Floridians please chime in --- Tampa area specifically

[jf4boogie]

I figured more of you would see this posted in here... so:

How's the area? Pros/cons? How long have you been there? Cost of living? etc. etc.

Just trying to get a "feel" for the area and what the overall perception and attitude of the residents are. I have a friend about 2 hours south in Ft Myers I have visited a few times, but I know that some cities can vary greatly and that Tampa in general is a bit larger.

Anyway, any info or tips greatly appreciated.

 

[Ibleedblue13]

I know you said Tampa but I will give my .02 in case it helps. I moved to Palm Beach Gardens from Boston three years ago and it is the best decision I have ever made. Floridians in general are awesome and people move here from everywhere so there is a really cool mix of cultures. The weather is obviously awesome and driving your car 365 is a definite plus.

As far as Tampa my cousin and her husband both went to UTampa and loved the area. Just as with any city there are bad areas but that just comes with the territory. I personally will never move back up north even though I love Boston. Good luck OP!

 

[BMR Tech]

Been here since 2005.

Took me some years to "like" it here, but now my family and I love it. You just have to find the right area for you, and the right people.

Personally, I am typically not a fan of places that have so many transplants, but I have found that the pros outweigh the cons for myself.

As for areas - they are ALL hit or miss, and there really isn't an area that is the best IMO. For my tastes, wants/needs, we chose the Trinity area which is a little North of Tampa. I have a 1~hr drive one way, but I do not care for many areas south of where I reside.

It's a fun place, and if you put yourself in the right area for yourself, I think you will be glad you made the move.

 

[Bullitt 3309]

I was stationed in Tampa from 1999 to 2004. Loved it, lots to do and like said above 365 days of cruising weather. I lived in South Tampa by the base for convenience, it wasn't bad but there are better areas to live, especially if you have school age children. As far as cost of living, there is a gov web site which gives comparisons based on your current location to the new area. For me it was a 25% increase from San Antonio in 2010 when I was looking at jobs here when I retired. It did not make sense for me to move back to Tampa and make the same salary with the higher cost of living. But, I would go back if the job was right. Loved the people, weather and beaches.

 

[traktrbeam]

I moved down to Spring Hill (~35 miles north of Tampa) last May. Love it here, commute to Tampa for work.

 

[kevinatfms]

Its all about the strip clubs in Tampa. Best in the United States.

 

[Jaysin]

Tampa is a cool place I think. Went down 2 summers ago for about a week. I know that's not a lot of time to do much or really get a "feel" for it, but I loved it. Within the first couple hours of being there I was at a Target picking up a few things, and a guy walked by me, and asked if I went to UCF, told him I was just down for vacation, and he welcomed me to town and told me to get out the store and go to the beach! Just a friendly vibe, went to a Rays game and was amazed at how simple and easy it was to park and get in the stadium, compared to Atlanta it was a breeze! Beach was awesome too. It's a place on my list to go back and spend some more time, I enjoy the fact that it's a fairly large city with a downtown and some tall buildings, but doesn't have that big time feel to it.

 

[JasonSnake]

If you love boating and jet skiing, it's the place. Lots of access areas to get in the water on the west side of Gandy. The southern tip of Tampa where the base is - they are doing major improvements to Gandy Blvd overall. A new plaza was just erected with a Chipotle's, Chic-fil-a's, Mike subs, shakes, etc. They had torn down some old creepy motel that looked like only crackheads would go to.

A few years back, there was a section 8 projects housing that was bringing in all kinds of hoodlums and problems to the area. It's since been torn down and the place has gotten a deal safer overall.

New WalMart supercenter was build about 3 years ago now, so more value to the area than before.

Ummm.... if you have extra cash, then the Bayshore area on the east side of Gandy would be your cup of tea. Homes there are reaching half mill or more. They are definitely pushing to develop south Tampa for sure. I've lived here on and off for the last 15 years and I keep coming back.

 

[jf4boogie]

Awesome.

Thanks a ton fellas. We'll see what the future brings I guess!

No one mentioned the car scene... How is that?

 

[ben_gone]

I moved to Tampa back in 05 from northern va. The weather is all sorts of hot in the summer..alot of people start work at 4am and off at noon because at noon you couldn't walk 100 yards in that heat without falling out. The people are great. People are laid back. Everyone is happy. Sure there are some assbags but that's everywhere. The car scene is absolutely nuts down there(Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/Brandon). After living there for about a week I took my stroker 95 out. Drove over to the cruise at the sonic right before the Gandy bridge. There is also a hooters across the street from the sonic that cars go to. Everyone meets up around there..or at least they did when I was there. I noticed that there are mustangs EVERYWHERE in Florida. Well, after hanging out for a while at the sonic and hooters shooting the shit with my buddies, some ricer always comes around with a huge turbo in a hatch looking to race. Still new to the scene down there at the time I followed to watch. We went only a mile or 2 down Gandy Blvd toward St Petersburg. They were racing across the bridge for big money. Their logic is no cops can sit on the bridge in the middle of the bay while they race(in 05 there weren't the cctv systems there are now). I was shocked by this but after every run, usually both cars would come back to the cruise spot along the water. So I assumed no one was getting caught. I have seen the police try to clear out the parking lots people meet up at like anywhere. Its hit or miss. Living expenses are dirt cheap compared to the DC area where I'm from. The problem with Florida is, unless you have a fixed income or something, there isn't much money down there. A 1000000 house in the suburbs of dc would be a little more than half that in Tampa. Maybe off Kennedy or Bayshore..its a good place to be if you love the heat, and make medium money. Just don't loose your job lol. They are hard to come by down there..

