After 5 day visit to St. Pete, I cannot wait to move (Tampa: apartment complexes, for rent)

[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.

[TXRyan23]

Congrats! Glad you liked Pinellas County, Good luck on your move!

[gulfer]

Great post!

[ja1myn]

Great to see you fell in love with the place. Good luck with the move!

[mateo384]

you are doing exactly what i will be doing. Thanks for your insight. I will be in Florida in 22 days!!! and St. Pete is definitely a place i'm going to check out.

So basically stay away from anything south of downtown (but the beach is ok) right? Is the entire beach strip from furthest south to far north all ok? Just mainland south of downtown?

[Girlsmom2]

In the area south of downtown, there are not any beaches. It is more of the intercoastal with the boat docks, etc. There are small sections of really nice homes but the minute you drive out onto the main road (34th st. south if I am not mistaken) its just a very unsavory area, in my opinion. The beaches are further west and are all safe walkable areas, even at night. At least St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island are. Actually all the way up from St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach looked very safe and walkable at night. I think you will see what I mean when you visit. And 22 days? Good for you. I can say that neither of us wanted to leave. Its funny, my daughter tried her hardest to find something she didn't like. She gave up on day 2 lol. Good hunting on your visit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. As one of our waiters told us, if you get bored in St. Pete its because you want to be. I agree 100%.

[Sunshinecc]

Great post indeed. I'll be moving in a little over a year (one more winter to suffer through, lol) and although I'm already excited enough, your summary of the area just adds to it. I wish you and your daughter all the best. I'm glad she liked it as well.

[Maggi07]

Originally Posted by mateo384

you are doing exactly what i will be doing. Thanks for your insight. I will be in Florida in 22 days!!! and St. Pete is definitely a place i'm going to check out.

So basically stay away from anything south of downtown (but the beach is ok) right? Is the entire beach strip from furthest south to far north all ok? Just mainland south of downtown?

Oh for Pete's sake. No, you do not have to stay away from everything south of downtown. Midtown is not safe. Midtown.

Some of the safest and nicest areas in the city are in South St. Pete. The Pink Streets, Tierra Verde, Lakewood Estates, parts of Coquina Key, Maximo Moorings, and others. And no, you do not have to drive into the ghetto to get gas or buy groceries.

As far as the previous comment about 19 south being unsavory... in my opinion, pretty much the whole stretch of 19 is unsavory until you get quite far north, like past Pinellas Park.

[hokiepoke]

I was in your shoes a year and half ago. We researched Tampa for a year on the internet and mapped it out and then did a recon trip to Tampa on the way back from Walt Disney and the 3 days planned trip turned into 5 days in Tampa. But I think the minute we drove over the bay bridge with the sunny blue sky and green water below heading to St Pete we were sold. Ultimately for us, it wasn't about picking where to live but to just get here first. 7 months after the recon trip, we sold our house, pack it all up and drove here. All the internet forums and pictures and "driving" via Google street maps and 5 days onsite still never put Palm Harbor on our list as the place to settle down until we actually lived here for a few months. Our kids love it here - we've never lived anywhere where in January they could run outside in shorts after school and ride their bikes and scooters. Best of luck with your future move.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by hokiepoke

I was in your shoes a year and half ago. We researched Tampa for a year on the internet and mapped it out and then did a recon trip to Tampa on the way back from Walt Disney and the 3 days planned trip turned into 5 days in Tampa. But I think the minute we drove over the bay bridge with the sunny blue sky and green water below heading to St Pete we were sold. Ultimately for us, it wasn't about picking where to live but to just get here first. 7 months after the recon trip, we sold our house, pack it all up and drove here. All the internet forums and pictures and "driving" via Google street maps and 5 days onsite still never put Palm Harbor on our list as the place to settle down until we actually lived here for a few months. Our kids love it here - we've never lived anywhere where in January they could run outside in shorts after school and ride their bikes and scooters. Best of luck with your future move.

Palm Harbor is great, isn't it. It is paradise for us.