Saint Petersburg : Florida

St. Petersburg is one of 3 closely related cities on Florida's Tampa Bay.  The other 2 are Clearwater and Tampa (the largest and most urban of the 3).  St. Pete has been a classic retirement and tourist destination since the 1920's because of its winter warmth, great beaches, and ideal location on a peninsula in Tampa Bay.  One of the prime shopping areas is Baywalk, and there is also the Central Business District (home to wikipedia.org).  There are at least 3 colleges in St. Pete - University of Florida St. Pete, St. Petersburg College, and Eckerd College (located on the waterfront on one of the most beautiful campus settings in the world). Whereas Tampa is more urban and Clearwater a bit more suburban, St. Pete offers a happy compromise in a very livable city. Many people agree that St. Pete has one of the nicest and most vital downtowns in Florida. St. Pete, with almost 300,000 people, is the 4th largest city in the state.

Watch this short Youtube video prepared by St.Pete.org:

Here is the Topretirements Mini-Retirement Guide to Florida

St. Pete, aka "The Sunshine City", has many interesting and historic neighborhoods. Some of those include Grand Central, historic Kenwood, Old Northeast, and Roser Park. Many of these desirable neighborhoods and are near the water. There are many active adult communities in St. Pete (see link at left).  . The real estate market has been hot, more than doubling since 2014. Zillow reports the median home value in St. Pete to be $290,858 in mid- 2021, a 31.4% increase over the past year. The National Association of Realtors pegs the median sale price to be $321,000 in the Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater area during the 2nd quarter of 2021. Home insurance in this coastal city can be high, with most new homeowners forced into a state pool.

People looking to retire in a low-key Florida city with a lot to do will like St. Petersburg. It is particularly nice for beach and water lovers. The average age in St. Pete is 41.