Moving To Florida Tampa or Orlando ( family ) (Brandon, Largo: best suburbs, rent)

[Aviation757]

Hello,

I am moving to Florida in May but I am not sure if I move to Tampa suburbs or Orlando suburbs. I am relocating from Chicago, Il I will be working remotely in Florida and basically traveling either TPA airport or MCO airport.

I am looking for best suburbs of Tampa or Orlando to raise my family. My son it's 3 years old so I need to start thinking about elementary school. I do like both places but i really need help regarding location , schools , safe places etc. I will probably rent a house for the first years (budget $1500-$1800) or purchase a house ( budget $250K - $350K. All depends!

Tampa Suburns vs Orlando Suburns ? Schools, education, safety, crime, locations.

Thank you very much for your help.

[MAniacTHW]

You put this in the Tampa boards... I wonder what most people are going to say.

[lavender]

conceivably you could live in Tampa and get best of both worlds with regard to airport. OR you could live in Pinellas county by the beaches, and benefit from PIE and TPA and MCO at a push. Traffic is madness on I-4 to and from Orlando.
To find the best places to live in Orlando area you would want to be north, which makes getting to and from TPA a nightmare.
South Tampa might work well, good schools and relatively easy to get to MCO. I would not really recommend other way.
If you didn't need Orlando airports that often a calmer option might be Pinellas county, west of the bay, which is max (depending on where you live) 40 mins from TPA and much closer to PIE.
Renting a house for$1800 is prob ok but not in South Tampa I would say, you might get a condo (just) House purchase South Tampa - unlikely at $350K, possibly in say Seminole/Palm Harbor/S.Largo/Countryside - decent schools in those areas.
All of the above mentioned are safe and nice areas
Sunburn is sunburn in Florida.

[bmw335xi]

Are you the same person?

http://www.city-data.com/forum/flori...rns-raise.html

[Emmanuel__123]

On your budget you could live in both citys.Tampa is a bit cheaper. Family.....Tampa has a crime rate lowe than Orlando and has been down for a while. But if want all those theme parks Orlando has it all. Tampa is more laid back. I live here and people are friendly. Both citys are full of diversity. Tampa is more historic. Tampa i say also has better suburbs than orlando because there are a bunch. Tampa has jobs and Amazon headquarters is moving here soon. Traffic is a hell in citys. Saying that i lived in Orlando and i have ended up in Tampa. The traffic in Orlando i find to be worse just because of all those attractions and roadwork. Tampa gets heavy but you can escape it easly. Orlando is just way more jammed. Tampa has one waterpark one theme park a couple of museums a zoo a couple of other things. Tampa also has its what i call mini beachs. (There not as nice as Cleawater but it way less packed). Orlando has nightlife its nice when you stay one the main street but once you get off it you end up in a ghetto but it feel like it has more going on. Tampa has a downtown to thats improving. The nighlife is cool and we have a riverwalk thats like a boardwalk with little resterants. Tampa feels more like a big city but Orlando has that more citylife modern feel. Tampa is getting more modern little by little. I have 2 kids and they love Tampa. I got a house at $110,000 recently with 4 beds and 3 and a 1/2 baths. My wife loves it here to. Its realy hot though. Hotter than Orlando. Bring that sunscreen. Tampa has better schools in my opinion they look shaby when you look at them but the schools are actually great. I lived in Orlando and i had to change my kids schools back and fourth because the kids were bullying them. (My 13 year old has a knife put to his throut but lukuly there was securty there but ever since i moved back and forth because i love my kids and want the best for them) Since i moved to Tampa i put them in one public school and they loved it. The schools are so much more calm here and people seem to get along well. Tampa has been great for me. There are also many city disticts you can look in Tampa. Some are very upsacle and are pricey like Orlandos but still there is alot of cheap hosing here compared to orlando. Tamla is more culture orinited i call it. There is alot of history and backstory to the city. There are malls here. Tampa Preimum outlets its a bit small bit its cool (it has this realy clear pond with a mini boardwalk and it feels like your on the beach even though your not haha) you got Cirtus Park mall (small but its pretty moderm with nice stores),Univercity Mall (its a bit ghetto alot of closed stores but its the cheapest and its big),Westfield Brandon (Brandon is a sunurb in Tampa so its close to Tampa but no in Tampa, i wouldnt go there its got stores it just is a bit lacking somthing and it is terrible traffic getting there), Westshore plaza (Mid sized pretty big and afgorable prices its modern and nice my most favorite in Tampa), and International Bay Plaza (Its huge and upscale with an amzing outdoor area nonplace will compare!!!! Its just Upscale and a bit pricy). There are alot more shopping options in Orlando though. Any other questions? I will try to answer

