Best Place to Live
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1/8/2008
I grew up in St. Pete and after joining the military and doing so much travel I've come to the conclusion that it is in fact the best place to live. There is a diversity in people and lifestyles with a wide cultural variety. St. Pete holds a lot of traditions and there are always things to do for free such as concerts downtown, going to the beach, nature trails, and wine tastings. There are so many great places to eat; Fresh express (who would have thought to make a fast food health food place), Mazzaros (best desserts and Italian market), Kristina's Cafe, and Westshore Pizza. Hurricane season may put a damper on your day but hey, we do need rain and St. Pete is on high elevation, except Snell Isle, so flooding is minimal. The weather is hot but it's nice when you spend a day at the beach. For the most part people keep to themselves and mind their own buisness. The schools are very good with the exception of a few such as Lakewood high, Dixie Hollands, and Northeast high, however Gibbs, Boca Ciega, and St. Petersburg High are all great schools. I personally graduated from St. Pete High and I loved the history, tradition, and diversity. There were so many after school activities to choose from and the staff always found ways to make learning interesting and did a wonderful job preparing us for college. Right now the housing market isn't so good. Costs of houses are down but property tax is up. It should be slowing down in the next couple of years though. Crime is a problem in certain areas but the good news is that most of the crimes are not violent crimes. St.Pete has a fairly low violent crime rate compared to many other places but you can avoid it mostly by avoiding bad areas. If you have pets you can always take them to one of the numerous dog parks for socialization. Fort Desoto has a great dog park and dog beach. Honestly I can't think of a better place to live.
aymee | St. Petersburg, FL