Your Florida Dream Life- Largo

This Weeks Community:

Largo is centrally located in Pinellas County between Tarpon Springs to the North and St. Pete Beach to the south. It's on the Gulf side of highway 19 and it's just 15 minutes west to Clearwater Beach. You can easily and quickly get to two airports by heading east (about 15 minutes) to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, or east to the Courtney Campbell Causeway, which then takes you into Tampa and the Tampa International Airport. The drive into St. Pete (with it's fabulous restaurants, cultural attractions and more) is right around 30 minutes. Largo is not as well known as Tampa, Clearwater and St. Pete but has become the 4th largest city in the Tampa Bay area with a population over 80,000. In addition to having a central location it has a lot to offer on it's own. The Largo Cultural Center gives you the opportunity to enjoy Broadway Shows, Kids' Shows and Rock Concerts. Largo Central Park has a lot of amenities inside the park and covers over 70 acres. It includes The Largo Central Railroad, a fun attraction for children, as well as a children's playground, located under shady oaks.  The children's park is fun for all ages and features 117 play events. Every year Central Park has a fabulous holiday lights display and the annual Holiday Stroll. During the three day Holiday Stroll (which is a family friendly event) they have entertainment, arts and activities, Santa Claus, and the official lighting of the tree. 

When looking at dining options, a popular restaurant in Largo is Marlin Darlin. It is a Bay Star Restaurant Groups restaurant and their other popular restaurants include include Rumba, Salt Rock, and Island Way Grill. A fabulous upscale restaurant is E and E Stakeout Grill. It is a 3 Best Chef's restaurant (as is Mystic Fish, which I mentioned in my blog post on Palm Harbor is my favorite restaurant in that area). E & E, like Mystic Fish, has a gorgeous modern and sophisticated decor with dinners consisting of the freshest ingredients prepared to perfection. They have a lot of steak dishes as well as lamb, seafood, and fajitas. Maggie Mae's, which started as a popular breakfast destination on Sand Key in Clearwater Beach, has now opened a Belleair Bluffs location right on the border of Largo. Maggie Mae's has a large selection of Southern breakfast and lunch favorites described as "just like Granny use to make".

If you're looking to be active East Bay Golf Club in Largo is described as having one of the most popular public layouts in the area. It is a traditional championship 18 hole par -71 course with well bunkered elevated greens and numerous water challenges. There is also the public Largo Golf Course on Vonn Road. You can join the City League, participate in a monthly scramble, and even take lessons there. The Southwest Recreation Complex in Largo looks to give residents the opportunity for lifelong fitness and contains an Olympic size pool, tennis courts and more. The The Highland Family Aquatic Center is a family friendly place where residents can beat the heat with a waterpark and two multipurpose pools. For special events East Bay Country Club (which also serves lunches and dinners) is a popular place for events, parties, and weddings. To learn more about Largo go to The City of Largo Homepage. To learn about other communities in the Tampa Bay area go to Communities

A Favorite Place in Largo:

Barley Mow is a friendly neighborhood brewery. They have a fabulous outdoor beer garden where you can enjoy live music every Friday night. On Thursday they have a food truck stop by so you can enjoy a meal with your beer. On Tuesday nights it's Team Trivia, and Wednesday is a night to be adventurous as it is Wednesday Night Randall. A Randall is a filter used to add flavor and every Wednesday they pack a Randall with fresh fruit, hops, or candy and run one of their beers through it. You've got to check it out. I would love to share your favorite place in your community. Email me at Susan@susandsorensen.com

For the Locals: 

Ever been to Fat Cat Tavern? It is located at 3665 East Bay Drive in Largo. It's a fun place with fun events scheduled regularly. Events range from Karaoke Nights, Trivia Nights, Giant Jenga Night, DJ Music Nights and a hosted game called Opinionation (based on 100 people surveyed questions). They even host Fat Cat Tavern Fishing Club Meetings. There are always great specials including $1 tacos and $1 margaritas (frequently on Mondays) as well as game day specials. The food is generally bar food but the menu is pretty extensive and even includes a spinach and fruit salad for those looking for healthier options.

Your Perfect Florida Day: 

Thanks to Tangi for providing these wonderful photos. Tangi's perfect Florida day would have to include time on the water. She teaches sailing through the Dunedin Youth Sailing program and is also a talented permanent makeup artist. You can check out her work at  The Permanent Makeup Artist or visit her at Toes Up Day Spa. 

Real Estate Statistics:

For the month of October the average sale price for a condo or townhouse in the zipcodes of Largo (not including Belleair Bluffs) was $106,665, the average days on the market 80, selling at 96% of list price with an average price per heated square foot of $89. The average price of a single family home (not including Belleair Bluffs or Seminole) was $189,486 the average days on the market being 60 and selling at 98% of list price with an average price per heated square foot of $124. (This information comes from the Suncoast Multiple Listing Service (MLS)). If you are interested in seeing what you can get for your money in your favorite neighborhood you can search for properties via my free Keller Williams Mobile App My KW App  Or you may go to my website at susandsorensen.com

Creating Relationships:

The Tampa Bay area is ideal for small business owners/entrepreneurs, people who are looking to reinvent themselves, and people starting their second chapter in life. You have many opportunities here for developing new friendships and business relationships. In Largo a great place to start is by getting involved in any of the numerous activities taking place through the Largo Recreation, Parks & Arts Programs. You could sign up for art classes, join an athletic league, or take adult dance lessons from Hip Hop to Line Dance. You can even be a part of an adult dance troupe. If you have children wanting to get involved in dance, The Tutterow Dance Company has been a part of Largo Recreation, Parks, and Arts for over 30 years and performs numerous times throughout the year and they have even performed overseas. In addition there are numerous opportunities to volunteer. You can volunteer with the nature parks doing anything from animal care to exotic plant removal, or you can get free training in wildlife identification and become an Eagle Volunteer and potentially lead programs and tours. You can also volunteer in the arts through VITAL and assist at the Largo Cultural Center, The primary volunteer organization for Largo Recreation, Parks and Arts is Caring by Sharing. Through Caring by Sharing you could do anything from organizing puppet shows, to teaching classes, to shooting photos at city events. If you enjoy volunteering with teens the Largo Teen Programs at both rec centers could use more volunteers. The purpose of the Teen Programs is for teens to have a place where they can just hang out and socialize and have a good time. You could also volunteer with The Suncoast Performing Arts Foundation (at the Largo Cultural Center) or you could serve on the Recreation, Arts, & Parks Advisory Board. There are numerous ways to get involved and develop new relationships, you just have to choose what is right for you. (See my previous blog post for other ideas on developing relationships in a new community.)