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It will be a culture shock moving from Buffalo here. Have any of you been to Buffalo even? I have...Big difference.
Maggi, please tell me you are not really expecting everyone to be positive when they have negative experiences? mowing snow can be negative for some and heaven for others! Life in general is made from both positives and negatives...Accept that. Nobody makes anything up, but everyone experiences this place in their own way. Deal with it.
There are people who don't even live in Tampa who post here, so that can hardly stand for "representing" Florida or Tampa's population. 18 million ppl live in Florida give or take, there are 20 of us posting here pro's and con's....hardly a "majority"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggi07
No, not different. Negative and incorrect. Sweeping generalizations and things not based on fact.
There are certainly people who post that they don't like it here and I have no issue with that. Then there are people who go on and on and make things up. There's a huge difference.
I believe the assumption for most people coming here to ask questions is that this forum represents the population, and I don't believe it does.
Maggi07, not negative, DIFFERENT. While you like it, others don't, you can't rule them out because they don't like something. It's like saying: "I will no longer be friends with you because when we go out you never order more than a salad"! Same thing. Stop trying to constantly defend Tampa or Florida, it doesn't need to be defended except from actual criminals. Of course this forum is not representing Florida, it is NOT supposed too either, it is supposed to give either specifics on local things or a general idea but as with any place there will be ppl who enjoy it and ppl who don't, I am sure some of the DC posters here bash DC on the DC forum, so.....as a matter of fact, Cit-Data actually has factual/statistic data on all cities so this board is just for opinions on that. You cannot expect this board or any other to be in complete agreement 24/7/365
There's a difference between not simply caring for the area and being negative. Some people come here, try it, find out it's not for them, and then leave. End of story. Other people come here, find out it's not for them, and either don't leave or leave but complain about Florida every chance they get.
Oh, and you say this area is geared towards retirees and sports. I'm nowhere near retirement age and I don't care for sports at all, yet I can always find something interesting to do.
It will be a culture shock moving from Buffalo here. Have any of you been to Buffalo even? I have...Big difference.
Maggi, please tell me you are not really expecting everyone to be positive when they have negative experiences? mowing snow can be negative for some and heaven for others! Life in general is made from both positives and negatives...Accept that. Nobody makes anything up, but everyone experiences this place in their own way. Deal with it.
There are people who don't even live in Tampa who post here, so that can hardly stand for "representing" Florida or Tampa's population. 18 million ppl live in Florida give or take, there are 20 of us posting here pro's and con's....hardly a "majority"!
Shall I go through your past posts and quote the ones where you call the city dwellers "dirty" and complain that you have to drive hours just to come in from the suburbs and then find nothing but crack towns anyway? That downtown Tampa is completely dilapidated and run down?
That's just what I remember off the top of my head. I know there's much much more.
Do you not see where that might be offensive to those of us who happen to live in the city? Do you really, truly not see that those statements are wrong and not simply an individual's observation?
I have lived in enough places to have a good idea about comparison of cities. I've lived in NYC, Detroit, and other, more mid-sized cities. I have relatives in Chicago and DC; both places I have spent significant time in. I have relatives here, in the Tampa Bay area, and I spent a good deal of time growing up hanging out on the other coast of Florida.
Are you assuming I haven't been anywhere simply because I don't take the time to bash or go on and on about all those cities?
As you can imagine, this area is geared towards sports & retirees, water sports etc, however in the winter time like now, you can't really go in the water as it is super cold, so you have to try to find something else to do. Things can be expensive, like our Zoo....that costs $23.95 for adults and $18 for kids and you have to pay extra for the attractions inside...ridiculous...so...it takes a lot to find things to do.
Now, if you ask someone who is retired and all they do is go out to eat every night or play Bingo.....of course they'll tell you it is pure heaven here! So, as you can imagine, it depends from person to person to age group to age group and in the end to each person individually and what they enjoy doing.
I disagree COMPLETELY with your assessment. As a person who tries to find something new and interesting to explore every weekend, I can tell you that I still have a running list of things to visit that I haven't even touched yet.
Things to do within a two hour drive, just off the top of my head....
Brooker Creek Nature Preserve
Wikki Wachee Springs State Park
Florida Aquarium
Walt Disney World
Busch Gardens
Hillsborough River State Park
Lowry Park Zoo
Silver Springs
Rainbow River State Park
Ringling Brothers Museum
MOSI Tampa
Sea World
Universal Studios
Kennedy Space Center - Ok a little over 2 hours.
