Atlanta or Tampa (Forsyth, Cleveland, Between: sales, real estate market, insurance)

[dnc19694339]

I am looking to move from NY to a warmer climate. I am interested in the Tampa area for many reasons (winter temps,beaches,friends). I have read alot on the tampa forums and all everybody talks about is how bad the economy is down there. That has me nervous. How about Atlanta? Is the economy as bad in Atlanta? How is the business climate there? Is unemployment there as bad as Tampa area?

I currently own a landscaping business in NY and will be self employed where ever I end up. Probably by purchasing an existing business. I am more than capable of operating other types of business'.

Give me your opinions, thanks

[neil0311]

I have immediate family that have lived in the Tampa area for 14 years, and I spend a lot of time there for business and to visit my family. Tampa and Atlanta are different. One important difference is that there is no income tax in Florida. Another is that Tampa has the Bay and the Gulf. It's a great place to visit, but we made the decision to come to Atlanta.

There are also negatives in Tampa, like a less diverse economy, less diverse population (Tampa is very white which may be a negative), no transit, hurricanes and bad weather, higher insurance costs, higher property and sales taxes, mostly single story stucco ranch style homes, fewer direct flights from TPA, poor water quality, dense traffic in Pinellas and parts of Hillsborough counties. Finally, there is no real change of seasons, the topography is flat as a pancake, and you have senior citizen "snowbirds" everywhere in the winter. If people in Atlanta think there is suburban sprawl here, they need to check out Tampa. It's one large strip mall on US 19 for many miles.

Atlanta has a much more diverse economy, diverse population, better business environment, transit, nicer two story brick homes, more varied topography and natural beauty (mountains, forests, parks, etc), change of seasons (leaves fall and it gets colder). You can fly anywhere non-stop from Atlanta airport. Both cities have pro sports teams, but as low key as the fans are in Atlanta, they are still more supportive than in Tampa, which may be the only place besides Atlanta to have more people originally from somewhere else.

[brook2ga]

I'm not sure how well landscapers are doing. Between the recent severe drought and the economy, many of them went out of business.

[OhioNative]

I go to Tampa all the time, and it really does have a different feel from Atlanta. St. Pete and Tampa remind me of, say, the older suburbs of Cleveland or Detroit (only with palm trees and better weather), with a mish-mash of random older strip malls for miles. When we first came here on vacation, I commented to my wife, "it looks like Eastlake (a Cleveland suburb) with palm trees and sun." It's even set up on a grid like metro Detroit. Atlanta is hillier and has a newer feel to it.

[City Fanatic]

Originally Posted by neil0311

There are also negatives in Tampa...less diverse population (Tampa is very white which may be a negative)

That sounds downright discriminatory against white people.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by City Fanatic

That sounds downright discriminatory against white people.

I'm white...I was just providing some perspective in case the OP wasn't.

[grindin]

I lived there for 2 years, and while there were things I enjoyed about the area, the negatives ultimately outweighed the positives for me, so I moved. Not everything is for everyone, so YMMV.

Tampa Bay is hardly what I'd call 'whitebread'. It's actually a pretty diverse area with decent size hispanic and black populations. The farther out you went, the whiter it was, but that isn't unique to Tampa Bay. I didn't see as much of the de-facto segregation that you can find here in Atlanta, but there were problems if you looked for them, if that makes any sense.

The economy really isn't that much better here in Atlanta. ATL's economy is more diverse than Tampa's though. Most of the jobs down there were service or tourism related, and there were a lot of back-offices for financial and insurance services, so lots of call-center/customer service types of jobs. Hey, a check is a check (and I worked in customer service for many years), but the opportunities for professional development are more limited down in Tampa compared to Atlanta. Florida is also notorious for paying low salaries. They don't say you get paid in sunshine for nothing.

I personally thought that Tampa Bay was not as attractive as Atlanta. Sure, there are palm trees, and beautiful large bodies of water. But I also thought it was flat and scrubby, and there were a lot of areas that looked really run-down. Also, there were LOTS of trailer parks, which some people view as a negative, but hey, people have to live somewhere.

Housing prices rose sharply in Tampa Bay from 2004-2006 or so before the real estate market crashed, so housing prices are correcting themselves, but I have found that you can still get more house for your money in many parts of Atlanta.

Having access to the beach was a plus for me, but after the novelty wore off, I rarely went. It became a burden, especially on particular weekends of the year, having to deal with the traffic and parking and prices.

Traffic-wise, no comparison. Atlanta traffic is horrible by any standard. People in LA or Paris may laugh, but congestion here is no walk in the park. However, during the few minutes at the crack of dawn when there is no traffic, the freeways serve their purpose. One of the main reasons why Atlanta's congestion is so bad is because of the arterial system is so lousy. There are not many viable alternatives to the freeways when they're congested. OTOH, Tampa Bay is laid out in a sensible grid system, and the roads are wide, and there are alternatives just in case there is congestion on a stretch. The freeways there are very outdated though. Most of the freeways should have been widened from 6 to 8-10 lanes well over a decade ago. Don't get me started on US-19 in Pinellas County...

In spite of the newcomers, I found Tampa to be a lot more insular and clannish than Atlanta. Sure, people were friendly, but it didn't feel genuine to me. Also, people really didn't seem to venture really far from their sphere. I think that's partially due to the much larger retiree population and there is lots of water, and I've always thought that water is not only a physical boundary, but a psychological one. Most people I knew that lived in St Pete rarely went to Tampa, unless they worked up there and vice versa. Atlanta is way more sprawling.

I hope this helps. We may need more details about you. Age? Do you have a family that you are taking here with you? What are your personal interests? You said that you have friends in Tampa Bay, and having friends already in the area you're going to can really go a long way. I know it helped me moving here to Atlanta. But again, YMMV

[crux]

You could ditch lawn and become a charter boat captain - fish all day, get a tan, and get paid to do it.

ATL has better job prospects and housing. The traffic and commute is suckalicious though. I like visiting Tampa and could see myself living there just to fish every weekend, but the economy, housing, and job prospects dont sway me.

[YBF]

Where are you coming from in NY? To me Tampa feels more like home than Atlanta. I can see Tampa being compared to Nassau County Long Island and Atlanta being compared to Eastern Suffolk County Long Island. Tampa is alot more diverse, the sprawl is not as bad as it is in Atlanta, the weather is nice all year round. Tampa does have some traffic issues but no way near as bad as Atlanta. No place is for everybody like someone stated so I would suggest spending some time in both places to see which place suits you best. The economy is bad EVERYWHERE so I wouldnt suggest moving anywhere unless you have a job lined up before you get there.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by YBF

Where are you coming from in NY? To me Tampa feels more like home than Atlanta. I can see Tampa being compared to Nassau County Long Island and Atlanta being compared to Eastern Suffolk County Long Island. Tampa is alot more diverse, the sprawl is not as bad as it is in Atlanta, the weather is nice all year round. Tampa does have some traffic issues but no way near as bad as Atlanta.

Wow.... Tampa like Nassau County? Maybe. Pinellas County is pretty busy and dense and could be compared with some parts of southern Nassau. Some of the areas of Hillsborough could be compared with the north shore. Maybe. However, there are parts of Hillsborough and northern Pinellas that are pretty rural. Not at all like Nassau or even the Atlanta area.

Atlanta like Eastern Suffolk County? Not hardly. Are you thinking of Cherokee or Forsyth County and calling them Atlanta? How can you take Fulton, Dekalb, Cobb, Gwinnett counties and compare them with not just Suffolk County, NY, but eastern Suffolk Co? That's just ridiculous.