Hyde Park/Ybor City/Downtown St. Pete (Tampa: real estate, apartments)

[tsiddons]

Hi all,

I have been posting in various forums around these parts and have found everyone to be so helpful so far. I'm a 22 year old recent college grad, and looking for a fun place to spend the next few years of my life. The most important aspect of the next city I move to is how walkable it is(or at least the neighborhood I live in). I went to school at the College of Charleston and loved the amount of bars and restaurants within walking distance of each other(and my apartment). A car was necessary for certain things(grocery shopping, getting to the beach) but there would be days at a time where I'd have no need to get in one. There was also a real laid back vibe there, with happy hour specials all over town, rooftop bars, and restaurants with outside patios to drink some beers. This is basically what I'm looking for. Walkability and nightlife are the 2 main priorities in finding a new city.

I think Tampa may have a lot of the qualities I desire, but I am having trouble pinpointing an exact location within Tampa. Everywhere I have read says South Tampa is where the action is, but I was hoping to get more specifics. I know Hyde Park is a neighborhood in South Tampa(i think?), but does it seem like what I'm looking for? If someone could give me some street names in Hyde Park where the action is most centrally located, it would be a big help in terms of finding an apartment in the vicinity.

How do Ybor City and Downtown St. Pete match up with what I'm looking for? I've always sort of had the impression Ybor City was more "Cancun" than "Charleston," but a friend told me Ybor was actually very chill. Don't get me wrong, I loved Cancun when I was there, but I wouldnt want to live in the center of all the flashing lights/techno beats, haha. As for St. Pete, is it more of a family oriented place, or is downtown pretty vibrant with younger folks? Once again, street names would be extremely helpful.

If you were in my position, would you be looking towards Ybor City, Hyde Park, or Downtown St. Pete(or other?) I will have a roommate and would look for something in the 2BR/1600 range. Obviously cheaper than that would be ideal.

Or would you just stay away from Tampa altogether?

[tampaguy03]

If "I" were you I would look into Hyde Park first. South Howard Avenue is where most of the cafe's, bars, restaurants, shops, etc. are located, there is also Hyde Park Village too, but most everything is walkable in that area. I just like its proximity to downtown Tampa for Hockey and Arena Football games, Concerts at the Forum; Performing Arts Center concerts, theater, events; CHannelside(about a mile) events and nightlife options as well; and then there is Bayshore Blvd Linear Park in your backyard, and very easy access to Ybor City nightlife and restaurants(a little more than a mile); and other South Tampa neighborhood eateries and nightlife; Tampa Airport; and Tampa Stadium Buc games; and major employment areas like downtown Tampa and Westshore District.

Ybor City should not be looked over, but it is still in transitional stages, but would be very cool for someone your age looking for walkability and nightlife...you have some great bars and clubs, restaurants and best movie theater in the area, independent theaters, more historic(picture a mini French Quarter)..but you will deal with lots of visitors from outside the area on Friday and Saturday nights.

St. Pete is a beautiful waterfront downtown, which can get lively on the weekends, I feel it has a more laid back and bohemian feel to it, but you will again find alot of what your looking for in downtown St. Pete, but you will be crossing the bridge for Sports and Tampa's nightlife which is bigger, but not always better, but then again you will be closer to the Gulf beaches in St Pete.

It's a toss up, but I was here at 22, and I chose Hyde Park after living in the USF area for college and loved it!!

[jessiesma]

Ybor is a party scent to be sure but as for walkability during the day and for other non-bar related activities... Don't think there are any decent apartments there and for sure no real shopping of the sort you're looking for. I don't think it's really livable yet. I'd suggest Hyde Park where you can get a 1 br for 800/mo up but you have a supermarket, nice shops, pharmacy and several great bars, restaurants. Howard and Swann are the main streets. It's close to Univ. of Tampa but there is some semi-blighted but improving are in between. It's very walkable and so is St. Pete. St. Pete has the advantage of being closer to the beaches a slightly better bus system that even takes you to the beach via the Beach Trolley and great cultural venues as well as the bars and restaurants. USF has a satellite campus there so there are young people and a lively scene. St. Pete is a grid so Downtown is roughly central to about 5th Ave. NORTH and 1st Street NORTH to I-275. Avenues run E-W and Streets, N-S. You want to stay north of Central in either case.
St. Pete has a rep for old people but Downtown has a good vibe for those ready to transition out of college life into "real" life.
I think your friend who described Ybor as Cancun was right on and if you love Charleston, you'll prefer St. Pete or Hyde Park.

Originally Posted by tsiddons

Hi all,

I have been posting in various forums around these parts and have found everyone to be so helpful so far. I'm a 22 year old recent college grad, and looking for a fun place to spend the next few years of my life. The most important aspect of the next city I move to is how walkable it is(or at least the neighborhood I live in). I went to school at the College of Charleston and loved the amount of bars and restaurants within walking distance of each other(and my apartment). A car was necessary for certain things(grocery shopping, getting to the beach) but there would be days at a time where I'd have no need to get in one. There was also a real laid back vibe there, with happy hour specials all over town, rooftop bars, and restaurants with outside patios to drink some beers. This is basically what I'm looking for. Walkability and nightlife are the 2 main priorities in finding a new city.