Hope that helps

 

[ben_gone]

Its all about the strip clubs in Tampa. Best in the United States.

this

 

[ben_gone]

I moved down to Spring Hill (~35 miles north of Tampa) last May. Love it here, commute to Tampa for work.

you take the toll rd?

 

[JasonSnake]

I moved to Tampa back in 05 from northern va. The weather is all sorts of hot in the summer..alot of people start work at 4am and off at noon because at noon you couldn't walk 100 yards in that heat without falling out. The people are great. People are laid back. Everyone is happy. Sure there are some assbags but that's everywhere. The car scene is absolutely nuts down there(Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/Brandon). After living there for about a week I took my stroker 95 out. Drove over to the cruise at the sonic right before the Gandy bridge. There is also a hooters across the street from the sonic that cars go to. Everyone meets up around there..or at least they did when I was there. I noticed that there are mustangs EVERYWHERE in Florida. Well, after hanging out for a while at the sonic and hooters shooting the shit with my buddies, some ricer always comes around with a huge turbo in a hatch looking to race. Still new to the scene down there at the time I followed to watch. We went only a mile or 2 down Gandy Blvd toward St Petersburg. They were racing across the bridge for big money. Their logic is no cops can sit on the bridge in the middle of the bay while they race(in 05 there weren't the cctv systems there are now). I was shocked by this but after every run, usually both cars would come back to the cruise spot along the water. So I assumed no one was getting caught. I have seen the police try to clear out the parking lots people meet up at like anywhere. Its hit or miss. Living expenses are dirt cheap compared to the DC area where I'm from. The problem with Florida is, unless you have a fixed income or something, there isn't much money down there. A 1000000 house in the suburbs of dc would be a little more than half that in Tampa. Maybe off Kennedy or Bayshore..its a good place to be if you love the heat, and make medium money. Just don't loose your job lol. They are hard to come by down there..

Hope that helps

Hit it on the head.

Except for that Sonic drive-in, they closed that down probably a year ago now. It wasn't getting a whole lot of business (it was always empty every time I drove by). The Checkers that was there closed down years ago as well.

 

[ben_gone]

Hit it on the head.

Except for that Sonic drive-in, they closed that down probably a year ago now. It wasn't getting a whole lot of business (it was always empty every time I drove by). The Checkers that was there closed down years ago as well.

no shit!? cant believe they closed that place down. the cars down there are serious though. I had to hit the bottle to beat a stock looking and sounding prelude with a 331 stroker on the bridge. miss living there every day

 

[ben_gone]

If you love boating and jet skiing, it's the place. Lots of access areas to get in the water on the west side of Gandy. The southern tip of Tampa where the base is - they are doing major improvements to Gandy Blvd overall. A new plaza was just erected with a Chipotle's, Chic-fil-a's, Mike subs, shakes, etc. They had torn down some old creepy motel that looked like only crackheads would go to.

A few years back, there was a section 8 projects housing that was bringing in all kinds of hoodlums and problems to the area. It's since been torn down and the place has gotten a deal safer overall.

New WalMart supercenter was build about 3 years ago now, so more value to the area than before.

Ummm.... if you have extra cash, then the Bayshore area on the east side of Gandy would be your cup of tea. Homes there are reaching half mill or more. They are definitely pushing to develop south Tampa for sure. I've lived here on and off for the last 15 years and I keep coming back.

I used to live right behind MacDill. is it still hood there? near that mcdonalds at the last intersection before the afb on dale mabrey?

 

[BlackWidowStang]

PROS: Everything

CONS: Traffic

 

[Bullitt 3309]

I used to live right behind MacDill. is it still hood there? near that mcdonalds at the last intersection before the afb on dale mabrey?

I lived in the apartments behind the McDonalds and storage company from 99 to 2004....

 

[JasonSnake]

no shit!? cant believe they closed that place down. the cars down there are serious though. I had to hit the bottle to beat a stock looking and sounding prelude with a 331 stroker on the bridge. miss living there every day

Yeah the car scene has been maturing a little more, but you still have your idiot ricer boys (and now careless crotch rockets) ruining it for everyone else. I've kind of outgrown going to any of these car hangouts/meetups though so I don't know about the latest and greatest.

I used to live right behind MacDill. is it still hood there? near that mcdonalds at the last intersection before the afb on dale mabrey?

The place is definitely cleaning up but you'll still see the familiar rundown buildings and motels here and there. The projects that were beside Robinson High School are gone thankfully. The other buildings between Interbay and Gandy on DM that used to be projects were converted to nice gated apartments as well. It's nice to see a change.

Maybe the city was feeling pressure from the base to clean up the area to make it more friendly for those moving here on assignment.

 

[Bullitt 3309]

The place is definitely cleaning up but you'll still see the familiar rundown buildings and motels here and there. The projects that were beside Robinson High School are gone thankfully. The other buildings between Interbay and Gandy on DM that used to be projects were converted to nice gated apartments as well. It's nice to see a change.

Maybe the city was feeling pressure from the base to clean up the area to make it more friendly for those moving here on assignment.

Glad to see that come to completion. When I left in 2004, AF Leadership was pushing Tampa and Hillsbourogh county hard on that. They where trying to curb the "Macdill" east move to Brandon/Valrico. That High School also had an excellent ROTC and STEM program due to close proximity to Macdill as well. We let one of our car club families son live with Us for a year to get into on of the science programs only offered there. Overall that area wasn't too bad, lived in those apartments behind the McDonalds for 5 years with no issues other than storm related flooding. I would love to go back to Tampa if I could get a job that paid to the same standard of living here in San Antonio. I miss Ybor City...

 

[Mike Morris]

I live in central Florida but go to Tampa a lot for work. I love it. Check it out and make up your own mind