Corner of 12th st. and Florida Ave. Good or bad neighborhood? (Tampa: for sale, rentals)

[SoManyPlaces]

Hi,

We are not able to move yet, but Sarasota seems to check most of our boxes

I am just being a *lookey lou*, trying to get an idea of neighborhoods by price.

There is a house on this corner for sale and I would like to know if the neighborhood is good. Schools are not an issue, but families around is just fine.

I remember reading something about the busy crosstreet close to this house...Tiament or something, sorry I don't recall the spelling and don't want to search at the moment LOL

Anyway, if this is not a desireable area just let me know.
Thanks!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by SoManyPlaces

Hi,

We are not able to move yet, but Sarasota seems to check most of our boxes

I am just being a *lookey lou*, trying to get an idea of neighborhoods by price.

There is a house on this corner for sale and I would like to know if the neighborhood is good. Schools are not an issue, but families around is just fine.

I remember reading something about the busy crosstreet close to this house...Tiament or something, sorry I don't recall the spelling and don't want to search at the moment LOL

Anyway, if this is not a desireable area just let me know.
Thanks!

I am sorry to tell you that this is not a great neighborhood. This is almost Newtown for all intents and purposes, which is Sarasota's ghetto, or at least it is too close for comfort. I do not recommend anything north of 10th street, east of 41, west of 301, south of University Parkway. These are the general boundaries. Not that it is ALL 100% bad, but just to be safe you are better off elsewhere. Just look on a map and draw a box with these boundaries. A bit south of this address is Gillespie Park, convenient to downtown and getting better, you might be OK with something there.

[SoManyPlaces]

Thank you Gypsychic!

Having those boundries will be very helpful while researching online during the next few months

Researching via computer always brings me back to Sarasota LOL

My two main criteria (for me) is a great marina with restaurants to watch the boats come and go while having a meal or snack etc. and a great downtown.

Hard to miss that Sarasota has both...next to each other. Now to see if renting near town is even going to be possible on a limited budget to begin with

Now that I have areas to avoid, that task will be much easier.

Thanks again. BTW, I enjoy your posts!

[Sunshine Rules]

What sort of a neighborhood are you looking for? Are you looking for something to buy or rent since you mentioned both?

Do you have pets, especially dogs, that you will be bringing with you? Rentals can sometimes be more difficult depending on the breed/size of the dog.

If you want to be close to downtown without breaking the bank, there are several neighborhoods I can think of, but it depends on your price range. Under $150,000? Under $100,000? Under $70,000? Or if looking to rent instead, monthly rental rate?

Most of Sarasota is within a reasonable driving distance of the bayfront parks and marina.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by SoManyPlaces

Thank you Gypsychic!

Having those boundries will be very helpful while researching online during the next few months

Researching via computer always brings me back to Sarasota LOL

My two main criteria (for me) is a great marina with restaurants to watch the boats come and go while having a meal or snack etc. and a great downtown.

Hard to miss that Sarasota has both...next to each other. Now to see if renting near town is even going to be possible on a limited budget to begin with

Now that I have areas to avoid, that task will be much easier.

Thanks again. BTW, I enjoy your posts!

Thanks! Glad you enjoy my posts! yes, as Sunshine above said, there are many great neighborhoods near all the great things Sarasota has to offer, and it really is a fantastic place to live. Most neighborhoods are really not that far anyway, even if they aren't technically "walking" distance. We live up by the airport but it's only about a 7 minute drive to downtown or the bayfront and 12 minutes to Lido Beach.

It all depends on your price range and your particular desires. Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions you may have - there are a lot of helpful people on this forum.

[d4g4m]

It may be prudent to get a carry permit if you want to live near 12th St and Florida Ave

[SoManyPlaces]

LOL...Ok, *nuff said on that neighborhood. That sums it up nicely lol

Originally Posted by d4g4m

It may be prudent to get a carry permit if you want to live near 12th St and Florida Ave

[SoManyPlaces]

Thank you SunshineRules! And thanks again Gypsychic

I feel better knowing that it is possible to get to the Marina and their restaurants in less than 15 minutes.

You will find it hard to believe, but I am so spoiled driving-wise where we are now.

We do not want to stay here, not at all, for many reasons but the # one reason is that we miss the ocean.

I will say that what I *do* like very much about our current area is that I can get to anywhere I need to go for daily living in less than 3 miles and under 10 minutes.......Oh.......how I would LOVE that again.

Actually, I have always lived outside of a larger town/city in smaller populated towns (around 40-50K is perfect for us, which I see Sarasota is close to that) with quick easy access to every day necessities

IOW, I can get to the grocery store in 5 minutes, the bowling alley in less than 10, hiking and biking trails in a 5 minute walk, my husbands shop is two tenths of a mile from our home, (I realize that will NOT happen in Florida) and downtown in less than 10 minutes.

