Considering a Move to Pinellas County (Tampa, St. Petersburg: renting, homeowners insurance, crime)

[xbillyx]

My wife and I want to move to Florida (she's originally from there and I am sick of winters up North). Anyway, we've been through Pinellas County a bit and liked it. We hadn't been somewhere we'd really liked in Florida before, but Pinellas seems like a possibility now.

Anyway, here's some info about us:

• Late 20s (we'd move there when we turn 30)
• Active (running, bicycling, boating, etc.)
• Very leftist/liberal
• Considering children (we currently have a household full of furry kids)

What we're looking for:

• Somewhere we can walk, bike, use public transport (and not HAVE to use our car all the time)
• Safe
• Not terribly expensive (although we're willing to pay extra for a nicer location and place)
• Prefer an urban feel, even if slightly urban, over very suburban. A mix would be fine.
• Somewhere without a mosquito problem

We've been through Palm Harbor and liked it. We're considering Palm Harbor and Dunedin, although we need to spend more time there and need more info.

My question: What are some areas you'd recommend in Pinellas County (or elsewhere if you think there's another good fit)?

We're younger but we're not into partying or nightlife. Neither of us drink so we don't care about bars or clubs.

Thanks in advance!

[nursejerry]

Do you know what area you'll be working in? I would base where you live on where you're going to have to commute to. Tampa traffic is pretty bad, northern Pinellas is pretty bad, but St. Pete doesn't have too much.

Pinellas has a lot to offer in my opinion. I'm in your age group and single and have lived in St. Pete for almost 3 years now.

If you don't really care about nightlife, then the beaches are nice. There are plenty of shops and restaurants. The only drawback is it's kind of far from Tampa and is majority senior citizens. (At least St. Pete Beach was in 2008 when I lived there)

Downtown St. Pete has an urban feel, easy access to buses, and is very bikeable/walkable. It has a younger feel than the beach and there are also a ton of restaurants and shops, and you still have a water view. There are a lot of tourist attractions too, like museums and parks. There are also several dog parks in the area.

All along 4th St going North up to Gandy/Roosevelt there are very nice neighborhoods in close proximity to public transportation and commercial develepments. Very convenient to Tampa, still 15-20min from beaches, especially the area off Gandy.

Those are probably my top three areas of Pinellas. Good luck!

[lavender]

Schools are the problem with st pete and if you buy and plan to have them, you need to bear in mind you can't probably afforfd to move, without taking a hit for about five to seven years, particularly in this market.
For future planning - palm harbor/east lake/tarpon or seminole for school districts unless you go private then you can go anywhere. Seminole school districts include the beaches, which are v popular with cyclists, parts have designated bike trails and seminole has the pinellas trail passing through it too as does Palm Harbor. Keep away from large lakes and mangroves if you want to avoid bugs but we do live in Florida, so they can fly/breed anywhere. I dont think you can say there is an enclave of senior citizens anywhere, they too can live where they like and do
Traffic is not a major problem IMO but then I'm from a city and we all want a car. Seminole is well served by buses and you can walk to the bus 'station' if you can call it that, it is not huge, at Indian Rocks from quite a bit of Seminole, you can also walk to the beaches if you want to from parts of that town. It doesn't have a city center if you will, there are not so many of those, St Pete definitely has a city center downtown as does Dunedin (not great for schools), Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs (some sketchy areas this is different to Tarpon/East Lake) Largo (kind of but schools not good). Most of the areas mentioned are serviced by good shopping malls/entertainment places, but they dont have a main street you can walk down, its just the way it has developed here since the 70s, only the older centers retain a downtown kind of atmosphere. However, with summer approaching, walking is not the thing many Floridians do, it's just too darned hot at times, so we rely on a/c and cars.
Hope this helps. I live in Seminole and although I lived in cities, I do like it here, it's a good and safe place to settle down with family and if you are really into cycling, Seminole is good enough for the cycling enthusiast John Sinibaldi son of the cycling legend herein http://frankwykoff2.com/john_sinibaldi.htm (though he has had his run ins with vehicles in recent months!) and finally your very 'leftist/liberal' views will find some kindred spirits here, as they would anywhere, you just seek your friends to suit your temperament.

[Ronnie-N]

Buying or renting? Homeowners insurance is skyrocketing. Plan on paying $2500 - $4500 for a 350K house.

[TechichiChihuahuas]

I'm in the same boat, 28 years old and want to move from New England to Florida. I have a numbers of dogs, I show Chihuahuas in AKC events, so I need to be somewhere that is dog friendly.

[Tony in St. Pete]

One small town you might also want to consider is Gulfport. It definitely has lower crime statistics than most parts of St. Petersburg. Gulfport is a separate municipality, located on the edge of Boca Ciega Bay at the southwest corner of St. Petersburg. It is a great town for walking and has its own little pier and beach. Its main street is truly quaint--a bit of Old Florida including many small artsy shoppes and some great restaurants though not outrageously priced. Close to the Gulf beaches, with an ambience somewhat like Key West was in a much earlier and quieter era, Gulfport's residents include lots of diverse, artsy, and--oh yes, many leftist folks, at least by Florida standards.

Oh yes, there is a great dog park in Gulfport...it is extremely pet friendly.

[jamisonmom]

Need to know all the pros and cons of Tarpon Springs. Seriously looking at a house there. Is there crime? gangs? What's to do there?

[ferret111]

I second Gulfport. I was just down there the other day:

<a href="Gulfport Casino on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferret111/4575569693/ - broken link)" title="Gulfport Casino by ferret111, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/...7fef1381_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Gulfport Casino" /></a>

There is some (minimal) crime in town, but it's only along the city's eastern boundary, due to some of the South St. Pete sleaze creeping in.

Tarpon Springs is known locally for its Greek population and sponge docks. I don't think there is any serious crime, just the typical kind you can't escape anywhere. I wouldn't worry about gangs in North County. They may be there, but they're hardly a factor. What's there to do? Hang out along that street with the sponge docks. I really don't know if there's much in town that isn't geared to tourists, but you're not far from Clearwater, St. Pete, or Tampa.

[sunbird]

Liberal/left, don't want to use car, I would consider the Ft Lauderdale general area. Perhaps West Palm Beach.