Give me the real deal is Orlando truely Superior in nightlife/jobs over Tampa?? (Jacksonville: best cities, college)

[^Eagle^]

I want an exciting life man. From my understanding my options for that in florida are either southbeach/fort lauderdale area or Orlando.

Right now Im in Tampa though, went to St pete beach area today and felt they dropped the ball on a very cool beach area by developing it to be mostly sprawl with no entertainment or nightlife hubs and next to nothing for even a main hangout for those that go during the day. I just didnt feel it had much character. Checking out ybor tonight and Im told I will be much more impressed.

A while back i was told repeatably by posters that Orlando beats out Tampa on nightlife. There is a downtown area that is walkable with several major clubs and bars, the UCF area has some stuff, and then there's universal. In addition Orlando has winter park, some cool malls, and all the other disney type stuff. They do block parties and things too. Im sure there are other things to check out as well.

The main problem I have with Orlando so far is finding a room close enough to enjoy downtown at night easily and Im staying in tampa so it's hard to get over there and do what I need to do as the commute is very long.

So is Orlando really the better place for me for easy access night life with a fun vibe and somewhat trendy venues? Does it truely beat out Tampa?

If you've experiences both as a single dude please let me know your thoughts.

[EndersDrift]

Go to Google Maps and type in Nightlife, Florida then zoom in and out and pan all around Tampa, Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, and Miami.... that should give you a pretty clear message.

I can't tell you the difference between nightlife in Tampa and Orlando but seriously man Miami is it. Miami is on every list there is for best nightlife, best clubs, best music festivals.

AskMen.com has a top 10 international list for best nightlife cities. 3 US Cities made the list, NY, Miami, and Vegas. Vegas was number 1 on the list, Miami was number 6, NY came in at 8
AskMen.com has a top 10 best music festivals of 2010. Ultra (Miami) came in at 10.
AskMen.com has a top 10 parties for 2010. Winter Music Conference (Miami) came in at 2.

Here's another hard truth which is probably why my experience was so great in Miami:
A singles map of the United States of America - The Boston Globe
Miami is the only city in Florida with more women than men.

On this list of Best Cities for Singles Orlando came in at 9, Miami at 13, Tampa at 23
Best Cities For Singles - Forbes.com

Forbes ranked the best cities for singles and Miami came in at 20. Orlando at 22. Tampa at 32.
Best Cities For Singles - Forbes.com

Best Places to live in 2009 had 2 Florida cities in the top 100: Lake Mary and Oviedo, both in Orlando metro
In 2008 3 cities from Florida were in the top 100: Coral Springs, Miramar, and Weston, all of which are in South Florida
In 2007 2 cities from Florida made it: Lake Mary, and Winter Springs both in Orlando
In 2006 no cities from Florida made it but there were a few finalists: Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Miramar, and Pembroke Pines, all of which are in South Florida
In 2005 no cities from Florida made it but there were a few finalists: Hollywood (S.Fla), Lake Mary (Orlando), Lutz (Rural? Tampa), Ponte Vedra Beach (Jacksonville)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...states/FL.html

[blueoktober]

So - OP - what did you think of Ybor? I am a big time Industrial / EBM music fan and Tampa is definitely better than Orlando in those terms... The Ritz (Formerly Masquerade) is great for concerts, but the rest of the area is truly depressing and nasty these days. It was once thriving but now it seems to be all tattoo parlors and bums begging for money.

I dont do the nightlife much unless it's for concerts, and as far as variety in venues Orlando wins hands down (for smaller shows).

[Crane's Rooster]

Tampa has a good nightlife, but in my experience somewhat dispersed and not very diverse. By not diverse I'm not referring to ethnicity so much as age. I have been out many times in Tampa and do enjoy it but for the most part when I go to South Tampa/Hyde Park it's mostly (if not exclusively) college kids (unfortunately that part of my life is done). Ybor is a little better age diversity wise, but I feel like Ybor really isn't what it used to be since the other areas in Tampa emerged. Channelside is ok but not many options. St. Pete has alot of potential but is missing something that I just can't figure out.

