Differences between St. Pete and Tampa? (Clearwater, University: crime rate, homes, job market)

[Golfman530]

As I am not a local to the area, I would like to get some locals opinions on what they feel are the big differences between living in St. Pete vs. Tampa. I would like to know things such as good, safe neighborhoods to live in, housing and job markets, etc.... Anything you would like to chime in about that you think makes each one different to live in.

Also, I do have a question. Why is the crime rate in St. Pete quite a bit higher than in Tampa? It says Tampa is 320 while St. Pete is 594? I personally can't believe that the rape stats in St. Pete were 105 victims in one year compared to Tampa's 47.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Golfman530

As I am not a local to the area, I would like to get some locals opinions on what they feel are the big differences between living in St. Pete vs. Tampa. I would like to know things such as good, safe neighborhoods to live in, housing and job markets, etc.... Anything you would like to chime in about that you think makes each one different to live in.

Also, I do have a question. Why is the crime rate in St. Pete quite a bit higher than in Tampa? It says Tampa is 320 while St. Pete is 594? I personally can't believe that the rape stats in St. Pete were 105 victims in one year compared to Tampa's 47.

Difference in crime rate maybe due to the size of St Petes ghetto area compared to that of Tampa's.
Safe neighborhoods abound in both cities.
While Tampa has a large port area St Pete has all the beaches.

[kyle19125]

I wouldn't get bent out of shape with crime stats, as crime in St Pete (like many Southern cities) is concentrated in neighborhoods you'd wouldn't be living in or visiting. As a general rule in St Pete anything below 5th Avenue South and east of 49th Street is to be avoided. The better neighborhoods are Old Northeast, Downtown, Crescent Lake/Crescent Heights, Allendale/Five Points, Disston Heights, Shore Acres/Snell Isle, Gateway/Gandy, Jungle Terrace, Holiday Park, Bay Pines and Five Towns. In terms of differences it's hard to pinpoint. St Pete's average age is 39 while Tampa's is 34, though bear in mind Tampa's average age is skewed a tad by 46,000 University of South Florida students and another 7,000 at the University of Tampa. My preference is for St Pete as the weather (i.e. heat) is milder than the mainland. It's pretty noticeably different when one drives across one of the bridges from Tampa in terms of temperature and it's usually a bit breezier in St Pete as well.

[algia]

St Pete is closer to the beach. Big Plus.

Besides that, in St Pete you can find more areas with older homes. Crime may seem higher because St.Pete is smaller. There's a better breeze in St Pete (or beaches in general). The summer heat won't bother you as much as it would be if you were in Fish Hawk or Carrollwood for example.

The "City of Tampa" itself is comprised in the downtown area, South Tampa (=older residential area), and the rest is flat out crack town, run down, and dilapidated. ALL of the east side. As if we didn't have mayor. (I took "almost" back...because it IS as if we didn't have a mayor). I always say that because where I come from originally, the Mayor generally takes pride in his/her city.

[tonyff67]

I used to live in South Tampa. I was always the oldest when I would go out. Now I live at the beach about a mile outside St Pete. I am always the youngest when I go out.
Tampa, the restaurants and bars are always crowded,particulately on the weekends. In St Pete, though, they might be full,but you never feel packed in, when you go out

[things and stuff]

St. Pete is more vibrant, more shops, better food, slightly better weather, less traffic (not counting if you have to drive to Tampa for work), more artsy, more bike friendly and has a better grid. reminds me more of the north than Tampa does. I hear schools are better in certain areas of Tampa though.

[gypsychic]

In addition to the above, I will just say point blank that St. Pete is beautiful, and Tampa is not.

Agree that St. Pete has MUCH nicer weather do to the moderating effects of all the water. St. Pete's downtown leave's Tampa's in the dust. St. Pete is more artsy and "progressive". And, as mentioned it has ALL the beaches, and they are beautiful.

St. Pete is one of my favorite cities in Florida.

[Roscoe Conkling]

The thing about crime stats is that provided it stays in the ghetto and doesn't impact on most people then who cares ?
So longs as these people are blasting the crap out of each other that's fine.
I used to live in South Kensington in London - sure the black ghetto was just across the river but unless I was going there to buy some weed it didn't bother me.
Sometimes the fear of crime is very much worse than the crime itself.
Previous poster is right too - St Pete is one of the great small cities of America.

[griff609]

As a person that has lived and worked in both, I ended up in Tampa. I live downtown and absolutely love it. You cannot compare downtown St. Pete to downtown Tampa. They are completely different.

