Top 5 BEST and WORST neighborhoods in Tampa (St. Petersburg, Clearwater: to rent, houses)

[yukon]

I'm in LOL/Lutz right now, but if I stay in the Tampa Bay area I'll be moving back to the Carrollwood area. Fairly central location (job takes me to St Pete, NPR and downtown Tampa) and safe enough. One quick way to tell - do you see people walking their dogs and jogging in the area after work?

[ntfeldman]

Josh2020

What goes for the North area of Tampa's downtown goes for the area South of St. Pete's downtown - higher crime rates. If you look in the historic area of St. Pete, stay north of Central Ave.

There is a massive redevelopment effort going on the north of downtown area in Tampa and the housing projects and homeless shelters that are there now will - in the next 10 years - make way for pricey highrises and mid rise homes. I suspect that historic district in that area will recover. But it won't happen one home at a time and if your early enough to be a visionary and get in before the values go up, plan to put up with some larceny and petty theft or more dangerous crimes. Checking the tax records you'll find there are a number of investors assembling property in that area anticipating this.

Historic property is scattered all over the Tampa area though, you'll find turn of the century homes in Clearwater, Largo, Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Ruskin, Lutz, Dade City, Mulberry, Belleair, Valrico, New Port Richey, Oldsmar, Safety Harbor as well as St. Pete and Tampa.

If you need help finding a specific area you can send me a private message and I'll be glad to give you some insights.

[LKJ1988]

I would rate Dana shores as a top pick for being about the best, lived there for 41 years.

I would give the Town and Country area a low pick, it has really gone down hill in the last 15 years!

[rafk]

I have lived in Tampa/St. Pete my entire life. I currently live in the Carollwood/Northdale area. (northwest tampa) It is very nice, that's why I moved here. Of course there is crime EVERYWHERE but my husband and I walk our dogs late a night, take jogs at night, and it is very safe. Nothing has ever happend that we have heard, and we've lived here 3 years now. It is a well kept neighborhood with nice home, lawns, etc. It is deed restricted so people don't have trash in their front yards if you know what I mean. I also lived in Citrus Park Tampa, which is not far from here. Also a very nice, well kept neighborhood with nice homes. Again deed restricted, which sometimes sucks because you have to pay a fee, but you also dont end up with trashy neighbors who have 7 cars parked on the lawn. I would suggest a deed restricted neighborhood if you dont want to see that stuff, cuz there's a lot of it here.

As far as St. Pete goes, I was born there and it is a very old town. There are a lot of old neighborhoods with small homes that were built in the 50's. Shore Acres is not a bad neighborhood, but floods horribly when it rains. Tyrone is not bad either, but it is kind of close to the "south side" and tends to have some run-over crime from the bad neighborhoods. Beach areas are nice but extremely expensive.

I would highly suggest you get and apartment if you're moving down, and take a ride to the area's you might be interested in. If you find yourself in a not-so-desirable place you will know it immediatley, the signs will be there. It's really an individual opinion. Stay far away from Downtown Tampa and South Side St. Pete.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by rafk

I have lived in Tampa/St. Pete my entire life. I currently live in the Carollwood/Northdale area. (northwest tampa) It is very nice, that's why I moved here. Of course there is crime EVERYWHERE but my husband and I walk our dogs late a night, take jogs at night, and it is very safe. Nothing has ever happend that we have heard, and we've lived here 3 years now. It is a well kept neighborhood with nice home, lawns, etc. It is deed restricted so people don't have trash in their front yards if you know what I mean. I also lived in Citrus Park Tampa, which is not far from here. Also a very nice, well kept neighborhood with nice homes. Again deed restricted, which sometimes sucks because you have to pay a fee, but you also dont end up with trashy neighbors who have 7 cars parked on the lawn. I would suggest a deed restricted neighborhood if you dont want to see that stuff, cuz there's a lot of it here.

As far as St. Pete goes, I was born there and it is a very old town. There are a lot of old neighborhoods with small homes that were built in the 50's. Shore Acres is not a bad neighborhood, but floods horribly when it rains. Tyrone is not bad either, but it is kind of close to the "south side" and tends to have some run-over crime from the bad neighborhoods. Beach areas are nice but extremely expensive.

I would highly suggest you get and apartment if you're moving down, and take a ride to the area's you might be interested in. If you find yourself in a not-so-desirable place you will know it immediatley, the signs will be there. It's really an individual opinion. Stay far away from Downtown Tampa and South Side St. Pete.

My friend's mom lives in St. Pete and it is really nice. It is near a QVC(Walgreen type store). Do you recognize the area? It's just north of some bridge and is on the Bay side.



I cropped someone out, but this might be a better view. Nice pool.

[rafk]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

My friend's mom lives in St. Pete and it is really nice. It is near a QVC(Walgreen type store). Do you recognize the area? It's just north of some bridge and is on the Bay side.

HAHA, I'm sure I know where you're talking about...but all of the beach area's look pretty much just like this picture so it's hard to say!! Just to clarify, St. Pete is a great town, it's just an old town, so keep your expectations realistic.

[Jacindad2]

I moved to Tampa from NY a few years ago and we recenlty moved to South Seminole Heights - a historic, more urban eclectic neighborhod with older 1920's bungalows- many of which have been beautifully restored.

I live with my fiance and 23 month old daughter and i have to object to the statement of staying away from central tampa altogether. I agree that there are definitely areas where you don't want to live, but there are safer neighborhoods that are a few minutes from downtown and central to everything. We feel totally safe here and i have walked with my daughter many times at night. Seminole Hieghts is probably one of the safer "central Tamap" neighborhoods, but the ohers (Tampa Heights, West Tampa) are also turning around.

Again, this is a subjective question, but personally, i would rather live in an older restored neighborhood with character and close proximity to non-chain restaurants etc.than burbs where many of my friends and family live. I have joined an active parents group here and met some wonderful moms, single woman (who live alone!) and families who are very active in revitalizing the inner core of Tampa...the more ppl like us we have, the more we can do to erase stigmas of crime and deterioration that often plagues these areas.

By the way, the Tampa Tribune just published an article on the crime rate drop in Tampa and more so, in the Seminole Heights area:

From Porch, Tampa Police Chief Reports Crime Drop

Goood luck!

[mquintana]

Riverview is a choice of mine, new housing communities, good schools. Don't move on MLK near Sabal Park. Bad area.

[RayKrishna]

I am 35, Asian, lived in US for over 12 years, mostly in/around Columbus, OH. I am thinking about moving to Tampa/St. Pete area.. Any suggestion/recomm for locations in this area?
I will be moving here by myself after a separation.

[ferret111]

My favorites are Virginia Park (Tampa), Seminole Heights (Tampa), Roser Park (St. Pete), Crescent Lake (St. Pete), and V.M. Ybor (Tampa). No particular order.