Recommendations for St Pete, please (Tampa, St. Petersburg: appointed, apartment complexes, home)

[martinigal97]

Hi, all-
I just booked my trip for Tampa!!! I'll be in your city in 24 days!!!! Wooohoooo!!!! I'm coming down to check it to see if it is a future home for me. I know the general areas I want to check out (Hyde Park, SoHo, Channelside) based on some postings/recommendations here. (Thank you.)
I was thinking about driving over to St Pete to see if that area might also be a good fit for me, but don't know anything about the area and haven't see as much detail written about it. I would appreciate any help you guys and gals could offer. (Street names would be a huge plus!)
I'm looking for someplace kind of laidback, yet fun, and somewhat walkable. I'm in my 30s and single with no kids. Commute shouldn't (hopefully) be a big worry for me.

Thanks in advance!

[niceguy19125]

Hey there, I guess I'll jump in since you're not getting any responses. It's not you, just an overall weirdness of not responding to single people moving to the area on this board. If you were married with kids you'd have multiple responses by now. I know firsthand as I'm moving to the area later this year. It's a friendly area, just for whatever reason few residents of the areas we're looking in (who happen to be single) use this website.

St Pete from what I've gathered through visits and reading feedback from others is more of a laidback and walkable area, particularly the more historic neighborhoods like Old Northeast, Downtown, Kenwood and Euclid/St Paul's. St Pete has a nice redeveloped downtown area that is filled with restaurants, shops, museums, galleries and The Pier. The Pinellas Trail originates (or ends if you will) in downtown St Pete. Its proximity to the beaches is to me more attractive than having to cross a bridge first. It would make you think twice about going I think, which could be kind of a bummer if you're moving here for more of a Florida lifestyle.

Here are some neighborhood breakdowns:

Old Northeast is south of 22nd St NE, east of 4th Street North, north of 9th Avenue North and west of
Beach Drive NE.

Kenwood is south of 5th Avenue North, east of 34th Street South, west of around 25th Street North and north of Central Avenue. Kenwood is just west of the Downtown neighborhood across I-275.

Euclid/St Paul's is east of I-275, south of 22nd Avenue North, west of MLK Street North, and north of
11th Avenue North. It's just west of Old Northeast.

Downtown is a long, narrow stretch between 4th Avenue North and 5th Avenue South, east of 4th Street North and west of Tampa Bay.

Downtown St. Petersburg Guide/Map
Home - StPetePier.com
St. Petersburg Music and Nightlife : St. Petersburg Bars and Clubs
Pinellas Trails inc


If you have more questions, fire away! Good luck!

[nucat78]

I disagree, NG, re: answers for singles versus marrieds. These questions are asked over and over and over again and I believe the regular posters don't want to repeat themselves.

I'd wager that if one did a forum search they'd find dozens of threads on schools, crime, traffic, costs, etc. I'd also guess that most new posters do't know about the search function though so maybe there ought to be a sticky with links.

Or maybe I'm just cranky this morning...

[martinigal97]

Thanks, niceguy -

I appreciate the info on St Pete. I haven't been able to find any until now! There is lots on Tampa. Like I said in my post, I'm coming to town shortly and I want to check out the area and was completely lost when it came to St Pete area.

Thanks, again.

[AGuarino85]

All of the areas that niceguy mentioned are very nice. If you are looking for an apartment, I would suggest any of the apartment complexes around Gandy/4th Street area. The area is pretty safe and most of the apartment complexes offer a decent price for nice ammenities.

While you are visiting I would recommend going downtown and checking out the Pier and Baywalk. There are some great restaurants downtown as well as the Saturday Morning Market, if you are into that type of thing. If you are here the first Friday of the month, there is "First Friday" which is a great time to experience all of the bars downtown.

[smulhern]

I actually disagree with AG when it comes to apartment complexes around 4th/Gandy. There's nothing around there, it's very boring. Unless you like to drive every single place you go and not be within walking distance to anything then yes, that area might be for you. The amenities they offer (pool, fitness room) are nice, and the area is safe, but there are far nicer areas that you can live than there. That was the first area I moved and I was very disappointed and wished someone had told me more about it before I got an apartment there (I was from the North so I read websites like this). However, everyone is different.

[chi_tino]

If you spend time in Tampa and in St Pete, though, there is no more convenient location than 4th/Gandy. You are 15 minutes from either downtown.

If you don't have a car and expect to walk everywhere, you are in the wrong metro area completely.