Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-16-2015, 08:26 PM
 
Location: Metrowest Boston
279 posts, read 316,788 times
Reputation: 367

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tumf View Post
Trevor, my friend... welcome to Tampa... but....

You're NOT a Floridian!
You're a Georgian who just moved to Florida. The term 'FLORIDIAN' is termed for those who were born in - you guessed it - Florida.

I'm glad you like your new home - when I left GA (Woodstock) - I too, moved to the Tampa area - (Riverview). I was born in Ft. Lauderdale and moved to Atlanta when I was 28... and I'm a far cry from that now - almost double...

Do you have storm shutters for tropical storms/hurricanes?
If not, it's a good idea to get them now because getting them while a storm is headed your way will be a LOT more expensive - and stressful...

You also may want to find out if your community has a CERT Team.
That stands for Community Emergency Response Team. They help first responders in the event of a major storm/natural disaster and it's good to know if such a team exists. If you'd be interested in joining one, you'd get a lot of info on how to respond to such emergencies.

Again, welcome to Florida!
Thanks for the welcome, and an interesting comment regarding the Floridian idea. In fact, my wife and I had a bit of a chat about it over dinner. The gist of the conversation we had was we are not entirely agreed on what it means to be a "Georgian", "Floridian" or any other state-related demonym. The particular point of contention was my daughter was born in Georgia in January 2014, but we moved to Florida that August. I would tend to feel that a couple of decades from now if she were to bring up where she was "from" she'd be hard-pressed to say she was Georgian despite her state of birth.

To that end, I feel that the state I identify with is probably the one in which I am. In my case, I probably am culturally a Georgian. However, I have no ties with Georgia outside of family there. I work in Florida, I own my only home in Florida, I pay Florida taxes, I am involved in Florida culture, I vote in Florida elections, I carry a Florida driver's license. I have no intention of ever leaving Florida, and am raising children here. While me and my family might be considered "Georgians who live in Florida" by some, I think there is a point where most anyone would consider us simply "Floridian". Maybe after our first serious storm? Certainly, I don't think my daughter would know anything else. So I feel the "born here" requirement might not make sense. If not for a 7 month old, where is the line?



With that said, I appreciate the tips on storm preparedness. I do not currently have storm shutters, and am not sure I could permanently install them in my neighborhood. Are there some kind that can be installed "on demand" without damage to my home?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-16-2015, 08:35 PM
 
Location: tampa bay
7,126 posts, read 8,651,821 times
Reputation: 11772
If a storm came through big enough to require storm shutters in Westchase...that would be the least of his problems...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-16-2015, 08:41 PM
 
Location: Metrowest Boston
279 posts, read 316,788 times
Reputation: 367
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishiis49 View Post
If a storm came through big enough to require storm shutters in Westchase...that would be the least of his problems...
Interesting comment. Do you mean that a storm requiring shutters getting out to Westchase would have to be a mandatory-evacuation-level storm? Or something else?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-16-2015, 08:55 PM
 
Location: tampa bay
7,126 posts, read 8,651,821 times
Reputation: 11772
Quote:
Originally Posted by trevor0101 View Post
Interesting comment. Do you mean that a storm requiring shutters getting out to Westchase would have to be a mandatory-evacuation-level storm? Or something else?
Yes half the folks living on the Gulf don't have storm shutters...I think flood waters would be your biggest issue in Westchase...and unless you build an arc...shutters won't help...have good insurance and a plan to evacuate(go visit family in Atlanta for a week)...you will get plenty of warning...I lived in Pinellas County on the water during the last major storms to come through this area...we just filled up our gas tanks,had cash on hand and lots of water...never had a problem...my uncle bought us all generators and we have never had to use them...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-16-2015, 10:34 PM
 
Location: Jupiter, FL
2,006 posts, read 3,319,465 times
Reputation: 2306
Quote:
Originally Posted by trevor0101 View Post
The schools here are a far cry from what we had North of Atlanta. Just a bit outside the perimeter of Atlanta and you were surrounded but tons of fantastic Blue Ribbon schools. Anything less than a Great Schools rating of 8 was a "bad" school, and could cause parents to move to a different district. In Forsyth, most any district was all 10s. I live in Westchase, which seems to be generally considered a good school district. My schools here are a 10, a 7 and a 6 *eek*.
Let's be fair: you're talking about places WAAAAAY north of Atlanta like northern Alpharetta and Forsyth. These places are very inconvenient to Atlanta. There are plenty of mediocre and outright bad schools in the northern half of Atlanta nowadays, whereas 20 years ago they were ALL good.

