Living in Tampa?

Question

I live in Indiana and am currently married, in my early 30's. My husband has no goals, etc. in life so I may be divorcing soon. My dream is to move to Tampa / St. Pete area because I've heard it's great there (never been to that part of FL). I want to live where it's warm and sunny all year, and somewhere that has good job ops, is safe, etc. Tell me about living in Tampa and what you like and dislike about it. What areas of the city are good to live in too?

Answer 1

I live in Tampa and I would not live in Orlando because it has the worst traffic jams in the state. The Sarasota area the other responder refers to is very nice, but it is an older, retired crowd, whereas Tampa is a younger crowd. South of Kennedy in Tampa is very posh, but expensive, although there are a few reasonably priced apartment buildings. Carrollwood is a nice middle class area that is safe. You can get a one bedroom apt there for about $650 a month. New Tampa is very nice, but if you work downtown you are better off not living there because of the heavy traffic at rush hour. Brandon is a nice area as well. You will find a lot of people from the Midwest in Tampa and St. Pete because route 75 comes here. Due to a lot of speculators buying condos and house and not being able to make the payments, you can buy a condo pretty cheaply now. You might want to look into renting a condo that is up for sale as you might get a better deal than renting an apartment, and it would give you some time to learn the area.There are more jobs in Tampa than St. Pete so a lot of people who live in St. Pete and Clearwater have to commute to Tampa.
Tampa has the performing arts center with plays, dance, the Florida Orchestra,visiting comedians like Mind of Mencia, and many cultural events. They have a football team and a hockey team. The baseball team is in St. Pete. The Forum in Tampa also has concerts and there are two universities here. USF is a state university and the tuition is pretty low. The University of Tampa is supposed to have a very good business program. There is a very nice mall called International Plaza, which is near the airport. The Blue Martini there is a popular place to meet men, I think Wednesday is Ladies Night. A lot of the churches have singles events.
St. Petersburg and Clearwater have beaches but in case of a hurricane you have to evacuate to Tampa. St. Pete has a very nice liveable downtown, esp near the Pier. We bought a house in N. Tampa and got a time share for a holiday week in St. Pete on the beach cheap on eBay to enjoy it one week a year living there on the water. My 17 year old daughter drives to the beach most weekends for a day.
Ybor City has clubs and night life and people come up from all over the west coast of Florida to go there.
South of Tampa is Ellenton with outlet shops.
Tampa also has Gasparilla, which is a smaller version of Mardi Gras, the first Saturday of February. We also have Busch Gardens which is an amusement park and the third largest zoo in the US. We have the Florida Aquarium that has penguins. We have the largest Museum of Science and Industry in the Southeastern US. We have the Lowry Park Zoo, which is a very nice zoo.
You might want to explore www.tampa.craigslist.org
There are a lot of employers here. I suggest you put together a resume that says up front what kind of job you are looking for, look up companies in your field on yahoo yellow pages and ask if you can fax over your resume and to who's attention. Follow up in a week. That will give you an idea of whether or not you can find a job and what they pay.

Answer 2

If you're born here it's home. If you moved from out of state it's an acquired taste. If you are moving from an established, tight neighborhood to Florida you may find it's hard to grasp that which bonds you to a community. People come and go here. Other places in the country have more stable populations. If I was raising a family I wouldn't live in Florida. I'd pick a small town in Arizona. Lived most all my life in Tampa. It's a town with a lot of phony people. And a lot of them are predatory.

Answer 3

As a Floridian, I don't think I'd reccomend Tampa - I'd actually say Orlando is a safer, better area. Tampa, while it is situated around a plethora of amazing sights and beautiful beaches, is a very costly place to live. Be careful where you move into as well; there are areas that are not really safe for a single woman to be living alone.

There are places around, though, that you really must see! St. Armons Circle is a beautiful high-end shopping area right near Venice beach by Braightinton; absolutely beautiful!
Good luck in your move/

Answer 4

I have been here 26 years - and like the lady said - there are a lot of things to do here. BUT - the people are unfriendly, the jobs suck (no one wants to pay like Indiana and other northern places), the traffic is bad, apartments are expensive.

When my aunt passes away - I am outta here!

Look at Nashville, TN..........friendly people, better jobs, safer, lower cost of living, great entertainment (even if you may not like country music)

If you want Florida - look at Pensacola, Ocala or Melbourne!!

Answer 5

I love tampa but it has its ups and downs, NC is a great thought