I could start to Bash St. Pete now, being a Tampa guy, but I like it too much. I have friends that live off Central in St. Pete so we tend to go down there and hang out. My youngest sister worked downtown and loved it. She unfortuanately lived in a pretty shady area, glad she moved. St. Pete's downtown has a much more relaxed vibe. Things are spread out, the majority of restaurants downtown are mainly on Beach Dr or Central ave though. The in town trolley system is nice as well as the dedicated bike paths. The Dali museum is beautiful, not really my taste on the contents though. You have The Mahaffey, Palladium, State Theater, Janus, Vinoy Park and Fine Arts Museum. The Pier is downtown St. Pete's icon. Who only knows if that monstrosity of the Lens is coming. I would compare Central ave to Ybor city both have some great places to eat and drink and both have their artistic areas and shops. St. Pete has Baseball and the Grand Prix!! Love that! I know, there is much more..

Downtown Tampa though is much more of an urban city feel. We are catching up on the bike lanes. We do have the same in-town trolley system and also the Teco line street car which runs between downtown and Ybor. Tampa is much more business oriented and imop a bit younger area. We have the Straz, Tampa Theater, The Ritz, Skippers, Tampa Art Museum, Florida Aquarium, Ybor City and Curtis Hixon Park. The still in development Riverwalk and 5 mile Bayshore sidewalk. Tampa downtown restaurants are a bit more spread out but they are there. Hyde Park is much like St. Petes Old North East beautiful older homes right next to downtown. Tampa has Football and Hockey!! Honestly I could go on with Tampa has this and St. Pete has that. I'm getting bored...

Both city limits are similar in overall square miles Tampa being larger. Population difference is maybe 100,000 people. Tampa has almost twice the operating budget at 760 million than St. Pete at 460 million. You will see development in Tampa happen much faster than in St. Pete. Tampa has a much larger downtown business core.

Pinellas as a whole has some beautiful beaches. Fort De Soto Is absolutely Awesome!! It's usually the first beach I tell people to go to when they visit the Bay Area. You mainly need to stay on the gulf side beaches for cleaner water.

As for the better food and more shops that's just opinion. To believe that, means you just need to get out more. Both sides of the Bay have their icons for foodies and hidden gems for shops. To limit yourself to one area just means you'll never get to see what Tampa Bay as a whole has to offer. Both cities compliment each other nicely.

Honestly just move to Oldsmar, it puts you right between Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater.

[planedition]

All of the above is subjective, but when someone says St. Pete has "better food" than Tampa, they are simply wrong.

To OP: Please do your research and compare restaurants/food scenes in these areas. Tampa has more 5 star restaurants, more 4 star restaurants, more ethnic restaurants than St. Pete hands down. Just for starters. This makes sense, because Tampa is twice as big as St. Pete in terms of population (and at least that much in terms of affluence).

Tampa has Bern's, the Columbia, Brocato's, Iavarone's, Charley's, La Teresita, La Ideal, etc. These are food INSTITUTIONS that the Food Network sends its stars to visit. Tampa has a Whole Foods, St. Pete does not. Tampa (not St. Pete) is slated to get the first Trader Joes in the area. Tampa has a gazillion natural food marts, 2 Fresh Markets and 1 coming soon, farmers markets, ethnic supermarkets for nearly every ethnic group (Guyanese markets, Indian markets, Halal markets, Cuban, Chinese, Korean, Italian, etc.). In Tampa you can get Southern barbecue, soul food, Vietnamese banh mi, a Cuban sandwich, dim sum, authentic NYC pizza, all on the same street (Hillsborough Avenue). Tampa also has the best authentic Italian restaurants in the region. Where they make the sauces and the pasta from scratch.

For those who swear by Taco Bus (not me), it was born in Tampa. Try finding excellent Peruvian grilled chicken in St. Pete. Not gonna happen.

Tampa is not just the food center of the area, it's also a birthing ground for many chains, like World of Beer, PDQ, Carmel Cafe, other OSI (parent co. of Outback) ventures, etc.

About the only thing I can say regarding the St. Pete food scene is that it has Mazzaro's. About Tampa, you can say that it has the Palm, Capital Grille, the only PF Chiangs in the area, the only Roy's, and every other "quality chain" you can think of, Pakistani food, Indian food to die for, a gazillion Greek places, Turkish food, Lebanese food, Caribbean food, Cuban food that is of course the best in the region, Puerto Rican cuisine, Colombian food, every single type of amazing ethnic food you can think of.

People I know who swear and die by Old Northeast and Downtown St. Pete love to bash Tampa, but they end up having to go to Tampa for the food. They especially love to hate on Tampa and then drive to Wrights Deli in Tampa just for a slice of cake.