A large shopping center is 3 miles from us as well so although we are 20 minutes away from Austin, I rarely, if ever go to Austin anymore. I used to, but now that I have *been there, done that* I prefer to not drive 20 minutes regularly if I don't have to.

On paper that all sounds terrific, but, honestly, it is the one major thing I like, not much else.

I bet that sounds crazy to many!

Someday, after we have settled there and are ready to buy a home, we will want to live very close to downtown and the Marina especially. We most enjoy watching boats (until we can get our own!lol) and the ocean from the Marina or surf-side restaurants and walking downtown, visiting museums etc. on my husbands day off.

With the current lending practices of the lenders, I believe my husband will need to have two-years at his place of employment in order to even consider applying for a home mtg. Gone are the sub-lenders~~~

To be fair to you, we don't even know what wages will be offered to my husband yet. He will be making calls in about three months to get an idea of where to apply.

He is a *mechanic*, but that does not entirely cover his qualifications LOL We owned our own auto-repair/restoration business for 15 years in San Luis Obispo CA and he has been a mechanic for over 30 years and comes with all the ASE/warranty etc. certifications that can be had

Due to the small town here, his flat rate hourly is only $30 so he will need to find a place with that as a starting wage, preferably more. There are quite a number of places (in Sarasota) searching for level 3 and 4 techs who state they are always in need of ASE techs and he will interview with all of them, certainly

If at all possible, we hope to be able to move before the end of this year. I realize many people start searching a couple of months before a move, but we have not even been to visit yet. We will likely come in August so that I can feel the heat and humidity, which I know I will not like, but compromise is key to getting near the water.

I have been online searching for months already and have come back to Sarasota again and again when researching. I have also read so many posts on here regarding E coast vs W coast etc. that I find myself now digging for new posts I may have missed LOL.

I am a member of a number of groups and have asked for opinions from everyone who lives there or has lived there and the perspectives I get are not unlike most posts I have read here.

Sorry for the lengthy post! I realize we are months from coming over, but I want to be as prepared as possible

Oh, when it comes time, we will want to rent a 3/2 2car garage house as close to $1,000 per month as possible...(no pets) but as close to downtown as possible as well. I realize that is not at all likely, but that is OK, as saving in order to buy within two years is most important. It is just difficult to think we may not be in the greatest neighborhood or close to town for that long while waiting to buy.

Thank you again, all of you

[gypsychic]

SoManyPlaces, one thing I will say to you is this: my husband and I love San Luis Obispo, we have visited several times; and if you liked living there you will like living in Sarasota. Of course there are differences, but this area offers some of the same things, for a FAR cheaper price!

If you live anywhere in town you will never be that far from all the amenities you need for daily living, we have everything here. Even the "big city" of Tampa is only an hour away. Even from my neighborhood, I have everything I need within a 5 minute drive, and even when I do have to drive further, it is a pleasant drive down back roads usually. The only time we have a bit more traffic is during "season" about January through April.

I think you will love it. Good luck to you!

[SoManyPlaces]

Cool that you have been to SLO

We only lived there 18 months (but our shop was in SLO for 15yrs) and when we decided to buy a home, we moved right near Pismo Beach, less than a mile from the beach, in a town called Arroyo Grande.

ALL of our friends thought we were crazy wanting to leave SLO, they did not understand...LOL We wanted the ocean. The problem was, after 3 pm the cold front would rear its chilly head and the mornings were cold as well. The marine layer hid our ocean view for a large part of the summer.

It was beautiful, rural, and again, we were close to everything we needed without traffic. We barely got out by the skin of our teeth when we sold our home. We had just finished a whole house re-model so, technically, we lost a lot of money but at least we came out above what we owed the bank Which was better than many many others.

I did really like dowtown SLO, but it is way too crazy busy for me now. I loved the village downtown of AG, but still, it was too small. I am thinking that Sarasoto will have as much shopping as SLO, but having the location it does; next to the marina, will give me that charm I desire.

Just for reference, I have also lived in Laguna Niguel, San Clemente, San Bernardino and quite a few other places in CA. I have lived in WA State as well, and now have been in TX four years.

All we know for certain is that we miss the ocean, CA is too expensive and too cold in the evenings for my husband. Process of elimination brought our search to FL. I think you are correct, aside from the long summers (I will deal with it like I do in TX, shop early early morning lol...realizing that FL is much much more humid than TX) I really feel we will love it there.

Originally Posted by gypsychic

SoManyPlaces, one thing I will say to you is this: my husband and I love San Luis Obispo, we have visited several times; and if you liked living there you will like living in Sarasota. Of course there are differences, but this area offers some of the same things, for a FAR cheaper price!

If you live anywhere in town you will never be that far from all the amenities you need for daily living, we have everything here. Even the "big city" of Tampa is only an hour away. Even from my neighborhood, I have everything I need within a 5 minute drive, and even when I do have to drive further, it is a pleasant drive down back roads usually. The only time we have a bit more traffic is during "season" about January through April.

I think you will love it. Good luck to you!