Where to live as an associate in Tampa? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Incoming first-year about to make the move to Tampa. I’ll be working downtown.

I’m not from the area, so I’m really not familiar with the neighborhoods and pricing. Right now, it seems that everything within a reasonable distance to downtown is $2100 a month, which seems really high to me.

Any recommendations on where to stay, or if not, whether $2100 is too much to spend (assuming biglaw salary)?

[wwwcol]

Downtown or Channelside. The marginal savings if you go further out isn’t worth the extra time you’ll spend in traffic, plus there’s nothing to do further out if you’re single

/thread

[Anonymous User]

Harbour Island, Channelside, or Hyde Park are good places for renting. Don’t live in DTSP. Lots of young professionals like going out there but don’t make yourself commute over the bridge from Pinellas. Farthest I’d go is westshore marina in South Tampa.

[Anonymous User]

Incoming first-year about to make the move to Tampa. I’ll be working downtown.

I’m not from the area, so I’m really not familiar with the neighborhoods and pricing. Right now, it seems that everything within a reasonable distance to downtown is $2100 a month, which seems really high to me.

Any recommendations on where to stay, or if not, whether $2100 is too much to spend (assuming biglaw salary)?

Don't have any advice, but I always gathered that a state like Florida would have way lower rents than that. $2100 is more expensive than I have seen in cities like DC, which is pretty famous for pricing out people .

[Anonymous User]

Rent in Tampa has increased dramatically over the past several years. For a nice place downtown (the type of place a biglaw associate would probably live) $2100 is pretty standard. I paid $1400/month for an old 1/1 on harbour island 4 years ago. That was a great deal then. Same place goes for $1900-2000 now. Can OP find a better deal than $2100? Yes. But the difference is negligible in the recommended locations. Also depends if OP wants a studio or a little more space. But either way, OP should be prepared to shell out $1800-2300 depending on length of lease, B/B, proximity to DT, and overall space (assuming no roommates of course).

[ligma]

Hyde park, if it's cheaper than channel side. Honestly though, DT Tampa really isn't anything special that makes it worth paying much more. Channelside is nice but pricey, but when I worked there I lived in South Tampa and saved. Not the best area but had a nice apartment complex and the commute via the cross-town was under 10 minutes.

[muse346]

I live in Hyde Park and pay $1300. Could I afford a more expensive place? Sure, but why? Nice modern 1BR apartment with all amenities in one of the better nightlife/restaurant areas. I have friends in public interest who pay $700-800 and live further out. No reason to pay $2100 in my opinion. I would also second the guy who said don't commute from DTSP. Best places like others have said are DT, Channelside, Davis Island (more expensive but nice), and Hyde Park/SoHo.

[Anonymous User]

I live in Hyde Park and pay $1300. Could I afford a more expensive place? Sure, but why? Nice modern 1BR apartment with all amenities in one of the better nightlife/restaurant areas. I have friends in public interest who pay $700-800 and live further out. No reason to pay $2100 in my opinion. I would also second the guy who said don't commute from DTSP. Best places like others have said are DT, Channelside, Davis Island (more expensive but nice), and Hyde Park/SoHo.

Where on earth are you finding places in Hyde Park for $1300? According to Zillow, those same places are going for a minimum of $1800 right now, and most are much closer to $2100. Any recommendations on where to look to find better options?

[hoos89]

Incoming first-year about to make the move to Tampa. I’ll be working downtown.

I’m not from the area, so I’m really not familiar with the neighborhoods and pricing. Right now, it seems that everything within a reasonable distance to downtown is $2100 a month, which seems really high to me.

Any recommendations on where to stay, or if not, whether $2100 is too much to spend (assuming biglaw salary)?

I'm not sure what Tampa market is but you should be able to comfortably afford rent of $2,100/month on it (possible exception if you have an exorbitant amount of student loans on a 5 year term or something).

[Anonymous User]

Incoming first-year about to make the move to Tampa. I’ll be working downtown.

I’m not from the area, so I’m really not familiar with the neighborhoods and pricing. Right now, it seems that everything within a reasonable distance to downtown is $2100 a month, which seems really high to me.

Any recommendations on where to stay, or if not, whether $2100 is too much to spend (assuming biglaw salary)?

I'm not sure what Tampa market is but you should be able to comfortably afford rent of $2,100/month on it (possible exception if you have an exorbitant amount of student loans on a 5 year term or something).

Market is currently at $205k, and I have about $70k in loans. That's good to hear; I have no understanding of what is actually manageable based on my salary.

[hoos89]

Yes you can easily afford $2,100 on $205k with $70k of loans (it's only ~12% of your gross income). A lot of first years in NYC are paying double that. Not a bad idea to do what you can to keep costs down, though...lifestyle creep is real.

[muse346]

I live in Hyde Park and pay $1300. Could I afford a more expensive place? Sure, but why? Nice modern 1BR apartment with all amenities in one of the better nightlife/restaurant areas. I have friends in public interest who pay $700-800 and live further out. No reason to pay $2100 in my opinion. I would also second the guy who said don't commute from DTSP. Best places like others have said are DT, Channelside, Davis Island (more expensive but nice), and Hyde Park/SoHo.

Where on earth are you finding places in Hyde Park for $1300? According to Zillow, those same places are going for a minimum of $1800 right now, and most are much closer to $2100. Any recommendations on where to look to find better options?

I live right near SoHo. I don't know what to say - the majority of 1BRs were between like 1200-1500 when I was looking. If you want to find somewhere cheaper you can also look out further into south Tampa by the military base or closer to Westshore/International Plaza. I know folks out there paying sub $1000 for nicer places than I have. You're only looking at an additional 5-10 minutes in commute as well. If you really want somewhere cheap or if you prefer a house for example you can look in Brandon, but I prefer to live in a nicer apartment in the city.