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Indian Rocks Beach Florida Homes

This barrier island fronting the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico is a vacation, retirement and luxury residential community of some 4,500 people that is only a 30-minute drive from Tampa International Airport. This small beach front community, surrounded by water, and beach front homes has residents that include young families, empty nesters, visiting “snowbirds” and retirees, all living in a sub-tropical paradise.

Along the beautiful pristine sand beach on the western side of this island are a mixture of beach cottages, high-rise condominiums, luxury homes and scattered businesses.

On the eastern Intracoastal Waterway side of this narrow sand spit island, just across from Pinellas County and the commercial centers of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, you’ll find marinas, canals with single family homes, townhouses and waterfront condos on geometric patterns of reclaimed land.

It’s no wonder so many retirees have decided to call Indian Rocks home. It’s a rare combination. A sub-tropical island paradise only a five-minute drive away from the sophistication and commercial activity of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

HOMES FOR SALE INDIAN ROCKS BEACH

But when you are sitting on your front balcony looking at a glorious sunset over the Gulf, it seems a world away from the frenetic pace of modern life and big cities. And it is! Yet you are only 7 miles from the Edward White Hospital in St. Petersburg, Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, and Morningside in Largo.

And if you have to travel away from your island home, it’s only 12 miles to the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and 24 miles to Tampa International, two of the largest airports in the country. If you, like a number of Indian Rocks residents have your own airplane, Clearwater Airport is only 9 miles away. That’s what’s so wonderful about Indian Rocks Beach—beauty and convenience.

But Indian Rocks has more than retirees. Many young families live here and the children commute to the fine schools just across the causeway. The Pinellas County School District is the 7th largest in the state of Florida, and with over 13,000 employees the county is the largest employer in the region. With 150,000 pupils enrolled in various institutions throughout the County---including “exceptional” schools and adult schools---all based on a program of free choice selection, there is a school to suit every educational need. And it’s not as though you have to leave the area to get a higher education. Tampa has two excellent Universities—the University of Tampa and the 27,000 student University of Southern Florida. Both have excellent graduate and post-graduate programs.

Buy Indian Rocks Beach Florida Home

Pinellas County is also a manufacturing center for electronic goods, ranking number two in Florida for manufacturing employment. Pinellas has the majority of the medical manufacturing industry segment in the Gulf Coast to Space Coast high tech corridor. A corridor many say is leading the world in many areas of medical research and manufacture.

Nearby Clearwater has two very active Chambers of Commerce, and is the county seat for Government. This is a region that welcomes small business owners. A community that provides incentives for entrepreneurs. In fact the whole Tampa Bay region is recognized as hub of commerce with over two hundred of the Fortune 500 Companies represented in the region.

This slither of sand, this narrow piece of land the locals call their “little piece of heaven” has gourmet restaurants and eateries, charming hotels, and 2.7 miles of safe white sand beaches that form part of a network of beaches renowned as some of the best in the world.

Indian Rocks Beach was first developed in the 1920’s as an escape for wealthy northerners who came to swim, fish, boat, snorkel and sunbathe under the warm Florida sun. With year-round temperatures averaging over 70 degrees, many found ways to stay here permanently and build this beach community so loved by residents and visitors alike.

The numerous parks and recreational facilities here evidence this love of community, this active involvement by the residents. There are tennis courts, a ball field, a pet park and the new “Extreme Skateboard Park”. At the Indian Rocks Beach Nature Preserve, visitors stroll along boardwalks and walkways through pristine mangrove habitats and learn about the ecological importance of these environs, and see some of Florida’s unique bird life.

If you are thinking of buying real estate in this region, call Rigler Real Estate. My team has been helping newcomers find homes here in Indian Rocks Beach for many years. And because we know this area so well, know what is available before it is even on the market, We can save you money. We guarantee it.

Photography provided courtesy of Pinellas County Communications Department