Thinking of Moving to Tampa Area (Miami, Orlando: transplants, spring break, short sales)

[mevnjmart]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum, and I've got questions! I'm going to start by using the questions outlined in the "read-first-if-you're-a-newbie" thread.

Where is your employment and the hours you will be working.
I am looking to transfer with my current company or will want to find a retail management position prior to moving. (I've got that in the works now). I'd be working retail hours, so basically whenever, seven days a week, between 7am and midnight.

What is your budget for housing. Do you want to rent or buy?
I will need to rent temporary housing (perhaps a sublet or a room) until my job and finances are situated and we can buy a home. We are hoping to do a VERY low priced home (a la $40-50k), and though many of them are short sales, it seems there are lots of these in the area - would you agree, or am I missing something? We might be willing/able to rent for the first year too, if necessary.

Are schools a concern?
Yes. I have two young children - one in Kindergarten and the other would start next school year.
What is an acceptable commute time?

What else is important to you?
I want to try and eliminate the need for a car except for groceries, doctor's visits, etc. I'd like to commute via the bus line and would like some feedback about that. My mom lives in Lutz, so we want to be close to her, but not necessarily IN Lutz. I've been eyeballing Brandon and Tampa itself. My husband will also be looking for work there (retail management as well).

We moved to our current location to be near family, but they lost their home and had to move away, so we're in a strange place with no family nearby and a job market that could kill a person. The job market in Tampa in our industry seems decent, if not great, comparatively.

We are renting a home that is falling apart, and I don't think it's safe/healthy for my family here. We need a fresh start, and Tampa seems like it might be an answer - I'd appreciate your feedback!

[parisandgrey]

Here are two lists about tampa I copied and pasted-

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on paper that may be true but I have lived in both cities and miami is the fast paced, young, hip trendy cousin of tampa-the slow paced, cute, small country bumpkin

even in 2012 tampa is extremely slow paced, which is not a bad thing it all depends on what people like
on paper tampa's average population age may be lower than miami's but in REAL LIFE, you see SO many more q-tips in the tampa bay, clearwater, st. pete area than southeast florida aka miami
even most of tampa bay's tourists seem to all be 40years or older I asked someone why that is and this is the answer they gave me:
"It depends. Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami.
Source(s):

been to both many times over three diff. decades"

and I completely agree with that person

I don't know why people in central and north florida feel like they need to "prove" that their cities are as good as miami when there is just no comparison...miami is the hot spot city in the entire state of florida hands down- when it comes to vacations, young sexy people, movie shoots, models, south beach, nightlife and the fast paced lifestyle miami will always be #1 in the state of FL.
Now does that mean places like Orlando and Tampa aren't great? No, they both have their own unique charm and amusement parks galore but it just all depends on who you are, how old you are, what you want in life and what kind of lifestyle you are used to


Central Florida-Tampa and Orlando
Pros-
Great for families
Much less crime than south florida
Cheaper than S.FL
More places to rent than S.FL
More "Green" than s.FL such as pastures, "woods" cattle, pine trees and such
Drivers arent as crazy as south florida
People are friendlier than south florida
Schools are better in terms of size and less problems than the ones in miami
Everything a person "needs" is available without the crazy fast paced lifestyle
Definitely more jobs available than miami and you dont have to speak spanish
Clearwater beach is very clean and pretty but thats not in tampa obviously its about a 40 minute drive to get there from tampa
Weather is more mild than South Florida, it does get colder for longer in tampa/st.pete than south florida but if you have experienced northern winters the cold is absolutely nothing

Cons:
Dead nightlife compared to miami/south beach
If you are from somewhere like LA, SD OR NYC you will get tired of tampa/orlando very quickly
This is just my opinion but south florida native (miami, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach) women are the hottest in the state, and other than a few transplants you wont find a lot of them in central and north florida unless they are attending college
Beaches arent as pretty and tourist friendly as miami beach, fort laud beach, palm beach etc, the best beach in tampa isnt even in tampa its in clearwater-however the view from the bridge from clearwater to clearwater beach is gorgeous it looks like a postcard, the first time you see it, especially if you have never been to FL, it will take your breath away, I definitely recommend a drive from clearwater beach down to st.pete beach, if you look on a map it looks like a long skinny peninsula near the side of clearwater, it has a cute oahu/island type vibe to it, very pretty drive
More rednecks and hillbillies than south florida, think confederate flags, pickup trucks with huge tires, and lots of bumper stickers- this seems to be a common observation from people who are from big cities like miami, nyc, and la that visit places like tampa or even orlando
Lots of q tip tourists from places like north carolina, virginia, texas, south carolina ALL year round so instead of those hot, cute college girl tourists coming down from California for spring break you will have to deal with 40 year old+ tourists, and families from the north visiting all year round especially during the winter time, and they tend to stay closer to clearwater beach but it spills over to tampa and some people visit tampa for families and relatives so expect to see cars with northern state license plates all year
SINKHOLES
tampa is known as the lightning city- guess why? rain rain rain and lightning. Some people like that so it could be a pro but I think most people dont so I put it in con