I think Orlando's nightlife advantage is mainly two things. Central locations and diversity. Most Orlando's club/bar scene is centered either in Downtown and the tourist corridor (there are also smaller clusters in Winter Park and Millenia areas). Because of this centrality if you go downtown for example, just about every type of venue is located there. Within the 10 block radius from Orange Ave to Thornton Park there are well over 50 clubs/bars. Most of these places cater to the average weekend college age partier but there are still a good number of options for young professionals or older crowds. The options range from Cigar bars, to local dives, to trendy clubs, to college bars, to restaurant bars. They are all located within walking distance and in between are different food options that stay open late ranging from a hot dog cart to gyros to pizza to sushi to more high end fare. I was out this weekend and in one night went from a hip hop/top 40 college age nightclub to a trendy bar to a techno bar to a dive bar. I walked to each and did not feel out of place at any of them, although I did feel a lil old at the nightclub. The crowd and music was different at each place I went. Also, and I think this is a good selling point, the price and stiffness of the drinks also varied. That to me is a big plus because I know where I can start off getting cheap stiff drinks before I head into the $7/beer nightclubs. As I paraded around DT I saw everything from bachlorette parties to college kids, to local service industry types, to old pot belly men smoking expensive cigars and checking out the young ladies. It's a really diverse scene. I guess the bad is that it is a very large crowd of intoxicated people so there are occasional problems, however the police have a very large presence downtown. Although there are alot of options and they are all walkable it's still a very big area landwise. You may not be able to get to every place you want to in a single night just simply because it takes some time to walk from say Thornton Park to Church Street. Driving and reparking is not really an option because it's just that crowded, you may not find another spot in time. There are pedicabs and golf carts that will get you around for a price if you really wanted. Finally I will say from a single young man's perspective, both Tampa and Orlando both have an abundance of young very attractive women but here in Orlando you are more likely to meet someone outside the 18-24 age range. Take this for what it's worth, it's just my personal observations and experiences.

[galactic_hombre]

I live in Pinellas County-and work in Tampa. I am visiting Orlando today. Everytime I come to Orlando-I think I made a mistake in choosing to live in the Tampa Bay area. I am not a bar person,so I put a premium on opportunities one might find while shopping, working out, working, etc. Orlando seems to have a bountiful number of single professional women just out and about.On the other hand, Tampa has a feel of grittiness-which seems to make chance encounters with dateable women less likely. I'd be interested in reading what others think.

[EndersDrift]

Well for working out Orlando is top notch. It has one of the most well respected gyms in the world in Oviedo. If weights isn't your thing there's plenty of alternatives as well around.

As for women, I can't find one that meets my needs and desires here - most women I meet are either attractive but spoiled and uninteresting or fairly low class and unintelligent. We also have a lower single male to female ratio than Miami which I lived in for a while and much worse than overseas where it was just easy to meet people as a foreigner.

[g0gat0rs]

Originally Posted by EndersDrift

Well for working out Orlando is top notch. It has one of the most well respected gyms in the world in Oviedo. If weights isn't your thing there's plenty of alternatives as well around.

As for women, I can't find one that meets my needs and desires here - most women I meet are either attractive but spoiled and uninteresting or fairly low class and unintelligent. We also have a lower single male to female ratio than Miami which I lived in for a while and much worse than overseas where it was just easy to meet people as a foreigner.

You go to RVD?

[g0gat0rs]

Nightlife

Tampa>Orlando.

Tampa is more cultural than Orlando, I think. In Orlando u have the typical tourist attractions or clubs/bars/restaurants turned into clubs/bars at night bs. I can't stand those.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by g0gat0rs

Nightlife

Tampa>Orlando.

Tampa is more cultural than Orlando, I think. In Orlando u have the typical tourist attractions or clubs/bars/restaurants turned into clubs/bars at night bs. I can't stand those.

LOL, are you kidding me? There are loads upon loads of bars downtown that are bars only catering to many different crowds...here's a list: Cleo's, Stardust, Matador, Bullitt Bar, Kush, The Celt pub, Central Station Bar, Lyrica, Independent Bar, The Other Bar, Icon, One Eye'd Jacks, Element, 57 West, BackBooth, Monkey Bar, Slingapours, Finnhenry's, The Social, Sky 60, Tabu, Club Firestone, Club 23, Bliss, Antigua, Chillers, Latitudes, Rok Room, Lizzy McCormacks, Makos, Suite B, Blank Space, Limelight, Dragon Room, NV, Vintage Lounge, Voyager, Vixen, Eye Spy, Lodge, and The Globe.

There I just named over 40 bars, all downtown, that do not serve food during the daytime.

[galactic_hombre]

What about the professional element? It seems to me thàt Orlando has more, or they are more spread out, so you have a greater chance of running into a working single. Also, doesn't Tampa seem more ethnic?