Questions for NYC people that move to Tampa Bay area (Miami: appointed, real estate)
Tampa BayTampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
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I tried reading through a lot of threads here and elsewhere to get some more info on the tampa bay area. All I am finding though is pretty much for each person that is pro there is another that is against tampa.
Now I obviously know it depends what one is looking for , where you come from etc...
I saw a lot of people from NYC look to move and some did already. I was hoping to get the info from the people that did already and the ones in the process.
We are looking to get out of NYC but of course doing our research first before doing so.
I do not agree with what most people think there is so much to do in NY, so many places to eat etc. Everyhting obviously costs more and if I have 1k crappy restaurants than I rather have 5 good ones.
We do live in a nice neighbourhood in an apt in a house so not the huge buildings etc.Looking for a nice place (no dated bathroom kitchen) and 2BR or more. Found a lot of choices but still trying to figure out where is actually good place to live (not wanting to be like east ny or jamaica..)
So for all you guys that did the move :
- Where (roughly borough is enough obviously) from NYC did you move to ?
- Did you rent a house (maybe also pinellas county) or apt ?
- Where did you move to?
- So compared to your life before are you enjoying it and are you happy with your move?
- Car insurance seems to be lower down there in average compared to here, was that the case fo ryou as well? (Currently don't own but look to buy one down there to skip the $250 first reg fee.
- How long is your average commute? Now pretty solid takes me roughly 45-60 min door to door.
- Do you have more free time ?
- How do you judge the things to do in the tampa bay area or wherever you moved to? (Not really thinking clubs but maybe some bars, museum, the obvious beach etc. etc.
- What do you personally see as pro over NYC?
- cons vs. NYC?
- Grocery cost (obviously we all know ist way cheaper even though we do never go to a regular small store and pay $6-7 bucks a juice etc) I know tampa will have a trader joe and already has an ALDI.
-Did you transfer jobs or find a new one? Where do you look for that area? Her in NYC its obviously so easy and fast to just use craigslist. That seems not to apply to Tampa and even the job sites do not have a lot(given market is not as great as here but from looking at company sites I know there is more)
- Anybody actually a teacher or wife a teacher? How was the change ?
Well I guess thats all for right now guys, had a list somewhere that might make me add in more here.
Not much of a help as I have lived several places besides NYC the past 3 years (Buffalo, Boston, Phila, DC, now St. Pete) but I love the St. Pete area the most. It's attractive to me because the city is small, walkable, but definitely not "dead". The weather is great, and I love the slowed down feel of FL.
People try and compare NYC to the TB area and are disappointed when it's not the same. You might as well be on a different planet. I personally love it here. Again, haven't lived in NYC but I've lived in the outskirts of major metro areas.
FWIW, I have 5 good friends who have relocated here from NYC in the past 5 years and they said they don't plan on going back. I think it helps they have good jobs, but if you have a good job here, it can be quite pleasant.
Thanks for your input. Definitely do not expect it to be like NYC, not really in love with it or admire it like many people might be.
I am starting to look for jobs but wanted to do some more research first.We are definitely looking to move but only once the job part is taken care of so not desperately looking.
Main problem I have found so far :
- Crime seems to be pretty high. Mind you NYC has 8+ million ppl and not any major problems that I have encountered. Pretty much most of the city you could walk at 2am without fearing your life etc.
-Drivers seem to be worse than here? (maybe all the older ppl that moved down there )
Definitely looking for the slower pace of life and more stuff to do outdoor etc. Not looking for tons of ppl one of the reasons actually to get out of here. As it takes 2 hours + drive just to get out of the grip of the city traffic wise I think it's a good comparison if someone tells me traffic even during rush hour is nothing closely compared to here etc. So I am just looking for some comparisons from other ppl from here.
Do you live in an apt/condo or house? Right now probably looks like we will go for an apt as it seems easier to find a nice kitchen,bath and ameneties rather than in a bigger but more dated house.
To op...we moved from Bayside Queens in 1997 to the Palm Harbor area...we were home owners in Bayside and a lot less money bought a much nicer home in Tampa Bay area...everything is cheaper here except real estate taxes...but no state tax makes up for that...the weather here on the whole is better here than in NYC... you have four brutally hot months here but it's much easier to get around without snow piles and ice...especially with small children (no snow suits and boots)...have jobs secured before moving and count on making in general 30% less then you did in NYC...look in northern Pinellas and western Hillsborough for best schools and safety...forget public transportation...you will need a car and your commute at rush hour could take 45-60 minutes if you work in Tampa...Good luck!!!
