After 5 day visit to St. Pete, I cannot wait to move (Tampa: rental, insurance)

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Girlsmom2

My daughter and I spent 5 full days in the area and here are some of my observations for other folks thinking of moving. I would appreciate any current residents chiming in as well.

First of all let me say that everyone and I do mean everyone we met down there was very nice. We talked at length with several folks, be it at the pet store, the hotel, or in line at the store or paying the food tab. It was very nice.

Secondly, traffic was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Even on 19 at 5:15ish. The traffic here in GA is horrific, even in some of the smaller towns, so I was pleasantly surprised. I am sure it has its moments but it just was not that bad.

Now for the areas we looked at for livability:

Downtown St. Pete: this is a great area! very walkable, safe, lots of folks out enjoying the beautiful town and the many eateries. The Pier was beautiful. We are at Cha Cha Coconuts, sat outside on the deck and my goodness, what a view. If I were a young person I would look at Fusion 1560 apartments to live in as they are right downtown.

Old Northeast and on north: beautiful! Mostly nice neighborhoods, all the way up to Gandy Blvd. Tons of shops, food places, etc. Some nice apartment complexes there too....a little more than I want to pay but nice nonetheless. I saw many signs of places for rent that looked to be homes converted to apts or garage apts, which in that area, would be great I think.

South of downtown: folks were correct. Stay away. There were some nice neighborhoods, but if you have to leave your home for gas or food you will need to drive a while to get into, in my opinion, a safer area.

Clearwater: I only traveled from 19 and to the west. They have a great downtown area as well. People were everywhere walking around, lots of little shops and some food places. I did not go thru at night so I cannot speak for safety at that time. From Cleveland St. and north to Dunedin....not a nice area. Lots of empty storefronts and run down looking homes. Not a place I would want to spend any time in.

Dunedin: This little town was fantastic. Loved everything about it. Again though, I was only west of 19 and not there after dark so I cannot speak for safety. It was beautiful, some shops and food places. Very walkable.

Largo/Seminole: West of 19 looked just fine, for the most part. Every now and then there was a street that was a little less desirable than the rest but few and far between. Some shopping strips, a couple of really nice apartment complexes, more affordable than the northern part of St. Pete. Not far at all from the beaches which is always a plus, at least for me.

Pasadena/Tierra Verda: very nice areas....closer to the water. Not much there but a nice area nonetheless.

The beaches were awesome of course. Treasure Island and St. Pete beach is where we spent most of our beach time. We ventured to Ft. Desoto St. Park for their doggie beach and loved it. Max had a great time. His first time at the beach and played with all the other dogs. Honeymoon Island was also gorgeous although the doggie beach there was not nearly as nice as Ft. Desoto's in my opinion.

Thank you all for your guidance. After the crime check with the PD, we will make our minds up on which complex to go with. Right now, we are leaning towards Madison at Largo in....Largo lol.

Thanks again!! Cannot hardly wait for August to get moved. And yes I know that will be the hottest month but its the soonest I can and will not wait a minute longer lol.

The best part of Clearwater by far, other than Clearwater Beach itself IMO, is the northeast part of Clearwater....east of 19. The Countryside area.

[Spring Hillian]

Best wishes for a safe and successful relocation!

Originally Posted by Girlsmom2

My daughter and I spent 5 full days in the area and here are some of my observations for other folks thinking of moving. I would appreciate any current residents chiming in as well.

First of all let me say that everyone and I do mean everyone we met down there was very nice. We talked at length with several folks, be it at the pet store, the hotel, or in line at the store or paying the food tab. It was very nice.

Secondly, traffic was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Even on 19 at 5:15ish. The traffic here in GA is horrific, even in some of the smaller towns, so I was pleasantly surprised. I am sure it has its moments but it just was not that bad.

Now for the areas we looked at for livability:

Downtown St. Pete: this is a great area! very walkable, safe, lots of folks out enjoying the beautiful town and the many eateries. The Pier was beautiful. We are at Cha Cha Coconuts, sat outside on the deck and my goodness, what a view. If I were a young person I would look at Fusion 1560 apartments to live in as they are right downtown.

Old Northeast and on north: beautiful! Mostly nice neighborhoods, all the way up to Gandy Blvd. Tons of shops, food places, etc. Some nice apartment complexes there too....a little more than I want to pay but nice nonetheless. I saw many signs of places for rent that looked to be homes converted to apts or garage apts, which in that area, would be great I think.

