"City life and beach life unite!" Saint Petersburg by tvdandy

The city of St. Petersburg is an attractive option if one is craving both the city and beach life. The beaches of the Gulf of Mexico is just over the Bay causeway minutes from the city. The cities downtown area is very compact and walkable with some unique architecture and interesting entertainment options like The Pier or Bay Walk. Central Ave is the main drag for bars and restaurants and their are a huge amount of parks located right by the bay as well as many museums. The downside is that their many homeless in these parks, and once you get outside of the downtown area, it is all strip malls with absolutely no personality or soul. So stay downtown and just walk. Downtown also has a much younger crowd than the retirement reputation St. Petersburg has.

St. Pete's Beach, FL

St. Pete Beach, just over the causeway is a popular beach town with white sand beaches over looking the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. A cool town but way too over commercialized for my taste. Everything evolves around the hotels and condos, with very few independently owned shops or bars. But fun just the same.

• Pros:you have the beach life and the city life!
• Cons:too many homeless, over commercialized beach