Questions about St. Pete (Thanks for your time!) (Tampa, St. Petersburg: high crime, home)

[darwinspal]

Hi! I'm considering a move to St. Pete.

1) Is it possible to live there w/o a car?

2) Good neighborhoods? Bad neighborhoods? Absolute stay-away-from neighborhoods?

3) Realistic time it takes to get to the beach?

4) Is there any charm to the town, or is it all strip malls, etc.?

5) What do YOU like and dislike about St. Pete?

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated -- whatever you feel might be relevant. Thanks so much, Internet friends!

-- John

[kyle19125]

My answers in red...

1) Is it possible to live there w/o a car?
Yes, but nowhere near ideal. A few areas that come to mind that would be manageable are: Downtown/Old Northeast, Kenwood/Grand Central or around Allendale/Five Points (the 4th Street North corridor between 30th and 38th, and from 1st North over to around 7th North).

2) Good neighborhoods? Bad neighborhoods? Absolute stay-away-from neighborhoods?
Good: Most anything north of 5th Ave South Bad: Most anything south with the exception of Roser Park, Old Southeast, Tropical Shores, Bahama Shores, Pinellas Point, Lakewood and Maximo.

3) Realistic time it takes to get to the beach?
Depends upon where you are, it's a large city. Worst case scenario would probably be around 30 minutes, with an average of around 15 minutes.

4) Is there any charm to the town, or is it all strip malls, etc.?
There is considerable charm to the city and why it's often the favorite of native Floridians. By comparison I would say there's much fewer strip malls than most cities in FL due to the fact much of St Pete was already built out before they became so widespread.

5) What do YOU like and dislike about St. Pete?
I like it's architecture, arts/cultural offerings, food scene, outdoor liivng vibe and it's natural setting with downtown fronting on Tampa Bay as well as locals I find among the friendliest in FL. I dislike the ghetto areas which are sizable but avoidable given they're segmented off from the rest pretty definitively.

[Marysa Butzke]

Wow, the OP has asked about towns in Barbados to Ocean Springs MISSISSIPPI.


Good Grief!


Madison, Homewood AL, Asheville, oh my, I guess you have no clue where you would like to move to next !

[kab0906]

Originally Posted by darwinspal

Hi! I'm considering a move to St. Pete.

1) Is it possible to live there w/o a car?

2) Good neighborhoods? Bad neighborhoods? Absolute stay-away-from neighborhoods?

3) Realistic time it takes to get to the beach?

4) Is there any charm to the town, or is it all strip malls, etc.?

5) What do YOU like and dislike about St. Pete?

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated -- whatever you feel might be relevant. Thanks so much, Internet friends!

-- John

1: Not really. There are busses and they do run frequently, but it would be challenging .

2: That'll depend on budget. Frankly I would not live below central Ave. Also be aware of flood zones.

3: That'll depend on where you live and how you're going to get there. A drive from the east part to the gulf beaches can be up to an hour depending on traffic.

4: Sure, old northeast, stuff along central Ave leap to mind.

5: When I lived there I was pretty happy. Traffic can be hard at commute times. I would say the downtown was more for the club going crowd whereas the neighborhoods were more for the raising kids crowd.

[gypsychic]

Anyplace in St. Pete that is nice enough to live without a car will be outrageously expensive. I love SP and it has a lot of beauty and charming neighborhoods, but a lot is very run down also. Pinellas is a very congested county, it's a peninsula after all and is pretty much completely built out.

[sky view trail]

I was born & raised in St. Pete., on the south side of town, no way I'd even venture down there now. Anything east of 49th street south or south of 9th avenue north, no thanks....seeing what has become of the old home town (in many parts) is sad. I'll be looking to buy a second home in the far northern part of the county.

The area out towards the beaches is good, South Pasadena, western part of Gulfport, anything west of 49th street south is fine...I just spent 7 years in South Pasadena & no way would I go down 22nd avenue south to even get to the freeway....sorry but that's the way I see it realistically.

As for not having a car, practically impossible, unless you've got tons of $ and can live right downtown & even that won't get you anywhere near the beaches without making a major day trip.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer but it breaks my heart to see what's become of much of the old hometown. Downtown (I was born at Mound Park) to me is like another planet anymore....such a beautiful city it once was....

Old Northeast is a great area, our great grandfather came in 1920 & built a gorgeous home there on Walnut Street NE, now a show place...the architecture in that part of the town is still intact, the flavor, the character, just costs a lot of $ to live there anymore. Old Pasadena is also lovely, along Park Street north....the area around Boca Ciega Bay always gonna be lovely.

If I were going to live anywhere in St. Pete. now, (that's affordable) it's be the far NE area, 4th street north & north of 38th avenue...

