Where to live for a young professional (Tampa, Largo: to rent, condos)

[The Maleman]

Originally Posted by MelPawl

Hi all,

I am 24 years old and I will be relocating to Largo, FL in July with my job from the Los Angeles beach area. I want to live in an area that has a lot going on and has people that are in there twenties and early thirties. I am into hiking, running, violleyball, getting together socially, etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions as I am not from the area and would love your input!

Thanks!

All of these people who are maligning Largo no doubt have good intentions but are giving you bad advice. If you are working here and living in Tampa you will have an hour plus commute if you work any time between 7AM and 7PM. I know this as I was working in Tampa and I live in Largo. Largo is a large, sprawling town with lots to do and great proximity to the beaches. I live on the west side, near Indian Rocks Rd. and West Bay drive. This area has plenty to do, within 5-10 minutes either way there is the Pinellas trail, City Park, 2 County Parks, Gulf drive with access to ALL the beaches and nightlife. If you are looking to impress a bunch of snobs, you'll fit right in at Westchase. If you want balance in your work/life, I'd suggest giving the area a chance. I think you would be just fine with something in West Largo or Indian Rocks Beach. Clearwater is close, however the nicer parts of Clearwater tend to be to the east side, which is close to the big mall at Countryside and the traffic is horrendous. Just use common sense. If you want more specific information about Largo, feel free to PM me.

[tinytrump]

stay in St Pete... the rest is blue hair city

[Ontana]

!!! DEFINITELY South Tampa or westshore area... Hyde Park probably.

[Ontana]

Look into "tampa bay club sport" to get on a beach volleyball team that plays right there at Crabby Bills on Courtney Campbell Causeway. You'll meet people and see pretty sunsets while you play.

[jrparkernc]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

I cant believe there is a young professional coming from LA and the first suggestion was LARGO? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! -I wish i could give negative reputation

Without a doubt, westshore or south tampa are your only reasonable options. Both are similar, but westshore has more of a business oriented feel, lot of transplants, easier to meet people. It has the best mall in the area (without driving to orlando) and a lot of upscale trendy resturants which makes for a great afternoon-evening social scene. I am a 27 yr old single professional and I live in westshore, it is a good fit for me. I can get off work and go to happy hour solo, or meet friends, and mingle with other like minded, active young professionals.

south tampa is mostly full of tampa natives and the people aren't as friendly. there seems to be a "i'm better then you attitude" in south tampa, but it is blatently fake - which you might find is a lot like LA . I like a lot of the social spots in south tampa, but I have made friends in westshore and we go to south tampa together, because it is very hard to break into a "south tampa clique" I am not saying i dont like south tampa, I love it, but sometimes the attitudes can be exhuasting. A tampa native friend told me that she knows 4 girls that are bartenders and they all split a $2000 mercedes benz S500 lease payment and either go out together or take turns driving the car. This is not uncommon in south tampa with the younger crowd. I once met a girl at a bar called "the rack" after a while of drinking and talking, she disclosed that she had just over $100K in credit card debt. I cant stomach this attitude on a day to day basis, but it is fun to party in south tampa for the reason it is like walking into a red carpet event anytime you go to a club. Like someone said earlier, it is a poor mans LA- but both the men and women always look good in south tampa. Westshore is really only a 5 minute drive to south tampa (SoHo, Hyde Park). You will also find that housing in south tampa is primarily condo (which you would have to rent privately) and a little older. it has "character" but it is still trendy. Westshore has that new upscale and urban thing going on. You will find a lot of granite, stainless steel, high end fixtures, and dark colors in westshore.

Downtown isnt there yet. "Downtown Proper" has two primary places to live. the element (apartments) and skypoint (condo) they are developed by the same person, almost identical, and a block away from eachother. Skypointe BARELY beat the housing bust, element didnt, hence the reason it is "apartments". Neither one is doing very well. There is business in downtown proper, but no established residents, which means after happy hour- no resturants (except taps and raw bar, boss hogs, and fly). Once the business crowd rolls out for the day, so do the supporting businesses. You would definately be driving a lot considering you are "downtown". You likely wont meet as many people.

Channelside, which is technically downtown, is on the east end of downtown proper and is full of new trendy low rise condos/apartments. There is great dining and entertainment within walking distance of grand central and the place, but the patrons are mostly tourists. The buildings aren't quite filled up, which leads to a less active community. I think in the next 5 years, channelside will really become great, i think 10 years the rest of downtown will pick up. Tampa's biggest downtown upset was the stoppage of the "trump tower tampa" which would have really made downtown proper a decent after hours spot.

There is of course harbour island which is right across from channelside downtown which is nice. it is mostly condo with one post property (apartments) which are in a great location. I think this is a great spot for professionals working downtown, but I wasn't too impressed with the apartments. the outside and the property is great, the insides were a little dated, but not bad by any means.

I kind of consider myself a "tampa nightlife ambassador" haha, and I have spent a lot of time learning the area. I would be more then happy to answer more questions as you think of them. I have toured countless apartments in the area and been to even more resturants/clubs/bars. I have only been her 18 months, but i made the huge mistake of moving to brandon when i moved here from georgia, i vowed not to make another mistake, so i ended up in westshore after months of research and hanging out in and making friends in all of the different parts of town.

Do you have any recommendations regarding specific apartments to focus around or do you have any that you would recommed that would be a good starting point.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by jrparkernc

Do you have any recommendations regarding specific apartments to focus around or do you have any that you would recommed that would be a good starting point.

You are responding to a post made 3 years ago by a guy who hasn't logged in to City Data in over 2 years. Enjoy CraigM's great posts, but he ain't replying to you.

[CountryFisher]

What is with people coming on here, making threads and calling themselves "young professionals"? The term looks and sounds stupid. Why call yourself that? I don't get it.

[BuckeyePorcupine]

Originally Posted by CountryFisher

What is with people coming on here, making threads and calling themselves "young professionals"? The term looks and sounds stupid. Why call yourself that? I don't get it.

THIS. I've always wondered this.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by CountryFisher

What is with people coming on here, making threads and calling themselves "young professionals"? The term looks and sounds stupid. Why call yourself that? I don't get it.

Wikipedia has some helpful words:

A professional is someone who has completed formal education and training in one or more profession. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skills necessary to perform the role of that profession ...

... in some cultures, the term is used as shorthand to describe a particular social stratum of well-educated workers who enjoy considerable work autonomy and who are commonly engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work.

In other words, these are people with ability and ambition.

[jpgiraldo7]

Hi, I´m planning on moving to Tampa, FL on 2014 and I found your post really useful. Can I contact you for updated info about living in Tampa? how can I reach you? my email is jpgiraldo7@gmail.com