Real Estate Views from St Pete

Neighborhood, for some people, means knowing your neighbors and chatting with them, picking up their newspapers when they're away, calling you if one of your children is somewhere doing something he shouldn't . A very popular neighborhood here in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the Old Northeast, with homes built primarily from 1910-1940. Yes, people like being close th the park and Tampa Bay, and being close to downtown St. Petersburg. Yes, they like the brick streets and the big shade trees, and the interesting architecture. Most of all, they like the feeling of community - of knowing their neighbors, of feeling part of something.  Two aspects of the architecture encourage this. The garages are behind the house, with alley access. Most of the people actually park on the street, and walk up to their front door and enter the house that way. The homes have front porches.  When you sit on your porch, you wave to the people out walking on the sidewalks, exercising their dogs, or stolling with their children or grandchildren. They stop on the sidewalk and talk with you for a moment - and you can set your clock by some of them. In the typical Florida home, the garages are in the front of the house - and having a two or three car garage facing the street isn't charming or inviting, and often overwhelms the rest of the front elevation. Then, you push your remote, drive into the garage, and go into your house from the garage - and when you do relax, it's on your patio or screened porch in the back of the house. How do you get to know your neighbors that way? Most people are uncomfortable walking up to someone's house, ringing the bell, and saying - I just wanted to say Good Morning.  Talking to someone sitting on their porch?  That's easy.  Neo-traditional neighborhoods are now being built, trying to recapture this feeling.  Some cities, like Saint Petersburg, are fortunate to have established neighborhoods like this.