The Nest

We are moving to Tampa in a couple months and as a result I've done a lot of research. Here are some sites that helped me prepare for our relocation and to get a better understanding of the Tampa Bay area:

www.city-data.com - Look at the Florida forum and click on Tampa Bay. Within that message board, do a search on Clearwater. There are quite a few folks that have the same questions about relocating and you can get some really good suggestions & information on the area.

THIS LINK is one to a pretty good map of Tampa Bay and the neighborhoods, including those in Pinellas County.

THIS LINK is one that provides a generally scheme of how close common conveniences are to potential addresses you are looking to relocate to (which is helpful if you prefer to be within walking distance to things).

THIS LINK is one that provides you a general overview and demographics of a specific zipcode.

THIS LINK is one that provides some statistics on crime levels within a specific address you type in. This is great for the sake of safety.

Also, since Clearwater is in PINELLAS COUNTY, you may want to do a Google search on that and the county neighborhoods/communities there. Most realtor sites offer area guides in their websites so that is also another helpful place to look.

HTH and since your plans to relocate are within a year, you have plenty of time to research!

Depends on what you are looking for...

Let us know what you are looking for in a neighborhood.  Kid friendly, suburban neighborhood, walking area, beach...etc...

My favorite areas are below and ones i would consider living in...

• Clearwater in general is a good area most areas are safe and very nice (there is one rough area a little north and south of downtown - greenwood is the area). - I currently live in Downtown Clearwater...it is up and coming...but far from coming as we do not have the best restaurants yet...but the city is working hard to get them to come in...Scientologists have scared off a lot of the business in the past years.  But they really don't bother anyone and keep to themselves.
• Countryside/Palm Harbor/East Lake areas are nice kid friendly/suburban type neighborhoods.  More wealthy feeling but far from most things and the beaches (other than Honeymoon Island - which is one of my favorite beaches).
• Dunedin is nice - especially downtown...also city butts up to the water they have a marina.  Downtown is great lots of bars/nightclubs and restaurants.  Pinellas Trail goes right thru the downtown district
  
• Safety Harbor nice neighborhood but many deed restricted- town is on the Tampa Bay side of the county...Phillippe Park is a great place to be near or their downtown.  Saftey Harbor Resort and Spa is a great place to visit in this town!!! neighborhoods (im not into this type of neighborhood)
• All beach cities along the coast (St. Pete Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Redington Beach etc...) are very nice of course and expensive.
  
• Northeast St. Pete/Downtown St. Pete (including Historic Kenwood, Old Northeast) - This is our ideal area...as most places we go to is near this area.  Also DwnTwn St. Pete is great restos, bars, museums etc...
  
• Belleair Bluffs are nice (west of Ft. Harrison).

 
I wouldn't live in Largo, Pinellas Park Western St. Pete (Kenneth City) or South St. Pete (other than Tierre Verde) but that is just me...some people live there and love it.

That pretty much sums up Pinellas County.


 

Forgot about Seminole...

I grew up in this area and is very nice community, kid friendly nice schools and still close to St. Pete and Clearwater.  Also one of the closest areas to the Beaches!

similar to Countyside/Palm Harbor area when it comes to income levels and feel

I should give some more info now, as I just thought of it!

 We'll be working in Pasco County, so we can't live in St. Pete or places down there because it's too far to drive every day!  lol

 We do LOVE the city (I've always lived in a city and I like being connected), so if there is any particular city in Pinellas County that is also somewhat kid-friendly that would be a huge plus!  I do also love the beach, so that would be nice too....I think I could go with either the city or near the beach, but I don't really like the suburbs.  I do know that Florida is a little different when it comes to suburbs than other areas of the country, so maybe a well connected suburb would be fine for me.  Like with playgrounds and sidewalks, etc!

Thanks for the help so far!

Pasco County

OK yes drive would be a bit far for St. Pete and Southern Cities.

I'd say Palm Harbor/East Lake or Tarpon Springs would be best for you since they are the closest and very nice cities.

Our cities flow into each other you really don't know you are in another city until you are almost into another city ;-)  It is very different than northern cities...

I wouldn't live in Pasco County but I have heard great things about the Trinity area.

 

Countryside, 33761

Just north of Countryside Mall.

But truly, you can get a house half the price if you go across the line into Pasco County, and those neighborhoods that have sprung up just over the Pasco County line like Trinity are beautiful.  My friend moved up there and has a house the same size as an NBA star has near me, and my friend paid about 40% of the price because it was just over the Pasco line.  Also the property tax is WAY lower in Pasco...