High crime areas to avoid while visiting? (Tampa, Clearwater: rental car, rental)

[islanders2021]

Hi folks. Life long NYer here. Will be visiting the Tampa area and exploring over a 4 day period in late June. Plan on mostly driving. Likely to make stops at beaches. No real agenda or plan, just trying to get a good look at the entire Tampa area because like many North Easterners, we're fleeing. I'm single, 49 year old male. Pretty big. Have managed to avoid being a crime victim my entire life in NYC which is quite the accomplishment given I grew up there in the 80s. Lol.

But nowadays a lot of crime in NYC is being done via car. Criminals just rolling up to people at red lights and things like that, especially at night. Since I will be driving a lot at night (plan on checking out the bar/pub scene), what are areas to really be aware of when I'm out driving late at night? I keep reading St. Pete isn't the greatest of places. Figured I'd ask the locals.

Happy to return the favor should any of you visit NYC. Thanks.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by islanders2021

Hi folks. Life long NYer here. Will be visiting the Tampa area and exploring over a 4 day period in late June. Plan on mostly driving. Likely to make stops at beaches. No real agenda or plan, just trying to get a good look at the entire Tampa area because like many North Easterners, we're fleeing. I'm single, 49 year old male. Pretty big. Have managed to avoid being a crime victim my entire life in NYC which is quite the accomplishment given I grew up there in the 80s. Lol.

But nowadays a lot of crime in NYC is being done via car. Criminals just rolling up to people at red lights and things like that, especially at night. Since I will be driving a lot at night (plan on checking out the bar/pub scene), what are areas to really be aware of when I'm out driving late at night? I keep reading St. Pete isn't the greatest of places. Figured I'd ask the locals.

Happy to return the favor should any of you visit NYC. Thanks.

you will be fine, nobody will bother you. Remember Florida is a the "GunShine State" so the criminals need to decide is this victim going to shoot us first?


That being said, don't rent a convertible and drive down Martin Luther King Blvd with the top down with flashy jewelry on and ask for directions at a traffic light!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MzDA77sJk4

[Arcenal813]

The only area to avoid that you would have any reason to go to would be East of Dale Mabry North of I-275, and your only reasons to go there would be the football stadium, Busch Gardens, the other zoo, and USF.
Other than that, sure, there are rough areas aplenty, but they are EASILY avoidable and identifiable, and quite frankly, other than driving through on the main thoroughfares, you will have literally no reason to stop and walk around.

If you go to St-Pete, more than likely, you will be by Beach Dr Downtown, which is not the area people speak of when they talk about "rough" or "weird." Bar/Pub scene, you can't beat Downtown St-Pete. It might be the best in the state for that.
If you are exploring areas to move to, check out Dunedin in North Pinellas. I live close to there, and also grew up a city boy, and I absolutely love it. The ONLY "bad area" in North Pinellas (basically North of Clearwater) that I've encountered is a tiny part of Tarpon Springs, and even then, "bad" is subjective. I use a barber shop right there, and have no issues.


Basically, you'll be fine. Use common sense. Don't wander into dark sketchy places at night. Etc.

[cjairo191]

Originally Posted by islanders2021

Hi folks. Life long NYer here. Will be visiting the Tampa area and exploring over a 4 day period in late June. Plan on mostly driving. Likely to make stops at beaches. No real agenda or plan, just trying to get a good look at the entire Tampa area because like many North Easterners, we're fleeing. I'm single, 49 year old male. Pretty big. Have managed to avoid being a crime victim my entire life in NYC which is quite the accomplishment given I grew up there in the 80s. Lol.

But nowadays a lot of crime in NYC is being done via car. Criminals just rolling up to people at red lights and things like that, especially at night. Since I will be driving a lot at night (plan on checking out the bar/pub scene), what are areas to really be aware of when I'm out driving late at night? I keep reading St. Pete isn't the greatest of places. Figured I'd ask the locals.

Happy to return the favor should any of you visit NYC. Thanks.

I was just in NYC Memorial weekend with a rental car that had Florida plates and parked on the street in lower Manhattan and some shady areas of Newark. None of this happened to me driving around or with being parked. Are you trolling?

[FL_Expert]

Ybor City is about the only place you’re likely to visit that’s sketchy. The area where people visit isn’t that bad though, just keep your wits about you and it will be fine. Aside from that, there’s really nowhere to worry about as someone just visiting the city.

Edit: It occurred to me that Yelp could send you to Old West Tampa since they have a couple popular restaurants. I wouldn’t suggest going there.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Ybor City is about the only place you’re likely to visit that’s sketchy. The area where people visit isn’t that bad though, just keep your wits about you and it will be fine. Aside from that, there’s really nowhere to worry about as someone just visiting the city.

