Where to Live Near the BEACH in Tampa Bay, Florida | Top 5 Best Beach Towns You Should Explore

from a great morning run to an incredible Gulf Sunset there is just something about the beach that can absolutely change the way that you live and in today's video we're going to talk about it and as a matter of fact this very Beach a little over five and a half years ago is the reason that my wife Kate and I decided to pack up our family of five sell almost everything we own and travel 12200 mil South here to the Tampa Bay area and have been loving it ever since if we've never met before my name is Juan alala I make videos that are all things Tampa Bay what it's like to live here what it's like to work here what it's like to play here in this beautiful beautiful sunshine state today I'm going to take you on a tour of five Beach communities here in the Tampa Bay area that have the potential to maybe Steal Your Heart like it did ours um in the hopes of giving you some idea of what it's like to live here on a day and day basis because people see this and they go okay that's vacation for a lot of people but how can we make that reality for us and that's a decision we were faced with as well but we had to go to work trying to figure that out and I got to be honest with you it is a very scary Endeavor but 5 and 1/2 years later turns out it was one of the best decisions as a matter of fact it was the best decision we ever decided to make and in today's video I'm going to share what it's like to live here in this incredible Tampa Bay Area all right so let's take you to one of America's most popular beaches first let's start in Clearwater Beach and this beach is no stranger to visitors has approximately 4 and2 million people who come and take advantage of what clear water has to offer it's been ranked as America's Best best beach along with a few others in the area we're going to talk about today as well so make sure you stay tuned for those but clearw Beach is known as a sun worshipper and Beach lovers destination I mean you've got everything from shopping and dining you've got the clear water aquarium right there uh just off the beach there are all kinds of things to plug into you can do a Sunset Cruise you can do a pirate Cruise if you want you can of course go Paras sailing you can rent jet skis uh you can just Lounge on the beach there are activities there as well there's a giant slide and like this bouncy house things for the kids it's awesome you go out on Pier 60 you know there'll be Pelicans hanging out there with you and the water is crystal clear and that's how this beach has gotten its name you know you will find great Wildlife out there from time to time as well you'll see manatees you may see um Rays out there it is a really really excellent time the beach itself is set up to take in a lot of people there there are volleyball courses a great walking path and of course all the dining and entertainment you could ever plug into and those are just a few things to name when you're living on the beach that may not be the only reason you want to live in Clear Water Beach you know maybe you're someone who wants something a little bit more laidback if you go up to the North End of clear water there are residential areas up there with single family houses that you can plug into you know along with the um beachfront living condo living you know with all the amenities you could ever ask for as well now what does it cost to buy a home in clear Clear Water Beach well that's a different conversation the average single family home that is sold in Clearwater Beach over the last 30 days was a 2189 Square ft three bedroom two bath and it's sold at approximately $1.7 million that is a very large number and right now listings out there range anywhere from the 650,000 mark all the way up to 2.7 million and we've seen $40 million listings out there as well didn't sell for that number but you can see that out there too obviously this is a beautiful area to try to purchase a home now the average condo that sold was a two-bedroom two bath 1269 ft home and that'll set you back right about $ 1.35 million so again not a cheap Endeavor to live on the beach but just as many coastal areas are especially the highly desirable ones it's not going to be an inexpensive property if you're trying to live right on the Gulf of Mexico we're going to head about 20 mi South here to St Pete Beach which is another Beach that has been recognized as the number one beach in America which is awesome y'all we are spoiled rotten here and if you've never been to St Pete Beach before you're in for a treat because this area is incredible again white sugar sand beaches stunning gorgeous Beach the sunsets are unbelievable laid-back lifestyle people love coming to this area there is dining shopping Galore you can go down to the historic pass of Grill district there and there's all kinds of shop as a matter of fact our accounts there um you know and you've got everything you need you got great restaurants I mean I could go I could name them individually for days we have been eating up and down penel County for almost 6 years and I still haven't discovered everything there is to discover and um it is another area that just has so much to offer there are single family homes and condos just like we discussed before bars restaurants shops local shops that I'm I'm a huge fan of um one of the dog beaches is down in that area you can head down to passag grill and then the dog beach is there you can head over to Fort doto you've got a dog beach in Fort doto if that's important to you guys and then if you've never seen the donara hotel the the pink lady is just unbelievable this hotel is iconic man it's gorgeous and um go have dinner there uh stay when you come into town I absolutely recommend staying at the Donar but if you can't if that's not in your purview it doesn't fit your budget go have dinner you will not be disappointed now the next Beach on our list is the one where we started today and that is our home Beach none other than Indian Rocks and um this is one of my favorite places on the planet this