Bok Tower Gardens
Honeymoon Island
Caladesi Island
Salvador Dali Museum
Holocaust Museum
Horseback Riding
Henry B. Plant Museum
Sunken Gardens
Selby Gardens
Not to mention the endless amount of fairs and festivals.. Right now, we have the Florida State Fair, Strawberry Festival, Renaissance Festival and endless music festivals at most of the theme parks.
The wintertime is my favorite time of year BECAUSE I can get out and explore things that are not comfortably accessible in the Summer. Hiking, theme parks, boating, fishing etc...all more enjoyable when its cold. There is no effort in finding things to do for my family as this is the time we really enjoy ourselves here. I just hate to see someone dismiss what others consider the best months out of the year in Florida. Zero humidity, no mosquitoes, really, that's reason enough to enjoy the colder months alone.
But during the summer, you just find things to do that are indoors. Museums, aquariums, plays, movies or theater. (Tampa Theater is a BEAUTIFUL old movieplex downtown that runs old movies and indie films year round)
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia
Different.
Accept the fact that we are not all the same.
It will be a culture shock moving from Buffalo here. Have any of you been to Buffalo even? I have...Big difference.
I have been to Buffalo, my boyfriend is from there, many times, at multiple times of the year. I have to agree that moving here is a culture shock, he (my BF) doesn't like it here very much because the people, food, traffic etc.. are miles different from anything you get in Buffalo. But again, this is all perspective, if you (the OP) aren't a fan of Buffalo, then Florida might be exactly what you need. However, he does say that Florida is growing on him, so it's possible that he was just focusing on the negative.
Oh and as far as old and into sports well, we do like to hike but I'm no marathon runner. Also, we are 33yrs and 27yrs old respectively and we have middle school aged children. We never run out reasons to leave the house, except for an occasional family board game night or internet game that grabs our attention.
Last edited by Sumermarie; 02-15-2011 at 11:48 AM..
Absolutely love it here. Not sure what your lifestyle situation is (married, kids, etc) but I'm married with 3 kids, 8 and under. The school's where my kids go are great. The neighborhood I live in is a bedroom community, meaning everyone is friendly and there is pretty much no crime to speak of. Even though I commute 45 minutes each way for my job I run into little traffic. All of these positive aspects apply to me, because we did our best to pick a good area to live before renting the house.
We go out and do things just about every weekend and have done a ton of mini-vacations since being here. Here are some of the larger mini-vacations we have done. We moved here at the end of July.
4 Day Cruise out of Miami
1 week in the Bahamas (take discovery cruise line from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport for cheap transportation, it is a 5 hour boat ride)
3 Days at Nickelodeon Resort
2 Days at Disney
Several Days in Orlando just goofing around
Christmas Eve at the beach
Thanksgiving at the beach
Several trips to Busch Gardens and their water park
Various Concerts and entertainment shows
Various Festivals
Baseball Game
Football Game
Again, all of this since July, working full time and having kids in school.
Tampa Bay allows you to be by the water, in an area less likely to be hit by a hurricane compared to most areas in Florida and provides a cost of living much less than South Florida. From what I have seen, there is little of "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality here as well.
Like any metro area. It is going to depends greatly on where you live in the area. South Tampa is very different from Riverview. Brandon is nothing like Clearwater. Land of Lakes is nothing like St. Pete.
People may be a able to give a broad sense of what Tampa Bay is like, but it is going to depend greatly on where you live. After being here for awhile, I am positive I would not like Tampa Bay as much as I currently do had I chosen a different area in the Metro Region to live in.
Pictures don't lie and sadly for you, I am not going to "pretend" this city is perfect and clean. It's not. I do drive hours in my day....I don't spend my day stuck in an office 9 to 5, I travel for work and I don't just travel to Culbreath Isles! or St Pete Beach.....Tampa's downtown is dead after 5pm. Unlike Fort Lauderdale's for example, also in Florida. Yeah, there are small attempts to improve but not many sadly and they seem to take forever, when a few years back things were poping up like mushrooms overnight. The immediate area north of DT is pure crap and dilapidation...have you even drove there yet? that is prime real estate space wasted by the city hall or whomever is responsible with the overall IMAGE of the city.
There is always room for improvement. Tampa can be great if there was someone runing it and carrying for its image.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggi07
Shall I go through your past posts and quote the ones where you call the city dwellers "dirty" and complain that you have to drive hours just to come in from the suburbs and then find nothing but crack towns anyway? That downtown Tampa is completely dilapidated and run down?
That's just what I remember off the top of my head. I know there's much much more.
Do you not see where that might be offensive to those of us who happen to live in the city? Do you really, truly not see that those statements are wrong and not simply an individual's observation?
