Tampa, FL...Anyone live around there?

[DannyB215]

Thinking about possibly making a move and get transfered to Florida. Please tell me everything about you know about the area and surrounding suburbs, schools, etc!

Thanks!

[The Road Dog]

Whoa! Hold it, Danny think about this a for a few minutes. Tampa Bay is on Florida's west coast. The area is known for its continuous strings of perfectly sunny days and moderate winter/spring temperatures. It's even worse in the summer when it gets up to the mid 90's with all that humidity. To make things worse there are hundreds of golf courses within a couple hours drive, so many that you'll have trouble getting to play them all, but you do have all year to attempt that. Then there is all that damn seawater which is only good for things like white sandy beaches, boating, fishing, jetskiing, scuba diving etc.

You'll have to give up filing your state income taxes, and most of your new cold weather gear will hang in the closet rotting.  That new snow shovel you just bought will rust in the garage next to your snowmobile, and you won't be able to get your motorcycle in there but that's okay cause you may be using it every day. Then there is the separation factor, all your friends up north will not understand how you have forgotten they have snow and ice at a certain time of the year. They will get upset when they call you late on a snowy evening and find you don't have time to talk to them cause your ribs are on the grill and you have to watch for flare ups, so you wish them a Merry Christmas hang up and get back out by the pool.

But wait it gets worse, there would be a serious period of adjustment during which you'll have to figure out how to deal with not needing so many clothes, which isn't too bad since those of the female persuasion seems to need even less here. If you are used to a lot of crime you'll have to do without that in most areas since CCPs are pretty easy to get here if you are a law abiding citizen.  Oh yes going back to beaches, we have a number of different types, from the touristy, the redneck, the AA, and the natural.  But you asked about things like suburbs and schools, shoot we have both.  Neighborhoods and suburbs range from beach side to full urban, close to the water and full inland. They aren't that much different from where you are except we have no hills and the water table is so high there are no basements anywhere.  Schools are good but if you want the best you go private.

Finally Florida is a penninsula(sp), so we only have (on the west coast) one interstate going north/south and one going east/west, pick one. To balance that we have a beautiful main airport in tampa and pretty good minor ones in Clearwater, Sarasota, Orlando etc.  Oh and Disney, Universal, Sea World are just an hour and a half away, but you have to go past Busch Gardens to get there. Tampa is a cruise port too so you will constantly be nagged to drive over and jump on a big ship to head out into the western carribbean to strange places like Belize, Mexico, Cayman Islands, etc.

Anyway, it's pretty bad here so don't even think of subjecting yourself to having to put up with this place. But if there is another question email me and I will get you a straight answer .

[beamjb7917]

Yeah...that sounds horrible

[DannyB215]

Gosh, nevermind!!!!

Haha! I'm meeting with my manager on Tuesday, and we're going to plan for me to go out there in April or early May so I can go out with the wife and check out the area. I will definitely take everything you said to thought, and I will keep listening to more reviews if anyone else has any!!

BTW, you're a proud Floridian, and I know why!!!!!

[jwrussell]

"Tampa" is actually a pretty spread out place.  Let us know how things go and if you narrow down the area a bit more.  Gotta go with Road Dog though, it's horrible down here, stay away. ;)

In all seriousness, the only real down side is that the summers can get pretty tiring after you've been here for a while.  It's a long stretch of hot, humid weather.  Then again, I wouldn't trade it for snow. :)

[DannyB215]

Yes, please, I need more of an update on what areas I should seriously consider.

[jwrussell]

Danny,

I guess I didn't make myself clear.  What area would you be in?  I'm assuming we are talking about an office somewhere in Tampa, or are you going to be working from home so it doesn't really matter where you are?  I ask because the traffic in the Tampa area can be a B*TCH depending on where you are and where you are going.  Plus, the "Tampa Bay Area" is a big area, whereas "Tampa" is a bit more specific.  Just trying to figure out where we are talking about.

An example, Road Dog and I are both in the Tampa Bay Area, but depending on where in St. Pete he is it could be almost an hour's drive for me to get there and vice versa.

[DannyB215]

Ok, I guess I'll start by saying that I'll be looking to stay out of the St. Pete/Clearwater area I believe (From what I've heard they're fairly expensive). I've heard good things about towns like Ruskin, Brandon, Riverview, (to the south) to Land O' Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Lutz (to the North). I will be working from home, so it does not matter where I will be living, and I do have a fairly large area to select from, so I guess I'd want to pick 2/3 areas where I know that, from others' experiences, I'd want to live in and I'd want to bring my family to. I am trying to save up to buy a house, so I'm working with a realtor to find an apartment that's under $750/month, which should be easy to do.