Thanks for your answer!
Well 45-60 minutes is pretty much like here just in the car then instead of train/subway.We are wanting to get a car as soon as we move down so no problem with that at all.
Yes definitely won't miss the snow this year was crazy here with so much snow to shovel so definitely won't miss that. We were thinking of somewhere in tampa, maybe clearwater but not set on anything yet.
We would be renting so I guess for us it would be all cheaper than here which is what I am looking for. Definitely seems easier to have a more relaxed lifestyle down there.
Did you have any problems as far as crime is concerned?
That is the most concerning part for us as of now, other than that we are really looking forward to working on our plans to leave here and move down south.
Again thanks everybody for taking the time to reply. Have a great weekend everybody
I tried reading through a lot of threads here and elsewhere to get some more info on the tampa bay area. All I am finding though is pretty much for each person that is pro there is another that is against tampa.
Now I obviously know it depends what one is looking for , where you come from etc...
I saw a lot of people from NYC look to move and some did already. I was hoping to get the info from the people that did already and the ones in the process.
We are looking to get out of NYC but of course doing our research first before doing so.
I do not agree with what most people think there is so much to do in NY, so many places to eat etc. Everyhting obviously costs more and if I have 1k crappy restaurants than I rather have 5 good ones.
We do live in a nice neighbourhood in an apt in a house so not the huge buildings etc.Looking for a nice place (no dated bathroom kitchen) and 2BR or more. Found a lot of choices but still trying to figure out where is actually good place to live (not wanting to be like east ny or jamaica..)
So for all you guys that did the move :
- Where (roughly borough is enough obviously) from NYC did you move to ?
- Did you rent a house (maybe also pinellas county) or apt ?
- Where did you move to?
- So compared to your life before are you enjoying it and are you happy with your move?
- Car insurance seems to be lower down there in average compared to here, was that the case fo ryou as well? (Currently don't own but look to buy one down there to skip the $250 first reg fee.
- How long is your average commute? Now pretty solid takes me roughly 45-60 min door to door.
- Do you have more free time ?
- How do you judge the things to do in the tampa bay area or wherever you moved to? (Not really thinking clubs but maybe some bars, museum, the obvious beach etc. etc.
- What do you personally see as pro over NYC?
- cons vs. NYC?
- Grocery cost (obviously we all know ist way cheaper even though we do never go to a regular small store and pay $6-7 bucks a juice etc) I know tampa will have a trader joe and already has an ALDI.
-Did you transfer jobs or find a new one? Where do you look for that area? Her in NYC its obviously so easy and fast to just use craigslist. That seems not to apply to Tampa and even the job sites do not have a lot(given market is not as great as here but from looking at company sites I know there is more)
- Anybody actually a teacher or wife a teacher? How was the change ?
Well I guess thats all for right now guys, had a list somewhere that might make me add in more here.
Have a great sunny weekend guys/gals!
Which borough of NYC? If you're in Queens, BK, SI for example, you may have a car already and this (imo) is quite a bit different. BTDT, will explain more - DM me. Have a great day.
Which borough of NYC? If you're in Queens, BK, SI for example, you may have a car already and this (imo) is quite a bit different. BTDT, will explain more - DM me. Have a great day.
Queens, but not car yet. Seeing that a vehicle from out of state would cost $250 to register in FL the first time it's probably best to buy one done there.
Will shoot you a message later somehow I am currently restricted to do so until later today.
- Where (roughly borough is enough obviously) from NYC did you move to ?
- Did you rent a house (maybe also pinellas county) or apt ?
- Where did you move to?
- So compared to your life before are you enjoying it and are you happy with your move?
- Car insurance seems to be lower down there in average compared to here, was that the case fo ryou as well? (Currently don't own but look to buy one down there to skip the $250 first reg fee.
- How long is your average commute? Now pretty solid takes me roughly 45-60 min door to door.
- Do you have more free time ?
