Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete cities- Help!

Rod, Male Nurse · Feb 5, 2015

There is nothing special about st Pete or Tampa. I have family there and in largo, Bradenton, Sarasota. I like largo, Clearwater isn't bad either. I'm not a fan of cities. In pretty much any of these area you listed it'll take you forever to drive around town. I think Sarasota is more upscale but it all depends on what you like.

Swanks916 · Feb 5, 2015

Thanks for your response! Unfortunately, I really don't have much of a choice in the general location. Sarasota is getting to be a tiny bit too far. Are there any other cities within the areas I mentioned that anyone would suggest that I have not listed? We are open to suggestions!

Nienna Celebrindal · Feb 6, 2015

I lived in Tampa for 7 years and LOVED IT! I miss it. I think part of it depends on if you are looking for a fun area or a family area?

Swanks916 · Feb 7, 2015

Nienna, we are looking for a little of both. While we do not have a family, we also don't want to live in party central, but we like to be within a decent drive to a fun area. Primary thing- we don't want to be more than a 15-20 min drive to the water. Not sure if the Bay has nice beaches? We were planning on looking at areas such as Ruskin, Riverview, Brandon, Valrico... check out the bay area. Then we have several cities along the Gulf- Palmetto, Pinellas, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, etcc... We are open to suggestions and really would lie some insight from people who know the areas to tell us if they are nicer areas or run down. Something that is different there from Ohio that makes it hard for us to tell if areas are nice or not- in FL you can have a 500k house right next to a trailer park. Not something we are used to, but I am learning that doesn't mean it's a bad area. In Ohio, trailers are not something I would ever want to live next to, but I realize they're different in FL with all the snow birds...

Medic6758 · Feb 7, 2015

I live near Tampa, however, I can only advise you of the areas I have gone to. Clearwater by the beach is beautiful and terribly expensive even for a small, old ranch style house, but if you go 20 minutes east that put you over the bridge near downtown Clearwater and what a big difference in appearance; liquor store everywhere you look.

I live near Tarpon Springs, nice homes decently priced, there is a big Greek population with really good restaurants and close to shopping. The downside is, you are near the water but no good beaches unless you drive closer to Clearwater. The same goes for Palm Harbor and Dunedin. All the public beaches with lifeguards are on the Gulf with none on the bay. However, you will see people parked on the side of the road in a little sandy spot enjoying the water along the bay.

As far as the other areas, I know south of Tampa near the water like Brandon is really nice, but home prices begin to skyrocket.

It all depends on your budget and what conveniences you are looking for and which one's you are willing to give up. I have small children, so for me an area with good schools was a priority, in doing so, that put me further away from the beach.

Swanks916 · Feb 9, 2015

Medic,

Thank you so much for the information. We have family in Tarpon so that's one of the main cities we were looking at, but it has been difficult finding a home with everything we want within our budget. In comparison, if we go out to Brandon, Riverview, Valrico... those areas we can get a LOT more house and property for our money. So, that's why I am so curious about the Bay area. We plan on getting a small boat, so although we really want beach access nearby, we aren't really ocean swimmers, more or less we just want to be on a boat or on the beach enjoying the view and weather. We are taking a couple trips out there, one in March and one in April, so we are hopefully going to narrow down the cities then, but I really appreciate any comments left here to help guide us during this transition!

stephalina6, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2015

I've lived in Pinellas County my whole life and can say Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, and Safety Harbor are lovely places to visit for the day and live! I noticed you did not have Seminole listed ... not sure why but check it out if you haven't. :)