Nice and/or historic St.Pete neighborhoods? (Tampa, Pinellas Park: houses, buying)

[le_baroque]

Who can tell me the parts to look for and the parts to avoid? I'm interested in a safe historic house or apt. that is close to beaches.
Thanks for the help!

[willbo1]

Originally Posted by le_baroque

Who can tell me the parts to look for and the parts to avoid? I'm interested in a safe historic house or apt. that is close to beaches.
Thanks for the help!

The Old NE section of St. Pete describes what you are looking for. It is close to downtown and the bayfront. Beaches are a 20 minute drive so it is not a beach area per se. Stay north of Central Avenue. The Old NE is technically anything east of 1st street (I believe) but the old homes and the neighborhood extend beyond that. And like I said, north of Central Ave is definitely safe.

Not sure of your budget or desires, but I am selling a 1915 home that has been restored that is in that general area. PM me if you want details.

[Prichard]

When buying in St. Pete, remember one rule of thumb. If it is more than 1 mile off of the water, you don't want to live there. All of the nice areas are right on the water, and there are some beautiful areas in St. Pete. But, once you go just a little off the water, it can get pretty nasty.

[SunKrist]

Actually, it's not completely true that all of the nice areas are within a mile of the water. I live about 2 blocks from the water, and there are many areas much nicer that are much farther than a mile from the water.

There are a lot of older houses here, period. In fact, my brother-in-law is currently trying to sell a 1929 bungalow, west of the Old Northeast area. It's not in the best area, but pretty much all of the areas that were "nasty" a few years ago are now rapidly improving. For example, the neighborhood where my sister lives is pretty quiet, and the people are middle class. But there would be no way she would want to live there 10 years ago.

The areas I would stay away from is Kenneth City, parts of Pinellas Park, most of Gulfport, and anything between 22nd Avenue South and Central Avenue in St. Pete. It's pretty obvious when you get into a less desireable area.

Pretty much anywhere you go in St. Pete is going to be close to the beaches. There are a lot of nice areas farther south of Central Avenue, towards Ft. DeSoto beach, but it's mostly newer construction.

The bottom line is: what's your budget? Even if it were true that the nice areas were only within a mile of the water, all of those homes are going to be well over $250,000 or $300,000. I'm sure you can find some nice, old, historical houses in Madeira Beach, but do you have $500,000+?

I would suggest that you come down here and check things out for yourself. St. Pete isn't that big, you could probably explore 50% of it in one day. Because the street layout is so simple, you won't get lost very easily. All of the streets are numbered, until you get into certain neighborhoods, where most of the areas along the water have named roads, lots of dead ends, and curvy roads that can take you around and around in circles.

Just go to Google Earth, type in area code 33703, and zoom in and you will see what I mean. I have gotten lost in my own neighborhood, that I've lived in my entire life, more than a few times.

Hope this could be of some help. Just PM me if you have any questions (I've lived here my entire life),
~Kristina, a.k.a. Sunshine Baby

Originally Posted by Prichard

When buying in St. Pete, remember one rule of thumb. If it is more than 1 mile off of the water, you don't want to live there. All of the nice areas are right on the water, and there are some beautiful areas in St. Pete. But, once you go just a little off the water, it can get pretty nasty.

[Prichard]

there are many areas much nicer that are much farther than a mile from the water.

I can't recall any areas off of the water that are "nice". All of the beaches have some nice areas. Some of the areas along the intercoastal (on Boca Ciega(sp?), etc.) are ok. There is a nice old neighborhood on at the very southern tip and up through coffee pot bayou. There is a nice neighborhood off of Park Street.

All of these places are at most, 1/2 mile from water. Pinellas Park, Kenneth City, Seminole, and the interior part of St. Pete have some not-so-great areas, or are made up of old tiny 1200sf florida houses - basically 1940's block construction.

[SunKrist]

Prichard,

Do you live here? If not, how long has it been since you were here? I'm curious to know.

I have lived here my entire life, and I feel I know the area quite well. And, I was talking to my mom earlier about it (she has lived here 25 years) and she definitely doesn't agree that there are no nice areas farther than a mile from the water. My sister and her husband lived in two different houses which were most definitely more than a mile from the water (water meaning Tampa Bay or the Gulf), and they were not even remotely "nasty," they were very nice, upper middle class homes, in nice upper middle class neighborhoods. And we have many friends who also have very nice homes, in nice neighborhoods, more than a mile from the water.

Sorry about this disagreement. It's just that this is my home, and I feel I know which areas are nice and which are not. For instance, if you go up 22nd Avenue North, past 34th Street/Hwy 19, there are many very nice neighborhoods, all between 3-5 miles from the water.

PS: I think our ideas of "nasty" are very different. You mentioned 1200 square foot block houses... I happen to live in a block home under 2000 square feet, and I don't think it is "nasty." Granted, it was built with retirees in mind, and therefore since we have a larger family, we had to enclose our carport in order to have enough space. But, that's what the majority of St. Pete is like. You're not really going to find any historic areas with older homes that are a whole lot bigger, unless you are willing to pay the money.

[tonytampa]

I'm a native of Tampa but have live in Southeast St. Pete. Contrary to some warnings you've gotten, there are nice areas south of central ave...consider Big Bayou area or Old Southeast...lots more affordable than Old Northeast. Area is alot safer than appears.....have had no problems at all since moving here 10 years ago. These areas have many older but interesting homes available at good prices.

[Shores9]

Originally Posted by SunshineBaby

Prichard,

Do you live here? If not, how long has it been since you were here? I'm curious to know.

I live in NE -not Old NE - but on the water. There are some very nice areas here and within a mile of the water – but there are also some that are "not bad but not great" within that same 1 mile.

In the past I lived within the City limits of Seminole, parts of which are are 3-5 miles off the beaches but can cost you easily 300-750K and more - some very nice areas here.

Pinellas and St Petersburg are becoming very desirable again because of the close proximity to everything beaches included. Lots of older houses are being renovated to bring them up to today’s needs.

If you have the money for Old NE or any of the more pricey areas then are plenty of choices. If your budget does not allow - there are plenty of smaller homes on nice lots in good areas that you can buy at a reasonable price and expand/renovate to your needs

[SunKrist]

Shores9,

I agree with everything you said. NE -not Old NE- is also where I live, in Shore Acres, which is admittedly not the cream of the crop of NE neighborhoods, but is still very nice. Just look at all of the homes on Bayshore, right on the water.

TonyTampa,

I also agree with you. There are many, many extremely nice areas of Southeast St. Pete. It is most definitely improving steadily, and as you said, the prices are much more affordable.

~Kristina, a.k.a. Sunshine Baby

[Edvard]

You might look into Gulfport