Edit: It occurred to me that Yelp could send you to Old West Tampa since they have a couple popular restaurants. I wouldn’t suggest going there.

Really? Old West Tampa is bad? I grew up there, and had many friends living there. My dad lived there until he died in 1998. Nothing bad ever happened to anyone I know there and it never felt unsafe to me. Has it really changed that much? I thought it was gentrifying due to all the historic buildings etc., and the river. Of course, we lived north of Columbus Drive, and maybe you are referring to the south side. To me, the bad areas are in and around Ybor, Sulphur Springs, suitcase city near USF (Busch Blvd - ugh).

In St. Pete, stay out of Midtown (the area just south of downtown). Parts of Central further from downtown also not so good. As the poster above stated, you really don't have to worry that much. And frankly, something could happen almost anywhere, not just in a "crime" area. I wouldn't worry about at all.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Really? Old West Tampa is bad? I grew up there, and had many friends living there. My dad lived there until he died in 1998. Nothing bad ever happened to anyone I know there and it never felt unsafe to me. Has it really changed that much? I thought it was gentrifying due to all the historic buildings etc., and the river. Of course, we lived north of Columbus Drive, and maybe you are referring to the south side. To me, the bad areas are in and around Ybor, Sulphur Springs, suitcase city near USF (Busch Blvd - ugh).

In St. Pete, stay out of Midtown (the area just south of downtown). Parts of Central further from downtown also not so good. As the poster above stated, you really don't have to worry that much. And frankly, something could happen almost anywhere, not just in a "crime" area. I wouldn't worry about at all.

I’m referring to the area around Main Street south of where you lived. It used to be really rough, but it’s actually gotten way better over the past decade as most of the projects were torn down. It’s still a little sketchy for my taste so that’s why I don’t recommend it.

[islanders2021]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

The only area to avoid that you would have any reason to go to would be East of Dale Mabry North of I-275, and your only reasons to go there would be the football stadium, Busch Gardens, the other zoo, and USF.
Other than that, sure, there are rough areas aplenty, but they are EASILY avoidable and identifiable, and quite frankly, other than driving through on the main thoroughfares, you will have literally no reason to stop and walk around.

If you go to St-Pete, more than likely, you will be by Beach Dr Downtown, which is not the area people speak of when they talk about "rough" or "weird." Bar/Pub scene, you can't beat Downtown St-Pete. It might be the best in the state for that.
If you are exploring areas to move to, check out Dunedin in North Pinellas. I live close to there, and also grew up a city boy, and I absolutely love it. The ONLY "bad area" in North Pinellas (basically North of Clearwater) that I've encountered is a tiny part of Tarpon Springs, and even then, "bad" is subjective. I use a barber shop right there, and have no issues.


Basically, you'll be fine. Use common sense. Don't wander into dark sketchy places at night. Etc.

Thanks. I had plan on hitting the Hard Rock Seminole casino, which I notice is East of that highway. Any thoughts?

[islanders2021]

Originally Posted by cjairo191

I was just in NYC Memorial weekend with a rental car that had Florida plates and parked on the street in lower Manhattan and some shady areas of Newark. None of this happened to me driving around or with being parked. Are you trolling?

Am I trolling? No. Not at all. And that's kind of silly to even suggest. If you were visiting the NY area and weren't aware of what kind of crime is going on, let's just say shame on you for not doing your basic homework. Car jackings are happening all over the boroughs of NYC (outside of Manhattan). Even in upscale, wealthy areas. The NYPD has no control over it and has been told to back off. Anyway, this is a blurb anyone can find with a simple google search:

According to NYPD data obtained by 1010 WINS, there were 511 carjackings in the five boroughs in all of 2021. On average, that's nearly 10 people being carjacked every week in New York City. By comparison, in 2018 there were 112 carjackings. That's a 356% increase in four years.Feb 9, 2022

Ironically, most of the cars doing the jacking are cars with out of state plates from Florida, Texas, PA - fake paper plates being put onto stolen cars. It's becoming an epidemic.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by islanders2021

Thanks. I had plan on hitting the Hard Rock Seminole casino, which I notice is East of that highway. Any thoughts?

Yeah, don't leave the casino unless you're in your car. The neighborhood around it is definitely sketchy. People have been robbed in the parking garage there, but since the last time I heard about this, which was a couple years ago, I suspect they've beefed up security.

Also remember that you're on tribal lands when you're there, so they have their own law enforcement.

RM