Moving to St Pete/Tampa and need help/advice! (St. Petersburg: for sale, apartment complex)

[floco]

So I recently got a job in St Pete and want to move there in June. I have done some research and found some precious information on this forum, but still don't really know where to look besides craigslist... Any agencies / realtors you can recommend? I am looking for an apartment/condo/house, 1 or preferably 2 BR for a budget of $900 max. I have seen a few nice modern/vintage apartment listings in Soho and Old NE for example.

What about neighborhoods?
I am a 29 year-old single male and I know that Tampa/St Pete is not the fastest busiest city but I guess I would like to find something in a young and "urban" (again I know Tampa is no NYC!!) neighborhood, so the areas I am considering now are:
- Soho / Hyde Park / Palma Ceia
- Old NE (St Pete)
- Downtown St Pete
- Westshore
- Ybor City (???)

I guess I just don't want to be in a boring place. Now if I found a nice house or condo on or near the beach (St Pete, Treasure Island, South Pasadena etc...), I would definitely consider it, since I love the beach... I know the beaches are really nice, but I also read that there is not much to do on St Pete Beach besides the beach, is it true? Again, if I found a nice beach house, I guess I would be fine with it! Anybody knows where to find them??

Also, I am not sure how I feel about big complexes and gated communities... They have great amenities but I am afraid I would get bored, for some reason I assume they are "far" from the "action". If anybody could give me some advice on that, it would be nice too!

I am aware my post is sort of all over the place... but any advice on ANYTHING will be much appreciated!
Thanks!!

[floco]

No luck so far

[Innertuber]

Ybor would be a no I'd say

You've pretty much picked the right areas. You could add downtown Tampa, Harbour Island and Channelside perhaps.

If you want a house maybe Seminole Heights.

They are all nice in slightly different ways - lots of posts you can snoop to learn more.

[floco]

Thanks!!
Anybody knows another way to find nice rentals besides craigslist?
Also, what do you all think of St Pete beach, Treasure island, etc?
Last question would be about apartment complexes vs private apartment, what do you recommend?

[Eastern Roamer]

Dealing with professional property management in apartment complexes has its advantages. It's nice to have maintanence staff come fix stuff while I'm not home. With private rentals, someone usually has to be there when the landlord sends someone over. Plus it seems like apartment maintanence crews are more efficient (figure, they have about 200-300 nearly identical apartments so they get pretty good at fixing them and have replacement parts on hand).

On the other hand, the private rentals usually have more charm and can be "closer to the action". Although, if you find the right complex, the action could be right there. I live in Snell Isle Apartments and would recommend it. It's one of the few places where you'll find your demographic (not just families & old folks). Direct message me if you check it out - I'll get a referral bonus which I'll share with you. Snell Isle Waterfront Apartments | Luxury Rentals in St. Petersburg FL

I also hear that Post Rocky Point has a lively pool scene. You might have luck checking our newspapers (tbo.com & tampabay.com), but craigslist is the best bet for finding private rentals. I've never lived out at the beach, but I think it could be fun. I've seen reasonably priced rentals in your range on Craigslist when I was looking to move.

With a max budget of $900, I'd recommend getting a nice 1br instead of crap 2br. - but a decent 2br can probably be found for that. It's pushing it, though.

[tewas]

I've sent you a link to website that has condos/houses for sale/rent. However i would reconsider living in SOHO and commuting to St. Pete, sitting in the traffic can get old pretty quick. I guess it all depends of how long commute you can tolerate and where is your job located in St. Pete. In general you picked good areas to look into. Channelside and Harbour islands might be a push in terms of commuting tho

[nursejerry]

Where is your job located?

Tampa and northern Pinellas have HORRIBLE traffic. St. Pete, not so bad.

I'm also in your age range and have lived here for about three years. The first year and a half I lived out at the beach (St. Pete Beach) and found it to be just too far away from everything. It's all old people and tourists and I got sick of having to drive 45min to get anywhere.

I currently live downtown/Old NE and like the convenience much better. I'm only a 10-15min drive to the beach and 20min drive to Tampa. The bum population has decreased tremendously, but there are still a lot of patchy areas around here. There's definitely drug/prostitute activity going on. Downtown St. Pete is a lot nicer than downtown Tampa. The waterfront is really beautiful and there are a ton of little shops, restaurants, bars, clubs, and museums. There's also always some kind of event going on.

I also really like SoHo/Hyde Park and considered moving to that area. Definitely more young people and more popular places to go out. If you're still in the "going out" phase, then you'd definitely be happier in South Tampa. St. Pete is a little more laid back. I don't mind the 20min drive and don't drink much, so it's not a big deal to me. The main reason I stayed on the St. Pete side is the proximity to the beaches. I go to the beach almost every weekend. I'm not sure on the price range in this area, but probably a little higher.

Definitely not Ybor unless you want to commute 1+ hours each way. I don't know much about living in the Westchase area.

You might want to check out Gandy Blvd. It's convenient to both downtown St. Pete and Tampa. It is mostly new build apartment/condo complexes though. I think they're in your price range, but not sure.

There are plenty of old houses that have been turned into apartments in the Old NE area but most tend to be pretty small. The price range is all over the board depending on exactly where/how big/condition. There is one new apartment complex downtown across from Tropicana that looks cool. I think it's called Fusion and don't know how much they cost.

[ATUMRE75]

Looking to move to the Bay Area, at present time living in South Florida. Me and my wife both work from home and together bring in an average of 100k per year, so rush our traffic is not an issue. I visited several times and like what I see as far as activity. I love fishing and for some reason the Gulf seems better than the Atantic in IMO as far as fishing in concerned. I forgot to add no children, in our mid 30's. Looking for a decent rental in a safe community, preference single family home or Townhome 2/2. Love sports Bulls,White Sox,Bears and Balckhawks. Got a better chance to see the Bears play since Tampa is an NFC city, got a better chance to see the Sox since Tampa is an American League city, got a better chance to see the Bulls play Orlando since the Heat tickets are so high. A little off topic, but basicly I'm looking a rental from $800 to $1000 per month. Please help.

[beachweb]

Your posts have been really helpful. My college senior daughter is going to do a praticum in Child Life at All Childrens this fall... so staying temp 12 wks. Looks like she will be making the rounds of the hospital locations in the course of the rotation. Sounds likme St Pete is the best bet for her... We are in for a few days soon to check it out... can you suggest some resources for making the most of this visit?
Thanks... Bill

[MAniacTHW]

To be honest, Downtown St. Pete sounds like more what you're looking for. Close to the beach, live music, and whatever else you could want.