Tampa or St. Pete? (Clearwater, Brandon: apartments, rental, neighborhoods)

[mscht]

Hello to everyone. I just stumbled accross this forum while researching the above mentioned cities. Due to health issues (Scleroderma), I am considering relocating from Alabama. I like that St. Pete is warm and sunny, but can't seem to get indepth info on neighborhoods to find and avoid.

I am disabled 40ish and will have my mother and a teen. Can people give me ideas of areas where a clean middle class "family" could affordably live. I am not rich, but I am not considering slum areas. Thank you, in advance.

Cynthia in Bama =)

[crystalblue]

try Brandon, just east of tampa...

[TheCaptain]

Hello.

Of the two, I would recommend St. Pete. Tampa is becoming far, far too crowded, no matter which part of it you live in.

You might also consider Lutz: Just North of Tampa, and for the most part, unpopulated. (Note: saying "unpopulated" in Florda really means "you won't bump shoulders with people, but you'll probably be within walking distance!") Anyhow, Lutz has alot of farmland, and is a bit more scenic if you want that route.

Edit: Sorry, I meant to add this in response to your comment about not finding much on St. Pete...

South St. Pete - generally AVOID
I say "generally" because this is not all-consuming. Of North vs. South St. Pete, South St. Pete has the most unsafe or unsavory areas. However, there are some BEAUTIFUL places in South St. Pete, like downtown (very, very nice) or the Fort DeSoto area. There are definitely pockets of scenery and safety there.

North St. Pete - generally SAFER
Just not as exciting to look at.

[yukon]

I live in Land O Lakes/Lutz (Pasco County) and work in Tampa and St Pete. If you need access to public transit, then go with St. Pete. The Pinellas bus system is pretty decent with good coverage and hours (and provides express routes to/from downtown Tampa). Hillsborough's (Tampa) transit is sorely inadequate, and there are major parts of Pasco that Pasco transit doesn't even cover.

North and NE St Pete is pretty decent, as is Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor and parts of Clearwater (all in Pinellas County). Keep in mind much of Pinellas County is classified as an evacuation area. You might want to stay clear of South St Pete and Pinellas Park (JMHO).

In Tampa, Brandon is ok but very congested, so is the New Tampa area. Carrollwood is nice, albeit a tad older but convenient to many things. The further inland you go in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, the less your chances are that you'll be in an evacuation zone (if that's important to you). Pinellas county has pet friendly evacation shelters, Hillsborough had one last year, Pasco county has NONE. Don't know if this will change for the upcoming season or not.

[mscht]

I appreciate the names of towns/cities. That gives me abit more info and ideas to consider.

Not having to evacuate is very important to my mother, and certainly something to consider. I will make sure to avoid evacuation areas or at least minimize them.

For me, I have Scleroderma and having a team of doctors is quite important also. So, I am sure I would want to be no more than a couple hours from a medical institute, preferably a medical school nearby too.

There are many ideas to ponder. Naturally we would have to come down for a week or so, but just trying to narrow some places down for our research and visits.

Cynthia in Bama

[yukon]

Where in 'Bama are you from? My mom lives in Mobile.

If being near a hospital is important, then forget Land O Lakes/central Pasco County. We have lots of Docs in A Box up here but no hospital. Temple Terrace is on the eastern side of Tampa but near the Med School. Seems a nice enough area but I don't spend much time over that way, perhaps someone will post shortly who does. If you want an idea of rental prices, check out postings on craigslist, realtor.com and various apartment rental sites (apartments.com, apartmentguide.com, etc.).

[kelly3120]

st. pete is just as busy as tampa it seems BUT everything is at your disposal.
In certain areas of Tampa ...carollwood for instance, everything is w/in 5 minutes. It isn't overly crowded, only when the snowbirds come down! ...but because everything is less then 5 minutes away, you get over it quickly.
Lutz is a more rural part of Tampa ...it is to the north. It's a little more spread out, so it depends what you are looking for!