So miserable here, what to do..... (Tampa, Brandon: for sale, real estate, renting) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

twototampa · 12-23-2011, 07:26 AM

I'm confused because on 10/23 you stated that you bought a town home on harbour island. We live on harbour island and love it. Most people are friendly on the island. We have a little playground for kids toward the southern part of the island. Best of luck to you.

MrPeterkin · 12-23-2011, 07:27 AM

To the OP,

I had to take your post with a grain of salt and just a tad bit of trepidation since I am moving with the family to Tampa in July. I am from Atlanta and they are pretty rude there, so when you mentioned it being worse here, I was stunned.
However since I have to move down there, not unlike you, I will have to make the best of it. Would you mind posting some of the areas where you saw rent in the 4k range as well as where you are now, that is 45 min from the beach? I am not so certain about Paulk's comment that the prices are best in the nation...especially since research has shown Atlanta to be one of the places for greatest bang for the buck (obviously the real estate market hit Atlanta especially hard)

gypsychic · 12-23-2011, 07:38 AM

The OP's post is bs, plain and simple. This is the one who complained about the "smell" on Harbor Island. The only complaint like that in my whole history of being born and raised here and years of reading on city-data. And $4,000 a mo? No one can take this post seriously.

SAKIRAV · 12-23-2011, 07:45 AM

But your earlier post you wrote that you bought a place.

??????????

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marielamb

Backstory: moved here 18 months ago with toddler in tow. Loved where we came from (small town, mid-Atlantic) but husband had a great job op here in south Tampa. We HAVE to be close to his work, and the pay is good, so we rented a townhome in Harbour island to try it out.
18 months later, still hate Tampa. I Have made some friends, but overall find Tampa to be a bad fit for us. I think part of the problem is housing. We came from a place where people had yards, space, trees... We aren't sure enough about Tampa to buy because I think to buy now you need to see yourself living there for at least 5-10 years. That's not what we see for oursleves so buying is out. (plus i think south tampa is insanely overpriced for quality and location, its like chicago or atlanta prices, without the benefits of a real town... But i digress) So we could rent someplace bigger, maybe with a yard for the dog? But no, the rental market is so tight right now even if we could find a home to rent that is nice in south Tampa, we'd be paying 4+ grand a month, which is insane. We have tried to relocate back north, but no good jobs for hubby ( I too work part time, my job down here is ok, not great...) so it appears we are stuck.
I could go on and on why Tampa is a terrible place, especially to raise kids. Besides the lack of open green space, high housing and insurance prices, overall rude attitude of the people, insane snobbish vibe of so many south Tampa folks, plethora of strip clubs and Asian massage parlors in the "good" areas of the city,horrible drivers, miserable hot summers, lack of beach without a 45 min drive.... To a crowded beach at that.... What this city lacks most is a soul. There is no collective feel, no general aura of "this is what we are about" that makes so many other cities interesting and tolerable to live in. Maybe it's because this place is so full of transients and shiesters...maybe it's because the constant threat of sinkholes and hurricanes make nothing here seem solid...
I know I will get lots of people defending the city. But I just need answers to what do I do now? Do we buy a home so we can live somewhere halfway decent even though we are looking for the quickest way out? How do I find a decent rental in south tampa when are realtor can't even help us? And where the hell do people in this town get off being so rude, egocentric and superficial? I'm in downtown Atlanta for the holidays and i have run into so many more kind, generous and polite strangers here than I ever have met in downtown Tampa. I don't get it, but the moral fiber of south Tampa seems frayed somehow... Am I missing something here?

gumbyfly · 12-23-2011, 08:26 AM

Sounds like you would hate this place no matter what.
Special note: If you want open green spaces, don't move to a sub-tropical metropolitan area next to the ocean. Every square inch of land will likely be developed, and occupied by a weird mix of transients, tourists, retirees, college kids, business people, and derelicts.
Besides:
- There are really only two parts of the greater Tampa area with strip clubs, and they are definitely NOT in the good parts of town (just the parts that everyone has to drive through to get to the good parts of town).
- People mostly present themselves as snobbish when you present yourself as you did in this post.
- If you give me $3000 a month, I will find you a place with a yard close to your work (just don't ask me how much of that I would be keeping).
- You probably perceived that more people were polite in Atlanta because you are in a familiar place with familiar, friendly people. Attitude makes a HUGE difference in perception. (people are strange, when you're a stranger)

Tampa definitely has a soul. It is the soul of a lot of people who moved south for what they thought would be just like where they left, but with sunnier skies, Mickey Mouse, and empty beaches that stretch forever. Many of these souls are upset that the sunshine brings higher temperatures, the beach brings a gazillion tourists, and that all of their friends are still back where they just moved from.

