St.Pete? (renting, living, cost of living)

[tarheel guy]

Originally Posted by sunynan

I HAVE to ask........ why would you leave North Carolina for Florida???
Charlotte is (from what I have read) the next place to live....the airport is a new hub (forget Atlanta) and there are so many businesses with home offices there. I DID hear they get bad ice storms in the winter however.

Are taxes better for you in North Carolina or Florida? What about for retired folks??

I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but Charlotte is not all it's cracked up
to be. Traffic is horrible basically all hours of the day. According to Sperling's
info., Violent crime is rated 8 out of 10 and property crime is 7. Downtown is
nice, but not what I would say colorful. It really lacks character. Most buildings are brand new therefore it kind of has a plastic feel to it. I have
read NC posts on this forum from out of staters using the phrase, "Plain Vanilla". I think that very accurately describes the area. For the most part,
If you love traffic, crime, suburbs, and endless chain businesses, Charlotte is for you. True that cost of living is reasonable. We have 2200 sf and pay about 700 yr for Homeownwers Ins. and 2800 in Taxes. Gasoline is generally
the highest in the southeast, except Atlanta. Schools are not great and
very overcrowded. A brand new elementary school opened this school
year just down the street and and they had to place 12 mobile trailers
on the lot to handle the overflow of kids. Thats how fast the projected
enrollment grew in the 1 1/2 years it took to build the school. People are flooding into NC and just like Florida, the builders are building as fast as they
can. We have lived in NC for 20 years and I can say the last 3 have seen nearly 5000 new homes with a 5 mile radius of us. Charlotte and the surrounding area is a hot area to move to, but be prepared to share this area
with 1.5 million people.

[SunKrist]

I think that St. Petersburg is going to be a really good fit for what you are looking for. There are a lot of condos across the whole city, but mostly near the water, and I think you could find something very comfortable for your budget. They are building several new complexes in downtown. Also, there are properties for rent in the areas surrounding downtown. As someone else mentioned, the Crescent Lake area, Old Northeast, Northeast, Northeast islands, etc. If you don't mind driving a bit there are areas on the South side, towards Ft. DeSoto beach, which have developed quite nicely, and are also packed with condos.

There are also a lot of non-chain restaurants in downtown, and while I'm not absolutely sure, I would think that you would be able to find a good job at one of them. Or, if you are willing to take a non-restaurant management position, I'm sure you will have no problem there.

Good luck.

-Kristina

PS: They call St. Petersburg "The Sunshine City."

[flyingdogaleman]

we too are looking to move to the tampa area from charlotte nc next year. doing all the research now. and your comments on charlotte are spot-on. the only advantage is cheaper ($100/sq ft) housing. the difference in nc taxing EVERYTING available and the higher insurance costs in FL are a wash, imho. in fact i found a cost of living calculator and tampa is cheaper than charlotte

[SunKrist]

Originally Posted by flyingdogaleman

we too are looking to move to the tampa area from charlotte nc next year. doing all the research now. and your comments on charlotte are spot-on. the only advantage is cheaper ($100/sq ft) housing. the difference in nc taxing EVERYTING available and the higher insurance costs in FL are a wash, imho. in fact i found a cost of living calculator and tampa is cheaper than charlotte

That's not surprising. Some friends of mine were really considering moving to NC, but it just became too expensive, and would be to no advantage. They eventually settled on TN, and bought 15 acres for much less than in NC.

[JamieSchaefer]

I love St Pete!

Jamie

[Floridasunshine]

ARe you working there. Why would you choose St Pete? It is very expensive to buy and rent over there now.

[RockerRyan]

Hey all! Im currently living in New Jersey and finishing up college. In the summer of 2008, I'd love to move to Florida somewhere right near the beach. I'll be 21 years old and I'm looking for an area that has a lot of people around my age. If this coincides with anywhere with cheap apartments, its perfect. Does St. Pete sound like the right place to go?

[branson205]

My husband & I are planning to relocate to Florida at the end of this year. After reading over all your comments, St. Pete sounds like it might be the place for us. We are in our early 30's, no children. Looking for a mid-size, mid-class community that has everything close by (beaches, shopping, dining, etc), but without the craziness of a huge city (like Chicago for one). We current live in East-Central Illinois in a college town community of about 100,000 people! We enjoy the size & variety here, but hate winter! My sister lives in Pembroke Pines down south. But don't think we would be happy down around there with cost of living & everything! What do you think...could St. Pete be for us too?

[SunKrist]

Originally Posted by branson205

My husband & I are planning to relocate to Florida at the end of this year. After reading over all your comments, St. Pete sounds like it might be the place for us. We are in our early 30's, no children. Looking for a mid-size, mid-class community that has everything close by (beaches, shopping, dining, etc), but without the craziness of a huge city (like Chicago for one). We current live in East-Central Illinois in a college town community of about 100,000 people! We enjoy the size & variety here, but hate winter! My sister lives in Pembroke Pines down south. But don't think we would be happy down around there with cost of living & everything! What do you think...could St. Pete be for us too?

That sounds about right to me. While some parts of Pinellas County can be busy traffic-wise, all of the areas within St. Petersburg city limits are pretty much calm comparatively. And there are many places to shop and eat (non-chain restaurants), and the beaches are nice (especially Ft. DeSoto).

I don't know what your budget is, but you should be prepared to spend at least $250,000 for an average home. Also, I don't know if it's an option for you, there are many condos here, especially the closer you get to the water.

The main concern I would have is if you and your husband ever do decide to have kids, you may want to think hard about whether you are willing to put them through the public school system here. Most of the people I have talked to who have moved out of this area to another state have said that their kids were behind those in the new area and needed to catch up, but once they were at the same level as the other kids, they had no problem.

Good luck with your plans.

[TAMPABAYGURL84]

I just relocated to St. Pete from Charlotte about 6 months ago to finish my undergrad studies. The people in St. Pete are much friendlier. The nightlife is very vibrant. Easy access to Gulf Beaches, outdoor activities, shopping, nightlife and great restaurants. Currently I live on the southside, 43rd Street S & 53rd Ave S, near Eckerd College. I love this area. It is close to Ft. Desoto Beach (#1 beach in America for numerous years) and has easy access to 1-275. Before moving on this side of town I was near Tyrone Mall, Jungle Terrace area. This is a nice area too. Lots of condos and townhomes are going up in the downtown area as well, which are very affordable. One thing to note is a lot of the homes, apts and condos are older unlike in Charlotte where everything is newer. Many apts in St. Pete have been remodeled and converted into condos. I'm sure you will find something to you all will find something very suitable in your price range. Like the previous post said you can make it on $60,000 if you are conservative. I make it on about $26,000. (single w/no children) I am very pleased with St. Pete and love living here thus far. However, I am looking to relocate to Tampa once I graduate (May 07). You all will enjoy it here. Good Luck!!