Moving to Tampa. (Orlando, Melbourne, University: apartments, for rent, car insurance)

[SteveEvang]

Hello my name is Steve, i am 25 years old and was born in Melbourne Australia. At the age of 13 me and my family moved to Athens-Greece. For the past 2 years i have been thinking of moving to Florida and now i have thought it out and come to a decission.
I was wondering if anyone in this forum could give me some advice and help. I dont know anything about employment house renting and ect. so i have a few questions. if anyone has the time to help me please let me know..thank you

[Team_Roberts]

Hello Steve and welcome to the Tampa Bay area!

Just let me know what you need and I would be glad to help you out. Are you looking for employment? Renting? Nightlife? Colleges?

My wife and I enjoy helping people move to the Tampa area and would be glad to answer any of your questions.

[tampaguy03]

Here is a great source for specific information

TAMPA FLORIDA USA municipal government - official web site for the City of Tampa, Florida

[SteveEvang]

hello and thank you for your quick reply..
i am looking for employment and a small place to live. i have some money saved up so i would firstly like to get a small and cheap as possible studio-aparpment(1 bedroom) to stay in and then search for a job. I will be coming to Tampa to start my life over and for start i just want to blend in.

This is a big step for me because i will be leaving my family and friends behind and going to a place and country knowing no one(except for some friends in Boston).The positive side is that my english is at 95% so i will not have any problems in that area.

My major concern is employment, i have a college degree i Audio Engineering and also have lots of experience Computer hardware-software and maintenance-repair work on automobile(mechanic). Also in order to obtain a Green card(visa) to be able to live in the US, i will have to be employed.

So here are a few questions for start:

Which area would be best for someone like me to move to?(i'm not looking for much nightlife, i just want a good quality of living)

Will it be hard to find a job in Tampa?

Could i find a small and cheap place to live in or will i need 1500$+ per month?

What is the life style like?

thanks, hope to hear from you soon..
best regards
Steven

[SteveEvang]

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

Here is a great source for specific information

TAMPA FLORIDA USA municipal government - official web site for the City of Tampa, Florida

thank you, very helpful..

[yukon]

Have you tried checking employment ads on CareerBuilder.com and hotjobs.com? I'm not familiar with your degree, so I'm afraid I can't help you much there (but we do have boatloads of huge car dealerships with service departments, if that's related to your degree).

As for rent, it's not cheap here anymore. Studio's are probably going for $500-$660, you might check on apartmentguide.com and apartments.com for area rates.

You WILL need a car here, the Tampa transit system is poor. St Pete/Pinellas transit system is better, you might be able to get by without a car if you work/live in Pinellas County (but it will still be tough).

Good luck, and welcome!

Just thought of something. You said you moved to Greece, are you still in Greece? We have a Greek Consulate here in Tampa, 601 Bayshore Blvd. Don't know the phone, sorry. But they might be able to answer some questions for you. Big Greek community up in Tarpon Springs.

[SteveEvang]

Originally Posted by yukon

Have you tried checking employment ads on CareerBuilder.com and hotjobs.com? I'm not familiar with your degree, so I'm afraid I can't help you much there (but we do have boatloads of huge car dealerships with service departments, if that's related to your degree).

As for rent, it's not cheap here anymore. Studio's are probably going for $500-$660, you might check on apartmentguide.com and apartments.com for area rates.

You WILL need a car here, the Tampa transit system is poor. St Pete/Pinellas transit system is better, you might be able to get by without a car if you work/live in Pinellas County (but it will still be tough).

Good luck, and welcome!

Just thought of something. You said you moved to Greece, are you still in Greece? We have a Greek Consulate here in Tampa, 601 Bayshore Blvd. Don't know the phone, sorry. But they might be able to answer some questions for you. Big Greek community up in Tarpon Springs.

when you say 500-600$ you mean per week or month?

yes i still live in Greece, how could i get in contact with them?
thanks

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by SteveEvang

when you say 500-600$ you mean per week or month?

yes i still live in Greece, how could i get in contact with them?
thanks

That price is per month, but keep in mind that it's an efficiency or studio so they're quite small. It's also American dollars. Not sure, but do you use the euro there?

