[Meghan515]

Hello,
I have used the City-Data forums to read up on various topics about Florida and have gotten a ton of helpful info. My husband and I are thinking (seriously) about moving to Florida after living in the Northeast our whole lives. He's lived in Maryland, I've lived in Mass my whole life, sick of weather and looking for a change of scenery. I have always loved FL, got married in Naples, gone to Orlando many times over the years. I have narrowed it down mostly to the greater Ft. Lauderdale area, but lately people have been saying the Clearwater/St Petersburg area is worth a look. We are looking in the $350-400K range, condo or SF home, close to a metropolitan area (I've always lived 15-20 from Boston) and fairly close to coast (less than half hour).
We have no children at this point but would like a safe area (who doesn't?), any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you

[Arcenal813]

I suggest you definitely check out Clearwater. It's close to Tampa, St-Pete, as a beautiful coastline...
I also recommend looking at Sarasota farther to the South. Only gripe is that it might not be close enough to an urban core for you...

[kyle19125]

Given schools aren't a concern I would highly recommend Downtown St Petersburg which is booming and has a lot to offer in terms of things to do culturally and socially. Your price bracket would put you into a very desirable condo or townhome, and a bit further to the north in the historic areas like Crescent Lake nice single family homes.

[Crane's Rooster]

Tampa Bay sounds like a good plan. One thing I would recommend is if your potentially looking for a home on the water try looking for homes with bay or gulf access through canals. I have a friend who found a really nice home on a canal with Bay access and saved hundreds of thousands as opposed to buying directly on the bay.

[retired11]

Before you look for anywhere near the water research homeowner's insurance! I have one brother that pays $8.500 and the other $4,500 for living in flood zones. I live 10 miles inland and it runs $1,500.

[dothetwist]

We live in Gulfport, 1 block from Boca Ciega Bay and our flood insurance is under 1K. It depends on your particular home and its elevation certificate. Don't assume that a house near the water has high flood insurance premiums, that is simply a fallacy.

We lived in DC-Metro for 30+ years and still fly back and forth often for eldercare issues. Where we live, we can get to TPA in 22 minutes, non-rush.

Gulfport is a 15 minute drive to Downtown St. Pete (quite the hipster/restaurant/foodie area); it's also 15 minutes from some of the prettiest Gulf Beaches (Pass-a-Grille).

We like the little town feel and walkability here in Historic Gulfport, we can walk to 12+ non-chain restaurants, the marina, the pier and the little sandy beach in town. Weekly Fresh Market and twice monthly evening Art Walks. All sorts of Festivals here!

Check out some info:
Gulfport Merchants Association

[markjames68]

Before you look for anywhere near the water research homeowner's insurance! I have one brother that pays $8.500 and the other $4,500 for living in flood zones. I live 10 miles inland and it runs $1,500.

Originally Posted by dothetwist

We live in Gulfport, 1 block from Boca Ciega Bay and our flood insurance is under 1K. It depends on your particular home and its elevation certificate. Don't assume that a house near the water has high flood insurance premiums, that is simply a fallacy.

Exactly. Plus there is homeowner's insurance and there is flood insurance. They are not the same.

The latter is administrated by a federal program and depends on where you sit in the flood map. Zone "X"? It's cheap. Zone "A"? High risk and expensive. If you carry a mortgage you will need flood insurance if in a high risk area. If you don't carry a mortgage and don't want to pay flood insurance just remember that in the case of disaster your homeowner's will not cover water-related damage. You can have flood damage even if you're not by the water - a canal overflows, heavy rain and you're in a low area with poor drainage, etc.

The former deals with anything other than flood - meaning wind (hurricane), liability, etc. A lot then depends on wind mitigation credits (how hurricane-resistant your home is according to the latest building codes), the area you're in, how close you are to a fire station, and so on.

A blanket statement doesn't mean anything - you need to consider both. Also understand what is covered, what isn't, the deductibles, and all that.

By way of example, I pay a similar homeowner insurance rate as I did on Long Island - which means high for Florida. Many national insurers wouldn't carry me on LI and won't carry me in Florida but my Allstate broker in both cases found me a good policy.

My flood insurance premium is the same here as it was on LI (both houses Zone "X"), except post-Sandy all the rates in NY are going up. The $425 premium there is now $700.

[dothetwist]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Exactly. Plus there is homeowner's insurance and there is flood insurance. They are not the same.

The latter is administrated by a federal program and depends on where you sit in the flood map. Zone "X"? It's cheap. Zone "A"? High risk and expensive. If you carry a mortgage you will need flood insurance if in a high risk area. If you don't carry a mortgage and don't want to pay flood insurance just remember that in the case of disaster your homeowner's will not cover water-related damage. You can have flood damage even if you're not by the water - a canal overflows, heavy rain and you're in a low area with poor drainage, etc.

The former deals with anything other than flood - meaning wind (hurricane), liability, etc. A lot then depends on wind mitigation credits (how hurricane-resistant your home is according to the latest building codes), the area you're in, how close you are to a fire station, and so on.

A blanket statement doesn't mean anything - you need to consider both. Also understand what is covered, what isn't, the deductibles, and all that.

By way of example, I pay a similar homeowner insurance rate as I did on Long Island - which means high for Florida. Many national insurers wouldn't carry me on LI and won't carry me in Florida but my Allstate broker in both cases found me a good policy.

My flood insurance premium is the same here as it was on LI (both houses Zone "X"), except post-Sandy all the rates in NY are going up. The $425 premium there is now $700.

Again, flood insurance is HOUSE SPECIFIC. I am in AE. BUT have a good elevation certificate so my flood insurance is under 1K.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by dothetwist

Again, flood insurance is HOUSE SPECIFIC. I am in AE. BUT have a good elevation certificate so my flood insurance is under 1K.

Fair point. The flood zone determines the general rate but the elevation certificate determines the specific policy.

I'm in Zone X but that's because the community (who would otherwise be in A) raises each of the homes up above the area elevation.

[Meghan515]

Thank you to everyone for your great suggestions!! I really appreciate all the information!