[slcuervo]

I am looking at the possibility of moving to Florida, and I think a main city such as Orlando, Tampa, or Miami would be the best place for me.

What do you recommend? I have seen several posts about crime, about housing problems, and so on. So all togother, what would your choice be and why?

[INeedAChange]

From what I've seen, Orlando sounds like the best of these three.

[backtofla]

not miami. either orlando or tampa. tampa's more affordable.

[Toro]

Tampa.

But traffic is a problem.

[backtofla]

orlando traffic = probably worse than tampa. maybe not. i dunno.

[slcuervo]

Why not Miami? Is there something wrong about it, or is it just because Orlando and Tampa are better?

And by the way, what makes you choose Tampa and Orlando? Because of the people who live there? Is it because there are nicer neighborhoods? Weather? Lifestyle?

I don't know much about those cities, so it would be great if you could explain your answers a bit more. Thank you!

[smash731]

Orlando...I love east orlando and Disney. Tampa is also awesome but I don't like the gulf beaches...but I think Tampa has a Miami vibe without the overwhelming heat and expensiveness...to me, Tampa is "Miami Lite"

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by slcuervo

Why not Miami? Is there something wrong about it, or is it just because Orlando and Tampa are better?

And by the way, what makes you choose Tampa and Orlando? Because of the people who live there? Is it because there are nicer neighborhoods? Weather? Lifestyle?

I don't know much about those cities, so it would be great if you could explain your answers a bit more. Thank you!

Coming from someone who was born and raised and recently left Miami - Miami is great if you are mostly concerned with image, have money to burn, don't mind paying more for a place to live than it's really worth. It used to be a nice place, but people are so shallow and plastic, rude, arrogant and generally unpleasant, there is just no quality of life. Believe me, what you see on TV and the movies isn't what it's really like - it ain't no day at the beach. What you see on the outside (clothes, cars, house) is quite often all you get out of a person.

I've never lived in Tampa or Orlando, but Tampa definitely seemed more my speed if someone was forcing me to livng in FL again.

All three cities are overcrowded and overpriced, and dare I say overrated. Olando is a huge tourist mecca, and a lot of places just seem too "Disney" based on my limited experiences visiting friends who live there. Tampa used to be pretty nice, with a cool historic district, but I think that when Miami's housing market blew up, a lot of people from Miami moved to Tampa, thus the "Miami Lite" smash731 refers to. However, because you asked, I'd still vote Tampa out of your choices you listed.

[Prichard]

Orlando or Tampa. I was born and raised in Orlando, lived in Tampa for a little while, and moved back to Orlando. At the time, there were things I didn't like about Tampa - some of which has since changed. One wierd complaint I had about Tampa was that Tampa girls had "big hair" and wore way too much make-up. Orlando girls seemed to be a little more natural looking - I doubt it matters anymore, and I'm sure this was a huge overgeneralization.

Either way, if you don't like one, you can move to the other - it's only a 90 minute drive. Jacksonville isn't' that bad either, if you don't mind a little more of a southern flair.

[slcuervo]

Seems like no one recommends Miami... Good! That's what I wanted when I asked the questions, your opinions in order to see what the general trend is.

So, from your answers I get the impression that Orlando is more tourist-Disney like, and Tampa is a sort of "miami lite". Both have traffic problems and both are overcorwded...

So what about a place in between? Any suggestion?