Tampa: The Worst City for Young Professionals (Fort Lauderdale, University: buying a home, neighborhoods)

[Meng2]

Originally Posted by ksdimarco

My brother is an electrical engineer for a large tellecommunications firm in Chicago burbs. Let me tell you its not any better up there either. His company has laid off many of their force and shipped the jobs overseas. He is grateful he still has a job, and recently **** has hit the fan. He is salaried, and they keep making him work more and more, he has been working 60+ hours a week and weekends when he was doing 40 for the same salary the last 7 years. Like I said hes glad he has a job but 2 small kids its hard to have a life now. His lab partner in college, made the same move you did. After 5 years in the engineering field, he went to law school after realizing this were not looking positive. Its everywhere, not just here although its not as booming here.

I hear you there. Anyone with a semblance of a decent job right now I consider to be fortunate and/or lucky. I am out of work since Feb. of this year. I got caught up in the truss industry with a mechanical engineering degree when housing was booming. Now that the bottom has fallen out of that, I cannot seem to find another job with my degree mostly due to not having worked as a mechanical engineer since getting out of school. That is largely my mistake. All anyone wants now is mid-level or senior-level engineers which makes it extremely difficult for entry-level like myself. That is how it generally is with engineering, though as you noted. You get a salary and then they work you as much as they feel they need to. At some point your equivalent hourly rate really starts to look horrible. The only problem I have now is that it will take some time to get the training for a new career as I'm sure is the boat a lot of other people are in right now.

[saintpetegirl]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

While I'm not saying the above posts don't have some truth, I would like to sincerely ask where ARE the best places for young professionals in this economic climate?

Houston, Texas.
I lived there off and on for 11 years, and that was the 1 city where I always found the most plentiful, highest paying job opportunities.

Many global corporations are headquartered there - and that leads to far better starting opportunities/salaries for new grads - combined with the possibility of a long-lasting career path.

Metro areas lacking corporate International HQ's can't offer those possibilities.

Houston also has very low housing costs (in terms of buying.) Renting is lower than Tampa Bay area, but not by very much. You do get much more for your rental dollar (luxury apartments are *really* nice there - they look like homes in terms of the finishes, etc.)
___________

The trade-off: it's a rat race.

Young people have more fun living inner city, but traffic is crazy.

The suburbs are very far from the inner city - driving 50 miles each way to work is not uncommon.

People live to work there - in Tampa Bay we work to live.

Outdoor life: Not much. Hot and humid. Most people eat, shop and stay indoors.
It's not very pretty. Pine trees and tons of concrete/freeways.

Every city has been hit hard by this economy. I have no doubt things have changed since my move from there, but my advice would be to find a city with International presence, with a lower cost of living.

That's where the jobs are.

[upstatetosun]

I really feel the need to say some things after reading through ALL of the posts.

1. Picking a city is like picking a friend. It's a personal choice. If you want to be in finance yes NYC is defiantly your place to be, but if your in finance you most likely DON"T and WON'T have the time on a Saturday to enjoy the white sand beaches. That's OK with me ... I would love not to share those amazing sunsets ...

2. NYC is great if that is the attitude you have. People in NY are rude and crude and if you are from Florida moving up to the NYC area you most likely will be sneered at and made fun of. Not to say all of New York is bad but it really has it's own "mood". Yes its diverse but it's VERY expensive... your in for a shock when you register your car and it costs you $175 dollars every 2 years. Also you have to wait FOREVER ... our DMV's up here are RIDICULOUSLY inefficient. Kiss good by to those wonderful $5 instant temporary plates. I'm not kidding our DMV opens at 8:05am ... you wait forever and by 8:25am the first 3 workers are on there break

3. I find Tampa very relaxing ... yes the traffic is horrible however it seems as though the good weather and lack of snow is defiantly a HUGE plus for me. I also have to say traffic is bad everywhere... Snow causes bad roads and pot holes in NY and most eastern states, and California has its' 4 hour each way into and out of cities.

I really can't thank you all enough for your input. I know things are hard everywhere right now but I'm gonna take my chances in Tampa. I know I'm a hard worker and if that means working at Lowes or Home Depot for a few months to find a job that I really want so be it. Sometimes if you want a location you have to sacrafice pay. I don't mind ...because everywhere is expensive the best you can do it hope to break even, and maybe be finance savvy and save some money ... instead of purchasing a brand new BMW or Mercedes I would be just as happy with my 10k Ford Fusion.

"Life is about the attitude you leave with... so make sure it's a good one "

PS I work in fiance in NY state right now ... its tough here too ! I plan on moving to Florida to work either in Probation or as a Direct Care Worker well I get my masters in social work. Thankfully Tampa has an ONLINE program...

[MAniacTHW]

I find it funny that Florida is trying to keep grads in Florida by having them pay back their grants if they leave.

Hey Florida, I have an AMAZING idea! Bring in companies WORTH STAYING FOR, and pay us a livable salary, and we MIGHT stay.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by saintpetegirl

Houston, Texas.
I lived there off and on for 11 years, and that was the 1 city where I always found the most plentiful, highest paying job opportunities.

