Tell me the Negatives..... (Tampa, St. Petersburg: real estate, homeowners insurance, condos) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

Jammie · 06-14-2007, 10:53 AM

What are the negatives about the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area? I've read nearly every post about the area and no one seems to complain about it. I'm just looking for specific things~traffic or crime or congestion or storm area, insurance problems, etc. It seems so many people like the area and that's impressive, but is there anything to be wary of there?

dagator · 06-14-2007, 11:53 AM

You are right, St. Pete is really an awesome place to live. If I were to pick a negative, it would be that the zoning kind of sucks. There is a house next to a store which is next to an industry and alot of commercial stuff within historically residential areas. BUT, the lack of zoning is pretty typical to Florida in general so don't let it deter you from St. Pete. As I mentioned above, St. Pete is an awesome place to call home.

Jammie · 06-14-2007, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagator

You are right, St. Pete is really an awesome place to live. If I were to pick a negative, it would be that the zoning kind of sucks. There is a house next to a store which is next to an industry and alot of commercial stuff within historically residential areas. BUT, the lack of zoning is pretty typical to Florida in general so don't let it deter you from St. Pete. As I mentioned above, St. Pete is an awesome place to call home.

Dagator, thank you for the reply. Have you lived there for long or are you familiar with other areas of the country? Do you feel it's over crowded there or are you comfy there?

dagator · 06-14-2007, 01:53 PM

I have lived here for 3 years. There are tons of condos on the beaches and during season it gets crowded with tourists. St. Pete is on a peninsula so there is a premium on real estate, its crowded but not uncomfortable. Traffic is suprisingly good in St. Pete but there is more congestion in Clearwater and Tampa. The downtown area has parks all along the water which is great because everyone can enjoy the beautiful views. Our downtown area is truly unrivaled. We also have a great State park/beach called Ft. Desoto; its about the only area that remains undeveloped. Good luck.

Jammie · 06-14-2007, 04:01 PM

By the "downtown area" are you referring to IN St. Pete itself? We have looked at motels that appear to be on almost an island~Beachcomber, Don Cesar, etc. If we stayed at a motel IN St. Pete, is that where the park areas would be and also how far from the beach is it?

cariad · 06-14-2007, 04:36 PM

Jammie,
Those motels are in St Pete Beach and it is a barrier island separated from the city by Boca Ciega Bay. The Don Cesar is at the start of Pass Grille, the southernmost beach, designated a historic area. Pass, SPB, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach-All of these areas were small town beaches that incorporated into St. Pete Beach
It is about 20 minutes from downtown.

Oops, I'm wrong-treasure island and madiera are still separate.

KittySkyfish · 06-14-2007, 08:05 PM

I was there from 2001 - 2005 and I have mixed feelings about the area. Here's the bad first: The beaches and tourist areas are beautiful, but it seems the beauty ends about a mile or two inland. When I first moved there it was sight unseen because of a job transfer. Honestly, my heart sunk as I drove around the area. Many of the neighborhoods look worn out and the home construction is almost exclusively stucco or painted cement block. Coming from areas where homes are finished in brick or wood, it definitely had a 'shabby beach' look. The area tends to look untidy since the city doesn't seem to devote much tax money to keeping the inland areas maintained. The crime is above the national average and concentrated in the southeast part of the peninsula, surrounding the downtown St. Petersburg area. A few years back the county used to provide interactive crime maps and I used them often when we were in the process of buying a home. (Never did tho - we relocated to TX before we could figure out where was safe *and* decent to live under $300,000). Auto insurance is more expensive, as is homeowners insurance. We were tired of the good street/bad street zoning problems. You could find a great home but the next door neighbor or the street behind your house could be trashy. And it felt like a retirement center half the time.

The nice aspects of the area were the beaches and water activities. I really loved to spend an evening on the beach and to watch the sunset while relaxing on the warm sand. And the birds. I really liked the shorebirds! Tourism brings choices for good dining and places to have a cold margarita.

It's not a place I'd want to live again but nice for a visit.

Jammie · 06-14-2007, 10:21 PM

Cariad, thank you for the info. I understand now. When we make our trip plans, we may just stay in a town that's in St. Pete since it wouldn't be far to the ocean anyway. And hopefully we'll be able to go down there in the next few months, which of course will still be hurricane season. When we went down in 2004, we lucked out by getting there just inbetween hurricanes and we may not be that lucky again.

Kitty, that was a nice evaluation~both the good and the bad of living there. You know, it seems like the beach towns we've been to do have a sort of weathered look. I thought Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach were a little ocean blown.

But then again, it may have been cause of their recent canes. I also thought Myrtle Beach seemed to have that same look.

So what would the traffic be like there going from Tampa airport to a motel right in St. Petersburg? Would it be worse then Orlando?

cariad · 06-14-2007, 11:23 PM

Traffic would be dependent on the time of day. If you don't get in at rush hour, it should be easy. As you know, my opinion is that the traffic is worse in Orlando.
Jammie you will be coming off season, so you may be able to get some really good deals on the beach, if you really want to stay there-do you know how to use priceline??

House4Sale · 06-14-2007, 11:47 PM

Unless you build house on stilts as some have done. The area floods.

Snell Isle is very nice but pricey.

I always liked St. Pete. The Pier, Vinoy, Don Cesar, B&B district and more. Hope, skip to Tampa which has many great restaurants: Rusty Pelican, Craw Daddy's and so on. Culture too.

Sorry, you aren't buying so you don't have to worry about Venetian. If you can stay at the Vinoy, please do. So luxe and the lobby gorgeous. Many rooms have spectac. view of the water and pier. Great restaurants and pool right on the grounds.