wife and myself, I probably would have gone with NE.

[BBI]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

This was my point, this thread was never meant to be a S. Tampa vs NE topic, it was simply which area is more desirable. South Tampa is more desirable to a greater base, which translates to more demand. It is also not an apples to apples comparison, South Tampa is a much bigger area. I personally chose S Tampa because of the schools and familiarity with the area, as big as a S. tampa booster as I am, if it was just the wife and myself, I probably would have gone with NE.

The OP took the thread in that direction, though probably not on purpose. Anyway, good post. No question South Tampa's more desireable, hence higher prices. If we had school-aged kids, good chance we would have gone South Tampa. Far and away my favorite two neighborhoods in the bay area.

[axiom3]

It's common knowledge that South Tampa property values hold up the best of any area in the metro region. If you do buy elsewhere, plan to stay at least 5-10 years.

[mystpete]

Originally Posted by axiom3

It's common knowledge that South Tampa property values hold up the best of any area in the metro region. If you are not interested in losing money, you'd be foolish to buy anywhere else. If you do buy elsewhere, plan to stay at least 5-10 years.

Just wondering what zips or neighborhood's, you are including in "South Tampa" & where are you getting your stats??

Please be respectful...we can all be classified as "foolish" at one point, depending on who's casting the stone!

Have a marvelous Monday!

[wlkcde]

While South Tampa definitely has better schools in general, if you make the effort you can get your child into a just as good school as you would in Tampa. In fact, the IB program at St. Pete High (the first in Florida and one of the first in the country) is superior to the Hillsborough programs.