St. Pete area vs Sarasota area? (Tampa, Spring Hill: real estate, to rent, condo)

[lihutchi]

I'm looking for input about several things. My Mom, Sister, 21 year old neice and I are planning to move to FL soon. Mom and Sis lived in the panhandle for several years. I've done a 10 day road trip down the Gulf Coast. We're very flexible - in fact just about all we're sure of is that we need to able to walk the beach whenever we want. None of us saw anything we didn't like about the area from Spring Hill to just north of Naples (we know we can't afford Naples). We do want to be in that area, not the panhandle. We'll all share housing and want to rent, at least for now. Mom is retired, sis and I both have lots of job experience, neice wants to establish residency and attend a college there. We have a bit of a nest egg and are willing to do just about anything jobwise - it wouldn't hurt our feelings a bit to work at Walmart for a while. We aren't jet setters by any means, but we like community theater, farmers markets, that sort of thing. We need easy access to medical facilities for Mom (no serious problems, but she's 75 and gets a sense of security knowing she's close to good medical care). Sis and I like the outdoors and occasionally get a kick out of the club scene. Currently we're living in a small town in TX, population 1500 - boring! We want to be around more activity, but we aren't big city folks, either. Our problem is that we just can't narrow down where we want to start. We know people in St. Pete who love it and ditto Sarasota. We've seen great looking condo complexes online that we can afford in every area we've checked. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Our main needs are medical care, job opportunities, fairly easy beach access, affordability and a small to mid sized city.

[lihutchi]

So, is there no difference between the St. Pete area and Sarasota?

[cariad]

You might get a better response posting in the Tampa forum. I have only been to Sarasota once and it is lovely along the water, but I didn't feel comfortable and relaxed there. I prefer St. Pete-maybe because I'm more familiar with it.
I didn't care for Bradenton at all. YMMV.

[sunrico90]

Let me know if you want it move to the Tampa forum...

[TampaKaren]

Originally Posted by lihutchi

I'm looking for input about several things. My Mom, Sister, 21 year old neice and I are planning to move to FL soon. Mom and Sis lived in the panhandle for several years. I've done a 10 day road trip down the Gulf Coast. We're very flexible - in fact just about all we're sure of is that we need to able to walk the beach whenever we want. None of us saw anything we didn't like about the area from Spring Hill to just north of Naples (we know we can't afford Naples). We do want to be in that area, not the panhandle. We'll all share housing and want to rent, at least for now. Mom is retired, sis and I both have lots of job experience, neice wants to establish residency and attend a college there. We have a bit of a nest egg and are willing to do just about anything jobwise - it wouldn't hurt our feelings a bit to work at Walmart for a while. We aren't jet setters by any means, but we like community theater, farmers markets, that sort of thing. We need easy access to medical facilities for Mom (no serious problems, but she's 75 and gets a sense of security knowing she's close to good medical care). Sis and I like the outdoors and occasionally get a kick out of the club scene. Currently we're living in a small town in TX, population 1500 - boring! We want to be around more activity, but we aren't big city folks, either. Our problem is that we just can't narrow down where we want to start. We know people in St. Pete who love it and ditto Sarasota. We've seen great looking condo complexes online that we can afford in every area we've checked. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Our main needs are medical care, job opportunities, fairly easy beach access, affordability and a small to mid sized city.

Being from Tampa, I'm partial to St. Pete. The county (Pinellas) is a peninsula so getting to a beach is easy. There are also some really good hospitals at Meese and Bayfront.

I had two real estate customers lately who are moving from Naples and Sarasota to the Tampa Bay area because they said Tampa Bay is more affordable and the traffic isn't as bad.

[lihutchi]

Thanks, you guys. Sunrico, yes, please move this to the Tampa forum. Can you tell I'm new???

[dagator]

I live in St. Pete and work in Sarasota. Both area's are great!! St. Pete is a little bigger and may have a little more going on. The beaches are nicer in Sarasota but both towns have tons of culture, restaurants and activities. Downtown Sarasota is more upscale while downtown St. Pete is more bohemian/alternative. St. Pete is closer to Tampa which is a plus if you do alot of travelling or need big city amenities. I really love St. Pete and Sarasota and I am always trying to decide which town I like better but in the end I love them both!

[Barneyman]

I have lived in florida for many years and I can tell you that although Sarasota is prettier, there is really nowhere to hang out. I drove and drove around the city and found nothing more than a "Borders" book store and some strip malls. I must say that the beach is very nice though. St. Petersberg on the other hand also has a nice beach (not quite as pretty as Sarasota). The ocean side of S.Petersberg is more fun than the bay side. East St. Petersberg in my opinion has gone down hill. It is very run down and ugly. The only places I find fun in S.P are Ft. Desoto area and the ocean.

[lkm370]

ugh, ive lived in st. pete for 12 years and for the love of god dont move to this hell on earth.

[dataman]

neather both to croweded ocala is nice place not to far away