[kpaulhus]

You should have no problem finding an appartment in Brandon or Riverview for that price. Land O Lakes and North /Wesley Chapel is kind of out there from the main attractions in Tampa. Almost considered the country. The further east you go past I75 is country/residential areas. The best spots for you to be are South of Bruce B Downs, North of Apollo Beach, West of Plant City. There is your prime location for living. I grew up in Seffner (North of Brandon/Valrico). Plenty of golf courses on Golfnow.com, and there are several private clubs that can be had for very reasonable rates. Temple Terrace is more of a college area with USF being located there. South Tampa is a bit pricey, but you definatley get your moneys worth. Let us know what you like after your visit and we cna give you an idea of the typical day in the life of that area. Another recommendation would be to check out TBO.com. When you see the same places being reported about, thats more than likely what you want to avoid.  The Tampa Tribune is great for the Tampa area, and the St. Pete Times is great if you're looking on that side of the Bay.

Good Luck on your decision....and believe me, you will not regret FL.

[Fozcycle]

I live in Wesley Chapel, just 20 miles from Downtown Tampa via I275. I work in Rocky Point, which is just past the airport on the causeway to Clearwater...... so my comment is 60 miles round trip..... I golf every Sat at Pebble Creek GC just off Bruce B Downs Blvd in New Tampa area. I run a $$ game every Saturday ...we use modified stable ford points and have a two day tourney every 6 months. We average 30 folders and use a shotgun start at 8 am. Come join us after you get settled in. A lot of peeps live in Pasco County, just north of Tampa and commute. The housing and property taxes are much cheaper, and the commute is I275 or I75. Good luck.

[jwrussell]

What Fozcycle said, don't forget to check out the Pasco area around 54 on the southern side and 54 on the northern side (they are east/west roads).  There is some serious bang for your buck up in that area as that is where they development was pushing before the housing bust.  I-75 and the SunCoast Parkway (Toll) are the two major North/South routes up in that area with US-19 on the Coast.  I-275 comes in right around the Lutz area taking you more West, while I-75 continues down on a more Easterly course.  You are also very close to some really great courses up that way.

You shouldn't have an issue finding an apartment to rent for that amount pretty much anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, so long as you aren't looking in the REALLY pricey areas.  And that includes Clearwater/St. Pete.  There are both affordable and not affordable areas in both, though I think the difference between the two is a bit more drastic when you start looking at St. Pete.

[DannyB215]

IT's OFFICIAL!!! I'm MOVINGTO TAMPA!!!!!!!

[jwrussell]

Congrats!  Let us know where you end up or if you need any other input.

[Fozcycle]

Come on Down!

[XMScott]

Im dying to pick (from New York) and move to Tampa.

Hospitality is a huge industry down there and that is what i do. A degree in Culinary and Rest Management. Right now i do everything but a cook in a really nice restaurant. Its just me and the dog so the idea of leaving shouldnt be that hard. BUT IT IS!

The cost of living alone is a big push. Golf all year sounds fantastic by the way.

[meenman]

Not to rain on anyone's parade but there is seriously as much bad down here as good. I stay for the weather and year round golf.

Traffic can be bad (but if you compare it to the LIE or Cross Bronx, it's a piece of cake)

The economy is less than stellar and the housing market is absolute garbage. You can get some deals right now, but research before you sign anything. My neighborhood used to be nice, now since no one can sell it is full of renters (and these are not the type of renters that could have gotten into these neighborhoods years ago - i see midnite moves every 3 months from people that apparently lived rent free from day 1 of moving in)

Ruskin = ghetto. Overall I found any borough in New York City to be safer than a good part of Tampa or St Pete.

The good news is that there are enough transplants down here to bring the average IQ up. If you can afford private schooling for your kids, you will be much better off.

Definitely use the local crime tracker when house hunting - I have yet to find 1/2 mile area without some criminal activity happening.

On the better side, it will take you forever to play every course within driving distance. If you elect not to join a private course, you have some of the cheapest golf rates once the snowbirds are gone (even during snowbird season this year, the rates never really got that high and I believe we will have a few more years of that because I dont see the economy turning around down here)

Luckily it seems that you work for a national company - which is huge. If you ever decide to be employed by a Florida based company, you may learn what slavery is like.

Other than the lack of state income tax, I would not expect a huge saving in living expenses. I came from one of the better parts of Long Island six years ago and my expenses when I moved were not much different (part of it was my fault because I actually have to own a vehicle here when all I needed up there was my company car.)

I dont regret my move but central Florida is far from paradise (other than the weather of course)