Largo Florida Need info (Tampa, Clearwater: insurance, condo, high crime)

[behappy]

[]I am looking to buy a house in Largo. I want to live close to the beach but you have to pay big bucks for the house , insurance and taxes. If I find a house in largo, I dont have those big expenses and I am only 3 miles to the beach. I have visited the area but never lived in Largo. Have you? Or do you know anything about the Largo area?

[summergal]

I'm confused as to why you would think Largo doesn't have the same high expenses? All of Tampa Bay is expensive and especially Pinellas county.

I've lived in Largo many years. Let me tell you, It was such a releif to get out of that area... the traffic is so congested there. I would recomend farther south like St. Pete or north like Clearwater. Just to get home from work in Largo often took 40 min just to go about 3 miles. There are no back streets down there. Very frustrating.

[behappy]

I was looking at Indian Rock Beach before Largo. The taxes, insurance and houses were double in price.

I never new that Largo had a traffic problem.

[Shores9]

Largo / Seminole are very nice- traffic is subjective and depends on where you need to travel

[behappy]

Glad to hear Largo is nice! What makes it nice?

Is the traffic grid lock, like Ft Meyers and Sanibel?

[Shores9]

Originally Posted by behappy

Glad to hear Largo is nice! What makes it nice?

Is the traffic grid lock, like Ft Meyers and Sanibel?

I traveled the 405 in LA and commuted to NYC from long Island (495 LIE to downtown about 35 miles). You can from Largo to just about anywhere twice that distance in half the time.

Its not grid lock for sure – it is heavy but it does move.

[behappy]

Thanks Shore 9,

I am from Chicago, so I am use to traffic.

What about Largo? Is it a nice beach community? Can your kids play in the front yard? Is the city moving forward or not moving?
Is it a good investment? Is it more lower or middle?

I can't afford to live on the beach. Largo is 3 miles away from the beach and affordable.

I don't know if you cross the Belleair Beach Causeway from Largo to the Gulf is thier parking right there?

Thanks for your input.

[behappy]

Is Largo a high crime area? It rates very high with U.S. Money. But what do they know.

[FedUpInFtMyers]

I moved from the Chicagoland area at age 30 and have been in FL for the past 8 years. I initially moved to Pinellas County and lived there for 5 years but then moved to Ft Myers when fiance decided he wanted to move. I curse the day I left St. Pete. It was the best 5 years of my life. Jobs are plentiful, and they pay decent wages. Largo is a neighbor to St Pete, and it is a fine place to live. But every city will have neighborhoods that are better than others. I don't know that I would let children play out in the frontyard unsupervised anywhere. That isn't about geography but more a sign of the times we are living in. Houses, taxes are less there than here and a lot of places unless you want to go more north. Why Largo? Traffic in N. Pinellas tends to get thicker during rush hours so I recommend that if working in N Pinellas or Hillsborough to live there also if you are concerned about traffic or a long commute, but I wouldn't say that the commute was prohibitive in any way as far as making a decision as to whether or not to live there. Living in Pinellas also opens up many different job market areas for you so you're on the right track definitely. You have easy access always to the many beaches of Pinellas County simply by remaining on Gulf Blvd. And heading either north or south on it. I have never had a problem getting access to the beaches there, and tha remains the case to this day as I miss it so much that I drive up there to eat at my favorite restaurants, visit my favorite spots, shop my favorite stores, and visit my favorite beach at least once a month, on weekdays and weekends. I have never been able to access the beach areas anywhere with such ease as I can in Pinellas. If you take a look at the area on a map, you will are that it is surrounded by water, and that makes access easier and makes for a very beautiful, tropical setting. Good luck with your decision. You could do a whole lot worse, believe me. I think most people like living in Pinellas and Hillsborough. I sure did!

[summergal]

Originally Posted by behappy

Thanks Shore 9,

I am from Chicago, so I am use to traffic.

What about Largo? Is it a nice beach community? Can your kids play in the front yard? Is the city moving forward or not moving?
Is it a good investment? Is it more lower or middle?

I can't afford to live on the beach. Largo is 3 miles away from the beach and affordable.

I don't know if you cross the Belleair Beach Causeway from Largo to the Gulf is thier parking right there?

Thanks for your input.

Largo's not a beach community per se, really just a regular city of neighborhoods. There really isn't a "downtown", but they do have a large park where there are some events. They city is trying to move forward. They have been working on a revitalizing of the central part of town (Bay Dr. & Clearwater-Largo Rd.) with mixed success. Really it's a fine place to live as is Seminole, St Pete, Clearwater, Dunedin... all of Pinellas has some very nice areas. I don't know what your budget is like but if you want to live close to the water without being right AT the water, you may want to look into Belleair Bluffs or even Belleair. It's very easy access to the gulf beaches, you can walk to Belleair Beach and there are nice homes but the home prices are less than being in IR Beach or something. Also Safety Harbour is a great little old-fashioned town right on the bay that would be worth considering. You can walk to the water or to one of the BEST parks in Pinellas (Phillipe Park) from just about anywhere in town. Very quaint and family friendly.

Oh, if you cross Belleair Causeway from Largo to the Gulf, you do NOT have access there. Actually you can't even see the beach along most of Gulf Blvd because of all the McMansions and condo buildings. It's a little drive to the north to Sand Key Beach (My fav) or further north across the bridge to Clearwater Beach. If you go south, there are a couple small access spots along the way but I think it's a bit of a drive to an "actual" beach area. Although Belleair Beach is a small beach with parking right there and a boat launch.

One thing that is really cool about living near the Intercoastal... the fireworks are awesome!