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Moving to Tampa/St Pete area please help

9K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  Cloud7 
#1 ·
Hey guys. This question is for anyone that lives in the Tampa, St Pete and Clearwater area. I have lived my entire in Nashville and while I have been to Florida many times I have never been to the Tampa area. Next week I am coming down to visit a company for a job transfer. While I am excited about the possibility of a move I really know very little about this area (except sport teams). My office will be in Tampa but I have told that St Pete and Clearwater are the better places to live although the drive can be a little busy during rush hour. I just need as many suggestions as possible, things to do, basic cost of living, what areas are more dangerous than others, shopping and anything else that can be helpful for me. Thanks for any help. On a side note I have 2tickets for the Rays game next Tuesday anyone that would like to join me I can meet you at the Trop.
 
#4 ·
^^ if your working downtown I would really suggest you look at three basic places the commute from St Pete won't be fun (but if you don't care it has some good neighborhoods like downtown, kenwood, a few others. Unless your looking to live next to the beach, not much reason for Clearwater IMHO. I would suggest Tampa really:

- Downtown/Tampa Channelside: Cutting down your commute & lots of new places to live. Downtown is picking up and these days there something going on every weekend.

- South Tampa Soho: It's 10 min drive to downtown and is probably the most walk able and best options for food, going out, groceries, etc.

- Seminole Heights: Cheaper than the other two and is our "hip" neighborhood. It's just north of downtown and if you stick to surface streets the commute won't be longer than 15 min max (even in the northern most part). It's got our coolest restaurants, bars, and shops.

If your looking for cheap and simple commute downtown (though I would never te come d l ing here myself but to each their own) Brandon has some good places near the Selmon exPressway keeping the commute down to 10 min and near basic suburban malls and the like.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The short version: the more desirable the area is, the worse the traffic will be. Any time estimate Google pops out, quadruple it to get an idea of how long your commute will be on a bad day.

The long version:

During both rush hours, I-4 backs up near I-275 westbound and around I-75 eastbound. I-275 backs up eastbound around the Tampa end of the Howard Frankland Bridge and around downtown in both directions. Gandy Bridge backs up around the Tampa end. The Courtney Campbell Causeway is either smooth or a nightmare. Practically every east-west road to the west of Dale Mabry Hwy (Town 'n' Country/Westchase) or east of I-75 (Brandon/Mango/Seffner) is horrendous right now. The Veterans is always bad in peak direction during rush hour. To hell with traffic anywhere near the airport, especially Westshore. Northdale, Citrus Park and Carrollwood are nice, but a pain to get around. New Tampa traffic is much better now, but Tampa Palms and anything in Pasco County is still some of the worst. With the exception of Temple Terrace (where I live), most of the area not affected by the east-west snarl (between I-75 and I-275) is low income. Long story short, unless you like sitting in your car for hours Los Angeles style, avoid the St Pete/Clearwater commute.

If you're working downtown, try to live close to downtown (Downtown, Bayshore, or Hyde Park/South Howard, if you've got the $$$), close to the ends of the Selmon Expressway in South Westshore/Brandon/Riverview (something more affordable) or Temple Terrace (middle to low end). As mentioned, West Tampa, North Howard and Seminole Heights (old areas around downtown) are slowly becoming gentrified, presenting another option - but the keyword is "becoming" on that one, it's not quite there yet. If you want a bit of country bumpkin and don't mind a drive, there's a housing boom in progress along US41 through Gibsonton, Apollo Beach and Ruskin - caveat emptor, as the roads down there haven't been expanded yet and could become the next traffic snarl, plus there's plenty of freight train traffic along local roads and practically no public transit.

Transit can be a bear to use with HART and PSTA system funding being the way it is right now - if you intend on making use of transit, do your homework in advance.

Avoid living near any road that is 6+ lanes wide, as they will usually make your life miserable 7 days a week. This goes for any part of the Bay Area - our drivers are aggressive/bad, which will cause you to have many close calls/accidents if you aren't giving other drivers enough room to do something stupid. In other words, if you weren't a good defensive driver before moving to Tampa Bay, you will be by the time you leave.

Oh, and people forget how to drive when it rains.
 
#7 ·
The answer is simple. Live in South Tampa (if you can afford it). South Tampa is generally defined as South of Kennedy Blvd, East of Downtown, West of Tampa Bay, and North of Gandy Boulevard. Great neighborhoods. Very convenient. Close proximity to everything. Great schools. Once you live in South Tampa, you don't want to live anywhere else!
 