- How do you judge the things to do in the tampa bay area or wherever you moved to? (Not really thinking clubs but maybe some bars, museum, the obvious beach etc. etc.
- What do you personally see as pro over NYC?
- cons vs. NYC?
- Grocery cost (obviously we all know ist way cheaper even though we do never go to a regular small store and pay $6-7 bucks a juice etc) I know tampa will have a trader joe and already has an ALDI.
-Did you transfer jobs or find a new one? Where do you look for that area? Her in NYC its obviously so easy and fast to just use craigslist. That seems not to apply to Tampa and even the job sites do not have a lot(given market is not as great as here but from looking at company sites I know there is more)
- Anybody actually a teacher or wife a teacher? How was the change ?
There is NOTHING to compare between Tampa, and NYC! Nothing.
Your cost of living is higher but so it your salary; once you move down, the cost of living will be in tune with your salary. It's not like you'd be living here like a king on 30k! Especially if you have a family to support. Groceries are expensive here too for those who make low wages ($9 to $15 an hour & have more than one mouth to feed!) I am not sure how you'd escape paying the first time registration fees! I didn't when I bought my 1st brand new car many years ago. Your car insurance will be expensive here if you are not an established driver with a clean record. Aldi is usually found in the poorest areas of towns in Florida! For some reason, they thought an average grocery store in Germany would be directed at the poor in America! (Yeah, when I visited Germany I visited a real Aldi, and other than the name and the coin for the cart, nothing else is the same).
I wouldn't rely in Craigslist to find jobs here, considering that most offer very low or no pay at all. All sorts of loonies lurk that site here. Some people are able to transfer with a lower pay, some with the same pay, some with a higher pay; it depends greatly on the field of work. A customer service rep will not make as much as a lawyer here either!
You cannot judge Tampa or Florida for that matter by your NYC standards that you have been used to up until this point. It is NOT a fair comparison. Your commute doesn't have to be long here. It usually ends up being long when folks get enamored with subdivision living far away from all the amenities. This will be a night & day experience for you. Maybe you can take a trip and visit around to get an idea of what you're in for.
Another thing to consider is that you will have a hard time hearing the real experiences people from NYC are having after moving down here. There are a lot of them who did not find "that paradise" that the state of fL is promoting up north, and due to "pride & hurt ego's" they will not share the whole truth...
Then, consider this too; what works for someone might not work for you. If someone from up there moved here and they are having a great time, that means that their expectations were different than yours, and what they found to be awesome, you might find to be terrible....We're from Miami, and our experience of moving to Tampa was night & day! (and that's Florida to Florida for you)! You really need to visit, and don't spend your time on tourist attractions, but rather spend your time as if you lived here...it will be hard to make a decision based on everyone else's experiences that are not your own.
There is NOTHING to compare between Tampa, and NYC! Nothing.
Your cost of living is higher but so it your salary; once you move down, the cost of living will be in tune with your salary. It's not like you'd be living here like a king on 30k! Especially if you have a family to support. Groceries are expensive here too for those who make low wages ($9 to $15 an hour & have more than one mouth to feed!) I am not sure how you'd escape paying the first time registration fees! I didn't when I bought my 1st brand new car many years ago. Your car insurance will be expensive here if you are not an established driver with a clean record. Aldi is usually found in the poorest areas of towns in Florida! For some reason, they thought an average grocery store in Germany would be directed at the poor in America! (Yeah, when I visited Germany I visited a real Aldi, and other than the name and the coin for the cart, nothing else is the same).
I wouldn't rely in Craigslist to find jobs here, considering that most offer very low or no pay at all. All sorts of loonies lurk that site here. Some people are able to transfer with a lower pay, some with the same pay, some with a higher pay; it depends greatly on the field of work. A customer service rep will not make as much as a lawyer here either!
You cannot judge Tampa or Florida for that matter by your NYC standards that you have been used to up until this point. It is NOT a fair comparison. Your commute doesn't have to be long here. It usually ends up being long when folks get enamored with subdivision living far away from all the amenities. This will be a night & day experience for you. Maybe you can take a trip and visit around to get an idea of what you're in for.
Another thing to consider is that you will have a hard time hearing the real experiences people from NYC are having after moving down here. There are a lot of them who did not find "that paradise" that the state of fL is promoting up north, and due to "pride & hurt ego's" they will not share the whole truth...