beach is stole our heart this is the reason why we moved to Tampa Bay a little over 5 and 1 half years ago we thought for years we were going to live in the Jensen Beach Port St Lucy area my wife and I you know we had been traveling there for almost a decade her father has lived on the Atlantic coast um for for almost 25 years and we got married in hob sound you know hung out in Jensen Beach thought we might live in Stewart and when we stepped foot on Indian Rocks Beach it really changed our lives for yall like the sand and the white sugar sand and the sunset oh my God a golf a Golf Coast Sunset is like no other and it just it it captured us we had to have it after that we went to work trying to figure it out and the community is awesome in its own unique way you know when it comes to Clearwater Beach and St Pete Beach both of those beaches are very busy um they are visited by a lot of tourists and for some people they love being in the action but for Kate I and our family we were looking for something a little bit more laidback and Indian Rocks really gave us what we were looking for there's no public parking structure there which can be a little bit of a challenge from time to time but once you learn how to navigate the area it you recognize what a benefit it is because while we do get busy in season and and season for those of you who aren't aware that's when all of the snowb birds and the kids vacationing and spring break and all that stuff is happening and really it takes place from after the holidays to about Easter it gets busy the entire region grows you know people have second homes here they're vacationing here as you're aware and it it does drive a lot of traffic but for us we don't have a public parking structure and we don't have high-rise condo developments and or highrise uh hotels and it really keeps a lot of that pressure off all on Gulf Boulevard we only have a two-lane road there where you know areas like Clear Water St Pete Beach you know uh Readington Beach to the South there are four lanes and even a turn lane in some areas and of course there's going to be more traffic when you have that so it's not better or worse it's just different and for us we were we're looking for something a little bit more laidback old Florida kind of that doesn't really exist anymore so that's why I'm I'm sharing that but it is a slower Pace compared to those other two beaches um we've got great restaurants on the beach here one of my favorite places to go grab a a piece of pizza is sliced that's awesome if you've never been there before head over to anecdote Brewing I love their IRB IPA one of my all-time favorites if you're looking for a great cup of coffee or a a really good spot for pastries You' got um uh the The Grove uh Cafe that just opened that place is awesome I actually been going there about two or three times a week um they've got these wonderful P pastries and then if you go across the street you've got uh Cafe to Paris just a few more blocks north and that place is outstanding as well again excellent pastries they've even got great kich in there so I know I can go tangent on on restaurants and Indian Rocks but it's really laidback and we also have access to a Publix grocery store right around the corner um and it's just a really really good fit for people who want to just kind of hang right and and just be laidback and enjoy what the G Coast has to offer IND rocks is outstanding now if you're looking to pick up a single family home here in Indian Rocks Beach the average home that is sold over the last 30 days was a four-bedroom four bath 2400 Square ft and sold for approximately $1.5 million it's just a little bit less than that but buying Coastal real estate on the Gulf of Mexico it's not an inexpensive Endeavor so keep that in mind um but you can find things cheaper also the range right now is somewhere in that $750,000 Mark all the way up to about 2.25 can grow from there for sure we've had a $10 million sale there in Indian Rocks Beach but um you're going to be in that price range looking for a three-bedroom or a two-bedroom home you again you can find a four bedroom as well next we're going to head back south to Treasure Island this is another outstanding Beach it's you know really bookend between uh madira Beach and St Pete Beach it it's a really cool spot when you go down to the beach there they have a giant slide of tier ship a bouncy house they got stuff to keep the kids active this beach is a little bit deeper and I think it's really cool you've got a public parking spot easy to park there um there's a pay by app situation there so you do have to pay for your parking there's a clean bathroom which I love you can rent paddle boards there outstanding I love that also and then um as you walk out to the beach they've got like this blue walkway so um if someone is uh needs handicap assistance they can they can get out a little bit further say they have in a wheelchair or something like that just makes walking out that far a lot easier so it's a deeper Beach but again gives you a lot of access there you can rent you know chairs Cabanas paddle boards like I discussed before just behind it you've got a Publix's grocery store if you're not familiar with that again shops restaurants everything at your fingertips there and you're not far from John's Pass so like y'all there's so much to plug into when you're on the G Coast here again we got 272 miles of these gorgeous white sugar sand beaches and you really really have to kind of figure out which beach is your favorite you know some of them are really busy some of them aren't as busy um some of them offer different types of restaurants around it and different types of night life and that is super important to people you know the the surrounding communities directly behind um Treasure Island here you've got a lot of single family residents that gives you access to the inter Coastal Waterway which is important because if you're a boater you can get a boat slip and and have that opportunity you know you can do that in Indian Rocks Beach as well you can do that in Clear Water Beach