So I'm on my way to Tampa (Cape Coral, Oldsmar: to rent, HOA)

[ferret111]

There are some great homes in 33611. Yes, Tampa is in Hillsborough.

[LCL111]

33629 is a good zip in s.tampa. General street guidelines are south of Kennedy/north of Gandy. You will get great schools in that area. Good luck!

[ferret111]

Don't be afraid to go south of Gandy, though. There are plenty of great neighborhoods, just a higher number of shiftier areas than there are in the 33606, 33609, and 33629 ZIP codes. Just pay attention, I guess.

[Tampa Bay FL]

That was another zip code I was looking at. I was finding some homes I was interested in, in that zip code between those streets. I like the close proximity to both workplaces.

Is there a lot to do in downtown Tampa? What about downtown St Petersburg? It seems we'd be close to both. Also, where would the nearest beaches be?

[ferret111]

Downtown Tampa empties out at 5, with the exception of the Channelside District. Ybor City is about a mile northeast of the central core and is a pretty popular destination. It's busier if there's something going on at the Ice Palace (hockey and concerts) or the Performing Arts Center (concerts and plays). Downtown St. Pete has clusters of bars and restaurants along the waterfront and Central Avenue, but it also suffers from the 5 PM drain.

South Tampa is more or less equally close to all of the Pinellas beaches; the time difference is pretty negligible.

[Tampa Bay FL]

Are there areas with a decent nightlife? I mean I don't go out every night, but it would be nice once in awhile when the kids are away to go out.

[craigm1841]

South tampa/soho is the premeir nightlife spot in the metro area. Fantastic resturants, pubs, clubs, etc- and it's walkable.

[Tampa Bay FL]

My wife is currently in Tampa so I've been looking at homes up here and having her drive around the streets. We seem to have found a few homes in the area north of Euclid, south of Swan, and west of Dale Mabry. My wife drove by some of these streets and said they looked nice and sent me pics and I like them as well. It seems the schools in this area are highly rated. I checked the Tampa police department website and from what I can tell, it seems there is minimal crime. I had her drive up to Oldsmar and then come into Tampa during rush hour. She said it was a long drive but nothing we aren't used to, however she says she likes South Tampa better.

It seems that in the older neighborhoods like Tampa, the streets have a lot more trees creating almost a canopy. Is this by design to make the area cooler? Tampa seems to be a little less urban than what we are used to, but I think we can make do as we have kind of transitioned out of the "urban" stages of our lives.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by Tampa Bay FL

It's in storage for the winter so I have time to decide. I do like to go tubing and the boat works well for that. Should be plenty of space in Tampa Bay to do some nice tubing all though I'm pretty much a novice boater. I never really took my boat on the Great Lakes and just stuck to inland lakes.

Is it true that you can dock your boat in St Petersburg and get out and walk around downtown? It would be pretty sweet to travel to St Petersburg by boat.

Yes, you can do that in a number of places...St Pete and Tampa downtowns both have places you can tie up to.

Tubing on Lake Tarpon is awesome.

Other than maybe the Keys, I don't think there is a better boating location in Florida than the bay area. In fact, I think it's STILL better here than the keys because there are freshwater destinations here.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by Tampa Bay FL

My wife is currently in Tampa so I've been looking at homes up here and having her drive around the streets. We seem to have found a few homes in the area north of Euclid, south of Swan, and west of Dale Mabry. My wife drove by some of these streets and said they looked nice and sent me pics and I like them as well. It seems the schools in this area are highly rated. I checked the Tampa police department website and from what I can tell, it seems there is minimal crime. I had her drive up to Oldsmar and then come into Tampa during rush hour. She said it was a long drive but nothing we aren't used to, however she says she likes South Tampa better.

It seems that in the older neighborhoods like Tampa, the streets have a lot more trees creating almost a canopy. Is this by design to make the area cooler? Tampa seems to be a little less urban than what we are used to, but I think we can make do as we have kind of transitioned out of the "urban" stages of our lives.

That area of Tampa is pretty desirable. Lots of average middle-class familes and homes and then some upper middle-class/upper-class homes mixed in. While I'm sure the tree canopies may have been somewhat intentional, South Tampa was pretty much built-out by the 1970s (after being developed for nearly seventy years), so the trees have been able to really take root.