Looking to possibly relocate (Miami, Tampa: real estate market, rent, how much)

[Dub D]

Hello,

I'm living in Southern CA right now starting a new 100k remote job in a few weeks. I lived in Southern CA for 95% of my adult life. The reminder 5% was spent in Austin last year so I'm familiar with humidity. Also, I lived in Orlando (Lake Mary) for seven years as a kid. So I grew up with humidity.

With that said, I realized how much I missed being near a beach while I was in Austin. I was planning a trip to Dallas next week which I may nix due to possible snow...not dealing with snow. I was thinking of just switching everything to Tampa but holy crap plane tickets are expensive! Is that the norm for Tampa flights?

I'm 30+ single non-white male looking to settle down sooner than later but I would like to be near the action but not live near the action.

I've read articles and threads, I think St. Petersburg is what I'm looking for. I'd like more of a laid back but fun atmosphere near beaches. My surfing days are behind me so swimming and just chilling in the water works for me.

I definitely want to be around other single professionals. I don't want to live in the burbs or be too far from everything. I don't mind driving a bit but don't want to be so far away from everything. I did that in Austin and really regretted it.

I would rent for a year before buying so my monthly budget is about $2,500ish for a 2 bedroom. I wouldn't want a one bedroom since I would like an office room.

I'm planning on staying in CA til May/June then relocate. So I may go to Tampa when it's hot to truly get a scene of how its like the majority of the time.

The stuff I've read is a few years back so it could be dated. My Tampa area knowledge is real limited. Appreciate any tips.

[Arcenal813]

St-Pete is by far your best bet. Checks all of the boxes based on your post.

I fly out of the Tampa airport fairly often. Flights aren't normally much. Play around with the dates a bit, and check out the bargain airlines.

[MortonR]

I would agree with St. Pete, especially if you want the young vibe and proximity to beaches. Just be aware that many of the beaches you'll be close to are ones the vacationers frequent, so they can be pretty crowded at times. You can go a ways and find much nicer ones that aren't nearly as packed during peak seasons.

Tampa is starting to get a decent younger vibe as it's downtown area develops, but it's nowhere near what St. Pete has from what I've seen, and it's much father from any beaches.

RM

[Zambon]

We all need to stop encouraging people to move to St Pete. The real estate market is bad enough, and you can hardly go out on Central Ave at night anymore without crowds of meatheads everywhere. Tampa is a better option.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Zambon

We all need to stop encouraging people to move to St Pete. The real estate market is bad enough, and you can hardly go out on Central Ave at night anymore without crowds of meatheads everywhere. Tampa is a better option.

Real estate in any nicer area of St. Pete is ridiculously priced. Also, regardless of what many say here, it does skew older than Tampa. Median age in St. Pete is nearly 43, while in Tampa 35. Don't get me wrong, St. Pete is has a lot going for it; but for a younger person, do does Tampa. I do think OP will find many more options for everything in the Tampa area and I would encourage him to thoroughly check out both cities. It also does not take that long to get to a beach from Tampa.

Good luck to you, OP!

[Arcenal813]

Tampa isn’t “near beaches” though, which is why I didn’t suggest it. It’s a good 45 minutes to the nearest (Clearwater Beach.)

[rgnx]

I can access Madeira beach in 35 minutes from my location in Tampa. Regular traffic

[AaronDavidSchultz]

Nay, I think you might be better off staying in gorgeous CA. Just stay put and continue to make CA a great place don't you think?

[castlechurch]

I think I can answer with some familiarity. I lived in Austin for about 6 months, Florida humidity is worse than most of Texas, especially Austin. That said, it is not really an issue when you get used to it, or you are inside in AC.

Plane tickets into TPA are not usually that expensive, right now is the high season for tourists, so everything is more costly. I flew round trip LA a few weeks ago for under $250 a person, but we bought the tickets early on Alaska Airlines.

DT St. Pete is great, and would work well, but Pinellas county is more than just DT St. Pete, which in reality is a very small area that is actually nice and safe. The average age skews older than Hillsborough, and Tampa in specific. It is close to the beaches, but ask yourself, are you really going to use most of your off work time to go to the beach? If the answer is "yes" then you should look at Pinellas county, and St. Pete in particular.

If the answer is "no", then you should look into Tampa, and the DT Tampa area in particular. Many people have a dream that they are going to be going to the beach all the time when they live here, but then they really only go a few times a year, or they really want water sports, not so much the beach, in which case there are other options on both sides of the bay.

That said, you can easily get to the beach from Tampa in 30-35 minutes most of the day. Obviously not during rush hour. Clearwater is always going to be way more crowded, and can be tough to park in, most locals don't really go to Clearwater unless they are looking for that "tourist beach" experience, which is fun....but is also crowded. Look at St. Pete beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, Indian Shores, etc.

DT Tampa has access to lots of water sports and boating, if that is what you are looking for. If you have not been to Tampa in the last 6 years, it has changed a lot (for the better).


Take a 3-4 day weekend (or longer if you can) to come over here and really scope out both cities, get a feel for them. If you work remote, come over for a couple of weeks and really get a better feeling for the area. Play around with flight pricing, it should get cheaper in late April and May, and less into the summer. You might get cheaper flights if you want to drive up to Phoenix or Las Vegas, depending where in S. CA you are.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by Dub D

Hello,

I'm living in Southern CA right now starting a new 100k remote job in a few weeks. I lived in Southern CA for 95% of my adult life. The reminder 5% was spent in Austin last year so I'm familiar with humidity. Also, I lived in Orlando (Lake Mary) for seven years as a kid. So I grew up with humidity.

With that said, I realized how much I missed being near a beach while I was in Austin. I was planning a trip to Dallas next week which I may nix due to possible snow...not dealing with snow. I was thinking of just switching everything to Tampa but holy crap plane tickets are expensive! Is that the norm for Tampa flights?

I'm 30+ single non-white male looking to settle down sooner than later but I would like to be near the action but not live near the action.

I've read articles and threads, I think St. Petersburg is what I'm looking for. I'd like more of a laid back but fun atmosphere near beaches. My surfing days are behind me so swimming and just chilling in the water works for me.

I definitely want to be around other single professionals. I don't want to live in the burbs or be too far from everything. I don't mind driving a bit but don't want to be so far away from everything. I did that in Austin and really regretted it.

I would rent for a year before buying so my monthly budget is about $2,500ish for a 2 bedroom. I wouldn't want a one bedroom since I would like an office room.

I'm planning on staying in CA til May/June then relocate. So I may go to Tampa when it's hot to truly get a scene of how its like the majority of the time.

The stuff I've read is a few years back so it could be dated. My Tampa area knowledge is real limited. Appreciate any tips.

The nasty little secret no one tells you (especially no one here on City Data) is that YES, as you are seeing with your own eyes, flights in and out of TPA are frequently much more expensive than Orlando and Miami (the next closest major and cheaper airports) and likely LAX (assuming that's what you use). When you live in Tampa or St. Pete you will find yourself contemplating flying garbage airlines like Spirit and Frontier (the "bargain airlines" mentioned above) in order to avoid being ripped off by TPA. Yes, TPA is an expensive airport no matter how many people here on City Data lie about it.

By the way, Austin is not humid compared to Florida. Florida humidity looks at Austin humidity and laughs.

The other nasty little secret that no one tells you is that many people (native and non-native) never "get used to" the heat or humidity in Florida. Those people end up leaving.

I recommend you visit in summer and it sounds like you would love living in St. Pete!!!