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HERES THE SECOND LIST BELOW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tampa
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*Lower cost of living than Miami
*Lots more places to rent than miami, there are many more apartments and homes to rent in tampa than miami and theyre definitely cheaper than miami
*Less crime than Miami
*If you are white you are not a minority in tampa unlike miami
*Quiet, slower paced lifestyle -this could be a con depending on what you like
*People are less aggressive and much friendlier than miami
*Most days in the summer the temperature doesn't get higher than 89 degrees
*Lots of "natural" beauty, pine trees, forests, cattle, horses, even some ranches
*possibly more jobs than miami depending on what you do
*Drivers aren't as bad as miami, but still not excellent, you'll see a lot of umm "crushed" cars driving around with dents and bumps in various spots but still not as angry and aggressive as miami drivers
*Lots of golf courses if you like that kind of thing
*Has a seminole hard rock just like the one in hollywood, fl8
*Has a colder and longer winter...depending on what you like this can be a con
*Peninsula next to clearwater is gorgeous especially when you see it for the first time, it has a hawaii island vibe that is very appealing, if you visit tampa definitely drive to clearwater beach, indian rocks beach and all the way down to treasure island and st. pete beach its a very pretty drive


Cons:
*Tampa is known as lightning city..wanna guess why? Lots of rain and lightning I personally love both so doesnt bother me but I think for most people this is a con
*The population from my observation consists more of older people than miami, lots of Q-tips
*Little to no nightlife compared to miami/south beach, a lot of people will tell you to go to hyde park The Hyde Park Cafe - Providing the Best Nightlife in Tampa Bay heres the link...they have a gallery where you can see pictures of the type of crowd that hangs out there, you might like it
*Quiet slower paced lifestyle I put this in pro and con because depending on how you feel it could be either one, and the slower paced lifestyle affects all things from how many bars there are to how many malls there are, just to give you an idea Tampa does not have a Costco you have to go all the way to clearwater just to get to a costco and imho tampa only has one mall that is worth going to its called the International plaza
*LOTS OF TOURISTS all year round and although most of the tourists visit and stay near clearwater, a lot of tourists stay in tampa and its just annoying, and tampa attracts a lot of older, retirees as a vacation spot so its not like miami where you get hot sexy 20 yr olds from san diego coming down for spring break its almost always 40yrs old+ people and families coming from states like North carolina, ohio, texas and virginia in their SUVs, it gets annoying after awhile -there are a lot of good opinions on this website as to why tampa attracts mostly older retirees as tourists and the main point that everyone agrees on is this "Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami."
*Some people who move from miami to tampa complain all day that the city is dead and there is nothing to do
*No beach...well the only beach worth going to is in clearwater and imo its not as great as fort lauderdale beach, miami beach, palm beach etc but thats my opinion, clearwater beach is quite pretty when you're going over the bridge to get to it the view is fantastic it was breathtaking the first time I saw it
*Lots of people on here who moved to Tampa from more developed cities such as LA, NY or SD complain that some of the people in tampa are too "redneck" and hillbilly, and in some areas of tampa and clearwater it is true, think lots of bumper stickers on 1 out of every 10 cars, some cars even have 10 or more bumper stickers, I remember one that read "My other car is a broom" possible Harry potter joke? idk (a lot of people here make jokes about people in certain areas of pinellas and pasco county marrying their cousins and only going as high as the 7th grade etc theyre definitely exaggerating but there are more "rednecks" in tampa than miami, this isnt meant to offend anyone, just look at all of the threads on here Im not making it up)
*Lots of trailer parks, funny thing is some of them are gated communities
*SINKHOLES, miami has hurricanes well so does tampa but also SINKHOLES
*Tampa was voted one of the worst dressed cities not that long ago which only matters if you care about flashy or fashionable clothes, if not then you can walk out the door in the shirt you slept in, some shorts and flip flops, run all the errands you want and no one would bat an eye

[kmarc]

Welcome, mevnjmart! You'll do just fine with retail management here. It's fairly strong in the area. I always advise people to rent, not buy when they first move to an area. I understand how tiring it can be to move twice (first to a rental and then when a purchase is made), but renting gives people time to get used to the area and find a neighborhood or area that works for them. Nothing is more miserable than buying a home in haste and finding out it was a mistake.

It is still possible to find an inexpensive home in a halfway decent neighborhood in the Tampa Bay area, but you have to be careful and really do your homework. Especially if you have little ones, you don't want to end up in the wrong place. And be prepared to revise your price upwards to $65,000.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you'll be able to eliminate the need for a car. You can try, though. You might get lucky.