orlando vs tampa

[the9thwonder]

I am glad our pizza can be up to par with NY'ers.

[**NoodLes**]

There's a reason Tampa has a few major sports teams there such as the Bucs, Rays, and Lightning. People there can actually afford to go to their games, Tampa has a beautiful beach close by, and don't forget Busch Gardens, the best theme park in Central Florida. Orlando sucks!

[the9thwonder]

Neither Orlando or Tampa are great in my opinion. Both are very transient, a lot of crime, traffic, rude people... i dont see the attraction.

[compelled to reply]

Tampa isn't transient at all.

[the9thwonder]

the entire state of FL is transient. Maybe a few exceptions in N FL

[kinglouix]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

Tampa isn't transient at all.

Tampa has an establishe population with generations of Tamponians that add to the culture and uniqueness of the area. There is real history there. If any visits the Orlando History Museum be prepared to experience the laugh of the century. There is a plastic Orange Tree in the Middle and they have some photo's of Orlando before Disney World came. You realize Orlando was a two block area surrounded by Orange Groves. The city has no history, and zero character. Tampa is still Florida but offers so much more. Having the Dali Museum in St. Pete alone is more culture than Orlando will have for the next 1,000 years. There is no comparison between the two. Go to a Hockey game in Tampa and see what a nice experience it is, they figured out that it is not a pleasant experience to go to every sporting event in the middle of the hood. The surrounding areas never gentrify and it makes the experience unpleasant for the locals. Oh yea, Orlando plans to build it's new Magic stadium, (you guessed it) in the hood, and millions to revitalize (how do you revitalize that which was never vital) the citrus bowl (you guessed it) in the middle of the hood. Thereby guaranteeing that the new stadiums bring zero restaurants and nightlife, so desparately needed to downtown. Like everything else here, planned by idiots. Nice convention center, where you need to take a shuttle bus to park. How many other cities don't have a highway that connects the airport to downtown? Why is there no toll between the airport and disney world, while the residents have to pay a toll to go from downtown to cocoa beach? Why does every major road merger, take you a mile out of the way before you finally make the merger? Why is there a 23 story courthouse with no stairs with an average wait time of 15 minutes for an elevator? Why doesn't downtown have a drug store? a video store? a supermarket or anything viable to begin to call this disastor a city?? Go ahead and build some more tall buildings so the area can become more and more congested without anything a real city offers. Tampa wins hands down!!!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by the9thwonder

the entire state of FL is transient. Maybe a few exceptions in N FL

Actually only Orlando and parts of SW and SE FL fit this description.

[Magnulus]

Kinglouix, you make some great points. Tampa has a real downtown area, Orlando doesn't have one so much. I'd say Tampa is a more liveable city, though the Orlando metro area is more diverse, and there is the rub. Tampa has more jobs downtown, Orlando has the jobs scattered everywhere and a dowtown lacking in attractions or businesses. Both places have sucky traffic but Orlando's metro street layout is the only one that is going to choke on itself just like Atlanta.

Still, Tampa isn't for everybody. It's a Florida rustbelt of sorts, it looks like it, alot of stuff they tried to build anew like Harbor Island failed (granted, Harbor Island sold mostly junk). I went to school there a few years and the schools were in the middle of basicly a ghetto and it was ugly. But it has some character with that grittyness, whereas Orlando feels like all grit.