St Petersburg Florida in 2011 (apartments, homes, employment)

[Faro]

Current situation now in 2011 i.e. housing, crime, employment, ambiance for a prospective transplant from the northwest?

[Innertuber]

It's vewwwwy bad .... shhhhhhhh .... were hunting wabbitts ............

Yes, those things you mention do exist and probably will continue thru 2011.

[nursejerry]

Housing=there's plenty on the market and the prices are good.

Crime=we have it...how bad it is depends on the area. It's like any other large metropolitan city.

Employment=not that great. Factors that affect it are what type of employment you're looking for, education level, etc. I have several friends who have all found new jobs within the last year. Corporate type jobs.

Ambiance=also depends on the area. Downtown St. Pete is popping right now. There are new shops, restaurants, apartments, museums and constant events going on.

Overall, I really like living in St. Pete due to the proximity to the beach, the weather, and beautiful old homes on brick streets. The downtown area is especially attractive to me because of the waterfront and plethora of little places to explore. We have bike trails and cool local parks.

The main negative for me is the lack of young people who have anything going on for them. I've lived here for three years and still only have a couple of close friends. If you're looking for a dating life, forget it. This would be a main reason for me to move away from this area.