Thinking of moving to Tampa from Albany, NY area anyone ever make the same move or have info on Tampa?

[TampaKaren]

Originally Posted by Sharon RN

Hi, could use some help in finding an area in Tampa to live. I am a neonatal nurse with 25+ yrs experience and have a 13 yr old son. My husband is a Real Estate Broker. Where should we be focusing our housing search???

For your consideration, you can do some research on All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg (link here --> Welcome to All Children's Hospital).

And in Tampa, St. Joseph's has an all women's hospital (link here --> St. Joseph's Women's Hospital).

I would suggest that you find suitable work, and then focus your housing search around that area.

[classicanne]

I agree with TampaKaren, find your work first and then determine where you want to live. When we moved to the Tampa area in 1993 we were torn between Carrollwood and Brandon; I found work first in Brandon and we moved there accordingly. With all the heavy traffic, keeping your commute as short as possible is a big plus.

[annaegel]

I use to live in NJ until 3 1/2 years ago. I have 2 kids that were in kindergarten and 3rd grade. I did see a difference in the quality of education. Private schools don't buy you a better education necessarily. Private schools will cost you around $10k. There are alternatives like Charter schools, magnet schools. Though the standards are still not so great. Coming from NJ, I have seen that the kids are nicer up north. The kids down here can be mean and nasty. I have heard several friends who have lived up north say the same thing.

I use to live in Clifton Park, NY. However, I did not have kids at the that time. If you are use to the cold weather of Albany, it will take several years to get use to Florida. My kids miss the snow very, very much. My older daughter, now 13, hates it hear. She says when she is 18, she is so out of here. Maybe your kids are younger and they adjust much better. My 9 year old says she would prefer to go back, but is okay down here too. She is having trouble with finding friends. She has always been my social butterfly. Not down here.

We live in Tampa Palms. That is in the New Tampa area. This area is a nice area for families.

Good luck.

[CARDIAC NURSE - CCRN]

I presently work at a hospital in Jacksonville. My husband and myself are looking to move to just north of Tampa, preferrably on the Gulf. We both moved up here from Punta Gorda. (Southwest Florida) The Cardiac hospital I worked at pays 39.00 per hour plus shift diff in the CCR. Agency in that area is not used much but they only pay 32/hr. In Fort Myers they have a hospital system which has a great Children's Hospital and the pay isn't bad either. I believe it is as big or bigger than the childrens in Tampa - not sure. The area in Fort Myers is inexpensive. There are restaurants, malls, etc, everywhere and the beaches are great. You can buy a home not on the water for around 200,000. In Punta Gorda - the housing addition called Punta Gorda Isles has all prices of homes and all of them are on sailboat water. They range from 300,000 for an older (90's) smaller home to 1,500,000 for a 5,000+ sq foot on 2 lots. The pay up here in Jacksonville SUCKS for RN's. My husband is a Doctor of Pharmacy and his pay went up 20,000. Go figure. LOL!
Anyway, if anyone knows the reputation of any of the hospitals in Tampa or any of the surrounding areas and salaries of them please LMK. I have a son and a daughter that are in medical / dental school in Gainsville and we don't want to be too far from them.
Hope the above helps someone.

[mtnkayaker]

As a teacher in the New Tampa area who moved from Syracuse, I can tell you the quality of education down here is about 2/3 what you receive in the Northeast. My senior curriculum is about what I learned in the 9th or 10th grade, unless your children are at the Advanced Placement level and taking college classes while in high school (another thing I didn't see until I moved down here). Most of the nastiness with the kids and people in the community is generally due to the fact that everyone is a transplant and have very little invested in the schools or area.

Even while I say the ed. isn't as good as "up-north", it is what you make of it. STAY ON YOUR KIDS about homework and stuff and stay in contact with the schools, and you can make it comparable as far as what you are coming from. Most people just don't make the effort, which is part of why I think it is so behind down here.

The Shriners' Children Hospital is over by USF and there are some decent hospitals in that area because of the medical school. There is also Tampa Gen on Davis Island in South Tampa.

You can count on long commutes and high housing prices (and the insurance that goes along with it if you choose to buy), but there are plenty of good things, too. There are great parks and opportunities for outdoor activities, running and blading trails, and the Hillsborough River (when it's not alligator mating season - April thru June)is a great place to rent canoes or kayak down for some great entertainment.

I'm moving because as a single person and a teacher, the salary isn't something I can live on in the area, but if you've got two incomes and the willingness to drive your kids to the entertainment in the area (nothing is in walking distance), then I really think it's a great place. All the above places are - New Tampa, Brandon (eh), Carrollwood, Westchase, Lutz. Stay away from Hillsborough Rd/Waters Ave. area because of congestion, and the Southern Temple Terrace/East Tampa areaa because of crime and gang activity. I would also consider the Pinellas County (Clearwater/Tarpon Springs) and Pasco County (Wesley Chapel/Land O'Lakes) areas as well.