Moving to St. Petersburg (Tampa, Palm Harbor: rent, condo, houses)

[txbostont]

I use to live in Carrollwood area of Tampa and the traffic to and from work was a nightmare! My other half and I moved to St. Pete in 2005 and bought in Central Oaks (5th and Burlington Ave N) just west of Kenwood. (We couldn't afford Kenwood in the real estate boom). Anyway, there are some nice older homes with a lot of charm. There are some good streets and some bad but you can get that in any neighborhood. I was a little uneasy at first but as time has gone by I am beginning to enjoy it and we have never had any problems on our street. If I had my choice I would pick the NE section or Kenwood. St. Pete is not all old people and drug dealers as most tend to think. Pinellas county is certainly more open minded that Hillsborough, if that matters.

[LukePH]

Thanks guys...we are going down in May to look around, but old NE and the Kenwood area is at the top of our list from the research we have done via the internet. I like the bay area but would be open to the beach areas as well. Again, thanks for the help.

[Angler]

Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer

I would try to stay East of I-275 .

Lots of great neighborhoods in West St. Pete- Jungle Terrace, Jungle Prada, Live Oaks, Azalea, Lake Pasadena.

Don't fall under the snobby Old NE spell!!

[Eastern Roamer]

Originally Posted by Angler

Lots of great neighborhoods in West St. Pete- Jungle Terrace, Jungle Prada, Live Oaks, Azalea, Lake Pasadena.

Don't fall under the snobby Old NE spell!!

Yeah, it's a bit of snob factor, but I like it. It's an easy place to move to because it's close to downtown and convenient to Tampa. In all fairness, I haven't had cause to venture into other neighborhoods. And let me clarify, immediately West of I-275 is very industrial with a few ugly neighborhoods. I'm sure further West there are nice places.

Thanks, Angler, for correcting my generalization.

[Angler]

Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer

Yeah, it's a bit of snob factor, but I like it. It's an easy place to move to because it's close to downtown and convenient to Tampa. In all fairness, I haven't had cause to venture into other neighborhoods. And let me clarify, immediately West of I-275 is very industrial with a few ugly neighborhoods. I'm sure further West there are nice places.

Thanks, Angler, for correcting my generalization.

We live out near Tyrone and SOuth Pasadena- very convenient to downtown, the beaches, I-275, etc.

Definitely right near West of I-275 is a fairly industrial- not that great area, save for Kenwood.

[mslilrose]

My 30 yr. old son and I are from Maine and because of health problems caused by his disability, we have been planning a move to the Pinellas county area. It has been difficult to secure a place to live from here, and our moving date is almost upon us. Since we are unfamiliar with the area, we have been nervous about the quality and safety of an apartment that qualifies for my son's sec. 8 voucher. I understand that the residences for the Disabled have a waiting list. Should we just have faith that we won't end up in a filthy, crime ridden environment, is there anybody out there that may be familiar with someone who rents sec. 8 qualifying apartments or knows of a complex that accepts section 8? We're middle class folk who are trying to keep a good quality of life.

[jessiesma]

you can spend on rent without Sect. 8? It may not bad as bad as you think.My understanding of Sect. 8 is that it is not low income housing (read "the projects") It can be any place the landlord is willing to give a break to good people in difficult circumstances. Our snowbird season is almost over so landlords will be looking to fill up those apartments. But I asked because those will be rare. The owner make enough during the season to leave them vacant for a few months.
I've seen people suggest craig's list because they tend to say if they will accept sect. 8. How severe is son's disability? What does he need in regard to accommodation? This isn't the most charitable area in that regard. I've had corporate owned apartments tell me their lawyers tell them not to comply with ADA because they might incur a liability. The bums know we don't have the resources to fight them. We've been told that they've forced long term tenants to move if the became disabled so you will have to take that into account. For sure, unless you get an extremely kind private landlord, they will do nothing for you.
You also want to be careful of what road you live on and where he will have to cross. We just had a double tragedy down the street although the driver wasn't charged this time, drivers here are not courteous to pedestrians. Also with all the old people here sometimes drivers do "incompetent" things. Just today we saw one deliberately run a light. It was obvious from the way he was driving, he couldn't judge the situation. He wasn't speeding and in fact when he realized what he did he almost stopped dead in one of the busiest intersections in town. Fortunately it was early Sunday and no one else was around or we could have had another tragedy. I will not cross the major roads because I can't make it across on the light and even so, I'd be at risk.

Originally Posted by mslilrose

My 30 yr. old son and I are from Maine and because of health problems caused by his disability, we have been planning a move to the Pinellas county area. It has been difficult to secure a place to live from here, and our moving date is almost upon us. Since we are unfamiliar with the area, we have been nervous about the quality and safety of an apartment that qualifies for my son's sec. 8 voucher. I understand that the residences for the Disabled have a waiting list. Should we just have faith that we won't end up in a filthy, crime ridden environment, is there anybody out there that may be familiar with someone who rents sec. 8 qualifying apartments or knows of a complex that accepts section 8? We're middle class folk who are trying to keep a good quality of life.

[FLACOP]

You're moving to St Pete in June 2008 & you have children...all I ask is "WHY"?

If you HAVE to live in the St Pete area here's areas to consider:
Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Tierra Verde, or St Pete Beach.

If you HAVE to live in St Pete city limits do your family this favor:
Nothing south of 54 Av N, no apt/condo complexes...if you must rent, rent a single family home. Stay away from 34 St at all costs. Also avoid the Old Northeast.

West of Tyrone Mall isn't too bad, Shore Acres can be okay, as can Snell Isle.

[jessiesfriend]

Global warming? Where is it!!!? We've had a COOOOOOLD winter in the NE snow-belt. So, am thinking of buying a small house in Tampa/St. P'burg; mainly for Winter breaks. I notice a lot of nice looking (on paper and in pix) SF houses (SF = sing. fam) in the 27th Avenue South and nearby areas in Zip 33705. Crimewise, how are these areas? Property and personal crimes are of overriding concern to us; if we feel like downtown feelling, clubbing, discos, etc., we'll just drive downtown. We just need a SAFE and reasonably priced area. Thanks in advance for all pointers.
[RIGHT]http://www.city-data.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif[/RIGHT]

[Angler]

That area is not low crime- it's one of the less-than-desirable areas.

I would stay north of Central (any Ave N, rather than an Ave S), unless you are looking south of 54th Ave S.