I just noticed East Lake High School got a big downgrade from GreatSchools, from "9" to "7". Anybody know why?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2015, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
2,852 posts, read 1,613,441 times
Reputation: 5446
Quote:
Originally Posted by roadtrip75 View Post
Let's be fair: you're talking about places WAAAAAY north of Atlanta like northern Alpharetta and Forsyth. These places are very inconvenient to Atlanta. There are plenty of mediocre and outright bad schools in the northern half of Atlanta nowadays, whereas 20 years ago they were ALL good.

I just noticed East Lake High School got a big downgrade from GreatSchools, from "9" to "7". Anybody know why?
WAAAAAY north?
Please... Alpharetta - John's Creek - Forsyth aren't WAAAAAY north of Atlanta....
MARTA runs just 8 miles south of Alpharetta (at the moment - they're talking about expanding it to McFarland)

In Atlanta, for those that haven't lived or aren't familiar - Downtown to Alpharetta, depending on the time you travel - isn't but 1/2 hour drive (maps.google.com) show it to be 29 miles from W Peachtree Street to McFarland in Alpharetta... so WAAAAAY to me, isn't accurate...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2015, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
2,852 posts, read 1,613,441 times
Reputation: 5446
My home in Riverview (well, it's mine until the closing next month - WHOO-HOOO!!!) does not have permanent storm shutters as I wouldn't want those. We had them in our home in Ft. Lauderdale and a showers rain sounds like a gully washer when it hits aluminum.

I'd suggest that you get pressure treated 1/2 inch plywood and measure and cut to size for each window.
There are products to help you attach it securely to your windows nice and neatly.

Have an emergency kit with all prescription medicines and records of what meds you have -
Enough water for 5 days for each member of your family.
Basic first aid supplies -
A battery operated radio - and flashlight - and spare batteries for both... etc.
The complete list is long and I don't want to post it here - you can find what to put in your 911 kit online.

The REALLY good thing about living in Florida is - you get LOTS of notice of an upcoming tropical storm/hurricane....
Like anywhere else, tornados don't give much warning...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2015, 09:35 AM
 
212 posts, read 286,500 times
Reputation: 216
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tumf View Post
WAAAAAY north?
Please... Alpharetta - John's Creek - Forsyth aren't WAAAAAY north of Atlanta....
MARTA runs just 8 miles south of Alpharetta (at the moment - they're talking about expanding it to McFarland)

In Atlanta, for those that haven't lived or aren't familiar - Downtown to Alpharetta, depending on the time you travel - isn't but 1/2 hour drive (maps.google.com) show it to be 29 miles from W Peachtree Street to McFarland in Alpharetta... so WAAAAAY to me, isn't accurate...
Given the urban sprawl of Atlanta, Alpharetta is not very far out but is certainly not close to downtown or even Buckhead. Alpharetta does have great schools, tons of jobs (more jobs than residents) and shopping, decent restaurants, movies and even Verizon Amphitheater. When we lived in Johns Creek, we rarely went downtown or even inside the perimeter, so the distance to downtown Atlanta was not that important to us.

One minor correction, they are considering extending MARTA to Windward Parkway not McFarland. MARTA does not operate in Forsyth County, only Fulton and DeKalb. Based on the estimated cost and other factors, the extension is probably at least 20 years away.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2015, 10:38 AM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
2,852 posts, read 1,613,441 times
Reputation: 5446
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybird45 View Post

One minor correction, they are considering extending MARTA to Windward Parkway not McFarland. MARTA does not operate in Forsyth County, only Fulton and DeKalb. Based on the estimated cost and other factors, the extension is probably at least 20 years away.
Thank you for that correction... I worked off Windward and off of McFarland, and are just one exit from each other... I stand corrected...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-18-2015, 02:02 PM
 
150 posts, read 393,059 times
Reputation: 142
My brother lived in Atlanta (Marietta) and his upscale home had a small creek with so many mosquitoes in the backyard, it basically was unusable. It is also hilly there, and their deck, like many others, was on stilts and about 2 stories above the ground. I was a nervous wreck sitting on it, but using it with small children would be out of the question, for my kids anyway. As for the traffic...I am a native New Yorker (Brooklyn/Long Island) and I had apoplexy on their multi-lane highways. The traffic and time spent in it was the reason my brother and his family left the area. So every area has their pros and cons. Welcome to Florida, and BTW, there are so many transplants to Florida, I think once you have a love for it, you can consider yourself a Floridian.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:41 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top