The renaissance that has been blossoming in St. Petersburg in recent years received an official East Coast Establishment imprimatur back in January when the 'Burg landed on the New York Times list of 52 destinations in the world to see in 2014, on the same list as The Vatican, Dubai and the Arctic Circle. So surely any poll of top cities to live in the Sunshine State would include St. Pete, right?
Uh, no, not really. A new survey does include a Pinellas County city in its top ten best cities to live in, but that city would be Clearwater, according to CreditDonkey.com, a credit card comparison and financial education website. The methodology used to determine who is the best includes the following:
Odds of Being a Victim of a Violent Crime
Commute Time
Income
Residents Who Attended Some College
Restaurants Per Capita
Clearwater is ranked eight out of the cities listed. CreditDonkey writes:
Clearwater is also located on the Gulf Coast, just 45 minutes west of Tampa. The city's population represents an even mix of families, single adults, and retirees. There are more than 300 restaurants to choose from, and commute times average less than 22 minutes. Its white sandy beaches, close proximity to Orlando and unique local attractions earned Clearwater the top spot in the USA Today 2013 Reader's Choice rankings for Best Beach Town in Florida.
And this is how the city fared based on the criteria laid out by CreditDonkey:
Odds of Being a Victim of a Violent Crime: 1 in 150
Commute Time: 21.9 minutes
Income: $42,427
Residents Who Attended Some College, No Degree: 22.5%
Restaurants: 1 per 360 inhabitants
And, they'll have you know, the Philadelphia Phillies head to Clearwater each year to attend spring training at Bright House Field. No mention of Winter the dolphin, or Scientology for that matter.
Here's the top 10:
1 Boca Raton
2 Coral Springs
3. Pensacola
4. Port Orange
5. Jupiter
6. Davie
7. Delray Beach
8. Clearwater
9. Cape Coral
10. Jacksonville
