I moved to the TampaBay area 35 years ago this September at the tender age of 20. I came initially to attend
Florida Southern College,and only stayed at school for 3 semesters. I got a job after that driving a tour bus and an Airport Limo for a ground transportation company,depending upon where they needed me aand when. One of the places we would pick up was the Port of Tampa where the cruise ships docked at the time. We only had 2 cruise ships a week at the time and their berth was the 22ND street side facing Thrace St. in Palmetto Beach. We would get there 3 or 4 hours ahead of departure or arrival,to insure our space aand to be cleared through security. One or two of the drivers knew of a sandwich shop that sold giant Cuban sandwiches for about $2.50.We would walk across the street and get orders to go,aand bring them back to the Port to eat while waiting.
I thought Palmetto beach was a charming old neighborhood-with the oyster houses in the water,the park and the historic(but small) houses and said that one day I would live there.About three decades passed and my kids all grew up and I found myself having to care for my aging Mother and no longer being a homeowner and having retired from my job at Disney World, I secured a small rental house on Thrace St. with a Mother-in-Law Apt in the rear. It seemed to me a good area and we felt safe there. As of this writing we have been here for 5 years. After a year,it became apparent that we were not only victims of a terrible landlord and bad neighbors,but also of numerous property crimes and crimes against our very lives. A slumlord who fixed nothing,but was paid $1500.00 a month and lived in Palma Ceia,neighbors who poisoned our cat to death, a home invasion at gunpoint and a burglary that ramsacked our house and we think involved our next door neighbors.
So,as I said,I am very dissapointed in Palmetto Beach,as we had high hopes for living here,and would like to have stayed into our old age. Now we are forced by circumstances to leave.