I have lived in enough places to have a good idea about comparison of cities. I've lived in NYC, Detroit, and other, more mid-sized cities. I have relatives in Chicago and DC; both places I have spent significant time in. I have relatives here, in the Tampa Bay area, and I spent a good deal of time growing up hanging out on the other coast of Florida.
Are you assuming I haven't been anywhere simply because I don't take the time to bash or go on and on about all those cities?
I absolutely agree with everything mentioned, there is so much life, art and character to the Tampa Bay area, someone just needs to look for it.
Safety Harbor - Artsy town with a wonderful downtown area, the farmer's market is always fun.
Tarpon Springs - Sponge docks with one of the largest Greek communities in the southeast.
Downtown St. Petersburg - Endless museums, history, shops etc..great place to explore on weekends.
And every city typically has some kind of art, food, farmer's market type festival you can think of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaKash
Absolutely love it here. Not sure what your lifestyle situation is (married, kids, etc) but I'm married with 3 kids, 8 and under. The school's where my kids go are great. The neighborhood I live in is a bedroom community, meaning everyone is friendly and there is pretty much no crime to speak of. Even though I commute 45 minutes each way for my job I run into little traffic. All of these positive aspects apply to me, because we did our best to pick a good area to live before renting the house.
We go out and do things just about every weekend and have done a ton of mini-vacations since being here. Here are some of the larger mini-vacations we have done. We moved here at the end of July.
4 Day Cruise out of Miami
1 week in the Bahamas (take discovery cruise line from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport for cheap transportation, it is a 5 hour boat ride)
3 Days at Nickelodeon Resort
2 Days at Disney
Several Days in Orlando just goofing around
Christmas Eve at the beach
Thanksgiving at the beach
Several trips to Busch Gardens and their water park
Various Concerts and entertainment shows
Various Festivals
Baseball Game
Football Game
Again, all of this since July, working full time and having kids in school.
Tampa Bay allows you to be by the water, in an area less likely to be hit by a hurricane compared to most areas in Florida and provides a cost of living much less than South Florida. From what I have seen, there is little of "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality here as well.
Like any metro area. It is going to depends greatly on where you live in the area. South Tampa is very different from Riverview. Brandon is nothing like Clearwater. Land of Lakes is nothing like St. Pete.
People may be a able to give a broad sense of what Tampa Bay is like, but it is going to depend greatly on where you live. After being here for awhile, I am positive I would not like Tampa Bay as much as I currently do had I chosen a different area in the Metro Region to live in.
Pictures don't lie and sadly for you, I am not going to "pretend" this city is perfect and clean. It's not. I do drive hours in my day....I don't spend my day stuck in an office 9 to 5, I travel for work and I don't just travel to Culbreath Isles! or St Pete Beach.....Tampa's downtown is dead after 5pm. Unlike Fort Lauderdale's for example, also in Florida. Yeah, there are small attempts to improve but not many sadly and they seem to take forever, when a few years back things were poping up like mushrooms overnight. The immediate area north of DT is pure crap and dilapidation...have you even drove there yet? that is prime real estate space wasted by the city hall or whomever is responsible with the overall IMAGE of the city.
There is always room for improvement. Tampa can be great if there was someone runing it and carrying for its image.
This area is not perfect or clean, but its not defined by the filth of it either.
First 5 items are not in Tampa......but general Florida things to do.
The last 4 can be done anywhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaKash
4 Day Cruise out of Miami
1 week in the Bahamas (take discovery cruise line from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport for cheap transportation, it is a 5 hour boat ride)
3 Days at Nickelodeon Resort
2 Days at Disney
Several Days in Orlando just goofing around
Christmas Eve at the beach
Thanksgiving at the beach
Several trips to Busch Gardens and their water park
Various Concerts and entertainment shows
Various Festivals
Baseball Game
Football Game
After being here for awhile, I am positive I would not like Tampa Bay as much as I currently do had I chosen a different area in the Metro Region to live in.
Last paragraph right on the money, which is exactly why you have to come and visit more than two days. Stay a week, at the Marriott by the airport bc it is central, from there you can drive to the beaches easily, to downtown and the cleanest suburbs, while you can stop and check out the not so clean in your way up on Veterans hwy (toll). But like Kash said, in order to find a nice bubble around here you have to see them all and then decide which one is for you.
Didn't say it was that either....I said that NORTH of DT, there is a lot of dilapidation that can easily be cleaned up. IF there was a will.
Up on 54 there are also patches of dilapidation as well as on 41 north in Land o Lakes...can be cleaned up easily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sumermarie
This area is not perfect or clean, but its not defined by the filth of it either.
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