Clearwater vs St. Pete vs Tampa (Miami, St. Petersburg: sublease, apartments, rental)
Tampa BayTampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
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I'm sure this topic has come up before, but I've got some very specific questions. I'm 23 y/o female planning on moving to the Tampa area in early June. Here's what I'm looking for:
1. I want to be able to go to the beach every morning (doesn't have to be walking distance, but preferably within 15 min drive)
2. I'm probably not going to have a job when I first move (going to find a sublease of some sort for the first few months until I feel stable enough to sign a lease) - my plan is to most likely get a serving job in a restaurant while I apply for more full time positions. Which of these areas can I make the most money in at a restaurant? (If you have any suggestions on high volume restaurants - I'd love info on that as well!)
2a. Within this topic - if any of you have worked at restaurants within this area - is there a ball park of monthly income? I've got some savings that will give me a decent start, but I'd like to know what my budget is going to look like.....
3. Young people/things to do/nightlife? I'm a young female moving down there completely by myself with absolutely no connections - so I'd like to move to an area that has a decent amount of young people where I could make friends/connections pretty quickly.
4. Any advice on finding a sublease or affordable month to month place?
Thanks in advance!
I know I sound like a crazy person, but I have been dying to move to Florida since I graduated college and finally have enough money saved up to do it! Any advice is very greatly appreciated.
Be very careful in that saving up enough money to move down here is not the same as saving up enough money to live down here. Make sure you do lots of research before taking the plunge.
One thing you will find is that rents are disproportionately high compared to wages here. There are a number of reasons for this, but the bottom line is that if you're not able to bring a good job with you or already have one lined up you may find things difficult. Though small efficiency / 1-bed apartments can be found for reasonable prices around $600 - $700 / month. I don't know what your needs are in that area. Also, if you sublet, find out if you'll owe any portion of utilities. They can be expensive due to the constant need for A/C.
I don't know where you're coming from, but be prepared for your car insurance rates to skyrocket. Mine nearly doubled when I moved down here and I had a perfectly clean record with no claims of any kind and cheap, paid-off cars.
My understanding, and experience, is that the food service industry is very cyclical. Many places get very busy during the "winter" months because of the snowbirds and then have lots of open seats during the summer months. I believe there's also a lot of competition for the better waitressing jobs.
This is not an attempt to discourage you from moving here. It's a great place to live IMO and is becoming more and more popular with 20 somethings, but please do your necessary research first to make sure you can afford it. Lots of people move here thinking they're going to have an easy life living in a city near the ocean for cheap and then have a difficult time because it's much more expensive than they thought.
Responding to your specific questions:
1) What do you consider the beach? Does it have to be the ocean / gulf? Or can it be a small strip of sand on the bay?
If it has to be the "real" beach on the gulf then Tampa is out, as is downtown St. Pete. Clearwater is your only remaining city / downtown, but make sure you don't go much east of downtown or you'll be outside of your 15 minute drive mark. Also, Clearwater Beach is perhaps the most trafficked beach in the area and can be difficult to find parking. I don't know if that fits your ideal scenario. I'd suggest looking at Dunedin (just north of Clearwater) but I think it's more like 20 minutes to the nearest sandy beach and those are either Clearwater beach or a state park that charges a small fee. If you don't care much about downtowns there's also all kinds of suburbs in between the cities where you'll probably find better deals. Just make sure you stay within about 5 miles of the barrier islands. Be aware that rents within 15 minutes of the gulf may be more expensive because that is where people want to vacation and retire to.
If it doesn't have to be the ocean, virtually anywhere in the Tampa Bay area that is west of downtown Tampa will suffice.
2) I don't know enough about the restaurant industry to answer this properly. What I can tell you is that all the restaurants on the barrier islands get packed during snowbird season and have some reasonable traffic during the summer tourist season. Downtown St. Pete has a decent restaurant scene year round, but is still affected by snowbirds. SoHo (South Howard) in Tampa is another decent year round restaurant scene. It should be affected less by snowbirds but more by college students.
3) Depending where you're coming from, you may find the nightlife in Tampa Bay to be really poor. Compared to most other metro areas I've been to, I've found Tampa Bay to be really lacking in clubs, dance locations, and high-energy nightlife marketed to youth, especially on a per capita basis. Chill bars / breweries and laid back beach-life venues (and strip clubs?) are more the thing around here.
The west side of the bay is pretty limited on exciting nightlife. Clearwater basically has nothing. Downtown St. Pete is OK and is definitely growing in activity. You can also find some stuff near Central Ave heading west for a couple miles. There seems to be a reasonable amount of young people there. It's more artsy/alternative than fratty if that makes sense. Dunedin has a small downtown with decent nightlife (bars not clubs) and a mix of young and old. Gulfport has a small downtown with decent nightlife but it's mostly older folks, no clubs.