Then, consider this too; what works for someone might not work for you. If someone from up there moved here and they are having a great time, that means that their expectations were different than yours, and what they found to be awesome, you might find to be terrible....We're from Miami, and our experience of moving to Tampa was night & day! (and that's Florida to Florida for you)! You really need to visit, and don't spend your time on tourist attractions, but rather spend your time as if you lived here...it will be hard to make a decision based on everyone else's experiences that are not your own.
Thanks for your input!
We definitely plan on visiting first. I was there once on vacation but that is not the reason for looking there. I figured the economy in Tampa is a little better in average than the rest of florida, especially as we do not want to move to Miami.
I was more looking for an average experience from people moving form here just for the sake of perspective. I know salaries in average are way lower down there but the aboslute price can still be judged as high or low etc. From my research it still look that even with less money you can afford more things than here.
Have a friend that moved to alm beach and the insurance he pays (roughly $900 / 6 months) is what I kind of would expect (as you said not established as far as driving history in the US goes).
As far as ALDI is concerned they have it here in NYC and it has always been clean for us and a great way to save money when you select the decent stuff. Good to know it might be more in the rough neighborhoods only down there (Weird here the ALDI is pretty similar to the German one given the products obviously differ but at least the chocolate is often the exact same from their german store etc. )
Totally aware it depends where you live, currently one of the borough and not in Manhattan so in general the commute of 45-60 min is pretty good for here. I checked on Google Maps and supposedly around 40 min from tampa to clearwater, would that hold any truth in average (just one example)?
I totally agree with you craigslist down there seems worthless when looking for jobs, here it is the #1 source and easy to get tons of good paying jobs there without the need to fill out a 30min online form.Any advice as where else to look?
I checked the usual ones but looking also for other sources (besides monster,indeed..)
I am not really trying to compare tampa in lets say transportation , amount of store etc. Rather I want to get a feel for people's subjective feeling when moving down there. I know NYC obviously has way better transportation (but thats why we rather get a car anywyas) , more restuarants (don't care for less but rather good), less shows etc (although I read there seems to be plenty of stuff to do.
We are not expecting paradise, I guess for that I would pick other places but a good compromise of work/life. Here it is just too busy, too full and the so many things that people seem to be excited about are not worth the hassle. We will only move with at least one of us having a job already (at least $50k) even if it means taking a perhaps substantial pay cut.
Fully agree with you that it varies for all people thats why e.g. when looking at trip advisor I learned to only read the negative reviews rather than the good ones. More than less often I can find useful info that realtes to what we look for. Guess you will still have a lot of people that were looking for something totally different but it helps to get a better idea.
We plan on doing a visit before(unfortunately probably just a week) to check things out, but the real every day life is hard to emulate.
But one thing before I forget it, how would you personally judge the crime rate down there? NYC is pretty big but also has tons of cops and not really any major problems such as roadkill, theft on a scale I have seen for all the stats for the tampa area.
Thanks a lot again and enjoy the day (sunny here in NYC as well today and warmer )
From my research it still look that even with less money you can afford more things than here.
Have a friend that moved to palm beach and the insurance he pays (roughly $900 / 6 months) is what I kind of would expect (as you said not established as far as driving history in the US goes).
As far as ALDI is concerned they have it here in NYC and it has always been clean for us and a great way to save money when you select the decent stuff. Good to know it might be more in the rough neighborhoods only down there (Weird here the ALDI is pretty similar to the German one given the products obviously differ but at least the chocolate is often the exact same from their german store etc. )
Totally aware it depends where you live, currently one of the borough and not in Manhattan so in general the commute of 45-60 min is pretty good for here. I checked on Google Maps and supposedly around 40 min from tampa to clearwater, would that hold any truth in average (just one example)?
I totally agree with you craigslist down there seems worthless when looking for jobs, here it is the #1 source and easy to get tons of good paying jobs there without the need to fill out a 30min online form.Any advice as where else to look?
I checked the usual ones but looking also for other sources (besides monster,indeed..)
I am not really trying to compare tampa in lets say transportation , amount of store etc. Rather I want to get a feel for people's subjective feeling when moving down there. I know NYC obviously has way better transportation (but thats why we rather get a car anywyas) , more restuarants (don't care for less but rather good), less shows etc (although I read there seems to be plenty of stuff to do.
