If you're thinking of buying a second home to serve as your personal vacation escape, you wouldn't be alone in thinking that St. Petersburg is one of the best places in the country to do so. More popular than NY homes, and with more sunny days than Martha's Vineyard, St. Petersburg, Florida is the destination for wealthy second-home buyers from two continents. To help you get an idea of what makes St. Petersburg superior to other cities as a vacation destination, we'll answer the question "why St. Petersburg" with this article.
Time Shares
St. Petersburg is one of the most popular vacation destinations among North Americans and Europeans, which means the city's residents are no strangers to the needs of non-permanent residents like yourself. While your options in places like Haliburton cottages in Ontario consist of either rent or buy outright, St. Petersburg offers seasonal visitors the opportunity to buy time shares. What this means is that you would own the property during a certain part of the year, say December to March, while someone else would own the property during other parts of the year. This saves you money and the trouble of renting out your place when you're not using it.
Weather
St. Petersburg has a humid subtropical climate, so buying St. Petersburg real estate is not unlike buying Troncones beach front real estate in Mexico but without the complications and tribulations of living in a relatively unstable country. St. Petersburg has an average of 360 sunny days per year, which about on par with the desert communities in Arizona but with the added bonus of shady palm trees and sparkling beaches that offer you the chance to escape the heat.
Things to Do
If you bought a Muskoka cottage, you would spend most of your time cut off from civilization and communing with nature. If you're a more outgoing person this could drive you nuts. You'll never be bored in St. Petersburg, however. The city is a hub for art, culture, retail shopping, ethnic cuisine, sports, music, and nightlife. It has museums featuring everything from the work of Salvador Dali to relics of the Holocaust, an aquarium, a replica pirate ship, an IMAX theater, a sprawling public waterfront, and the number one beach in America. Even nature lovers will enjoy themselves here, since the city has a sunken garden, a nature preserve, and miles of seashore to explore.
Places to Live
St. Petersburg offers the prospective vacation homeowner a lot of options in terms of neighborhood, ranging from historic homes to sparkling new condos rather than the traditional suburban development of Oakville homes. You can buy a home in a gated island community like Baywater Isles if you like your privacy or a condo in a thriving, welcoming neighborhood like Coquina Key, which is known as "the Friendly Island." There are also four national historic districts if you're interested in specialty housing and a wealth of planned developments for the more suburban-minded.
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