Many global corporations are headquartered there - and that leads to far better starting opportunities/salaries for new grads - combined with the possibility of a long-lasting career path.

Metro areas lacking corporate International HQ's can't offer those possibilities.

Houston also has very low housing costs (in terms of buying.) Renting is lower than Tampa Bay area, but not by very much. You do get much more for your rental dollar (luxury apartments are *really* nice there - they look like homes in terms of the finishes, etc.)
___________

The trade-off: it's a rat race.

Young people have more fun living inner city, but traffic is crazy.

The suburbs are very far from the inner city - driving 50 miles each way to work is not uncommon.

People live to work there - in Tampa Bay we work to live.

Outdoor life: Not much. Hot and humid. Most people eat, shop and stay indoors.
It's not very pretty. Pine trees and tons of concrete/freeways.

Every city has been hit hard by this economy. I have no doubt things have changed since my move from there, but my advice would be to find a city with International presence, with a lower cost of living.

That's where the jobs are.

Name me one that I can live in outside of Texas or Arizona lol. I dont think there is one and Tampa I wouldnt say has an international presence like Houston does.

[sunbelt]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I believe that when the new USF Polytechnic branch here in Lakeland gets built, it will help to attract more of the types of businesses we need. Even with all the cutbacks to USF, this one is being funded.

About USF Polytechnic

good luck with that.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by sunbelt

good luck with that.

Not sure what you mean by that, but this campus is going to be fantastic. Here is a youtube link of the master plan, designed by award winning architect Santiago Calatrava


YouTube - USF Polytechnic New Campus Master Plan

[chica_bella813]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

I would think twice about leaving a stable and good paying job in N.C. to move to Florida. Unless you can get jobs in Florida before you move and at the pay you require, it would be a risky move.

I second that. Tampa doesn't have much to offer--I fall in that category of one trying to get out of here.

I graduated from USF years ago and to me I didn't think highly of the school--so I am not surprised about the article. Yes USF spends alot on research but I don't see any new discoveries being made there. Moffitt Cancer Center is affliated with USF school of Medicine and that is a great place but besides that USF sucks!!! The surrounding area is deplorable. I will not get started on that......

Tampa lacks culture and as far as nightlife it is very minimal. And we don't have a skyline. Nightlife can come in many forms depending on who you are talking to. I like theater and the arts and this city lacks in that department. I just don't find it refreshing here at all for a young professional. I personally think this state is for retirees or for those who are married and want to raise your family,but even with that said you must look carefully into which area you chose to settle down in . I would look into other states that are far more economically sound and progressive.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by chica_bella813

I second that. Tampa doesn't have much to offer--I fall in that category of one trying to get out of here.

I graduated from USF years ago and to me I didn't think highly of the school--so I am not surprised about the article. Yes USF spends alot on research but I don't see any new discoveries being made there. Moffitt Cancer Center is affliated with USF school of Medicine and that is a great place but besides that USF sucks!!! The surrounding area is deplorable. I will not get started on that......

Tampa lacks culture and as far as nightlife it is very minimal. And we don't have a skyline. Nightlife can come in many forms depending on who you are talking to. I like theater and the arts and this city lacks in that department. I just don't find it refreshing here at all for a young professional. I personally think this state is for retirees or for those who are married and want to raise your family,but even with that said you must look carefully into which area you chose to settle down in . I would look into other states that are far more economically sound and progressive.

USF spends alot on research but you dont see any discoveries??? Do you read the newspapers or watch the news, or even look at any reserach publications..here is one>>Newsletter of the Vice President for Research & Innovation
And Moffit Cancer center is all you can think of, when the school receives numerous acolades for its Urban Transportation Center; College of Engineering; Shriners and Eye Institutes, College of Education, as well as premeire athletics program. Its one of the nations top universities for research in Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases.

Tampa lacks culture?? what is missing exactly? And remember, Tampa is a small city of about 350k, but I find there is alot of culture in this city, have you actually looked at sites like these>>
Arts Council of Hillsborough County
Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts
Creative Tampa Bay
The largest Performing Arts Center in the southeast, Independant theater companies, Museums, Film and Art Festivals(lots of them), a unique rich history from the Indians to the Cigar Capital, Art Galleries....

No Skyline?? This one makes me chuckle, sure its not NY, Chicago, LA, San Fran, etc....but for the 55th most populous city, Tampa has a nice skyline(albeit a small one - to go along with a small city).

Nightlife - there arent many small cities in the country that can boast having more than one concentrated areas of nightlife(Ybor City, Channelside, Hyde Park/SoHo, Westshore/Bay Street, South Tampa neighborhoods - one unique from the rest - and thats just in the city of Tampa).

And it is a preference as far as what a young professional is looking for, sure cities like NY, Chicago, etc. offer more, but do you want to LIVE in those cities?? Some do and some dont.

[MAniacTHW]

I have the Tampa skyline tattooed on my shoulder. However, I will agree that USF isn't a top school, as everyone (teacher wise) has always told me or my friends to stray away from it.