SoHo in Tampa has some of the best nightlife in the region, but that isn't saying much, and I think Ybor has the most clubs but it's probably not what you want, especially considering your 15 minutes from the beach requirement.
4) no advice beyond the normal checking out places like trulia, zillow, craigslist, rent.com, sublet.com, vrbo.com, etc. If you plan to take any college classes check with the college to see if they have any housing services. One thing I will say is that if you find a place that looks interesting, put the address in trulia. They have lots of information that can potentially be useful, such as crime maps of the area, what amenities are nearby, etc.. Also, generally speaking, avoid south central St. Petersburg. If it's not close to the bay or gulf and is south of maybe 6th ave south then be very careful about the area.
As far as specific areas to recommend, I don't think anything meets all your requirements if you need the both the gulf beaches within 15 minutes and lots of young singles around. If you don't need the gulf beaches, I'd suggest downtown St. Pete (about 30 minutes from the gulf beaches but has its own micro beach plus parks on the bay) or SoHo Tampa. Possibly even the Channelside area of Tampa.
Another potential option would be to live in Pasadena, near Treasure Island. That would put you within 15 minutes of the Treasure Island beaches, downtown St. Pete, and Gulfport. All of which should offer waitress / bartender opportunities. The area itself is sleepy and lacks young singles but you'd be able to get into St. Pete easily and there's the beach nightlife on Treasure Island, as well as the funky Gulfport stuff. It's actually one of my favorite, relatively unknown areas due to location. You can even get to the airport in around 30 minutes or Sarasota in an hour.
I'm sure this topic has come up before, but I've got some very specific questions. I'm 23 y/o female planning on moving to the Tampa area in early June. Here's what I'm looking for:
1. I want to be able to go to the beach every morning (doesn't have to be walking distance, but preferably within 15 min drive)
2. I'm probably not going to have a job when I first move (going to find a sublease of some sort for the first few months until I feel stable enough to sign a lease) - my plan is to most likely get a serving job in a restaurant while I apply for more full time positions. Which of these areas can I make the most money in at a restaurant? (If you have any suggestions on high volume restaurants - I'd love info on that as well!)
2a. Within this topic - if any of you have worked at restaurants within this area - is there a ball park of monthly income? I've got some savings that will give me a decent start, but I'd like to know what my budget is going to look like.....
3. Young people/things to do/nightlife? I'm a young female moving down there completely by myself with absolutely no connections - so I'd like to move to an area that has a decent amount of young people where I could make friends/connections pretty quickly.
4. Any advice on finding a sublease or affordable month to month place?
Thanks in advance!
I know I sound like a crazy person, but I have been dying to move to Florida since I graduated college and finally have enough money saved up to do it! Any advice is very greatly appreciated.
Sounds like you should look into downtown St. Pete, Gulfport, Pasadena, or possibly even Seminole. The busier times for the service industry is November-March or April. I can't speak for monthly income you can expect.
Downtown St. Pete may be 20ish from the beach give or take 5 mintues depending on where you are. As far as nightlife any of these areas I mentioned are close to downtown st. pete and central ave. where there is plenty of action. Gulfport has a little downtown area as well, but I think you will find you head to downtown st. pete to meet more people as far as nightlife goes. You can PM if you have more questions about the area.
Downtown St. Pete may be 20ish from the beach give or take 5 mintues depending on where you are. As far as nightlife any of these areas I mentioned are close to downtown st. pete and central ave. where there is plenty of action. Gulfport has a little downtown area as well, but I think you will find you head to downtown st. pete to meet more people as far as nightlife goes. You can PM if you have more questions about the area.
The County is working on a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Central from downtown St Petersburg to the Beach.
I think you best bet would be downtown St.Pete. Its close to the beach and has a good nightlife. As mentioned before, the service jobs are seasonal. Maybe need a back up plan in the off season. Depending on where you are coming from, the beaches are nice here, but more laid back than our East Coast Florida cities, like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona, etc. But you will find good beach parties in the summer at Clearwater Beach, Treasure Island, St.Pete Beach, etc. Some times of the year, just feels like a lot of old people on the beach (I guess snowbirds).
Be very careful in that saving up enough money to move down here is not the same as saving up enough money to live down here. Make sure you do lots of research before taking the plunge.
One thing you will find is that rents are disproportionately high compared to wages here. There are a number of reasons for this, but the bottom line is that if you're not able to bring a good job with you or already have one lined up you may find things difficult. Though small efficiency / 1-bed apartments can be found for reasonable prices around $600 - $700 / month. I don't know what your needs are in that area. Also, if you sublet, find out if you'll owe any portion of utilities. They can be expensive due to the constant need for A/C.
I don't know where you're coming from, but be prepared for your car insurance rates to skyrocket. Mine nearly doubled when I moved down here and I had a perfectly clean record with no claims of any kind and cheap, paid-off cars.
My understanding, and experience, is that the food service industry is very cyclical. Many places get very busy during the "winter" months because of the snowbirds and then have lots of open seats during the summer months. I believe there's also a lot of competition for the better waitressing jobs.
