Friday, August 21, 2015

Dunedin, A Wonderful Yet Quiet Tampa Bay Waterfront Town

  If you’ve visited the West coast of Florida and cities like St Petersburg, you may have missed one of the nicest quiet towns in Pinnellas County, Dunedin. The name, Dunedin (pronounced “Done EE din”) comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburg, the capital of Scotland

  Among its many amenities, Dunedin is the home to several wonderful beaches including Caladesi Island State Park, a beach consistently rated among the best in in the world. Dunedin also has beaches on Honeymoon Island and on the Dunedin Causeway.

  Dunedin is one of the few waterfront communities with access to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico from Sarasota all the way north to Cedar Key. Here high-rise condos do not completely obscure views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico.

  A quiet town, the downtown business district of Dunedin is noteworthy for the absence of large commercial signs, national franchise restaurants and big box retail stores. The Pinellas Trail, a 39-mile-long bicycle and pedestrian trail that traverses all of Pinellas County, runs through the center of Dunedin bringing lots of friendly folks into downtown to visit its quaint shops and boutiques. On any day, you’re likely to find locals and tourists strolling through downtown enjoying a homemade ice cream cone, shopping in its boutiques, fussing about their boats at the marina or just sitting in the shade at one of its many parks watching the day go by.

  As quiet a place as Dunedin seems, the arts are an integral part of its appeal. Whether you're looking for world-class gallery exhibits, award-winning art classes, a stage performance, or getting down with the beat of an inspirational drum circle, you’ll find it in Dunedin, a town in love with the arts. For almost four decades, the Dunedin Fine Art Center has offered exciting art opportunities. The Center offers year-round exhibitions in four galleries featuring national, regional and local artists as well as art classes for students of all ages in 15 studio classrooms. And, the Children's Art Museum is a hands-on experience your children should not miss. But come as you are, in your shorts and flip-flops. Dunedin is perhaps the ultimate casual art town.

  If you’re into baseball, Dunedin has been the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays since 1977 and the local Dunedin Blue Jays year round. Come out to the stadium and enjoy a major or minor league ball game complete with a hot dog and a foam finger. And, the major football, hockey and soccer sports teams in St Petersburg and Tampa are just a few minutes drive away.

  For dining, Dunedin offers a wide range of options from the most casual eateries to the 4.5+ star Black Pearl, a quaint restaurant in the heart of Dunedin offering fine food in an elegant setting and Bob Apetit, voted “Tampa Bay’s Best Waterfront Restaurant,” offering elegant indoor dining directly overlooking the waters of St Joseph’s Sound as well as casual outdoor dining.

  If there’s something you want that you can’t find in Dunedin, you’re just minutes away from the much larger cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg. And metropolitan Tampa is a 30 minute ride away across Tampa Bay on the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

  Dunedin has so much to offer. I’m certain you’ll want to put Dunedin on your list of places to check out whether you’re moving to Tampa Bay for your career or as a retirement destination. Contact Me on my Tampa Bay Real Estate website or, just immediate answers to your questions, call me at 813.263.6806.