What you were probably looking for is Pensacola or Destin.
Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Daytona are all pretty much the same (people and atmosphere) for people who live there. When you are a tourist, things always look a little better, because you are going to leave in a few days.

Marielamb · 12-23-2011, 08:27 AM

I have mixed up facts about our time here in the past to try to protect my identity. So some of the facts in previous posts were not correct. South Tampa is very small, and Harbour island smaller. But yes, that is where we live, and we are renting, did not buy. There is a bad smell on Harbour island at multiple times of the day due to the diesel engines of the ships that go by (spoke with someone at the hillsborough EPA about this.) I think it's horrible, and i hate the thought of my daughter growing up breathing that. Yes, to pick up with the hubby and kid after work to take a walk on the beach is a 45+ minute commute to st Pete or Clearwater ( as opposed to a 10 minutes or something truly local where you could take advantage of the beach more often.) yes, to rent a 3000sf home with a nice yard in south Tampa is 3500+ a month, if you can find one. The 2000 sf townhome we are in at harbour island is $3200 a month, which i thought was only going to be a 6 month deal. We have to be close to tgh due to my husbands work. I have met nice people here, but the general feeling especially in south tampa overall is one of rudeness, indifference and superficiality. People do not wave or say hi as you pass. People do not hold doors. People do not help you out in traffic. People here do not say please or thank you and I have seen so many instances of treating service people like ****... I suppose these thing i found in the places where I came from prior (my small town i was from, of course, but even visiting my home town Chicago, I am amazed at how much nicer people are overall.) are there exceptions? Absolutely! I have met some great people here. But I am talking about the overall feel of the place, and general patterns I have noticed. I think the feel around st Pete is much friendlier, and I wish we could move that far. Maybe some of the outlying areas are nicer. I'm not leaving hubby, so we will just keep looking. From the poster from Atlanta, try st Pete if you can. I think its a good option. And the traffic in Tampa isn't nearly as bad as Atl... So there is that. Good luck to all, I think our best bet now would be to keep looking for a rental. And yes, I would be willing to rent a $4000 a month place if it meant we could get a nice yard and 4b/3b on a nice street in South Tampa. I think it's a better option than buying since inital realtors fees alone would eat up 50 grand to sell (if you could get what you paid for it...) real estate taxes and insurance (lots of flood zone A) would cost 20 grand a year ( we are looking in the 700-800 range...) and we don't hope to stay more than another 3 years or so... I really think its smart to buy these days unless you love the area and plan on staying a long time, it's not easy to sell a house in that price range, and we want to be flexible.

chi_tino · 12-23-2011, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marielamb

The 2000 sf townhome we are in at harbour island is $3200 a month, which i thought was only going to be a 6 month deal.

You are getting run over. Badly.

As a real estate agent, I would offer to assist you in finding a rental, but it doesn't sound like you are a client I would enjoy dealing with.

MrPeterkin · 12-23-2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chi_tino

You are getting run over. Badly.

As a real estate agent, I would offer to assist you in finding a rental, but it doesn't sound like you are a client I would enjoy dealing with.

Why don't you find out friend. Since people are making a lot of assumptions, why not break the mold?

rezfreak · 12-23-2011, 09:04 AM

We too moved here about a year and a half ago. I wouldn't say I'm miserable here, but I also cant wait til we get our orders to leave.

Sounds like you need to try a different part of Tampa. I live in Brandon in a moderately sized house with a huge back yard, and my neighbors are amazing. To give you an idea, its a 2k sq foot house and we pay 1300 a month for it. Lots of houses in Brandon are around that price range for that size.

MrPeterkin · 12-23-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rezfreak

We too moved here about a year and a half ago. I wouldn't say I'm miserable here, but I also cant wait til we get our orders to leave.

Sounds like you need to try a different part of Tampa. I live in Brandon in a moderately sized house with a huge back yard, and my neighbors are amazing. To give you an idea, its a 2k sq foot house and we pay 1300 a month for it. Lots of houses in Brandon are around that price range for that size.

Rez,

I assume you are stationed at McDill AFB? May I have a zip.