Good luck, that's my 2 cents, worth about 2 cents I'd say....

[J.Gatsby]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

My answers in red...

1) Is it possible to live there w/o a car?
Yes, but nowhere near ideal. A few areas that come to mind that would be manageable are: Downtown/Old Northeast, Kenwood/Grand Central or around Allendale/Five Points (the 4th Street North corridor between 30th and 38th, and from 1st North over to around 7th North).

2) Good neighborhoods? Bad neighborhoods? Absolute stay-away-from neighborhoods?
Good: Most anything north of 5th Ave South Bad: Most anything south with the exception of Roser Park, Old Southeast, Tropical Shores, Bahama Shores, Pinellas Point, Lakewood and Maximo.

3) Realistic time it takes to get to the beach?
Depends upon where you are, it's a large city. Worst case scenario would probably be around 30 minutes, with an average of around 15 minutes.

4) Is there any charm to the town, or is it all strip malls, etc.?
There is considerable charm to the city and why it's often the favorite of native Floridians. By comparison I would say there's much fewer strip malls than most cities in FL due to the fact much of St Pete was already built out before they became so widespread.

5) What do YOU like and dislike about St. Pete?
I like it's architecture, arts/cultural offerings, food scene, outdoor liivng vibe and it's natural setting with downtown fronting on Tampa Bay as well as locals I find among the friendliest in FL. I dislike the ghetto areas which are sizable but avoidable given they're segmented off from the rest pretty definitively.

I agree with everything Kyle said.

1. If you live in downtown you could get by without a car if you don’t mind walking to get groceries. You’ll need a car to get to a Wal-Mart or Target, but I suppose you could use Uber.

2. Old Northeast, Snell Isle, Euclid Heights, Creacent Heights, Kenwood and downtown are all great. You generally want to avoid going south of Central Ave, downtown being an exception along with a few other neighborhoods already mentioned.

3. Technically there are a couple beaches right around downtown, but it’s about 15 minutes to gulf beaches.

4. Definitely, the historic parts of town, the murals, and the waterfront are all very charming. St. Pete is much better than most cities in this respect.

5. Like: The charm, walkability, waterfront, the liveliness of downtown, proximity to the beach, distance from the rest of FL (you’re separated by about 7 miles of water), borderline tropical climate.

Dislike: Schools aren’t very good, professional opportunities are limited compared to Tampa.

[Marysa Butzke]

I lived around 4th st north and around Roosevelt several years ago - now it's okay but still wouldn't live in SP - lived in PY&CC near Stetson/Pasadena but wouldn't live anywhere in Pinellas, except BelleAir or where I also lived at Island Estates off 60

[bostonguy1960]

Wow, despite all of the hoopla (the new pier) I've read about recently and in the past decade or so about St. Pete, it's a bit sobering and disappointing to now read here some of the persistent negatives.

Also, is it okay to call it "St Pete" by the locals, or that's a marketing and/or newcomers type of thing?

Seems the good parts are fun and desirable, but a good chunk of the city is still considered undesirable and off limits to the more prosperous and/or educated crowd? Never been, but have wanted to check it out.

Driving Uber last year here in Boston, I met a young white couple who raved about St. Petersburg. Can't recall if one or both are from there, but it piqued my curiosity even more.

Maybe it's a bit like Chicago in that the desirable areas are great -- but there are too many undesirable pockets or even swaths that the locals in the "cool" areas never would venture into? Am I correct in a way?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Wow, despite all of the hoopla (the new pier) I've read about recently and in the past decade or so about St. Pete, it's a bit sobering and disappointing to now read here some of the persistent negatives.

Also, is it okay to call it "St Pete" by the locals, or that's a marketing and/or newcomers type of thing?

Seems the good parts are fun and desirable, but a good chunk of the city is still considered undesirable and off limits to the more prosperous and/or educated crowd? Never been, but have wanted to check it out.

Driving Uber last year here in Boston, I met a young white couple who raved about St. Petersburg. Can't recall if one or both are from there, but it piqued my curiosity even more.

Maybe it's a bit like Chicago in that the desirable areas are great -- but there are too many undesirable pockets or even swaths that the locals in the "cool" areas never would venture into? Am I correct in a way?

The persisitent negatives involve poor black neighborhoods with high crime, which is a consistent issue with any city above 150K-200K population....especially in the South. There is a generalization that anything south of Central Avenue is undesirable. That's not only inaccurate, but demonstrates an unfamiliarity with the city that indicates much of said person's opinion about St Pete (that's ok with locals by the way) is originating from the wrong end of the body. St Pete has been hot for revitalization and development the past 10-15 years, and there's a reason for that.