How is life in CLEARWATER, FL? (Tampa, Palm Harbor: 2014, insurance, hotels)

[bigdogk9]

know anything about prospect towers on chestnut street.

[dufala15468]

Originally Posted by phonelady61

I would have to say forget about clearwater . the rents are much too high and unemployment is high they are expecting it to go higher next year to the tune of 8 % and we got out while we could . we now live in ky and we are much much happier here. Not alot of snooty ppl at all and for the most part everyone is nice . some ppl think florida is the bomb , I disagree . I mean if you think 1200.00 a month is okay to pay for rent then by all means move there . to me 1200.00 is a house payment not rent . I used to pay 913 for a 700 sq ft apt and to me that was high . I now have a house in ky for 700.00 a month and it is 3 bdr 2 ba . i mean florida has just outpriced itself by many ppls standards . Including mine.

"LOL!", you tried to compare Clearwater to Kentucky. I would bet there's a lot more people that would gladly pay double the rent to live 2 miles inland from "America's nicest beaches" then in the back woods of Kentucky!

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

How is life in Clearwater, Florida?

Your basic paradise.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by phonelady61

some ppl think florida is the bomb.

Yep. I sure do. We love it here.

[tinytrump]

Florida is the best! maybe Hawaii beat it? we just need more money-as in new business, jobs- more education, better politicians. The bad part, is we are over 50 percent transplant,,, we need our own identity- lots of transients. We bagan as a winter escape for the snow birds Disney, and nothing much has transferred here, as for large companies etc. We have a few, but still producing oranges, tomatoes and retail, hotel and retaurant work. Big money makers- medical faciliies.

[gypsyglo]

Interested in living near the beaches of the guff of mexico side of florida. Thinking about maybe Clearwater or Sarasota, or anywhere near the clean beaches. Want to live out my retirement near a nice peaceful place that has people of all different races. Also near a great hospital, but very close to the beaches. Can anyone out there tell me a little about where I can find a place like this? I am greatly appreciated. Thank you very much, sincerely colded in PA..

[tinytrump]

Indian Rocks- Bradenton, Sarasota, there is a whole west coast to see, drive down gulf and see what you like.

[SunniM]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to FL to retire - gulf side. We are active people, so not the sit-on-the-porch type. Looking at Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice area or St. Pete area. We are currently living in the UT desert and it is Mormonville here - not interested in getting into anything like that again - as in the Scientologist's in Clearwater, although we heard it was a nice area.

We would want about a 2500 sq ft house, give or take. Somewhat newer and modern, but not too pricey with low taxes and prefer no HOA fees. Of course we heard closer to the water is cooler. Any thoughts on that? Does anyone have any ideas?

We can't take another winter here, or summer either when it is 115 for two months. What are the utility prices like?

Thanks a bunch,
Sunni

[CatMcL]

Originally Posted by JAy the BRIT

I am moving to clearwater in 4 weeks and amidst all the pros and cons , I have to make my own mind up, been to clearwater before and loved it, difference for me is Im moving my wife and kids half way across the world for me to take my dream job. I am from England so sunshine is, as you would probably guess as rare as rocking horse ****. Just have the dilema over choosing the right high schools and elementary schools for my boys. Happy to spend $1500 a month for a place by the beach or waterfront until I get a mortgage. Then i will defo buy ( buyers market right now and I am never going back to the UK.

Hi!

I just noticed your post - although it was in 2010 - I am from Ireland and moving to clearwater in June away from this horrible weather to be a sailing instructor! Can i ask how you find Clearwater? and any advice! i am only 22 so this is all quite scary!

[scubadu2013]

Clearwater Florida is nice place, but all cities and states have their pro's and cons. I've lived here in Clearwater for almost three years now. There are of course good areas and bad areas. One place you don't want to move if off of Missouri St. Pretty much all run down and a bad area all together. Work here in Clearwater has it's highs and lows. It all depends on what you do or want to do. Lot's of sales jobs, restaurant jobs and things like that, but no real high paying work. I don't recommend living in Tampa although the commute for work isn't really that far until winter time. Winter time the tourist come down from the north and overtake allot of Florida. Car insurance is very high here also because of them and hurricanes. There are allot of big oak trees here and branches do break when it rains real hard. The locals here seem to have there way of driving which is somewhat polite. The tourist however when they flood the area and will drive one crazy as the seem bewildered and lost. Most of them just want to go to the Clearwater beach(s).