I think Tampa may have a lot of the qualities I desire, but I am having trouble pinpointing an exact location within Tampa. Everywhere I have read says South Tampa is where the action is, but I was hoping to get more specifics. I know Hyde Park is a neighborhood in South Tampa(i think?), but does it seem like what I'm looking for? If someone could give me some street names in Hyde Park where the action is most centrally located, it would be a big help in terms of finding an apartment in the vicinity.

How do Ybor City and Downtown St. Pete match up with what I'm looking for? I've always sort of had the impression Ybor City was more "Cancun" than "Charleston," but a friend told me Ybor was actually very chill. Don't get me wrong, I loved Cancun when I was there, but I wouldnt want to live in the center of all the flashing lights/techno beats, haha. As for St. Pete, is it more of a family oriented place, or is downtown pretty vibrant with younger folks? Once again, street names would be extremely helpful.

If you were in my position, would you be looking towards Ybor City, Hyde Park, or Downtown St. Pete(or other?) I will have a roommate and would look for something in the 2BR/1600 range. Obviously cheaper than that would be ideal.

Or would you just stay away from Tampa altogether?

[Lior Arel]

Specifically you want the neighborhood known as SoHo (I live there). It's the border of Palma Ceia and Hyde Park. Lots of nightlife is walking distance and there's even more for a measly $4 cab ride! Close to everything, Bayshore Blvd is in your backyard and if you're renting with a roommate finding your rent is no problem! I LOVE it here and as long as I live in Tampa it's SoHo for me. I was looking for exactly what you were and found it here.

SoHo, btw, is short for S Howard Ave. The neighborhood encompasses the street and surrounding neighborhood, some of the primest real estate in Tampa. SoHo has a website, but I don't think I can list here so just Google "South Howard Tampa".

You wanted street names:

S Howard, Lorenzo, S Carolina, Morrison Ave, Watrous Ave, Swann Ave, Platt St. are just a few. Zip codes for SoHo are 33629 and 33606 (these are also Palma Ceia and Hyde Park.

[tsiddons]

Wow, I cannot believe how helpful everyone is on these forums. Thank you all so much for your input. I've pretty much narrowed my search down to just a couple of cities; with tampa and denver leading the way...though at the moment, I'm probably leaning towards Tampa.

Looks like I will be concentrating mostly on the Soho and downtown St. Pete districts, though from the sound of it, I should probably stick more to SoHo. Wherever I go, I will most likely be going at the beginning of June. Is this good, bad, or neither? By that I mean, I know in NYC there is a housing crunch between May and September and rents will be higher and apartments harder to come by. But I also know in Charleston, all restaurants are looking for servers for the summer months, so it's no probably getting a job quickly. Odd question I know, but does anyone have any input on moving to Tampa at the beginning of summer? Would it be better to wait until September. My situation is flexible, I just want to do what's best in the long run.

Thanks!

[TampaKaren]

There's always a shift in housing after school's out. You can either jump into the fun, or wait and hope the good stuff isn't gone. ha! just kidding. Come on down! And I agree with the other posters. SoHo is desirable, but it's a really small area geographically which makes it more expensive. Unfortunately as a whole, there are no real walking cities close to us and there's no mass transit system either.

[jessiesma]

in late aug. so the college crowd is already settled in by then. come on down for June. The same kids will be leaving and there should be rentals around.
Tampa Karen is right about how small SOHO is and St. Pete is a bigger area. She also mentioned no public trans. and that's definitely true in Tampa.The routes and schedules are ridiculous. St. Pete isn't much better but the major routes like to the mall and beach from downtown DO work.

Originally Posted by tsiddons

Wow, I cannot believe how helpful everyone is on these forums. Thank you all so much for your input. I've pretty much narrowed my search down to just a couple of cities; with tampa and denver leading the way...though at the moment, I'm probably leaning towards Tampa.

Looks like I will be concentrating mostly on the Soho and downtown St. Pete districts, though from the sound of it, I should probably stick more to SoHo. Wherever I go, I will most likely be going at the beginning of June. Is this good, bad, or neither? By that I mean, I know in NYC there is a housing crunch between May and September and rents will be higher and apartments harder to come by. But I also know in Charleston, all restaurants are looking for servers for the summer months, so it's no probably getting a job quickly. Odd question I know, but does anyone have any input on moving to Tampa at the beginning of summer? Would it be better to wait until September. My situation is flexible, I just want to do what's best in the long run.

Thanks!

[Keeper]

Don't forget to 'rep' the posters who give you good info..

[mateo384]

how about if I were the original poster, wanting the same stuff, and I were gay? Between Hyde Park, Ybor City, and downtown St. Pete, which would be a better fit? I want nightlife and restaurants and all that stuff, too, but I also want some gay clubs.

right now i'm tossing it up between Ybor and downtown St. Pete. I've never been to Hyde Park. Seems to be expensive from what I've read also.

[blueherons]

I hate to be a wet blanket but none of these locations will compare with Charleston. Hell, very few cities anywhere can compare with Charleston. As long as you know that and are prepared for that, you'll be okay.