South of downtown: folks were correct. Stay away. There were some nice neighborhoods, but if you have to leave your home for gas or food you will need to drive a while to get into, in my opinion, a safer area.

Clearwater: I only traveled from 19 and to the west. They have a great downtown area as well. People were everywhere walking around, lots of little shops and some food places. I did not go thru at night so I cannot speak for safety at that time. From Cleveland St. and north to Dunedin....not a nice area. Lots of empty storefronts and run down looking homes. Not a place I would want to spend any time in.

Dunedin: This little town was fantastic. Loved everything about it. Again though, I was only west of 19 and not there after dark so I cannot speak for safety. It was beautiful, some shops and food places. Very walkable.

Largo/Seminole: West of 19 looked just fine, for the most part. Every now and then there was a street that was a little less desirable than the rest but few and far between. Some shopping strips, a couple of really nice apartment complexes, more affordable than the northern part of St. Pete. Not far at all from the beaches which is always a plus, at least for me.

Pasadena/Tierra Verda: very nice areas....closer to the water. Not much there but a nice area nonetheless.

The beaches were awesome of course. Treasure Island and St. Pete beach is where we spent most of our beach time. We ventured to Ft. Desoto St. Park for their doggie beach and loved it. Max had a great time. His first time at the beach and played with all the other dogs. Honeymoon Island was also gorgeous although the doggie beach there was not nearly as nice as Ft. Desoto's in my opinion.

Thank you all for your guidance. After the crime check with the PD, we will make our minds up on which complex to go with. Right now, we are leaning towards Madison at Largo in....Largo lol.

Thanks again!! Cannot hardly wait for August to get moved. And yes I know that will be the hottest month but its the soonest I can and will not wait a minute longer lol.

[Girlsmom2]

hokiepoke....yes I understand exactly what you mean about driving across the bay. I cannot imagine that I would ever get tired of that view. We did not get over to Palm Harbor as my daughter will be attending St. Pete College as part of the duel enrollment or early college....whatever its called there. So we wanted to stay in the areas west of 19. I am thrilled you all love it. I commented to my daughter that it was nice to see that kids could still ride bikes to and from school. Saw some up in the Tyrone Mall area doing just that. Brought back great memories of when I was a child doing the same thing in Orlando.

[Girlsmom2]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

The best part of Clearwater by far, other than Clearwater Beach itself IMO, is the northeast part of Clearwater....east of 19. The Countryside area.

Well darn, I should have ventured over to the east a bit it sounds like. I may make one more drive down then before we move in August. I don't mind the drive heading down as I know what waits for me. Its that long dreaded drive back lol. But I may need to take a look.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Girlsmom2

Well darn, I should have ventured over to the east a bit it sounds like. I may make one more drive down then before we move in August. I don't mind the drive heading down as I know what waits for me. Its that long dreaded drive back lol. But I may need to take a look.

As far as where to live, when we looked we had eliminated EVERYTHING west of 19. We simply did not want to deal with having to drive on 19 and we wanted to keep the insurance lower, which is east of 19. You really should check out the 611/McMullen Booth/East Lake Road corridor from Gulf to Bay up to Keystone. To "me", that is the prized place to look in ALL of Tampa Bay for many reasons. YMMV.

[Girlsmom2]

Thanks for those tips. Yes lower insurance would be great as I have two teens on my policy the way it is. I just did not have enough time still. I will be back down for sure.

[mateo384]

This thread makes me so excited! 3 weeks from today!!

[OSUbrew]

Wow thank you for this post. Crazy coincidence that I'm also moving there in August and I was trying to figure out what area to get an appartment in. I'm taking a trip down in May to check out some places. I can't wait, I wish I was moving tomorrow!!

[GreenGloves]

Thanks for your post! I'm looking into moving to that area and your insight is helpful. I hope your move goes smoothly!

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by Girlsmom2

Thanks for those tips. Yes lower insurance would be great as I have two teens on my policy the way it is. I just did not have enough time still. I will be back down for sure.

Car insurance doesn't matter west or east of 19, if that is what you are thinking. It is the home owner insurance some say. I have no experience of seeing how different are quotes for two similar home on either side of 19.