This is not an attempt to discourage you from moving here. It's a great place to live IMO and is becoming more and more popular with 20 somethings, but please do your necessary research first to make sure you can afford it. Lots of people move here thinking they're going to have an easy life living in a city near the ocean for cheap and then have a difficult time because it's much more expensive than they thought.
Responding to your specific questions:
1) What do you consider the beach? Does it have to be the ocean / gulf? Or can it be a small strip of sand on the bay?
If it has to be the "real" beach on the gulf then Tampa is out, as is downtown St. Pete. Clearwater is your only remaining city / downtown, but make sure you don't go much east of downtown or you'll be outside of your 15 minute drive mark. Also, Clearwater Beach is perhaps the most trafficked beach in the area and can be difficult to find parking. I don't know if that fits your ideal scenario. I'd suggest looking at Dunedin (just north of Clearwater) but I think it's more like 20 minutes to the nearest sandy beach and those are either Clearwater beach or a state park that charges a small fee. If you don't care much about downtowns there's also all kinds of suburbs in between the cities where you'll probably find better deals. Just make sure you stay within about 5 miles of the barrier islands. Be aware that rents within 15 minutes of the gulf may be more expensive because that is where people want to vacation and retire to.
If it doesn't have to be the ocean, virtually anywhere in the Tampa Bay area that is west of downtown Tampa will suffice.
2) I don't know enough about the restaurant industry to answer this properly. What I can tell you is that all the restaurants on the barrier islands get packed during snowbird season and have some reasonable traffic during the summer tourist season. Downtown St. Pete has a decent restaurant scene year round, but is still affected by snowbirds. SoHo (South Howard) in Tampa is another decent year round restaurant scene. It should be affected less by snowbirds but more by college students.
3) Depending where you're coming from, you may find the nightlife in Tampa Bay to be really poor. Compared to most other metro areas I've been to, I've found Tampa Bay to be really lacking in clubs, dance locations, and high-energy nightlife marketed to youth, especially on a per capita basis. Chill bars / breweries and laid back beach-life venues (and strip clubs?) are more the thing around here.
The west side of the bay is pretty limited on exciting nightlife. Clearwater basically has nothing. Downtown St. Pete is OK and is definitely growing in activity. You can also find some stuff near Central Ave heading west for a couple miles. There seems to be a reasonable amount of young people there. It's more artsy/alternative than fratty if that makes sense. Dunedin has a small downtown with decent nightlife (bars not clubs) and a mix of young and old. Gulfport has a small downtown with decent nightlife but it's mostly older folks, no clubs.
SoHo in Tampa has some of the best nightlife in the region, but that isn't saying much, and I think Ybor has the most clubs but it's probably not what you want, especially considering your 15 minutes from the beach requirement.
4) no advice beyond the normal checking out places like trulia, zillow, craigslist, rent.com, sublet.com, vrbo.com, etc. If you plan to take any college classes check with the college to see if they have any housing services. One thing I will say is that if you find a place that looks interesting, put the address in trulia. They have lots of information that can potentially be useful, such as crime maps of the area, what amenities are nearby, etc.. Also, generally speaking, avoid south central St. Petersburg. If it's not close to the bay or gulf and is south of maybe 6th ave south then be very careful about the area.
As far as specific areas to recommend, I don't think anything meets all your requirements if you need the both the gulf beaches within 15 minutes and lots of young singles around. If you don't need the gulf beaches, I'd suggest downtown St. Pete (about 30 minutes from the gulf beaches but has its own micro beach plus parks on the bay) or SoHo Tampa. Possibly even the Channelside area of Tampa.
Another potential option would be to live in Pasadena, near Treasure Island. That would put you within 15 minutes of the Treasure Island beaches, downtown St. Pete, and Gulfport. All of which should offer waitress / bartender opportunities. The area itself is sleepy and lacks young singles but you'd be able to get into St. Pete easily and there's the beach nightlife on Treasure Island, as well as the funky Gulfport stuff. It's actually one of my favorite, relatively unknown areas due to location. You can even get to the airport in around 30 minutes or Sarasota in an hour.
Do you think that around $8K will be enough savings to get me on my feet down there for the first three months or so?
Orlando is more expensive than the Tampa Bay area, but not much. $400 might get you a room rental but no apartment in Orlando area. She did not mention Orlando btw.
I think you best bet would be downtown St.Pete. Its close to the beach and has a good nightlife. As mentioned before, the service jobs are seasonal.
I too would recommend St Pete but disagree regarding the seasonal aspect. St Pete is a growing city of 260K with plenty of full time residents to keep the non-touristy establishments going year-round. Check out restaurants on Beach Drive like Parkshore Grill, 400 Beach, Stillwaters Tavern, Cassis or Bella Brava along with other downtown establishments like Red Mesa, Z Grille and Gratzzi Italian Grille (and many others).
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