Careerbuilder and Hotjobs are websites to search for employment. You can also apply for the jobs you find online through some of those sites.

[bonnietyson]

Hi Steve,

You definitely can use a roommate, living alone in a city you know nothing about is hard. This is a small city in Florida but expensive compare to other areas in the state. I live in Wesley Chapel and like it alot. You will without a doubt need a car, there is no public transportation to speak of here. The buses stop running about 8-9 p.m. and run on an hourly bases in the a.m.
Jobs are not hard to find but your field is somewhat saturated. Join as many groups as possible at first to meet people and tell them exactly what you need. Rents are about 800.00 US dollars which is cheap compare to the euro and Grace. You should have about 6 months worth of income to live on for rent, food, expenses, gas, car insurance and the like. Also go on Jobs.com - Global job search. Local careers. and www.tampajobs.com these are specific to our area.
good luck, if I can help with anything let me know bonnie

[Qacer]

Originally Posted by SteveEvang

hello and thank you for your quick reply..
i am looking for employment and a small place to live. i have some money saved up so i would firstly like to get a small and cheap as possible studio-aparpment(1 bedroom) to stay in and then search for a job. I will be coming to Tampa to start my life over and for start i just want to blend in.

If you are looking for a place to rent, the general websites to start off are: Craigslist.org, TampaForums.com, USFBS.com, FaceBook.com (USF & Tampa Networks).

These websites are specifically based for the Tampa market. For studio apartment, you may want to try ApartmentRatings.com and search for apartments for the area. As of last year, a studio in the Carollwood area was going for about $600 per month. However, you can live closer to the University of South Florida with roommates and cut down your cost.

This is a big step for me because i will be leaving my family and friends behind and going to a place and country knowing no one(except for some friends in Boston).The positive side is that my english is at 95% so i will not have any problems in that area.

I have many Cypriot-Greek friends in the area. There's also a significant Greek population in the Tarpon Springs area, which is not that far from Tampa. If you need an introduction to some Greeks, send me a PM when you get to Tampa.

My major concern is employment, i have a college degree i Audio Engineering and also have lots of experience Computer hardware-software and maintenance-repair work on automobile(mechanic). Also in order to obtain a Green card(visa) to be able to live in the US, i will have to be employed.

I have another close friend who works for a company that provides sound system setup and operations for major concerts, events, etc. in the Florida area. They are based in Tampa and most of their gigs are limited to here and Orlando, FL. Since you have an Audio Engineering background, you might fit will in their team. Once again, send me a PM when you get here, and I may be able to help you out.

So here are a few questions for start:

Which area would be best for someone like me to move to?(i'm not looking for much nightlife, i just want a good quality of living)

You have a lot of options. But for now, I would suggest you move closer to the University of South Florida area because of the high concentration of international students. This would get you to feel a little at home while you get used to the area.

Will it be hard to find a job in Tampa?

It depends, but with your background in Audio Engineering, you might find something interesting.

Could i find a small and cheap place to live in or will i need 1500$+ per month?

You can find places to live for less than $1000 per month. In the Carollwood area, you can rent a two-bedroom townhouse for around $1000 per month. For a single bedroom apartment, you can get it starting at $700 per month.

What is the life style like?

You pick the life style that you want to live. You can make your stay at Tampa really boring and dismal, or you can make the best of it and enjoy all the things that it has to offer.

I consider Tampa a bit laid back compared to New York and New Jersey. Nightlife is not as lively compared to those states, but there are some places of interest.

Normally, from my experience, people are friendly if you are friendly to them. However, I've encountered some groups of natives who have a one-sided view of foreign visitors.