Relocating from Chicago to St Pete, need advice (Tampa, St. Petersburg: apartments, for rent)

[Anners]

Hey there, so I will be moving from Chicago to St Pete in about a month. I will be working near the St Pete-Clearwater airport. I have never visited so I'm a bit nervous about finding a place to live. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. A bit about me, I'm early 30s, single and coming from downtown Chicago so I'm used to city living and amenities and walking to places. Any neighborhoods on which I should focus my search? Thanks in advance!!

[FatherJoseph]

Walkability only exists in a few enclaves - a few place downtown SP, near north, certainly I can't think of that kind of place around the SPCLWTR airport - it's pretty congested and hardly walkable ..well safely. Who wants to walk around in 90 degree temps anyway ?

[wsamon]

I've never lived in Chicago, but I've been there many times for work. You're going to have a HUGE cultural adjustment coming to the Tampa Bay area. This is not to say that Tampa Bay is bad. I happen to love it here (and I love Chicago as well), but the entire way of life is different. For all intents and purposes (at least to you), the area is essentially one gigantic suburb that happens to have some big-city amenities. Even downtown St. Petersburg will seem very lightweight and "suburban" to you. The only spot I know that you might get a city feel would be in downtown Tampa, but it's even more dead at night than the loop. South Howard, downtown St. Pete, and a few other places will give you some walkability with some culture / nightlife, but do not expect to live anywhere without a car, especially considering where you're working. Mass transit here is virtually non-existent, and what there is is awful.

All that said, if you can adjust your mindset to the fact that you'll be living in what amounts to a vacation spot, with a nice, laid-back mind-set, and some beautiful surroundings and weather, you will enjoy it here. This is much more of a stop and smell the roses place than what you're used to. There is still plenty of stuff to do here, but you will have to put more effort into seeking it out, and be willing to drive 15-30 minutes in many cases. You don't just have waves of activities, events, and people thrown at you like in Chicago.

If you work normal business hours, definitely try to stay on the west side of the bay. Crossing the bridges during rush hour is the only consistently bad traffic experience I've had in the area. What is your expected budget for rent? How long of a drive is acceptable for you to commute? Living close to the airport wouldn't be too bad but it's pretty rural feeling from what I remember. You'd have easy access to some minor league baseball games though, which can be fun, as well as downtown Tampa and St. Pete. Historic Old Northeast of St. Pete could be a possibility for you, as could downtown St. Pete, Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Largo (for the malls and central location), or even the beaches. If you don't work normal business hours, many places in Tampa open up to you as well. You really have a lot of options, so knowing what interests you, how far you're willing to commute, what you expect out of your home, and how much you expect to spend could help narrow it down.

[wsamon]

Originally Posted by FatherJoseph

Who wants to walk around in 90 degree temps anyway ?

I do I love 90 degree weather! Especially when there's a little breeze

[The Villages Guy]

Ah, another one leaving Chicago for the Tampa Bay area. In all likelihood, you will love it here compared to Chicago. Who wouldn't. Based on where you will be working, you will have lots of options. Downtown St. Pete probably the best option for you, but you may want to look at Safety Harbor as well.

Good luck and welcome to the area. We have lots of people fleeing Chicago for a better life here.

[Trigger-f]

Originally Posted by Anners

Hey there, so I will be moving from Chicago to St Pete in about a month. I will be working near the St Pete-Clearwater airport. I have never visited so I'm a bit nervous about finding a place to live. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. A bit about me, I'm early 30s, single and coming from downtown Chicago so I'm used to city living and amenities and walking to places. Any neighborhoods on which I should focus my search? Thanks in advance!!

Why not use Google maps and zoom down to street level? That way you see what neighborhoods look like. If you're going to be working by CLW-St Pete Airport, might want to look into the area of 4th street N(north of Gandy Blvd(there's plenty of apartments there)). The area is not bad. Feather Sound may have some apartments, as well as Carillon(that's a business park area but had a friend that lived there for a while).
Downtown St Pete is another option. You'll have to drive everywhere here, distances are enormous; to get an idea, for a metro area of 4.4. million, it's probably about 120 miles north to south(from Spring Hill down to Sarasota) with the Bay in the middle.

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Ah, another one leaving Chicago for the Tampa Bay area. In all likelihood, you will love it here compared to Chicago. Who wouldn't. Based on where you will be working, you will have lots of options. Downtown St. Pete probably the best option for you, but you may want to look at Safety Harbor as well.

Good luck and welcome to the area. We have lots of people fleeing Chicago for a better life here.

PriusH8r, I love your kind, positive words for us Chicagoans (et al) who are planning a move down there. However, you may not like me personally because I own a Camry XLE Hybrid! Is it the Prius styling you hate (as I do) or the fact that it's a hybrid? Either way, thanks for the support!

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by moviefan

PriusH8r, I love your kind, positive words for us Chicagoans (et al) who are planning a move down there. However, you may not like me personally because I own a Camry XLE Hybrid! Is it the Prius styling you hate (as I do) or the fact that it's a hybrid? Either way, thanks for the support!

I have nothing against good mileage cars. I don't like the looks of the Prius, but it is how quiet they are when they sneak up on me that I don't like. I like the technology though.

Y'all are welcome here anytime. There is simply no way I could deal with the amount of cold, grey, dreary days up north anymore. Anyone who feels the same stands a good shot of liking it here. My only advice on that would try to be within 5 miles of the coast if you can, as it does not get as hot here as it does inland most of the time in the summer. Love the seabreeze.

[tauzero]

There is no such thing as walkability near St Pete/Clearwater airport. I live right near it. I would look to move somewhere downtown such as St Pete, Dunedin, or Safety Harbor. The latter two are smaller towns but they offer quite a bit in terms of night life, dining, and being near the water. I've been to Chicago many times and nothing here in the Tampa Bay area is going to resemble what you are used to. I would prepare for a bit of a culture shock.

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

I have nothing against good mileage cars. I don't like the looks of the Prius, but it is how quiet they are when they sneak up on me that I don't like. I like the technology though.

Y'all are welcome here anytime. There is simply no way I could deal with the amount of cold, grey, dreary days up north anymore. Anyone who feels the same stands a good shot of liking it here. My only advice on that would try to be within 5 miles of the coast if you can, as it does not get as hot here as it does inland most of the time in the summer. Love the seabreeze.

Absolutely. We went to Orlando, Clearwater and Cocoa Beach last year and there's nothing like the coasts, especially the west. Too hot and muggy in Orlando. Coming from Chicago, I can deal with it, but I prefer the Clearwater area ten-fold. Thanks for the 5-mile tip. I'll have to be sure I'm in that perimeter! I just hope and pray I can find work down there next spring when we plan on making the move. I've heard from several people that when employers see Chicago or the midwest on a resumé, they know they're dealing with someone with a good strong work ethic. They'll get that from me; I just hope I get the chance to prove myself and find something in my field. I've seen many jobs at Craigslist that I've been oh-so-tempted to reply to now, but now is not the time.