Relo info/comments to St Pete, Clearwater, Sarasota, Bradenton (Tampa: rent, crime)

[MichaelNYC]

Hi All !

We live in NYC and want to relocate to the West Coast of FL.
Looking around the:
St Pete
Clearwater
Dunedin
Sarasota
Bradenton... area

We are in our 30's, 40's, luv the outdoors and ride our bicycles ( no kids yet, but soon we hope ) I work as a Pharmacist and know I can get work and my Wife works home based... work does not concern us.

I would really luv and appreciate comments on living in these areas Please.
Individual comments on the Cities as well as comparisons etc.

We will be down there the end of this month for 12 days scouting around for ourselves.

One point very surprising is the above average crime rate, than the National Averages there... surprising to us ?
We feel totally safe in NYC.. but feel 'apprehensive' so to say, sorry.

Thanks for taking the time

Michael

[Bezzled]

Depends on what you are looking for.

St.pete is the biggest city of the ones you listed. It has alot to offer as far as night life downtown, restaurants, parks, beachs. It is a younger city then the others you listed.

Crime can be bad if you go to certain areas. Stay away from those areas and you should be fine.



I don't really have much info on the other's as I don't live there, But they are for smaller town type of people is what I gather from it all.

Clearwater has a nice beach and that's about it. It's like 30 mins from the interstate and very annoying to drive through 50 lights to get to the interstate.

[gypsychic]

I personally think St. Pete is the best choice out of all those towns. As the above poster said, it is the largest, most "city-like" and has easy access to Tampa for more city amenities. It has also become more youth-oriented in the last decade than retirement city. Nice beaches, restaurants and some culture.

I lived in Sarasota, it is mostly geared toward wealthy retirees and tourists. Dangerous for bicyclers, no paths, and LOTS of really bad traffic, you would not believe what I used to witness from some of the elderly drivers there! Clearwater is nice but I think too congested, Dunedin nice but a VERY small town. Bradenton very small town, and sadly, way too much crime and gangs for such a pretty-on-the-surface area. Lots and lots of retirees here, too.

So, it does depend what you are looking for. Based on your brief posts, I say St. Pete. There are good and bad areas here, I will leave it to the residents of St. Pete to fill you in on that.

[B12do]

You didn't mention it, but a hidden gem is Safety Harbor. It's located east of Dunedin and north of Clearwater.

[SaveMtns]

Definitely check out Safety Harbor. It has charm!

[Eesti]

St. Pete is awesome. I moved here in 2003 and loved it but wanted to buy instead of rent and had to go north to Holiday in order to not live in a dump.

The market was high when I bought 1 1/2 years ago but is now much better for buyers.

Safety Harbor is cool, Clearwater is ok but not near as much character as St. Pete. Dunedin is good, Largo not so much but has good areas. Pinellas Park is like St. Pete and close to it but has good and slummy parts.

Bradenton....definate NO.

Stay away from South Central Saint Pete or anywhere south or east of downtown. stay away from anything by lake maggiore & coquina key...don't be fooled by the geographical location....ocean front. The only real nice neighborhood around downtown is the old northeast area but is quite expensive with older homes. basically anything north of 22 ave N is good and Pasadena is good and close to beaches.

Seminole is one of my favorite areas and has better schools. Close to beach and everything else... like St. Pete except they have no downtown like St. Pete which is really cool.

All the above is better than Tampa.

I had no crime problems while there but I stayed away from places mentioned above for the most part. I lived on 34 ave N & east of 66st which is really nice and great location, quiet neighborhood....10 minutes to anything you could imagine....beach, baseball, downtown, restaurants, mall, etc. I will be back some day.

[Angler]

Originally Posted by MichaelNYC

Hi All !

We are in our 30's, 40's, luv the outdoors and ride our bicycles ( no kids yet, but soon we hope ) Michael

The Pinellas Trail which runs the entire length of the County, from Tarpon Springs to St. pete. Also St. Pete streets have dedicated bike lanes. Plus there is Ft. DeSoto- lots of people bike down there.

[Angler]

Originally Posted by Eesti

Stay away from South Central Saint Pete or anywhere south or east of downtown. .

East of downtown is the bay- not many places to live there!