and you can do that in St Pete Beach but there are more opportunities in Treasure Island than there are in Indian Rocks Beach to have a boat slip so these things kind you know if they're important to you make sure you're asking good questions depends on how big the boat is you know are you going to have a hoist in your backyard is the uh inter Coastal deep enough for your for your vessel lots of things that have to be answered so make sure you're asking great questions when you start digging in these communities but my recommendation is come into town live like a local man come you know what is it that's drawing down here what is it you're you're looking for exactly do you want to be right on the Gulf of Mexico you know are you looking for a condor or um a town home type of of living uh do you want to have access to St Pete you know how how important is that how close do you need to be to the airport you know and really here's another really cool thing most of our beaches are about 45 minutes away from Tampa International Airport which is outstanding we also have the uh Clearwater St Pete Airport which is uh the the airport code is pi P IE um Tampa TPA and that has flights you know allegion and Southwest flying and there there's definitely other uh Air airlines that fly in there too but that gets you much closer right from Indian Rocks Beach as an example or Clearwater Beach to Clearwater Airport there um you're talking about 20 minutes so it really just depends on what your lifestyle is and what you're trying to accomplish the next Beach on our list today is Siesta Key Beach another Beach that has been recognized as the number one beach in America I know you're like one how many number ones can they beat well they are awarded these on an annual basis just so you guys know so it wasn't all in the same year but this is a great award and CEST key deserves this it is absolutely one of the best beaches in this country it is most certainly one of the best beaches in all of Tampa Bay and Sarasota hands down um it is incredible the the type of Lifestyle here is amazing um luxury if you will uh it definitely has a different feel than clearw Beach and St Pete Beach you know it's about 45 or 50 minutes south there um you know from St Pete Beach but it's more I would say more residential it has that feel to it um it definitely has its Resorts and um they're beautiful and stunning to themselves but there's more single family homes that surround this beach than there are um clearw Beach most certainly and St Pete beaches as well and they're just kind of laid out different you've got um more canals here um uh more access to the Gulf of Mexico for those single family homes and those condos than you would in St Pete Beach or or a clear water uh again people will argue this but it's it's set up and it feels different and and again for me to clearly articulate that you really have to see it for your own eyes and feel it um again I'm not saying one is better than the other they're just different Lifestyles this one may be more appropriate for you I would consider this a little bit slower um during season though this is going to be a very busy beach again so keep that in mind it's great be Beach for shelling you know if you're into that you can find some beautiful shells down there you will always see incredible wildlife and birds I love this beach it's awesome the white sugar sand it keeps your feet from burning that was something I forgot to mention earlier but these beaches are great you don't ever burn your feet on them because of the the way the sand is it's awesome um you've got Siesta Key Village down here and some great restaurants including the old Salty Dog the CEST key Oyster Bar and Gilligans just the name a few it's great spot down there and you know it's not far away from St Armen Circle and leok key if those things interest you as well so lots to do and Sarasota as a whole has a tremendous amount of amenities we've done lots of videos on Sarasota you know the University Town Center that mall up there and in the uh all of the shops I mean it's second to none that place is unbelievable um you've got pop stroke over there they're building an aquarium over there you've got you know the park over there where they do rowing I mean there's all kinds of stuff that you can take advantage of Lakewood Ranch is not far away and I know we were talking about the beaches but I just want to share with you the the surrounding area so you can kind of understand um you know how these things tie in together you know so uh there's a lot of living uh when it comes to these coastal towns and there's a there's a different lifestyle and a different town for everyone so hopefully we shared with you five today that really kind of fit in your ideal lifestyle let's talk about what it actually cost to live here in CS though over the last 30 days the average home that sold was a four-bedroom four bath 2700 Square ft and that's sold for roughly 2.12 million definitely not a small number and the current listings that are out there range from 800,000 to right around 4.4 million and if you wanted to pick up a condo instead those are our two-bedroom two bath550 ft and those are selling right around 1.16 million so um definitely lots of different opportunities there to purchase homes or condos Town Homes whatever you're looking at there's a lot of great real estate when it comes to living in the entire Tampa Bay area if you guys have more questions on that do not help hesitate to reach out to me and the team we love serving you guys and we've been so grateful we've had over 250 Zoom calls with people just like you who are considering relocating or investing here in the the Tampa Bay area and we are grateful to serve all of my contact information is listed down below including my calendar link where you can schedule one of those Zoom calls I hope you got a tremendous amount of value out of today's videos like I said if you got any questions put them in the comments below don't hesitate to reach out to me and the team and as always until next time go out and live that tample life [Music]