Where to Live, Where to Live - Canal + Pool + Airport (Tampa: real estate, renting)

[mzkiz]

We have been reading the City-Data Forums with much interest for quite some time now in the hope that we would someday be in the position to move South. Well, that day is now becoming a reality so we are turning to this Community for some suggestions.

Our situation is that we had been living outside the US for almost 6 years on Ex-Pat assignments. At the end of my last assignment, we were sent (exiled) to upstate NY. As we never wanted to come here or intended to stay long-term, we are renting here. Before we left the US, we lived in Portland, OR where we owned a house which we have since sold. So, we have no house to sell - which is a good thing!

I have now accepted a different job with my company which will allow me to live somewhere other than here - with the only requirement be that I will be traveling up to 50% of the time so I need to be near an airport - preferably one large enough to have some direct flights to major metro areas in the US.

We have been looking at FL real estate for a LONG time! My dad lives in a retirement community in Central FL so we come down a few times each year and usually look at houses near the beach while we are visiting. We have previously focused on the St. Pete Beach area but have recently looked at Punta Gorda Isles (not for us!) and Siesta Key (which we loved!)

We are in our early 50's (but still think -and hopefully act - like we are in our early 30's). We want to be on a gulf access canal and have a pool. There is also a possibility that at some point, my dad will come live with us. We would like to keep the price around $600k but could go higher for the right property.

We loved the homes in Punta Gorda Isles - you get a lot of house for your money. The problem is, at least during the summer, the place is a ghost town and it's too far away from the beach. Airport access is also questionable. The St. Pete Beach area we know really well and Tampa Airport would work just fine, the problem here is that the houses on canals are either really expensive or are very small and require complete renovation. The areas we have focused on have been Yacht Club Estates in St. Pete, Isle of Capri, Paradise Island, St. Pete Beach (3 Palms Point, Belle Vista, etc.), Vina Del Mar and Clearwater Beach.

Then there is Siesta Key - we haven't spent much time here but we really liked what little we saw. It looked like a full-time, vibrant community. We know how expensive real estate is, but it's not out of the realm of possibility for us. We are also interested in other areas like Longboat Key but have not checked it out.

So - we are looking for suggestions/tips/opinions - what area(s) do you think we should be focused on and why?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[crazynip]

There are some homes in Dana Shores which may fit the bill. It's an area on the edge of bad (Town & Country) but still nice