Here's another one hopfully moving to the Tampa-Bay area (St. Petersburg: affordable apartments, rentals) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

biggssm · 10-12-2009, 09:57 PM

I'm sure yall have heard this before but the 'ol lady and I are looking to move to the Tampa area; mainly interested in St. Petersburg. We are both looking to finish our degrees there. We are coming from Omaha but I'm from GA and no stranger to heat and humidity. (kind of worried about her though being from IA) We most likely will be renting and are looking for a nice, quiet, and safe area to be in. Our budget would probably be around the $800 range. Close to Macdill AFB would be nice as would anywhere in St. Pete. Any info would be much appreciated.

tilli · 10-13-2009, 06:57 AM

Are you looking for a house or apartment, how big, what amenities?

seain dublin · 10-13-2009, 10:10 AM

$800 a month? For rent, food, car insurance,etc. For two people, that is not much to work with.

ladyspeed6 · 10-13-2009, 10:16 AM

For $800, you will certainly get more for your money if you live closer to MacDill. You can get a decent 2/3 bedroom apt. or an older rental house for that. There are some really seedy areas and some really nice ones. A group of million dollar properties can be 2 streets away from govt. housing. Make sure you do the research and take the time to inspect the property before you make any major decisions. There are a lot of flooding issues in the MacDill/ Interbay area but they also have issues in St. Pete too. At least you wont have to evacuate if you live on the Tampa side. lol.

tampaguy03 · 10-13-2009, 11:02 AM

Since you want easy access to MacDill,
In St. Pete, look at the 4th Street and Gandy Blvd area for Apartment rentals in the $800 range...
In Tampa, look at rentals in South Tampa in areas such as off Westshore Blvd(Camden communities, The Cove), and around Himes Ave and Gandy Blvd.(names of complexes escape me at the moment).

Or check craigslist for these areas for private condo rentals in your $800 range.

biggssm · 10-20-2009, 10:26 PM

How about closer to USF?? And the $800 figure is rent only.. Found a place on Rent.com called Village Oaks that seems our style. Any problems with that area?

tilli · 10-21-2009, 05:34 AM

If you want to be close to MacDill to work there, your commute would be a nightmare coming all the way from north Tampa. There would be a higher population of students in any affordable apartments near USF, and unless you are a young partier, you don't want to live next to them. I note in their floor plans that they offer lofts - think twice about that sort of floorplan, I have lived in them before and it is incredibly expensive to keep them relatively cool. My electric bills were just atrocious.

richardg70 · 10-21-2009, 11:32 AM

Moved to Tampa in the 80's and found it great. Was from Texas so heat wasn't a problem. The remark about big houses 2 streets from government ones is accurate in the Tampa area especially. When I moved there I went on a house-hunting trip and stopped by a bar and took a city map - had the bartender mark the map with highlighter with plusses and minuses. It took us less than 10 minutes and I was prepared. With that map it took only two days to find the exact place I wanted. And the beer was cold, the hospitality warm.
St Pete... touristy, busy, congested almost all the time.
McDill area... nightmare to find a place, but almost ANYTHING is available for housing.
North Tampa...(where I ended up, in Temple Terrace), a breeze for commuting becuase lots of good through streets with syncronized lights during commute times. I'd get to work by the stadium faster than my buddies in St Pete.
Avoid having to cross the Sunshine Skyway (car-strangled-spanner) during commute times. It's a bear - lovely, great view, fastest way across, but ouch of a commute.
Otherwise, enjoy. I moved to the midwest from there and everytime I shovel a foot of snow off my driveway I miss the place, heat and all.

JeepGirl118 · 10-22-2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardg70

Avoid having to cross the Sunshine Skyway (car-strangled-spanner) during commute times. It's a bear - lovely, great view, fastest way across, but ouch of a commute.

You mean the Courtney Causeway, right?

I'm confused why he would be going on the Sunshine Skyway unless he/they were commuting to/from the Bradenton area.