From NYC to Tampa? (Key West, St. Augustine: hardwood floors, crime, home)

[FLBOUND?]

Hi. Have a potential oppty to work w/the Fed. Court in Tampa. Currently live in NYC (Manhattan). Some facts: Have lived in NYC all my life. Love it here, but the wife wants out. Too expensive, basically, and traffic is brutal. She's a doctor, I have a good job with the Fed. Govt. No kids - a dog.

Why considering Tampa? Because that's where the job is. Also, beaches. Also, closer to Puerto Rico, where we have family. Lower cost of living (if anyone's lived in the NY metro area, you'll understand). Better quality of life?

Some questions:

- Anyone here ever made the transition from NYC to Tampa? If so, how was the transition?

- I'm accustomed to the seasons. How intolerable is the heat/humidity during the summer? Is it the kind of heat that makes you want to cry? What are the worst months?

- I'm accustomed to diversity - faces with different colors, different languages, accents, etc. How's the diversity in Tampa? BTW, I like that there's a good variety of cuban food there....

- Is the traffic really that bad, like NY? NYC traffic is bad ALL THE TIME - I've been caught in bumper to bumper at 2 a.m. Maybe someone having lived in L.A. or NYC, etc., can make a more accurate comparison.

Finally, do beaches allow dogs to run free there? If so, anyone know which beaches?

Any help much appreciated. Thanks.

[INeedAChange]

FLBound,

I'll leave to the Tampans(?) to give you most of the advice, but I'm in the same boat as you. Having lived in big east coast cities most of my life, I need to live somewhere that has at least some older architecture and history to it. Tampa was the only place I saw in Florida that seemed to have some of this, except maybe for places like St. Augustine and Key West where there are no jobs. I was in Tampa in July and there was a mini-rainstorm in the middle of the day that made things more humid and it did get VERY hot (I was walking around Ybor City). I would still rather have that than snow and ice though.

As a NY'er another thing you might like is that there are parts of St. Pete and Tampa that are definitely walkable. You would still need a car but it's not just strip malls there either.

Originally Posted by FLBOUND?

Hi. Have a potential oppty to work w/the FYed. Court in Tampa. Currently live in NYC (Manhattan). Some facts: Have lived in NYC all my life. Love it here, but the wife wants out. Too expensive, basically, and traffic is brutal. She's a doctor, I have a good job with the Fed. Govt. No kids - a dog.

Why considering Tampa? Because that's where the job is. Also, beaches. Also, closer to Puerto Rico, where we have family. Lower cost of living (if anyone's lived in the NY metro area, you'll understand). Better quality of life?

Some questions:

- Anyone here ever made the transition from NYC to Tampa? If so, how was the transition?

- I'm accustomed to the seasons. How intolerable is the heat/humidity during the summer? Is it the kind of heat that makes you want to cry? What are the worst months?

- I'm accustomed to diversity - faces with different colors, different languages, accents, etc. How's the diversity in Tampa? BTW, I like that there's a good variety of cuban food there....

- Is the traffic really that bad, like NY? NYC traffic is bad ALL THE TIME - I've been caught in bumper to bumper at 2 a.m. Maybe someone having lived in L.A. or NYC, etc., can make a more accurate comparison.

Finally, do beaches allow dogs to run free there? If so, anyone know which beaches?

Any help much appreciated. Thanks.

[gypsychic]

Coming from NYC, you must realize Tampa will seem VERY small to you, however, there are some nice tradeoffs. Cost of living will seem ridiculously cheap compared to there, much less traffic and crime compared to there. Lots of diversity in Tampa, always has been. It is a "working man's town rather than a vacation destination so it has an overall more urban vibe than other Florida cities. You will probably enjoy the Ybor, Channelside and downtown areas, as well as Hyde Park and South Tampa - these all have historic architecture and more "walkable" village type settings. Lots of good little Cuban and Spanish restaurants and others to seek out, it's not all chains here. Then across the bay you have St. Pete, which has that wonderful laid-back beach town ambiance, with more culture, etc. to offer.

As far as the heat - well I'm not gonna lie, it gets hot here, especially in Tampa with all the cars and pavement. But if you stay near the water, there will be more of a breeze. I grew up here and there aren't that many truly intolerable days. On those steamy days you stay inside your AC. I'll take that over being frozen any day!

Look for "tampaguy's" posts here - he is great at touting all that this area has to offer, and good luck!

[Team_Roberts]

Tampa is a very diverse area because of the many people that decide to call it home from other states/countries. Traffic is not as bad as New York City, however there are some traffic concerns in different parts of the county. It is best to try to find housing that will reduce your commute time and be near the things you like to do. (Beaches, Shopping, Resturants, Fishing, Attractions, etc...)

I know that Honeymoon Island has it's own dog beach on the south end of the island. This is a state park that has a beach side pancake breakfast on the weekends and a daily snack bar throughout the day.

The first year took a little while to get use to the heat, but we made the best of it by planning our outdoor activities around the hottest part of the day. It seemed much easier to manage the heat after the first year as I guess our bodies adjust to the climate.

Now is a good time to purchase a home in Tampa as it is a buyers market. There are many great deals available in the housing market right now.