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by Emmanuel__123

On your budget you could live in both citys.Tampa is a bit cheaper. Family.....Tampa has a crime rate lowe than Orlando and has been down for a while. But if want all those theme parks Orlando has it all. Tampa is more laid back. I live here and people are friendly. Both citys are full of diversity. Tampa is more historic. Tampa i say also has better suburbs than orlando because there are a bunch. Tampa has jobs and Amazon headquarters is moving here soon. Traffic is a hell in citys. Saying that i lived in Orlando and i have ended up in Tampa. The traffic in Orlando i find to be worse just because of all those attractions and roadwork. Tampa gets heavy but you can escape it easly. Orlando is just way more jammed. Tampa has one waterpark one theme park a couple of museums a zoo a couple of other things. Tampa also has its what i call mini beachs. (There not as nice as Cleawater but it way less packed). Orlando has nightlife its nice when you stay one the main street but once you get off it you end up in a ghetto but it feel like it has more going on. Tampa has a downtown to thats improving. The nighlife is cool and we have a riverwalk thats like a boardwalk with little resterants. Tampa feels more like a big city but Orlando has that more citylife modern feel. Tampa is getting more modern little by little. I have 2 kids and they love Tampa. I got a house at $110,000 recently with 4 beds and 3 and a 1/2 baths. My wife loves it here to. Its realy hot though. Hotter than Orlando. Bring that sunscreen. Tampa has better schools in my opinion they look shaby when you look at them but the schools are actually great. I lived in Orlando and i had to change my kids schools back and fourth because the kids were bullying them. (My 13 year old has a knife put to his throut but lukuly there was securty there but ever since i moved back and forth because i love my kids and want the best for them) Since i moved to Tampa i put them in one public school and they loved it. The schools are so much more calm here and people seem to get along well. Tampa has been great for me. There are also many city disticts you can look in Tampa. Some are very upsacle and are pricey like Orlandos but still there is alot of cheap hosing here compared to orlando. Tamla is more culture orinited i call it. There is alot of history and backstory to the city. There are malls here. Tampa Preimum outlets its a bit small bit its cool (it has this realy clear pond with a mini boardwalk and it feels like your on the beach even though your not haha) you got Cirtus Park mall (small but its pretty moderm with nice stores),Univercity Mall (its a bit ghetto alot of closed stores but its the cheapest and its big),Westfield Brandon (Brandon is a sunurb in Tampa so its close to Tampa but no in Tampa, i wouldnt go there its got stores it just is a bit lacking somthing and it is terrible traffic getting there), Westshore plaza (Mid sized pretty big and afgorable prices its modern and nice my most favorite in Tampa), and International Bay Plaza (Its huge and upscale with an amzing outdoor area nonplace will compare!!!! Its just Upscale and a bit pricy). There are alot more shopping options in Orlando though. Any other questions? I will try to answer

Very nice summation, Emmanuel, although I think Orlando is hotter than Tampa, but that's just me. And I didn't know the Amazon headquarters was moving here, that's news to me.

[EngGuy]

Amazon is looking to do a second HQ, but if you read their list of demands, Tampa doesn't meet them. We will never be shortlisted. Part of the demands include a metro system close to the place proposed.

[MortonR]

Amazon's headquarters will not be here. That's been made pretty clear in the media.

Orlando is definitely hotter than Tampa due to the lack of a sea breeze. Temperatures in the interior are 3-5 degrees higher on average.

The housing market in both areas is insane, so the longer you wait the less your housing dollar will buy. Institutional investors are still buying up properties below $350k with cash, so be prepared to move and move quickly when a property becomes available.

In comparison of the two areas, Tampa is far better for the lack of tourists and the Mouse, who drives the economy in Orlando. Because of the power of the Mouse, wage levels are lower in Orlando for many hourly and trade types of jobs.

RM

[tricon7]

This thread was started back in February, and they were moving in May. No sense in responding anymore.

[craig10x]

I was just curious about one thing...I have been to the atlantic side of florida many many times (my dad had lived in Broward County) and i know how summers are there (in term of heat and humidity) and it doesn't really bother me but if have never been to the gulf side...Is it the same in the summer or worse? (I was considering checking out the tampa bay area for possible re-location)...Also, how does the winter compare in tampa compared to the atlantic side?