YOUNG COUPLE FROM MIDWEST CONSIDERING MOVE..Please HELP! (Tampa, Largo: power lines, lease)

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by xsyrax

Hi, I am moving to Florida from Columbus with my husband and baby son. We are used to having a nice quiet lifestyle with pretty decent middle class living standards. We want to move from Ohio to go to a more fun, diversified area with a bit more to offer. We don't want to end up in another place like Columbus which we find very boring and uneventful. Out of Tampa and Boca which would be a better fit for us? We are both originally from big cities like NY and need that balance of things to do and a busier lifestyle than what C-bus offers us. But don't want to compromise on quality of life, we want a nice home, best neighborhood, best schools and good jobs without the hefty pricetag. Please those of you that have seen and lived in both areas HELP us make our choice!

Generally speaking, Tampa is a city filled with midwesterners and other northerners, but certainly a strong midwestern destination.

I associate Columbus and Tampa as very similar cities. I would think if you want diversified and fun....and Columbus doesn't fit this, than Tampa probably wouldn't either.

If you came down for ocean, climate, etc, it would. But if you want 'diversified' - does that mean economy or people? I don't readily associate Tampa anymore than Columbus with that term regardless of which association.

[Spring Hillian]

I don't think FL is your problem.

Originally Posted by cheerbaby112

Florida is great if you like oppressive heat, and you like working for minimum wage with no benefits at your three part time jobs. And while working your three part time jobs they expect you to smile and kiss their a** everyday. Florida is great if you like ants, spiders, snakes, and mosquitoes, alligators, rabid raccoons and **** roaches as big as your fist. Traffic is absolutely insane. These people drive with their cell phones up their a** at 100 miles an hour. And speaking about the people. The big majority of them are rude classless a**holes. I hope the economy improves soon or else the state is going to be a bigger dump then it already is. I really don’t know why I came down here. I knew I was suffering from depression at the time and needed to get away for awhile but this state has made me even more depressed..

I can't wait to not have someone flash there brights at me, cut me off while driving, not use a signal, say please, say thank you, say your welcome, apologize for something they did wrong instead of being defensive, to actual have friends.

[Spring Hillian]

Some people wouldnt be happy no matter where they are.

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days90

Maybe you have NY and NJ mixed up with Florida.

We all know how much you hate Florida. Hope you are able to leave soon.

[ferret111]

Algia, I can't help but think that some of your misery and disenchanment stems from the fact that you live way out in Avila or something. Does it really surprise you that the residents of a remote upper-class suburb are cold, sterile, and never seen out of their homes? Are you shocked that there is so much conspicuous consumption coming from the noveau-riche?

I love Tampa, but I will admit that it has its shortfalls. I've rarely encountered rude people (off the road, that is. Driving brings out the worst in person), and, in fact, I've met some really nice people, like the lady a Kenneth City doughnut shop who always throws in a free one or two doughnuts, or the guys at the record store who all welcome me by name, or even still the girl at a restaurant who always brings me my drink when she sees me walk into the place. I can't count the number of times I've stopped and talked to someone while walking around the neighborhood or waiting at a bus stop. There are nice and friendly people all over the place, but you just have to take the initiative to talk to them (rather then rely on hypothetical situations on why talking to them would likely be a waste of time) and get out of stifling environments (like ritzy gated communities) every now and then.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by didi768

Moving here will culture-shock you. Be prepared.

What?

There are more people from Ohio in Tampa then there are people from Flordia.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Some people wouldnt be happy no matter where they are.

I know, I can see right through most of those postings.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by algia

Florida is a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides

That sounds Terrible!

Originally Posted by algia

it doesn't get anymore humid anywhere else other than an island as humid as it gets here and it is non stop,

Wrong:

The most humid cities on earth are generally located closer to the equator, near coastal regions. Cities in South and Southeast Asia are among the most humid, such as Kolkata and Kerala in India, the cities of Manila in the Philippines and Bangkok in Thailand: these places experience extreme humidity during their rainy seasons combined with warmth giving the feel of a lukewarm sauna.[4] Darwin, Australia experiences an extremely humid wet season from December to April. Shanghai and Hong Kong in China also have a extreme humid period in their summer months. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have very high humidity all year round because of their proximity to water bodies and the equator and overcast weather. Perfectly clear days are dependent largely upon the season in which one decides to travel. During the South-west and North-east Monsoon seasons (respectively, late May to September and November to March), expect heavy rains and a relatively high humidity post-rainfall. Outside the monsoon seasons, humidity is high (in comparison to countries North of the Equator), but completely sunny days abound. In cooler places such as Northern Tasmania, Australia, high humidity is experienced all year due to the ocean between mainland Australia and Tasmania. In the summer the hot dry air is absorbed by this ocean and the temperature rarely climbs above 35 degrees Celsius.

