def filter_by_type(list_to_test, type_of):
return [n for n in list_to_test if isinstance(n, type_of)]
myList = [ 4,'a', 'b', 'c', 1, 'd', 3]
nums = filter_by_type(myList,int)
strs = filter_by_type(myList,str)
print nums, strs
>>>[4, 1, 3] ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']