We are not expecting paradise, I guess for that I would pick other places but a good compromise of work/life. Here it is just too busy, too full and the so many things that people seem to be excited about are not worth the hassle. We will only move with at least one of us having a job already (at least $50k) even if it means taking a perhaps substantial pay cut.
Fully agree with you that it varies for all people thats why e.g. when looking at trip advisor I learned to only read the negative reviews rather than the good ones. More than less often I can find useful info that realtes to what we look for. Guess you will still have a lot of people that were looking for something totally different but it helps to get a better idea. We plan on doing a visit before(unfortunately probably just a week) to check things out, but the real every day life is hard to emulate.
But one thing before I forget it, how would you personally judge the crime rate down there? NYC is pretty big but also has tons of cops and not really any major problems such as roadkill, theft on a scale I have seen for all the stats for the tampa area.
Thanks a lot again and enjoy the day (sunny here in NYC as well today and warmer )
You're welcome!
For the 1st statement in bold is why I suggested a trip down. THAT is exactly what you can do down here, you can compare the stuff that "you" buy on average and see what you can come up with.
For the 2nd statement in bold: if you have a week to "explore", then you have to start thinking in Florida terms:
1. Driving time...so whatever you choose to do has to be mapped and timed to see how long on average + traffic will that eat out of your time
2. Pick things that you are interested in doing on weekends,
3. Take your grocery list down with you, and price it out item by item (but be warn that when gas prices rise, so are the grocery items here.
4. DON'T PUT GAS IN YOUR CAR IN OR NEXT TO A TOURIST ATTRACTION! If you go to Disney for one day, gas up anywhere on I-4 BUT around Disney directly; one gas station on Vineland Road was charging (and still is) $5,99 for a gallon of gas! Talk about gouging in style!
5. I don't know what you do for work, but another thing you can do is find a place that you might be working at, let's say you work for an ad agency, google for one in Tampa, they are usually around Largo, Clearwater, St Pete, and then take the zip code and google for homes, then schools if you need that too...then calculate driving time and add another 15/20 minutes for traffic etc.
The commute really depends, a friend of mine took an hour to get from Town & Country to Clearwater beach last week! At 12pm. We have three bridges and a lot of people who can't drive and cause accidents, blocking these roadways and messing up the traffic increasing commutes. 40 minutes would be nice, but it rarely happens.
Regarding restaurants, we are full of chains here; there are few restaurants that aren't chains which are quite expensive, and not worth the drive if you end up living far away in some of those subdivisions. "Visually speaking" you're trading a real city, for the same house repeated 300 times. So "visually speaking" you will be bored quite fast. Every new build here has no Florida feel at all, so like nothing tropical, nice bright colors or any of that; everything is boring beige; sometimes I wonder why out of all the colors on the spectrum these people choose beige...We're from Miami as I stated earlier, so we're used to color being used everywhere, Tampa looks like Ohio on a rainy day pretty much if we're talking architectural diversity. I am not sure why people pay so much to become architects and then design these ****ty looking buildings everywhere. So to see some color, you have to drive to Sarasota...and find hidden places, or very south in St Pete...passed Don Caesar...
Crime is plentiful here; if you turn on the Tv that's ALL you hear about. The news channels here are a joke! Stay away from East Tampa...awful area. You won't live in the city limits here unless you end up in South Tampa, which is expensive...you'll be in a suburb somewhere like Westchase, Wesley Chapel, Carrollwood, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, etc., so you have to be really assertive regarding how much commuting you are really willing to do; because the more you commute the less time you'll have to have fun! Ideally, you find out where work is, then find a place to live close by...or find a place to live, and see what "work" is around it...
You have to stop thinking in NYC terms though because this is recipe for disaster and disappointment! You have to view this as a new start, as if you moved to Australia...new environment, new bugs, new streets, etc.
Regarding entertainment, well we don't have "LOCAL" entertainment like NYC does. In other words we don't have a Broadway Blvd filled with theaters that have their own seasons every year; shows come here to VISIT...which makes the tickets VERY expensive. If NYC is the only place you lived thus far, you will deal with a cultural shock for a while.
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