Tampa Chat Room is here (Boynton Beach: living in, move, beach)

[imanafman]

I live 12 miles south of Tampa and and work in East Tampa (Brandon). My drive is 19 minutes and traffic is never a problem. Coming from St. Pete or north of Tampa is where all the traffic comes from. Working in east Tampa has it's short drive-time benefits. I am right on the line between Ruskin & Sun City Center in a brand new sub-division and love it. It's very quiet out here and the place is expanding, bringing in bigger shopping centers and restaurants, etc. I love fishing, so it's a hop, skip and a jump to the water in Apollo Beach, the Skyway Bridge area, Cockroach Bay, and others. It's a good place to reside.

Ron

[TampaKaren]

Originally Posted by kathyteach

I'm a children's book author who lives in Tampa. Would love to join a group of other children's book authors around the area. Does anyone know of a group like this?

You could try calling the Book Swap in Carrollwood. They have a lot of resources. Their telephone number is 963-6979.

[n2n22]

Saw that someone from Florida wanted to return to Maine, their former home... It's just that the cold weather is a bummer after all this nice weather here in the Tampa Bay area.... But the population is a matter... Rural Maine has its peace and quiet... And with the internet, that's a combo maybe ha ha.... Just wanted to chat I guess... - n2n22

[chrisw]

As a small child i have always loved Florida, the weather, beaches, fishing, shorts year round! But i didnt have a chance to go untill my honeymoon in March 07. Me and the bride decided to visit Orlando, and Tampa on a 6 day vacation. The whole vacation was great, everywhere we went the people where very nice and the weather was exactly what we expected in March, 75 all week. Back home in NC the temp stayed around 50-55 the whole week.

Well a couple weeks ago me and the wife went out to dinner and we started talking about our vacation we had. We talked for hours about it and decided we both need a change and since we where both young and no kids we should give it a try. My wife has 2 degrees, Architecture and Business both associates. I do not have any degrees yet just because i havent decided what i wanted to do in life. I have 6 years of experience managing a custom cabinet shop, and a few years of experience with computers. Right now together me and the wife bring home about 65-70k a year. We own a house that we are putting on the market in the spring.

We both love the water. I want to learn scuba but the wife is scared of sharks. Both of us love fishing and we go every chance we get! Having activities that we can do year round not being to concerned about the cold weather is another plus that we both see as we are both outdoor people. We have 2 dogs that are great, a chow 11y/o, and a lab 1y/o that we would love to be able to walk daily.

We have been looking at houses and jobs around the south tampa area and have decided this is the location we want to live in. Starting off with an apartment will give us the chance to move if the location is not right for us. I love the city feel so hopefully we can find something that is in the city part and not the subs.

This is just a random post, no real questions but i welcome any comments or concerns of anyones!!!!!

[jessiegirl_98]

Just my two cents- make sure you both secure jobs before moving! The job market here can be really tight. Besides that, it sounds like St. Pete, South Tampa, or any of the beach communities would be right for you two! There are also a lot of dog parks in the area. You may want to look them up when deciding where to live (if that is important).

[mquintana]

Well, I work as an assistant manager in an apartment community here in Brandon. Brandon is a "community" of Tampa. It's like Miami with Miami Springs, Miami Lakes...ect. Well, what price range are looking to stay into? Different areas have different pricing. Most apartment in this area a cheap to a little more expensive-a decent 1 br. will start at around $750-950. Depending on the special you receive.

As for wanting to live in the "city." Honestly I don't consider Tampa a large city. in my opinion I find it to be a small city with a buttload of suburbs surrounding it. you may be able to find an apartment downtown, however you should keep in mind that a decent apartment will be a little more pricey. It is all based on what you are willing to spend. Then remember that you have to make the rent times 3 to qualify0unless you go into an income restricted comm. job shouldn't be an issue here. You can easily find one, it just make take a few months before you find the one that you want.

I don't think Tampa is considered near a beach either. Clearwater Beach is so nasty and ugly. I think the best one in this area is Siesta Key-where you have sugar sand and clear water. Then again this is the Gulf and the water is different than the Atlantic or Pacific.

Don't be fooled, it does get cold here as well. However not as often and not snow. It seems to get cooler later and later every year. You still might need your jackets.

Tampa is ok, I don't mind it-I like Brandon because I think it's a good area to raise my daughter. It is less expensive to live here than other places. Just don't buy a house yet until you know that this is where youw ant to be.

[chrisw]

Yea we wont buy a house for a couple of years, so we can have a nice downpayment. Before we make a commitment we are going to come back down for a week or 2 and have job interviews lined up for the week. I know Tampa is not a HUGE city, but coming from a city 50k to 300k is a big city to us. We want a 2bed 2 bath atleast but location is the key. And anything under an hour to get to a beach is close to a beach. we are 3-4 hours away from any decent beach right now.

[tonynorie]

I think you could both do just fine here. You didn't state your age but from the way you talked it seems like you may be late 20's or early 30's?

I don't know as much about employment and housing in Tampa as some others on this site but I'm a fishing fool (been fishing Tampa Bay since '62) and can tell you that the fishing is better now than in many years past, mostly due to the clean-up of the aquatic system as well as a ban on shrimp netting in near-shore waters.

PM me if I can be of any help with the fishing stuff, and good luck!

[chrisw]

Oh i did forget age, i am 24 and the wife is 23. I am a fishing fool also so maybe we can have a fishing trip when we move down!

[anjalika400]

hi everyone. I have recently relocated to brandon area. I need to get my driver's license asap.can anyone pl help me with the contact info of a good motor training instructor or training school for adults in brandon/tampa area (close by 33511 area) to prepare for my road test.

I am also looking for a reputed and reliable software /technical training school in brandon/tampa area with good placement services.

precisely I am interested in .net, oracle and java.

pl do mail me at sharemyview@rediffmail.com