Dunedin, Tampa, Brandon, Largo (Clearwater, Bloomingdale: lease, HOA, condos)

[floridalooking]

Could someone tell me the difference in the feel of the towns in the subject line please? What would be the benefits of one over another for a couple who is older (50's), doesn't do the bar scene, doesn't want to be in a HOA situation, and wants restaurants and stores handy.
TIA

[Sunscape]

If you do a search here on this forum you will find plenty of info on all those places. Plenty of our ppl have written about each and every one of them.

[floridalooking]

Originally Posted by Annie of Oldsmar

If you do a search here on this forum you will find plenty of info on all those places. Plenty of our ppl have written about each and every one of them.

I joined the forum this month and as you can see, I've read almost 8,000 posts about the area. So far I haven't seen people talk about the differences in weather if there is one, or some other things that might help me.
You all might understand streets or areas in towns but people from out of the area don't.

[skicheryl]

AFter being here a little over 3 months I've found it rains more inland than at the beach. Of course that is not always true. Overall it hasn't rained as much as I expected. There have been some days dark storm clouds surround the area but the sun shines on the beach for most of the day. It's only rained all day a couple of days since we've been here. Much better weather than we expected. The humidity didn't even bother us that much during Aug and Sept, at least not as much as the elevation bothered us living at 4500 ft for 5 years prior to our move.

I work in both St Pete and Clearwater (Feathersound area) but live on Sand Key just south of Clearwater Beach. Both hubby and I are very happy living on the beach (condo) and I tolerate the traffic headaches so I can live at the beach. He's retired. I'm sure it will be much worse when high season arrives but the Bellaire causeway is fairly close and we avoid the main part of Clearwater beach for the most part except to occasionally go eat dinner. Usually we do take out from Thai Garden or Gondolier right over the Sand Key bridge. We go to restaurants up and down the beach as well as in the Bellaire Bluffs and Largo area. Mostly beach restaurants.....the majority have been good experiences.

We lease a condo and yes the HOA is picky about some things that I think are ridiculous (can't move anything in or out including deliveries except M-F 8-4) but really we don't get involved in the meetings or anything else to do with the HOA. Having the pool and spa without having to take care of them is a nice benefit as is no lawn care and having 24hr security. I'm mid 40s and hubby is 50. Our kids are now raised and we just don't want to worry about those hassles. I see other couples in our building that look to be in their 50s so they must feel the same way!

We enjoy going to Dunedin for dinner and their occasional green market day but for the most part we stay around this area so I can't help much with info on the various towns. I like Dunedin and some of Largo from what I've seen but would not live in Tampa or Brandon myself. Not that there aren't nice areas there but I'm happy I found work on this side of the bridges because I would not be able to drive from the beach to anywhere in Tampa for work. If you work in Tampa or Brandon then you may want to consider living there so you don't have to travel the bridges to/from work but traffic in those areas is also terrible at rush hour. Took me over 1 hr to get to Brandon a few days ago from 9th Ave N in St Pete and that was on the Gandy bridge to the crosstown expressway toll road before rush hour. I 275 would likely take twice as long with the way traffic backs up on that interstate.

If you can live closer to the beach I think it makes for a better quality of life but really your job should be a big factor in where you want to live. The traffic is a bear all over the area and can really stress you out if you allow it to......would be alot less traffic hassle to live close to where you work if possible.

The whole area has plenty of stores nearby including Target, WalMart, Kmart, SweetBay, and Publix but the closest Whole Foods is in Tampa which really makes it difficult for us so we usually just go to Publix.

Hope this helps, good luck with your move.
Cheryl

[floridalooking]

A HUGE thank you Cheryl!! You gave me a ton of information and it's so appreciated.

[lavender]

Largo, close to beaches, more inland rains a lot more than near to beach.
Mixed areas, Largo/Belleair and Largo/Seminole better than Largo/Clearwater generally.
Lots of older neighbourhoods with no or less stringent HOAs
You didn't look at Seminole is there a reason for that - I think close to the beaches thats the best.
Lots of non flood/evac zones if you want them so no flood ins. needed.
Quite a lot of over 55 condos if you want them.

Dunedin, very pretty, and artsy. Stick nearer to downtown for housing, again over 55s around, if you want them. No beach you have to go slightly further away, but lots of waterfront.

Brandon - Tampa sprawl, nice shopping center and IKEA close by. quite a drive to beaches, hot in summer less of the gulf breezes, good for downtown (Tampa) access but awful traffic on Adamo Dr.
Or you use toll roads.

Tampa - is huge, how do you describe that, so many different areas and neighbourhoods, but S. Tampa the best area to consider. Drive to beaches again.

I should mention St Pete, lovely city/downtown, lots of nice places in and around downtown, new modern condos or very old and quaint Old North East neighbourhood, don't overlook those.

Good luck

[floridalooking]

Thank you so much for the information. I hadn't heard of Seminole until your post so looked it up on the map. Hadn't heard of ikea either and had to look that one up.....WOW!! It looks amazing.
I was trying to get a basic feel for the different areas and chose the ones I know a little about and ones that I could easily drive to other places I think we'd like which is why I just mentioned the three.
I was wondering if your area is like mine. Here we have the island which feels about 10 degrees cooler. Then there's Flour Bluff which isn't a place I'd feel safe in, then cross the next bridge and you have Corpus where all the shopping and restaurants are for the most part. They are all a part of Corpus yet have different names. Go 1/2 hour to one hour west and the strong winds all of a sudden stop and you have more rain, higher summer temps, and lower winter temps.
A friend of mine lives 60 miles north of Tampa in a very small town..more livestock than people and she says scorpions are a way of life. Is it the same in the Tampa, Dunedin, Largo areas? We have scorpions here but in places where they're turning over the land or you can find them in the grasses on the beach. It's pretty much your choice if you want to run into one of the critters here.
I have a very unrealistic phobia of them and have tried getting help for it to no avail. Am I going to be sleeping with one eye open?
One more question please.
Getting around in a wheelchair....are there towns that are more wheelchair friendly?
Sorry I'm behind in reading. We've been racing to get our house on the market so hopefully we can be settled in Fl by Christmas.

[mquintana]

I live in Brandon...I don't mind it. Traffic does suck, but traffic is everywhere you go. Everything is here that you need, no reason to go to Tampa unless you want to. Not a bad area...close to Tampa so there is plenty to do. 45 mins. from Siesta Key (one of the best beaches here on the west coast of Fl.) and about the same time or a little less to get to Ellenton Mall (outlet stores). Brandon is pretty basic street wise, major streets run parallel to each other (such as Bloomingdale, Causeway/Lumsden, and SR 60/Adamo Dr.) Same goes with other major roads (like 301, Faulkenburg, Providence Rd/Lakewood Dr., Kings/John Moore, Lithia Pincrest....). These are just examples. Everything is almost built in a square for the most part.