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Home> Relocation Guide
A progressive school system, soon to implement a "school
choice" plan; beautiful beaches, a central location,
and a variety of employment opportunities make Clearwater
an ideal place to relocate personally or as a business.
The city, conveniently located in mid-Pinellas County,
provides the best of both worlds - a high tech work
environment with a relaxed, tropical quality of life.
Changes are under way to revitalize the downtown core
and create an even better beach destination.
Business is booming in Clearwater. Traditionally known
as a resort city, Clearwater is also home to wide range
of industries including computer components, surgical
instruments, data communication and many other quality
high technology companies. But the economy is diverse,
composed largely of small business and driven by the
largest industry - tourism. Florida has established
its own high-tech corridor of which Pinellas County
is the anchor. Among the 13 counties that make up Florida's
high-tech growth corridor, Pinellas leads the way with
nearly one-fifth (17.7 %) of all the 1,651 high-tech
companies in the corridor.
The greater downtown area is part of the Community Redevelopment
Area. This designation provides significant incentives
businesses moving to the area such as funding for Brownfields
environmental studies, Enterprise Zone businesses, HUBZone
qualifiers and more. This business-friendly community
works together with the city's Economic
Development Team, Pinellas
County Economic Development and the Tampa
Bay Partnership to ensure a positive business climate.
Recent successes of corporate recruitment for Clearwater
include IMRglobal's world headquarters in downtown Clearwater,
Hercules Hydraulics' 72,000 sq.ft. building in the center
of the city, and Hewlett Packard subsidiary Verifone's
corporate headquarters. One of the most important resources
economic development organizations provide is access
to up-to-date demographic information. A new interactive
mapping system allows web users to access information
for the county, a municipality, zip code, or specific
radius.
For individuals moving to the area, residency is easily
established through legal proof of intention. This can
be accomplished through a transfer of bank account or
securities to Florida; ownership or lease with occupancy
of dwelling; voter registration; automobile registration;
or filing federal tax returns with a Florida address.
Clearwater's location provides for an ideal place to
live in the Tampa Bay area. Within 30 minutes of downtown
Tampa, downtown St. Petersburg, and the Gulf Beaches,
Clearwater is home to a variety of neighborhoods. From
the subtropical and Mediterranean looks of the beach
to the more modern homes in the Countryside area, there
is definitely a place for everyone. Back to top
Consistently ranked first in the state, Pinellas
County Schools offer a variety of quality education
experiences. With a new school choice plan, parents
and students will soon be able to choose a neighborhood
school or a magnet school, rather than being assigned
or zoned to a particular school. Although this plan
won't officially go into effect until 2003, the forward-thinking
attitude of the School Board is apparent in this plan.
Offering several four year programs, St.
Petersburg College is located in the middle
of the city and it is a short drive to the University
of South Florida.
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