Is there anyone who lives in tampa or North Port Florida?

Question

i am going to be moving to florida aroung the tampa North Port area. If you live there or around can you tell me about it. Dont answer if you dont know i only want people that know what there are talking about! Thanks

Answer 1

There is about a 90 mile distance between Tampa & North Port, give or take. Depending on where you are moving from you may or may not think the traffic is awful. If you are from NYC or LA you won't think the traffic is all that bad. If you have a choice, look into the Bradenton area. There are a lot more employment opportunities in Bradenton/Sarasota than there are in North Port/Venice. Also there will be more housing choices if you are looking to rent. If you are looking to buy there are thousands (literally) of homes on the market in that area. Just North of Bradenton there is an AWESOME outlet mall. Venice has the nicest dog park I have ever been to. There is no mall or movie theater in North Port, and they just opened a Walmart a few months ago.

Answer 2

I have lived in Tampa since 1991 so I know the area very well. I have only passed through Northport which is far south of Tampa but it looked very nice to me.

Here's my spin on Tampa. I live within the city limits of Tampa (South Tampa area). The Tampa area has experienced such incredible growth over the last 10 years and now I will be moving away from Tampa (and out of Central Florida). The overgrowth has caused traffic problems, school overcrowing, water/drainage issues, flooding, crime, higher cost of living, etc.

When I visit other US cities and return home to Tampa I realize how outdated and poorly planned Tampa really is. For example:

Tampa has no mass transit system to speak of (unless you want to ride a nasty city bus). The so called trolley system goes from the Tampa Convention Center to Ybor City and is more of a tourist attraction than an actual transit service.

The Tampa Convention Center is small and outdated. They lose countless numbers of conventions every year because they can't handle the larger convention groups.

Tampa's downtown area is a ghost town at night and on the weekends.

The proposed Tampa Riverwalk project seems to be going nowhere and will probably never be completed.

The University of South Florida athletic program receives very little local support from Tampa residents. Everywhere you go you see UF (Gainsville) and FSU (Tallahasee) fans.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball team (play in St. Pete) receives no local support. There are more NY Yankee fans in Tampa than Rays fans which is a joke!!

Ybor City in Tampa is supposed to be a historic district. Instead it's redevelopment was poorly planned and it now stands as a dirty, unsafe (at night) tourist trap and local bar & club hangout for the young hip-hop crowd.

Channelside in Downtown Tampa is another local tourist trap. Channelside sits next to the Florida Aquarium (which by the way is the worst aquarium I have ever attended). Channeside's central focal point as you approach its grand entrance is a Hooter's retaurant ---- need I say more??

Busch Gardens is a nice theme park that sits in one of the worst areas of Tampa. If you decide to go the the theme park don't get a hotel or eat in a restaurant anywhere nearbye -----

The beaches (St. Pete and Clearwater) were very nice at one time. Today the beaches are dirty and overcrowded and constantly suffer from 'Red Tide'. Red Tide is a harmful algae that blooms in the warm Gulf waters and causes nice things like fish kills, and breathing difficulties in humans. Nice place, huh?

Hurricanes and Sinkholes are a problem that have caused homeowners insurance rates to rise is Tampa and the surrounding areas. Property taxes are also very high considering the lack of resources and ammenities in the area.

In summary, stay away from Tampa for your own good and if you must move to Florida please consider North Florida --- I hear that Ocala is very nice.

Answer 3

Tampa is very nice. I used to live in Orlando near Walt Disney World. I loved Orlando, which isn't that far from Tampa. There is so much to do in Florida. You can even drive down to Orlando and go to theme parks and go to Downtown Orlando. I loved it near that part of Florida. It's very hot weather and also unpredictable. It does rain a lot in the summer due to hurricane season though. I'm sure you love it.