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florida provides comic relief to the rest of the nation and is generally the laughing stock of the country.... especially when it comes to politics, elections, news stories, the strange and bizarre, etc etc....due to this and many other factors florida will never attract the businesses and the bright young minds it needs to become a relevant place with a sustainable economy.
I moved to Tampa seven months ago from Northern Virginia. I am a D.C. native. I find that a lot of Floridians are very spoiled. I rent a one bedroom apartment here for $525 per month all utilities, half of my rent in Northern Virginia/DC area. My cable is free, the public swimming pools are free and its only 30 minutes from the beautiful Gulf Beaches. Mass transit is not bad at all, maybe some of the routes should run every half hour, but otherwise it is fine.
I have talked to alot of people here and have found alot of them complain about the heat, the high rents, low pay and crime. It is just as hot in D.C. as it is here and sometimes 100 with code red air days in August. Coming from the north and a very expensive area, I can't understand what these people are complaining about! The cheapest studio apartment in a bad neighborhood in N. VA costs a minimum of $900. The winters are a drag, and yes some of the salaries are higher, but half of your salary goes to rent and utilities, not to mention very high Metro subway fares. The traffic is nightmarish and I don't even drive. Also the nearby beaches do not hold anything over the beautiful Florida beaches.
Don't get me wrong, I love my hometown and it has a lot to offer, but its a relief to have summer all year round and live in a ok neighborhood. My old neighborhood was gang ridden Arlandria (outside of Arlington, VA) and my one bedroom cost me $1,100 plus utilities in a bad noisy neighborhood. There is a big problem with affordable housing there and also illegal immigration, not to mention everyone up there is always stressed and running on empty. So I am glad that I relocated to a calmer atmosphere. I will say too that the crime here is high, but at least the news is a lot more interesting! I know it sounds awful, but everyday there is some new and interesting crime! It is amazing. Not just the run of the mill crimes like in D.C., shootings, drugs etc. I mean goofy crimes committed by crazies. So anyway, I do wish there were more areas to walk and excercise. I notice that everyone drives too and doesnt excercise. It is very strange. When I walk I am constantly harrassed too!
I will say that there is almost the same or worse amount of traffic here and the bus drivers are so rude except for one or two. Also, since I have lived here I noticed there are a lot of scraggly criminal types and druggies along with uneducated types. I have met some very nice people too. I have also never seen so many Walmarts, but that is ok! I get a better feel when I was in St. Petersburg and the beaches and really would rather live there. I think its a neat city and more cultural.
I don't know if you have a car or not, but if you do there are some great areas to walk in the Tampa area. If you have the time and want to hike around take a drive over to the Gandy Bridge, its about 5 miles round trip, a nice hike across the bay. Up at New Tampa there is a beautiful paved trail of about 7 miles or more. There is another trail the Upper Tampa Bay Trail that goes on for miles, I think that is up around Westchase or that region anyway. Of course the sidewalk over on the Bay, what is it called Bayshore Blvd I think. Yeah you have to drive to take a walk, kind of ridiculous but thats how it is it seems.
I like florida overall but Tampa was just too damn plain and boring for my taste. Everything is so spread out so you must have a car to get around. I was so overwhelmed with how everyone who vacationed there said how nice it is but to me it was ragged and worn looking. I lived in tampa palms and new tampa and i can tell you alot of places in the midwest are so much more pleasant and well developed than in tampa. And as far bars and happy hour spots in tampa they are just dull and lack that real "good time" feeling. i frequent various cities in florida and i really enjoyed my stay but florida i really overrated by far, imo. Many of the residents i had the pleasure of meeting expressed the same sentiment and spoke of how Tampa use to be a really nice and fun place to live. I'm back in the midwest and having the time of my life in a nice, clean city with a lot going on, i will definitly go back to florida to visit friends but i would never live there again.
I like florida overall but Tampa was just too damn plain and boring for my taste. Everything is so spread out so you must have a car to get around. I was so overwhelmed with how everyone who vacationed there said how nice it is but to me it was ragged and worn looking. I lived in tampa palms and new tampa and i can tell you alot of places in the midwest are so much more pleasant and well developed than in tampa. And as far bars and happy hour spots in tampa they are just dull and lack that real "good time" feeling. i frequent various cities in florida and i really enjoyed my stay but florida i really overrated by far, imo. Many of the residents i had the pleasure of meeting expressed the same sentiment and spoke of how Tampa use to be a really nice and fun place to live. I'm back in the midwest and having the time of my life in a nice, clean city with a lot going on, i will definitly go back to florida to visit friends but i would never live there again.
You may have had a much different experience if you lived in the city, than out in the burbs...South Tampa area is quite different than Tampa Plams/New Tampa..everything is within a few miles(Sports, concerts, airport, shopping, nightlife, dining, festivals, entertainment, culture, arts, theater, etc.)..alot of nice pocket neighborhoods and walkable areas......im glad though you found a place that makes happy you up back in the mid-west..because that is whats most important in life.
TampaGuy..... I have to agree with you 100%. We should start a South Tampa Booster Club here on this site. I can't say enough good things about South Tampa. If you lived out in New Tampa or the "burbs" you really didn't the best feel of living in Tamnpa. There are of course advantages to being out in the suburbs in the subdivisions, you have a certain, controlled aesthtic that you don't get in South Tampa or other parts of the city limits. But I find the trade off is worth it. Living in the city limits, i.e. South Tampa or Wellswood, you get a different vibe. You feel like you are in a place that has character and personality. Out in the burbs its just more of a generic, feel. Again, I really don't mean to offend, I am just saying its a trade off and both areas offer advantages. We looked for homes in the suburbs a few years ago, we felt we could get a newer, more modern, prettier home for our money. But I just couldn't seem to embrace the suburban lifestyle. For me, I would not live anywhere else in this area except South Tampa. Maybe if I had children I would feel differently. Anyway, point being, living out in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, or even West Chase is going to give you a different perspective of life in Tampa as opposed to living in the city limits. Thats all. I honestly didn't mean to insult anyone.... if I did, it was not intentional. Some of my best friends live in the 'burbs! (and they have much nicer, newer homes than I have, and I often get jealous!)
