Young Professional Moving to Tampa (Madison: apartment complexes, rentals, condos)

[WaitingGame]

I'm a 24 year old 'young professional' moving to Tampa and I wish to be around other young professionals and other young people in general. Reading other threads indicate that makes Westshore or South Tampa the right neighborhood for me. Is this still good advice?

I am looking for a large 1 bedroom apartment(~750 ft^2+) or a small two bedroom apartment and hope to spend at most $1300/month. Does anyone have the inside scoop on which apartment complexes I should look at? Commute time is irrelevant since I'll be telecommuting. Any other advice would of course be appreciated.

[Hyman_Roth]

South Tampa or downtown Tampa is probably your best bet. If you're simply set on the Tampa Bay area and not specifically the city of Tampa itself, I would also give a serious look at downtown St. Petersberg. In terms of general stereotypes, south/downtown Tampa's nightlife errs towards the appearance-conscious/status-conscious/"stuck up", whereas downtown St. Pete's errs more towards the laid-back/artistic/"hipster". Of course, those are generalities and you can find your niche in either place.

Both places should have nice modern apartments/condos in your general price range. Searching for rentals on zillow/realtor/padmapper will give you an idea of which specific complexes. In Tampa in general, you would be looking to complexes downtown, off Westshore, and/or in the immediate vicinity of the International Mall. You could easily find a gem elsewhere in south Tampa, but those locations tend to be where the larger complexes are. In downtown St. Pete, you'd want to err towards the north side of downtown, roughly in the vicinity of Central Ave.

[the awesomee]

South Tampa, particularly South of Howard (SoHo) get it?

[thethinktank]

Hi WaitingGame, welcome. Check out Post Hyde Park and Madison at SoHo if you're looking for a larger apartment community. Both are quite nice for apartments, have more of a condo feel and you'll be able to find what you're looking for within your price range. The population in both is largely young, post-college professionals. They're both within walking distance of a decent collection of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, etc.

Note that as Hyman_Roth (great name btw) pointed out, the scene in those areas is mostly frat/sorority-minded. And, as he said, that is a generality and you can find your own niche.

Good luck!