#8 ·
If you're an apartment complex type renter... Rents in Brandon are a ripoff in my experience. Better off renting in S Tampa or Westshore for not much more. If that's too stiff, I would look at apartments along the Himes-Dale Mabry corridor. There are tons of them.

If the job is downtown, I personally wouldn't live west of the airport. (I mention this, because there is another concentration of apartment complexes out that way, especially along Hillsborough Ave) All of the roads around the airport are daily clusterfucks, and ones to the west will soon be getting worse with the Veterans widening affecting traffic patterns.
 
#9 · (Edited)
If you're an apartment complex type renter... Rents in Brandon are a ripoff in my experience. Better off renting in S Tampa or Westshore for not much more. If that's too stiff, I would look at apartments along the Himes-Dale Mabry corridor. There are tons of them.
I'll second this. There is some really nice rental stuff for the price in Egypt Lake (Himes Ave, between Hillsborough Ave and Busch Blvd), though that area has bad traffic problems and less amenities than other parts of the city. Definitely research before renting anywhere in this region. The newer complexes do tend to have inflated rents, especially the stuff in Brandon around US301/Falkenburg Rd/Bloomingdale Ave. With the Crosstown being as desirable as it is, plus the close proximity of practically every retail and dining option you could ever want around Brandon Town Center, they usually charge the same rates as SoHo/South Tampa.

There are also plenty of apartments around East Lake/Orient Park (near the fairgrounds, MLK/Hillsborough/I-4/I-75), but I'd avoid those: the area isn't the best. Same with anything to the west of USF and south of New Tampa - "University" is one of the worst areas in the city, you don't want to live there. East of USF/Temple Terrace is low crime, as long as you don't get into the "Fishbowl" (south of the Hillsborough River, around Sligh Ave and 50th St, another bad area). You can also add Palm River, Clair Mel and Progress Village (south of SR 60/Adamo Dr, between US41/50th St and US301) to the list of less desirable areas.

But really, if you want to enjoy all Tampa has to offer without having to waste time drive everywhere, stick with Downtown/South Tampa/Westshore. There's something to be said about enjoying all that Tampa has to offer without being permanently tethered to your car. The areas outside of Tampa city limits, including New Tampa, feature some of the worst examples of suburban sprawl you can come up with.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Forest Hills/East Carrollwood (west of Florida, north of Busch, East of Dale Mabry, South of Bearss) is great because it's centrally located and there are a lot of options for getting downtown and all other areas in Tampa. This area is generally quiet, safe and peaceful. However, if you can afford it and want an urban experience, go for South Tampa.

On a side note, If you want to feel some semblance to Home, take a drive around Clermont west of Orlando.
 
#11 ·
If you can get into the Georgian in Hyde Park, I recommend it. Its a great old building with lots of character and you can walk throughout Hyde Park and down to Bayshore. My wife and I lived there for two years and loved it.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the info. I have been down here since Tuesday and really love it. We are staying at Treasure Island have loved it. My office is actually not downtown it is more on the North Side. I have been told by everyone that crossing over the bay can be a nightmare but coming from Tennessee all my life I can't see being this close and not living walking distance from the beach. Still not sure where I will live but still have a week to look and decide. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I have been told by everyone that crossing over the bay can be a nightmare but coming from Tennessee all my life I can't see being this close and not living walking distance from the beach. Still not sure where I will live but still have a week to look and decide. Thanks for all the suggestions.
I get what you are saying about living near the beach. Having lived in Tampa all my life it is great to be so close.

That said, with the ongoing construction on I-275 through DT Tampa and parts north of DT it is a nightmare to go that way during traffic periods. Just yesterday I was going into St. Pete by way of Dale Mabry to I-275 and across the bridge....going west was fine. However, the traffic going into Hillsborough County was backed up all the way to Feather Sound on the other side of the bridge. That is near gridlock of over 13 miles; it was just barely moving.

So, if you plan on tackling the Howard Frankland bridge 5 days a week I would advise you to get a early start.

But again, living near the beach (and TI is a fun beach area with Madeira Beach right there and plenty to eat, etc.) has definite perks on the weekend and in the evenings. As a side note, John's Pass in Madeira Beach is going to have the new Secrets of the Sea Aquarium in November when the Pier Aquarium moves over there from St. Pete.
 
#14 ·
Dunedin would be a great option. Somewhat of a small beach town feel, with a Scottish flare to it. Clearwater Beach to the south, Honeymoon Beach and Caladesi Island to the north. Main Street is always active and has good bunch of restaurants... and no it's not all Haggis and Steak Pies :lol: And if physically active, you have the Pinellas Trail and Edgewater Linear Park/Trail.
 
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