Quote:
Originally Posted by jenj3235
just want some first hand accounts of your experience living in the city of tampa and/or surrounding areas. everyone says "oh plan a visit and check it out" but i know enough that "visiting" is different from "living". so things i would like to know is where I can find decent apartments. if all you are going to do is suggest apartments.com don't bother responding. i want names and stories,lol.
Please note i have lived on both spectrums, $3500 apartments in NYC to $1000 in NYC suburbs to small town living in southern michigan (2 bedroom for $400) so most prices doesn't surprise me. my biggest fear (real or not) is that the warm weather means bugs alllll the time. is it possible to find a decent apartment without swatting mosquitos and/or other bugs while watching a movie in my living room?
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Miami is elitist and money/looks do matter in South florida much more than tampa/st.pete, especially if you are single (obviously) and Tampa/St.Pete is very laid back, no one cares if youre wearing ferragamo, fendi or walmart, let me tell you if you are young - early 20s to early 30s and love a big city feel then do not move to Tampa, it is dead its nothing compared to South Florida, you will be very bored-you mentioned bugs, and there are more of them in tampa than s.fl Ive decided its because Tampa still has a lot of natural landscape-woods, trees, lakes and s.fl is completely developed you will rarely see spruce +pine trees in s.fl just lots of high rise condos by the water, business buildings, clubs, bars, shops, malls galore
For a family definitely Tampa/St.Pete, but if you're young and single -South Florida HANDS DOWN lol why would you want to spend your time with old grouchy retirees, old northeastern transplant retirees, canadians and old northeastern tourists when you can spend your days and nights with YOUNG hot spicy people down in south beach, ocean drive, fort laud beach, hollywood beach, sawgrass, aventura, palm beach, boca raton etc you should seriously consider it
to the OP I copied and posted this from another thread and I think youll find it useful:
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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
Miami/south east florida-
pros:
Hot, young sexy people-The largest grouping in one spot of hot, sexy, modeling contract worthy people will be found in miami, south beach, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach etc that doesn't mean there aren't some people like that in other areas of the state I'm just saying you'll find the LARGEST AMOUNT of people like that in south florida
great nightlife-south beach
Its the place to be in florida
Great malls such as aventura, galleria, sawgrass, pembroke
Spring breakers woohoo!
More of a cultural melting pot than any other area of florida-theres a lot of latinos, blacks, indians, native americans(seminoles), europeans etc etc racism is not really a problem in south florida, whatever color, ethnicity you are you are accepted, assimilation is easy
More to see, more to do, great beaches and lots of places to hang out for young singles, lots of bars, clubs
cons
Not that great to raise a family
Not a lot of jobs but depends on what you do
High cost of living- rent, insurance, food, taxes on bills
Not that many places to rent unless you want to pay $1,000+ for a one bedroom
HOT -think 98 degrees everyday in the summertime and only two weeks of "winter" and maybe only 2 days where the weather drops below 40 degrees
CRIME-everyday someone or a few people die in miami..not even that big of an exaggeration
If you are from a small town or used to a slower paced lifestyle you will probably start to hate miami after a few months
Miami despite being the most well known city in FL is actually quite small compared to places like Vegas and LA so it can get old quick
Drivers are maniacs-there was a news story not that long ago about some driver that shot at another driver through the passenger window down in miami ..probably for cutting him off or something
Schools are getting bad, a lot of parents are turning to home schooling in SE FL, theres just too many drugs and violence
Homeless people in downtown miami - lots of them
In most of SE FL if you are not latin or black in 2012 you are a minority...this can be a con or pro but it all depends on you
Economy is still not that good in any part of Florida, reports stated that when the economy crashed florida was the hardest hit state in the entire U.S., make sure you have a job lined up or at best you will get paid $9 an hour to work at circle k gas station in cities like Tampa, and Miami/SE FL you need to speak atleast some spanish because that'll raise your chances of getting hired anywhere just like hawaii where you need to know some japanese to get a job
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For families -central florida
For young single with some cash definitely SE FL
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