tampa vs jax (Jacksonville, Clearwater: pharmacist, to live in, moving to)

[yyz]

Considering a job relocation to Jax or Tampa. Any advice?

[riveree]

They're both good cities, but I think we need a little more info into what your needs and likes are.......

What are you looking for out of Jax?

What kind of lifestyle do you envision here?

What's important to you in a city?

You can get some great feedback here, but the more details you can provide, the better that feedback will be.

Check out the tips for creating a descriptive thread on the Terms of Service:

http://www.city-data.com/forumtos.html

[joninclay]

In general, Tampa is a little more expensive to live in than Jax is. As Riveree said, you need to figure out what's important to you in a city, and see if either (or both) cities have what you seek.

I love Tampa, and I love Jax. Good luck with your search!

[vdecapio]

Is Tampa more cultured than Jax? Is it more diverse? Is it more in touch with the world? Is it more progressive? Because these are things that Jax currently lacks....a mind for the future, diversity, culture, and world view. Never been to Tampa, but I have a feeling it may be a step above JAX in these areas? Any comments?

[joninclay]

Originally Posted by evidence

I like Jax just the way it is, if that makes sense. Yes, Tampa is more multicultural and diverse. I'm not sure why that makes a place better.

I agree 100%, ev! But if it's important to yyz or to folks like vdecapio, then it needs to be considered.

[vdecapio]

The only reason I raise such questions is because if YYZ were coming from a large city, which typically have large amounts of culture and diversity, then he may expect that from Jacksonville as well....which has the 12th largest population in the country. By population standards it is a big city. Being the 12th largest, YYZ may expect it to have a wide variety of people and cultural opportunities....like a big city.

But, if he expects that, the culture shock will hit him pretty hard if he comes here. It will be like getting hit over the head with a 2X4. It is painful and the sting takes a while to wear off. Just trying to be charitable towards YYZ....not knowing where he is coming from and what he expects. Moving is a big issue and you need to know what you are getting in to.

Also, I am curious about the comparison between JAX and Tampa in terms of culture, diversity, and world view. Just curious!

[agreatlife]

I have lived in both cities, moving to Tampa from Jax in 2001, and back to Jax in 2004. I found it hard to get around in Tampa, it just too darned big, and that factors in St. Pete and Clearwater. I lived in the south bay, and everything I did was such a commute. The traffic is horrific - IMHO it's much worse than Jax. Drivers are even more agressive than they are here. The beaches of St. Pete and even Clearwater are great, but I didn't go there much. The Jax symphony again, IMO, is much better than Tampa's Florida Orchestra, and I didn't see that Tampa was more diverse than Jax is, but I guess it's all in what you are looking for.
As far as hot, Jax is about the same in the summer, the difference is that Tampa stays HOT longer - and that's not fun in Florida.
I think the other posters may be right that Tampa is a little more expensive at least housing wise, but the market is even more dismal in Tampa than Jax right now, so that may not be true.
Hope this helps.

[travelingfood]

often aggressive, yes. But more courtesy towards letting people in/out of traffic, followed by wave of thanks instead of a bird.

[cricketfan]

I've noticed that this poster asked the same question on both the Jacksonville forum and the Tampa forum at the same time. Which was probably a smart thing to do. The problem is that on the Jax forum he/she will hear that Jax is so much better than Tampa even from people who have never been to Tampa. The other problem is that although the question was asked on both forums at the same time, there were 8 responses in 16 hours on this forum (not including mine) and zero responses on the Tampa forum. What does that say? I dont know .. but it's interesting.

[yyz]

I am moving from Atlanta, having lived in Boston and growing up in South Florida. Atlanta is too big, traffic sucks, and alot of people still won't accept the South lost the war. I am a pharmacist and my wife is a teacher so we can go move almost anywhere. We grew up in Florida and want to move back and we don't like how many rude people there are in South Florida.