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Hello, I am a Orlando native moving to Denver myself. I have not been to Tampa much but have many friends from there. Tampa has some beautiful beaches, but not much else to do. There is a part of town called Ybor city, which is supposed to be the poppin place in town but its known to be ghetto. Tampa is known mostly for its strip clubs, so in itself tells you how much the town sucks. Orlando is a wannabe city. It is trying so hard to create culture, but it is obviously fake. There is a ton of construction everywhere and it never seems to lead to anything. I have lived here for 21 years and I guarantee you there are half finished buildings who have sat for just as long. The main roads and highways like I4 and the toll road 408 are always full of traffic and under construction. Yes, its sunny, but it's HUMID. It is so damn hot here. And it rains randomly and pretty often. The downtown is getting better but it is nothing compared to the likes of Denver. The only things to do in Florida are go to theme parks and the beach which definitely have gotten old for this native. I am looking forward to the culture in all the areas of Colorado, the seasons, the dryness, the mountains, and the more sophisticated night life. There are a LOT of Spanish people here also, just an FYI. And don't ever venture to Miami unless you have lots of cash!!!
Good luck!
I'm not going to dump on Tampa or Orlando because I like them both and consider them good places to live. One thing I'd say to consider is your financial situation. There are no state income taxes in Florida - which is a great perk. However, if you plan to buy a house, property taxes can be significantly higher. So if you buy a home in Florida and one or both of you quit/lose your job, you're still paying that high property tax. In Colorado, at least your state income tax will drop some if you're not working. Owning a house in Florida also means some other expenses we don't think about in Colorado - mainly pest control (ants, termites, etc.) and possibly higher insurance related to hurricanes depending on where you live. One great advantage of Denver is that they have a pretty good public transportation. I would say it's extremely difficult to live with just one car in Tampa or Orlando. However, if you live and work in the right areas of Denver, you could probably do it here. And that doesn't just mean living along the Denver light rail corridors - the regional and express buses are pretty extensive.
As for the soccer, I've worked with two guys that were pretty active in two separate local soccer leagues in Denver, so I know it's fairly popular for competitive/organized leagues. Colorado on the whole is a very active and healthy place. If people aren't up in the mountains doing the outdoor activities, they're down here playing sports. It'll be pretty easy to hook up with some organized leagues. Good luck on the decision.
After living in Martin County, Florida for 15 years, I got sick of it and moved to Denver, where I had no job and didn't know anyone. I loved it. So, I am suggesting that you choose Denver over any place in Florida, or any place in the US. I forget if you said you'd been to Denver once, but you must not have been or you wouldn't be thinking of going anywhere else. There is crime anywhere. Just pick a good neighborhood. Try to live west of I-25 and south of I-70. If you do, you can still catch a Light Rail or bus and be that much closer to the mountains.The Rocky Mountains are spectacular and the whole Denver area has tons of stuff to do in and out of the mountains. Buy a mountain bike. Get snowshoes. Invest in a tent. Go!
I can probably give you some information (though it may be slightly biased) on Tampa and Denver since we moved to Denver last August after living in Tampa for 2.5 years (husband retired from the Air Force).
Basically it comes down to this...water or mountains?
Tampa is a gorgeous city...there is water everywhere...bridges that lead out into the ocean so far that almost daily you see dolphins and manatees. Plenty of water sports and beaches (if that's your thing) and because it's a larger city, there is nothing you will be lacking (plenty of shopping and restaurants and things to do).
Denver is a gorgeous city...the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak are visible from almost everywhere in the city. A nice downtown and people are really into hiking and skiing and everything else you could want to do in the mountains. Also a larger city so there are plenty of shops and restaurants and things to do).
I found that people are friendly in both cities...though Florida does have a lot of retirees, it is still a pretty "southern" place...lots of people sitting on their porches drinking beer.
Negatives with Tampa: 1. The price of houses is similar, but the cost to get home insurance is often astronomical. Most of the home insurance companies have pulled out of Florida all together which leaves you with having to get the state-owned insurance company and their high prices. Most of my coworkers had home insurance that was almost $200 per month. 2. The humidity is nothing that you have ever felt before. You have to live through it to know what I am talking about. It's exhausting and impossible to escape. 3. Hurricanes are a very serious threat there. They don't take you by surprise as the news agencies follow and track every move they make, but it's still a little disconcerting to wonder if you will be one of those trying to evacuate. 4. It's flat in Florida. The entire state is basically at sea level and you will be shocked to see the ground when you fly into/out of it. It looks like the entire state is sinking.