Best of luck on your move and welcome to Tampa !!!

[tampaguy03]

Dog Beaches in and around Tampa include Davis Islands and Picnic Island beaches in Tampa; Fort DeSoto and Honeymoon Island over in Pinellas County.

[FLBOUND?]

Thanks for the responses.

I would imagine traffic would not be a problem by comparison. To give u an idea, I work 14 miles from home, and if I don't leave really really early in the morning then it could take me over 1 hour to get to work. The commute home is usually just under 1 hour if I leave by 3:00 p.m. During rush hour, it could take about a week to get 14 miles. The train would take about 1 hour, door to door. So, traffic is a bid deal for me.

The heat. Good to hear that people deal with it. I would imagine mornings and evenings are best to be out and about during summer months.

Like the idea of diversity - good to hear that too. I would really miss my rice and beans if I lived someplace, say, in the midwest.

If anyone else has come from a big city and moved to Tampa please let me know what you think....

[Keeper]

Traffic can be bad depending on where you live and where you work. It can take 45 minutes to go 12 miles in some areas during rush hour.

If you are going to be working downtown you might want to check out south Tampa. Your commute time would be nil compared to other areas. There are some really nice areas although you will pay more to live there. There is Bayshore Blvd where you can walk, jog, bike and walk the dog along the bay. Close to Tampa General and not that far from St. Joseph, lots of doctor offices in the area too.
There aren't 4 seasons really, summer and fall normally. It can get cold in the 30s or lower for a few days usually during January.
You will have no problem finding cuban or spanish food or the ingredients to make it yourself in Tampa.
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center brings in broadway shows and other acts. Art and craft shows in the fall and spring.
One last note.. I worked with a lot of people who moved down from NY. They love it there.

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by FLBOUND?

Hi. Have a potential oppty to work w/the Fed. Court in Tampa. Currently live in NYC (Manhattan). Some facts: Have lived in NYC all my life. Love it here, but the wife wants out. Too expensive, basically, and traffic is brutal. She's a doctor, I have a good job with the Fed. Govt. No kids - a dog.

Why considering Tampa? Because that's where the job is. Also, beaches. Also, closer to Puerto Rico, where we have family. Lower cost of living (if anyone's lived in the NY metro area, you'll understand). Better quality of life?

Some questions:

- Anyone here ever made the transition from NYC to Tampa? If so, how was the transition?

- I'm accustomed to the seasons. How intolerable is the heat/humidity during the summer? Is it the kind of heat that makes you want to cry? What are the worst months?

- I'm accustomed to diversity - faces with different colors, different languages, accents, etc. How's the diversity in Tampa? BTW, I like that there's a good variety of cuban food there....

- Is the traffic really that bad, like NY? NYC traffic is bad ALL THE TIME - I've been caught in bumper to bumper at 2 a.m. Maybe someone having lived in L.A. or NYC, etc., can make a more accurate comparison.

Finally, do beaches allow dogs to run free there? If so, anyone know which beaches?

Any help much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi! I just moved here from Chicago, so I can give you opinions on moving from another big city to Tampa. Also, I'm not saying anything is bad about Tampa, and I'm not trying to offend the natives (just pointing out it's a big change from a big city)

First, I can tell you that transitioning from Chicago to Tampa is tough. There isn't as much going on, not as much good dining (some good places in south tampa, but a TON of chains everywhere else), and everything just moves slower.

I am also not adjusting to the humidity. Think NYC in July/August, but much more humid and it doesn't really cool off.... I hear it's better in November.

As for diversity, Tampa is more diverse than I thought it would be, but no where near as diverse as NYC. Depends on the neighborhood, but it's not as diverse or well-intergrated as you would be used to.

Traffic is not bad. Period. People disagree with me on this, but coming from a big city, you will think traffic is fine. There can be a bit bumper to bumper, but no where near what you would expect from a big city (about 100 times better than Chicago and I know NYC is worse than Chicago!)

You can have dogs that run free on some beaches. I hear fort de soto and fred howard park. Davis Island has a fenced in beach but it's not very nice.

OK, those are my feelings, but here are some good things:
MUCH cheaper. I have a really, really nice 2 bedroom, W/D in unit, hardwood floors in a resort style complex for about 900/mnth..... If you were in NYC, you will feel like you can live like a king!!
People here are very friendly
Beaches


Just my two cents. Oh, I also chose to live in Tampa Palms because it's closer to my work and it is way too suburban of a feel for me. You should definitly go for south tampa or st. petes.

[Sunscape]

You will not miss the rice and beans at all here. There's all kinds of places with all kinds of cuisine, specially cuban and puerto rican.
The heat is the same you have in NYC in summer, except here you can take off and go to the beach after work.
The traffic is peanuts compared to Manhattan. Once you experiment that, everything else is nothing.
Dog beaches and dog parks we have in Pinellas county. Dogs really enjoy those outings.
Like somebody else mentioned, look for Tampaguy's postings and you will find lots of solid information.
Anything else just ask here. There's plenty of nice persons here willing to help others wanting to move to the area.

[bnepler]

The heat is worse in New York city than Tampa in the summer. It may get to 97 deg. but it doesn't last and it's cleaner here.