Possibly moving to Florida

Hello,

I am thinking of moving to Florida. Namely maybe the Tampa area. Does anyone have experience living there?

Pros and cons?

This is coming from Miami, not Tampa, but hey, it's FL...I only have weather pros and cons: mostly mild (if warm) weather. Winters are absolutely gorgeous. Summers are hot (though cooler than STL) and thunderstormy. Those are basically the only two seasons we have. The only problem is hurricanes. I'm not sure how many hurricanes hit Tampa last year but we got at least 8 in Miami. Not all horrible, but they aren't exactly fun and you have to be prepared. Thats all I got!

Thanks so much! Weather was my one concern, well, hurricanes anyway. We ahve our share of tornados here in the midwest though.

Job market? Housing? Gas? More expensive?

Again Tampa I'm not so sure, but as for Miami:

I don't know your field but Tampa's fairly hoppin'. I'd say it's sort of similar to STL, kind of an up-and-coming city in the process of being gentrified. I think there's pretty much a range of housing options, as far as I know it's got its lower and higher income areas. I don't remember what gas prices were like in STL when last I was there, but the gas station near me runs from 2.97-3.27 (ACK!). So we're less than California but more than a lot of places I'm sure.

Thanks for the help!

Anyone in Tampa? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Im near Tampa. Weather - great except for the summer, hot & rainy. But its better than snow IMO. I miss the changing of the seasons, but again - we dont have to shovel anything.

We have had a few tropical storms hit this way, but no major hurricanes since Ive lived here. We had a few close calls and we did evacuate once. We are due. But its the weather, you cant predict what Mother Nature is gonna do.

I think houses are expensive in the area Im in - North St Petersburg (Im VERY close to Tampa, 10 mins away. And with the high costs of insurance & taxes here, well, I will be renting for awhile. I live in one of the cheaper complexes and I pay 950 a month for my 3 BDR, 2 BA 1400 sq foot apt. A lot of others, for a 3 bdr that is, run about 150+ higher than mine. Houses - just depends on what you want.

Gas prices are high 2.70's to low 2.80's right now. I moved here in 1999 from MI and the only cost of living things that to me are higher, is housing. Food etc doesnt seem to be any more expensive. From what I hear, gas in cheaper here right now than it is in MI (this is from friends up there).

Job market - I honestly dont know. Ive been at my job for 8 yrs, so I dont know how it is. But my hubby is looking for a new job, so hopefully its good LOL. Honestly, in FL, I would avoid any city, county or state jobs right now. There are budget cuts everywhere due to property taxes (in a nutshell) and pl are losing their jobs (like my hubby) or benefits etc.

Ok, thats all I got, hope it helped somehow =)

They've got a good NHL team ;)

good luck in florida if u move there chunk can i come out and go to disneyland with you hehe

Yeah, I forgot, a lot of thunderstorms and lightning here in Tampa too. we dont seem to get as many gulf hurricanes - if there is they usually go up not over where we are. Again, thats not to say there wont ever be any, cuz mother nature is a b*tch =)

And if you like sports, there are a lot of pro teams around. In Tampa you have the Devil Rays baseball, Buc football and *puke gag choke* The Lightning hockey. Theres Orland Magic if youre into basketball - about 1.5 to 2 hrs from the Tampa area.

Oh boy. I grew up and went to college in the Tampa Bay area. Then escaped to San Francisco.

Here are some pros and cons, feel free to PM me if you want to chat more :)

Cons:
- Oppressive humidity and heat. UGH. I really hated the weather...if you dont mind 98 with 98% humidity than this many be a pro! hehe
- Tampa isnt a 'major' city, and culturally I found it lacking. I often felt like I might die of boredom. I guess it depends on what you like to do in your spare time...
- Not culturually progressive. It really is still the deep south, and if you go more than 50 miles inland...its like going back 50 years in time!
- Most of the beaches are lined with hotels...the state hasnt done much to preserve the coastline in the way Cali seems to...
- More strip malls (and stripper joints) than I ever cared to see in 10 lifetimes

Pros:
- Much cheaper to live than somewhere like NYC or SF. Rent is incredibly cheap and you can even buy a home for a relatively decent amount
- Lack of taxes! No state/city income tax, heck yeah!
- Great beaches, really...especially along the Gulf Coast..some are even not hotel lined like Fort Desoto
- very warm, pretty, calm water (again on the Gulf side).
- mild winter...it really doesnt ever get cold

Cheers!
Christy

THANKS to everyone. If anyone else has a comment I would love to hear it!

You dont have to shovel snow. Did I mention that one?? =)

Yes that is a PLUS for sure!

I can only comment on Naples, FL.  Not sure how different it is.  I'm sure you know how the weather is in Florida so I won't go there.  When my family lived there, I thought it was really boring and had way too many old people (but I was used to Boston which is a really young city...).  Not much was geared for young people, but maybe Tampa is different.  It used to be comparatively really cheap to live there, but not so much anymore.  In fact, housing price-wise, it's comparable to where I live now, Connecticut - and that's pretty expensive.

You should definitely visit before you seriously consider it.  When you go, seek out some of the recreational activities you enjoy and try to meet some locals to see if you'll be happy.

Thanks! I have actually been to Tampa many times but to LIVE there, that is a bit different so I wanted to get some advice.

THANKS

I live in Ft Myers which is roughly 2 hours south of Tampa. Its really nice living on the gulf side of the state.

Tampa is great. They have some awesome bars downtown.

Cool. I have family in Ft Myers and Orlando. I wanted to be inbetween them all, that is the plan anyway. But I have never LIVED in Florida even though I have been there a bit.

Thanks Kay!

Lived in St. Pete (just across the Bay from Tampa) and Key West.  Loved both, but did miss the change of seasons.

Everyone's pretty much covered everything but to think of being just a short drive from Disney World makes me smile.

And the beaches.  I miss the beaches.  I'm only 2 hours away from the beach in MD but it certainly is NOT the same.

And the Cuban food.  Oh man....some of the best places are in Florida.

But...does it mean you have to be a Buc's fan?  *shudders*

well i used to live in Tampa and now in Orlando  - in my opinion tampa kinda sucks.

the sucky stuff:Traffic is really rough there, dont even think about getting on I-75, I-4 or I-275 between 8-9, 12-1, or 3- 5pm - i know there's rush hour everywhere but its just crazy.

 home buying is similar to orlando, too high for what you get (in my neighborhood an old 1800sq ft goes for 225k)

the beaches are weak, you have to really look to find a good one.

The decent stuff: there are some really great off road "mountain" biking paths over there

there's busch gardens (thats fun if you get a pass)

Plentiful apartment options

there's a college & some good private schools for kids

I live in Tampa and i have all good things to say about it, That could be because i moved from New York. I LOVE THE WEATHER.

I've spent some time there.  Inacacoon is right the traffic is bad, rated the worst in the US as far as accidents go.

Like any other city...some parts good...some parts not so much.  Busch Gardens is alright though.  If you get the chance ride the Sherika, it's a short ride but worth it.  I heard the recently removed the floor.