I moved to Tampa seven months ago from Northern Virginia. I am a D.C. native. I find that a lot of Floridians are very spoiled. I rent a one bedroom apartment here for $525 per month all utilities, half of my rent in Northern Virginia/DC area. My cable is free, the public swimming pools are free and its only 30 minutes from the beautiful Gulf Beaches. Mass transit is not bad at all, maybe some of the routes should run every half hour, but otherwise it is fine.
I have talked to alot of people here and have found alot of them complain about the heat, the high rents, low pay and crime. It is just as hot in D.C. as it is here and sometimes 100 with code red air days in August. Coming from the north and a very expensive area, I can't understand what these people are complaining about! The cheapest studio apartment in a bad neighborhood in N. VA costs a minimum of $900. The winters are a drag, and yes some of the salaries are higher, but half of your salary goes to rent and utilities, not to mention very high Metro subway fares. The traffic is nightmarish and I don't even drive. Also the nearby beaches do not hold anything over the beautiful Florida beaches.
Don't get me wrong, I love my hometown and it has a lot to offer, but its a relief to have summer all year round and live in a ok neighborhood. My old neighborhood was gang ridden Arlandria (outside of Arlington, VA) and my one bedroom cost me $1,100 plus utilities in a bad noisy neighborhood. There is a big problem with affordable housing there and also illegal immigration, not to mention everyone up there is always stressed and running on empty. So I am glad that I relocated to a calmer atmosphere. I will say too that the crime here is high, but at least the news is a lot more interesting! I know it sounds awful, but everyday there is some new and interesting crime! It is amazing. Not just the run of the mill crimes like in D.C., shootings, drugs etc. I mean goofy crimes committed by crazies. So anyway, I do wish there were more areas to walk and excercise. I notice that everyone drives too and doesnt excercise. It is very strange. When I walk I am constantly harrassed too!
I will say that there is almost the same or worse amount of traffic here and the bus drivers are so rude except for one or two. Also, since I have lived here I noticed there are a lot of scraggly criminal types and druggies along with uneducated types. I have met some very nice people too. I have also never seen so many Walmarts, but that is ok! I get a better feel when I was in St. Petersburg and the beaches and really would rather live there. I think its a neat city and more cultural.
You want to see some Floridians that are'nt spoiled? Come on down to the Florida Keys, namely, Key West! Half of us have to work three jobs to get by and enjoy life a bit. Most of the people you see whooping it up on the street are tourists...
The average apartment here runs about 1500, with rooms starting around 750. But the average pay only is around 9-10/hr. What you have is a nightmare for young people, including myself, who is 30! I am trying to leave now, cause even with using my GI Bill, I won't be able to go to school down here full time and also be able to work while keeping my truck payment and also paying rent...
Just another Floridian complaining!!! (But I am from Indiana, and have paid rent there, here, and Hawaii) So my observations are not all that...well inexperienced!
You are right about the crazy crimes though...It's kinda funny, especially when you watch COPS in FL or even the other shows where they patrol the beaches. And trust me, drunken tourists are their own form of entertainment, not that we don't love you, but at 3AM, yelling out "I'm F#$@D UP IN KEY WEST WHOOOO" is definitely something I won't miss! Oh, and please, while horns on scooters work, that doesn't mean they need to the entire way down the street. You don't think we didn't SEE you, right?
Come on down to Key West's NOT-SO DISCOUNT safari...and please tip your bartender and tour guide so that tomorrow they won't have to move...again!
florida provides comic relief to the rest of the nation and is generally the laughing stock of the country.... especially when it comes to politics, elections, news stories, the strange and bizarre, etc etc....
Hmmm...sounds like my kind of place LOL. Does my living in my vehicle for going on 4 years as a matter of life choice count? LOL.
I like a bit of that zany, unconventional bit in my daily fare. I miss that about Florida.
there are many others like these two, I think its what you are looking for...I dont see amny posters on this tampa city data forum(maybe about a dozen or so that regularly post)
I would defintely like to see more walkable areas. Most of the neighborhoods do not have parks and no sidewalks. Also, a decrease in the amount of trash and litter on the streets. Pardon the stereotype, but a decrease in rednecks and pickup trucks!
Ha! I thought it was just me! I am an avid writer and whenever I hear weird news or see it, I title my journal entries "Only in Florida" part I, II etc.! I too think its good to have the wacky stuff, because D.C. news and Virginia news is so dull after reading Florida News! I was telling a friend of mine on the phone about how crazy the news is and the crimes are wacky as hell. He asked me if it was like the show "Cops" and I said, "Exactly!"
I don't know if you have a car or not, but if you do there are some great areas to walk in the Tampa area. If you have the time and want to hike around take a drive over to the Gandy Bridge, its about 5 miles round trip, a nice hike across the bay. Up at New Tampa there is a beautiful paved trail of about 7 miles or more. There is another trail the Upper Tampa Bay Trail that goes on for miles, I think that is up around Westchase or that region anyway. Of course the sidewalk over on the Bay, what is it called Bayshore Blvd I think. Yeah you have to drive to take a walk, kind of ridiculous but thats how it is it seems.
Thanks so much! When it cools down I am going to walk the Tampa Bay Trail off of Gunn Highway. It looks interesting.
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Lacking!