Negatives with Denver: 1. It's flat here. If you see the Chamber of Commerce photos from Denver, you'd think it was very mountainous and hilly. Most of Denver is in the plains and then the Rockies are within driving distance. It was a shock when we moved here because we drove through Kansas and it wasn't much different. 2. It's dry here. Your skin will need constant lotion and you will never drink more water. In addition, the grass and trees need a lot of water to survive. The natural areas are quite brown...it's the plains. 3. There are tornadoes here. There was a large one that touched down in the north part of the state, but even the airport here has "tornado shelter" areas. 4. You're landlocked. You've got to go through basically 3 states to get to the ocean. People make up for it by enjoying the mountains, but if water is what you need, you're either going to have to drive quite a distance or take an airplane.
As for Orlando...not a great city. I believe it recently won the "least happy" award for the entire country which is weird since Disneyworld is the Happiest Place on Earth. There is a high crime rate there and nothing particularly stands out...it's not on the water and it's just a big chain-restaurant kind of place.
We were happy in both cities...but they are VERY different. I am glad to be living in Colorado though I do miss the water. It's a nicer life here for our family and the cost of living is less.
My wife and I are currently living in London, England. I'm a Brit but she's a native of small town Ohio. We've grown tired of life in London (horrid traffic, high prices for EVERYTHING, even higher prices for petrol, low paying jobs, long commutes and a general lack of things that we want to do). We've been talking over where to move to for a while now and have it narrowed down to Denver, Orlando and Tampa. Why those three? Well, we both have family in Denver and we both fell in love with the sunny days and mountains in the background. Orlando and Tampa? The wife has family in Orlando but more importantly, we're sick of London weather (no it doesn't rain all the time...it's just cloudy a lot and summer isn't really any good) and want to try some warmer/more tropical climates. Tampa?....In case Orlando is crap
I found this website a couple of days ago and was horrified at what people were saying about Orlando and Florida in general. I've been to Florida once...the dreaded summer of '04. Inbetween Hurricanes I liked what I saw, but it was only a week so I couldn't get a very good picture of what it was like. I've been to Denver a handful of times, for a little less than a week each time and loved it every time. I just haven't seen or been told about the bad parts of each place.
So what are we looking for?
The wife and I want SUN...we can handle cold, as long as there is sun...even partly sunny. From my recollections, Denver can deliver that and Florida is a no brainer, but I need to know about the other areas of living in each of these cities. What is crime REALLY like?! Remember, I live in London, and although crime is an issue here, I don't live in a dangerous part of town (although you can get robbed anywhere, anytime in London) but you generally have to be somewhat streetsmart to live here. Commuting times...I generally have a one hour commute each way usually by train and tube (subway) so 45 minutes in a car is an improvement. How is the credit crunch hitting the jobs in the area? What areas should be avoided for a young couple in their late 20's?
Any help like this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Funny, I'm trying to decide between the two also. I've lived in South Florida and I've lived in Denver too. I think the people who completely trash either Orlando or Denver need to be taken with a grain of salt. No city is perfect.
You need to think carefully about what you're looking for. Orlando-- humid, no seasons, boring "culture". Denver, snowier winters, unpredictable weather, boring "culture". Frankly, I LOVED Denver, would live there again in a heartbeat, but of course there are negatives about it (as any other city). It has and will continue to have the same problem mid-sized cities have (while they become bigger cities). More crime, gang infiltration, Californication. That's just reality of the world we live in; Orlando has problems spreading up to it from Miami.
A few questions you should ask yourself-- what matters to you? Beach access? Orlando, hands down. Snow skiing/ mountains? Denver. Consistent warm/ hot weather-- Orlando. Honestly, I think you'll be happy in either.
Thanks to everyone for their input. Readng everyone's posts has been very helpful in trying to make up our minds. Right now I'm pulling for Denver but the wife is still hopeful about Orlando and is now thinking about Cali and Phoenix, AZ. I think she's suffering with typical London weather and is desperate for some consistently warm and sunny weather. I've shown her the crime stats for Orlando and Denver and it's a no brainer really. Orlando is much worse and it's a hard stat to get away from when you're trying to make a case for Orlando.
A number of you have made the same very good point that we need to consider if we want warm weather and water or mountains and snow. They are kinda polar opposites, but the thing I've always loved about Denver is that even when it's cold, you're still mostly sunny. It's what the wife and I have called "Denver Days" as it's something that we have rarely found in Ohio or in London. On the odd occasion when London gets a sunny day in the winter that's exactly what it reminds us of. For me, this is a MASSIVE benefit of living in Denver. As long as it still occurs.
Now, I haven't been back to Denver since 2002 and I know that a lot of cities have seen their weather change/intensify in the 5/6 years that have passed so it would be great if someone could confirm what their perception of the number of sunny days or even partly sunny days are in Denver. I've heard that popular stat from the Chamber of Commerce about over 300 days of sunshine so there's no need to trot that one out for me, but I'd be very interested in people's perceptions of the weather. I saw one thread simply entitled "I HATE THIS WEATHER!" which shocked me a little about just how changeable your weather was. It helped to crystallise my thinking on what I'm looking for.......sun. That's what it comes down to really. As I've said before, I can handle cold, wind and snow; I just need the sun to shine more often than not. Is that still the case in Denver?