In the United States the most humid cities, strictly in terms of relative humidity, are Forks and Olympia, Washington.[5] This fact may come as a surprise to many, as the climate in this region rarely exhibits the discomfort usually associated with high humidity. Dew points are typically much lower on the West Coast than on the East. Because high dew points play a more significant role than relative humidity in the discomfort created during humid days, the air in these western cities usually does not feel "humid."

Originally Posted by algia

every 4 hours will land you on another boooooooooooooooooooring beach!

Originally Posted by algia

Yes the beaches are amazing

no comment....

Originally Posted by algia

and if you don't live close to downtown you would only see them if you drive by...who does that?

People who dont want to sit in the boring suburbs and complain about tampa?

Originally Posted by algia

you'd be better off west in Phoenix

Average high temp of 105 in the summer? Sure, there isnt humidity, but you are surrounded by dirt and nothing. Ever been to Phoenix? Dry heat isn't all its cracked up to be- especially in a dirt hole like Phoenix.

Originally Posted by algia

and also Las Vegas

Housing market is terrible, horrible city to raise children in, if you think tourists in Florida are bad... you should check out vegas. They make Florida tourists look like bishops and nuns.

Originally Posted by algia

in the last month or so, we had probably 2, 3 days with lower humidity, meaning it was at 50% as opposed to 90 or 100%....we are next to water here, humidity in the winter months (when the temps go down to the 50's) makes it feel a LOT colder outside...there is no comparison I am afraid.

The weather in the past month has been INCREDIBLE here. 30%-60% humidity is ideal. Anything below 30% can damage/dry skin and is uncomfortable. Most AC Units in homes keep humidity around 30%-60%. Electrostatic discharges can cause dielectric breakdown in solid state devices below 30% resulting in irreversible damage. Data Centers often monitor relative humidity levels for these reasons. So "50%" isn't so bad after all, is it?

Want a dry cold? Spend a winter in South Dakota... You tell me who has a worse winter.

Originally Posted by algia

Great shopping? hmm...not sure what that means especially since most everything here is a chain...so, you will find the same things here as you would in Montana or Baton Rouge

Except for all of the botiques in south tampa. You probably cant see them from Hernando County or wherever you live.

Have you ever lived, or even been to Baton Rouge. You'll be hard pressed to find many of the stores International Plaza offers. If you want more good shopping, drive to Orlando, it is only an hour away.

Originally Posted by algia

I am not sure what kind of fun you are looking for but Orlando might fit that description

What is fun in orlando besides Disney and Universal. Surely orlando has nothing else to offer. But If I am going to spend $90 to get into a park, I am going to do it once in a while, and dont mind driving an hour to get there. I'll take Tampas nightlife, culture, beaches, and sports teams a short cab/car ride away and drive to disney, thank you very much.

Originally Posted by algia

What makes traffic bad here are people who don't know the traffic laws. If people driving here would have any knowledge of traffic signs, or at least what their car equipment is supposed to be used for, our traffic would improve greatly.

This is clearly all speculation- and you have obviously never driven in NY, LA, DC, Atlanta, Baltimore, Jersey Turnpike, DFW, etc.

I could keep going, but I think I made my point....


OP, now you have to determine who you can and cannot listen to on here. I, for one, would like to be the first to say I hope you choose the Tampa Bay area as your future home.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days90

Might be humid to you but is not to me.

Does not bother me a bit.

You would not buy a house there so who are you kidding.

Didn't you leave Florida?

Was it the humidity that made you move?

And you lasted 21 years in that awful humidity?

Project much?
I'm in Missouri at our other farm, I'll be back in Florida in January, not that I need to explain anything to you.
Missouri is worse than Florida in terms of humidity.
The disingenuous nonsense like saying there are non-humid parts of Florida make your statements questionable, to say the least.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Project much?
I'm in Missouri at our other farm, I'll be back in Florida in January, not that I need to explain anything to you.
Missouri is worse than Florida in terms of humidity.
The disingenuous nonsense like saying there are non-humid parts of Florida make your statements questionable, to say the least.

all the bad stuff in Missouri is just magnfied by a thousand because... well it is Missouri and it is horrible.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

all the bad stuff in Missouri is just magnfied by a thousand because... well it is Missouri and it is horrible.

Hey, I'm here, so its fabulous!
Friendly people, no transients, hills, theres still an economy here, I could go on and on.