The beaches here such as Clearwater Beach is very pristine and there are miles of it. There is very little as far as Scuba Diving though unless you get on a boat and travel around 75 miles out as the Gulf is very shallow and murky from the whitish sand. One has to remember that it is a Gulf and not really an ocean so you won't see big waves or anything like that for surfing. There are lots of places to fish of course but most due it from piers, boat(s) or lakes and not from the shore line. There are also fresh water lakes and lots of them a little north from here. One has to watch where they step as most have alligators in them. Surprisingly even parks have them next to kids playgrounds. I wouldn't worry about them to much here as they seem to mind their own business and stay out of the public's eyes. Matter of fact I had to go in search for them at one point as I hadn't seen one for the first two years I was here and thought they were just a myth. Just don't go jumping in to a lake or the first river here you see though.

There are tons of things to do here and I haven't even scratched the surface of them yet. Lot's and lots of restaurants and bars, however very few of them have good food though and the good ones are mostly hidden for some reason. There are no mountains here in Florida so one can get lost on the mazes of roads. A good GPS for your car would be the first thing I would get.

The biggest question I get from my friends from California where I'm originally from is "how do I handle the humidity?" Well there is a breeze that blows from the gulf coast inland most of the time and the humidity isn't that bad at all. There have only been a day or two where I have actually felt it and all I did was go inside where there was a/c. Now if one goes to like Orlando which is about 120 miles east from here you will feel the humidity much much more of course.

Houses and Apartments out here range from cheap to very expensive. It all depends on how close one wants to be to the beach and in what area. In general most locals live inland about 10 minutes from the beach which is in a way much better as the beach strip is much much more expensive to live and really not worth it in anyway. Apartments in a decent area in general run $800 and up, anything less and we'll your mostly in a bad crime area. You can rent a house for as cheap as $650 but again it'll be in a bad area even though it'll be five minutes drive time to the beach. I recommend someplace that is gated also. The crime here is not anywhere as bad as I've seen in California of course but non the less.

Clearwater is not the only city that one can live in and work. The next city south is St. Petes which is really pretty much the beach life area and about the same price for apartments along with being a real fun place and I might move there at some point myself. The area to move is the North East side if one wants to know, better area. Further south is another place called Sarasota which is below that and is more for the younger crowd like 20's and 30's age group and it too is a nice fun place to be. Now if your have the money and are in your 40's and looking for someplace with a little bit of the Ritz you'll want to look in to Naples which is below Sarasota. Although Clearwater is nice and spread out, it is more for those looking to own a house and retire. Now if your over 55 you can find some really nice senior 2 bedroom condo places almost on the beach for around $800 a month.

There are also other little cities / towns blended in with Clearwater that are really neat, such as Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and Ozona that I have looked at and given the chance would move too as they are cute and relaxed yet close enough to like Walmart and larger Markets and more.

Now about those Scientology Cult people everyone seems so afraid of. They are actually normal people just like you and I and they don't go about trying to recruit everyone in to a so called Cult as one might have heard. They do however own allot of the Buildings in Dunedin and some I've seen here in Clearwater. They do not try and pull you in and as a matter of fact I tested their recruiting and found it's actually hard to even get in unless you want to take a test and jump through allot of hoops oddly enough, so that is a stupid myth.

In general the people here in Clearwater and pretty much all of Florida are really nice and down to earth with a relaxed attitude. Most of the people that live here have moved here from all over the US. No one really cares where your from. Changing your Drivers license is allot harder than most states I've been too. So be prepared to have your Birth Certificate, Social and Old License with you. You will be asked allot of silly questions at DMV which will make you laugh though.

Make sure you drinks lot's of water! The humidity although again is not bad will make you think your fine but in fact allot of people pass out real fast from heat stroke at outside bars and the beaches or on bicycle rides.