As for mountains or beach....I would choose the beach right now. But I would imagine I'd get sick of it after a few months. I'm also probably saying this because I also am in desperate need of some sun and sand therapy, but once I get that, I imagine that Orlando won't look so attractive. My wife is a keen camping/outdoor enthusiast and is trying to teach this city boy how to enjoy the outdoors. I'm keen to learn but I can't imagine many better places to do that than in Denver. I have to say I am also drawn to Denver's consistent top 5 rating for fittest US city.
Something my wife has mentioned about Denver is that due to a lack of rainfall you sometimes have shortages of water and that has lead to increases in your water bills. Is that correct? If so, is it something that greatly affects your monthly budget? Or are we talking about going from a $30 monthly bill to a $40 bill? The rising cost of utilities here in London is something that is affecting most people. When I say rising I mean that our electric bill has nearly doubled after constant rate hikes. Add that onto soaring petrol prices (I just filled my VW Golf 1.6 which gets me almost 400 miles of city driving, no highway, per tank for £59 which comes to just over $120! It used to cost me £41 or around $82.) and you can see why it would concern us if the water bill was another utility that kept rising. So what are the water bills like over there?
I'll post again in a couple of days once people have had a chance to respond as I have some questions about jobs and how to get them from London, if that's even possible.
Many thanks again to everyone for posting. The advice is greatly appreciated.
I just need the sun to shine more often than not. Is that still the case in Denver?
The chamber of commerce claims that we have "300 days of sun" but that includes days that are only partly sunny. Apparently, the real story is that we have about 250 days out of the year that are actually sunny as opposed to partly sunny. The sunniest time of year is actually winter. Although it varies from year to year December-January is often the sunniest period of the year although it can still be bitterly cold and sunny at the same time.
If you want sun, the four corner states (CO, UT, AZ, NM) are the sunniest states. A few of our neighboring cities are sunnier than Colorado. Phoenix, AZ is one of them -- that's probably the sunniest major city in America. Las Vegas is probably another. El Paso, TX is probably another (it's very close to NM). The sunniest place of all is probably New Mexico, which IMO is a much better climate than anywhere else in the southwest, plus it has real mountains. However, NM and the rest of the southwest have many other issues that prevent me from actually living there over Colorado.
I wonder where this guy moved...hope it wasn't Orlando.
I live in NJ right now and used to live in the Tampa area. I knew a couple Orlando natives that moved to Tampa cause Orlando is garbage. Home of the worst drivers...better buy a helmet if you are going to drive around I4 in Orlando. Alot of rude people and love bugs that get everywhere. Im moving back to the Tampa area (Largo) cause it was so nice and I'd rather sweat than shiver. In Denver it stays bitter cold for a while. Scenery: Palm trees turqouise water with beautiful sunsets VS. some mountains. You take a pick. arright.
I hope to Denver too, I think the sunshine is nicer without the humidity or random violence. I've spent extended vacations in both Las Vegas and Florida, and I would have to say I felt safer walking around Colfax in Denver then I did in either.
Even though it gets cold, the snow goes away quickly and it's sunny in the afternoon or even the next day. Expect at least a dozen good snowy days. AZ is so blistering hot and dry, it's impossible to live in the summer without AC....or really like the heat.
Gas is always on the low scale in Denver compared to the national average (what, $3.40 a gallon now?), and home energy costs are about middle of the road (we were about $100 a month max, AC and lots of computers), plus water/sewer were about $40-50 (3 bedroom apartment). When I left (this summer) the snow packs were very high, but the water companies still kept their drought surcharges.
It's pretty car friendly, which is good since outside of light rail and the city of Boulder public transit is a joke. Everything is very spread out, which is good and bad...bad areas and nice areas get concentrated in little islands. Most of East Denver is not as nice as West Denver...but it's easy to tell which are nice and not nice.
I currently live in Denver for the past 2 years. I first lived in Daytona Beach for 4 years (College) and Orlando another 3 (even that dreadful 04 hurricane season) after college till I moved to Denver. Originally from the Northeast (Philly). Personally, the fiance (also from Philly) and I have had enough of Colorado, nothing too extreme, but I think we are just bored. We are actually looking to move back to Orlando or somewhere up North. I think we just miss the water and the do anything anytime of day (for the most part, colorado is lights out after 9pm). Ironically we are avid skiiers and snowboarders, but never go due to the fact that its either too expensive, I-70 is closed, or just not enough time. I think I went skiing/boarding more times a season living in FL than I do now living here!
Crime can happen anywhere, I've been broken into here twice in Denver, yet nothing ever happened to me in Orlando/Daytona. I found it ironic since I left Philly for that reason
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Denver, Orlando or Tampa?
