describe the people in tampa (Miami, St. Petersburg: neighborhood, college, gated communities)

[Keeper]

If you live in Tampa you won't notice the snowbirds as much as someone who lives in St. Pete, Clearwater or Sarasota. Most snowbirds want to live near the beaches and in 55+ communities, which Tampa has very little of either one.

I do agree in many areas it is hard to meet ppl especially if you are a SAH mom. Most folks are 2 income families and it seemed to me that very few ppl socialized on the weekends with neighbors. Not to say it doesn't happen, but most ppl are just so busy on the weekends. Tampa isn't the south as stated previously, most folks are from the midwest and northeast.

[SheetRock101]

Go outside the city limits of Tampa to find good ol' southerness. Places like Wesley Chapel, Brooksville, etc... all nice, friendly.

[Artsywoman]

Originally Posted by DC2Tampa

Tampa Bay is basically a microcosm of the country. You have people here from all over, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, religions and beliefs. That includes Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. White collar, blue collar, upper-class, middle-class, working-class. Rich, wealthy, poor. People who live in beachside mansions to people who live in rundown urban apartments. People who classify the area under one specific sociological class description are either VERY narrowminded or EXTREMELY ignorant of the greater area.

I've travelled all over this country, every major metro area of the U.S. and have lived many different cities. I grew in one of the wealthiest areas in the country in the Maryland suburbs bordering Washington D.C. in Montgomery County where it can go from urban to rural within about 15-20 miles. It's also one of the most diverse areas of the country and we had a lot of people who would be classified as "rednecks" by folks here too. The bordering county of Prince George's(PG) would probably be considered "redneck" by most here even though much of the population is African-American. The same would probably be said about Baltimore and the surrounding areas. Both D.C. and Baltimore are generally considered Northeastern cities, or at least MidAtlantic cities(unless you're from NYC or Boston) yet probably have just as many or more of what people here would loosely describe as "redneck". My point is, in or on the fringe of EVERY major city in the Northeast, Westcoast, whatever... you will find a similar group of people... Boston, Philly, Long Island, Chicago, LA, Miami, Seattle, Phoenix, San Diego, etc... Doesn't matter.

To best describe the Bay area to someone who's never been here I always tell people that Florida is like a mirror image of the eastcoast of the rest of the country... Jacksonville(aka "South Georgia"/Tallahassee/Panhandle/Gainesville/Ocala are more "Southern" in culture and attitude. Central Florida/Tampa Bay/Orlando more Mid-Atlantic and South Florida/Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale/Miami more "Northern". Basically when it comes to Florida, the more southern to go, the more northern it gets.

Because the people of this area is so diverse it's hard to describe or characterize them/us as one social group or class. The best way I can describe the area's population would be something very similar to the Mid-Atlantic population between Richmond and Philly/Central Jersey including Northern Virginia/D.C./Baltimore/Wilmington. Or for those familiar with the Westcoast, it's very similar to the San Diego area. Very diverse backgrounds and social classes, transient population, strong military presence. Contrary to what people here might have you think, few people here have "Southern" accents and probably the majority of those that do either grew up in the rural areas of Florida or also moved here from other parts of the South(it does happen). The one thing about this area is that it doesn't quite have the extremes of many other cities when it comes to social class. The middle-class is very large here. It doesn't seem to deviate as much in the extremes from wealthy to poor as much as most cities in other areas of the country.

Sorry for the rant but I have a degree in sociology and cultural anthropology and while sometimes social labels are necessary for classification purposes, blanket statements like characterizing a metropolitan's populace as "redneck" is pretty ignorant and most often inaccurate(not to mention misused), particularly when it comes to this area. Also incase you might think that my observations might be biased towards "rednecks" or a particular group, it would probably help to know that I'm of Asian ethnicity.

I can describe most of these Tampa Bay people, REDNECKS and maybe one or two friendly people.

[SheetRock101]

Rednecks arent friendly? Just b/c you dont like the way they talk?

I dont like they accents on folks from Boston or NYC myself (makes me wanna throw up inside my mouth), but that doesnt mean they arent friendly... its the way that many of them act that makes them unfriendly!

[DC2Tampa]

Originally Posted by Artsywoman

I can describe most of these Tampa Bay people, REDNECKS and maybe one or two friendly people.

lol... You're from the VA/DC area and you're talking about "REDNECKS"? Apparently you don't get around much. Loudon, Prince William Co and all points south have REAL rednecks(you got the KKK/Nazi skinheads in Manassas, Dumfries and Fredericksburg btw). Not to mention PG Co, Frederick Co and all of Southern Maryland on the otherside of the Potomac. I grew up in Silver Spring and when I was young we used to consider most people in Northern VA "rednecks" until they built all of the new transplant communities and McMansions during the 80's. Sound familiar?

I even saw a post of yours saying there were too many Spanish speaking people here. Have you even been back to NoVA lately? There are far more illegals in the D.C. area than in Tampa Bay. You've also got violent Salvadorian gangs like MS-13 now in Falls Church, Annandale, Springfield and parts of Alexandria and Asian gangs in Arlington and Fairfax. There are far more violent crimes committed in the D.C. area than in the Tampa Bay area.

If you live in the outskirts of any metro area, like you do in North Tampa/Wesley Chapel/Lutz/whatever, you'll find your share of "rednecks" including the D.C. area. On the flipside, if you live in the more upscale suburban areas like Potomac, Bethesda, Rockville, incorportated Fairfax City, Reston, Oakton, Old Town, Vienna... it's the same as living in East Lake/Palm Harbor/Countryside, Trinity, Feathersound, Snell Isle/Old Northeast St. Pete, Tierra Verde, Sarasota, Westchase/Country Way, Odessa/Citrus Park, Hyde Park/South Tampa, Davis and Harbour Islands, Valrico/Lithia... I bet you've never been to most of these areas. You mentioned you've never even been to South Tampa("been thru there") so you probably shouldn't even be giving advice on a majority of this forum.

Bottomline, you can find "rednecks" or undesirables in any city or area. But don't be bitter and angry just because you didn't do your homework to find a neighborhood that fits your lifestyle before moving here. And please stop spouting ignorant misinformation and undermining your credibility.


"...and maybe one or two friendly people" ...lmao, hyperbole much?!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by DC2Tampa

lol... You're from the VA/DC area and you're talking about "REDNECKS"? Apparently you don't get around much. Loudon, Prince William Co and all points south have REAL rednecks(you got the KKK/Nazi skinheads in Manassas, Dumfries and Fredericksburg btw). Not to mention PG Co, Frederick Co and all of Southern Maryland on the otherside of the Potomac. I grew up in Silver Spring and when I was young we used to consider most people in Northern VA "rednecks" until they built all of the new transplant communities and McMansions during the 80's. Sound familiar?

I even saw a post of yours saying there were too many Spanish speaking people here. Have you even been back to NoVA lately? There are far more illegals in the D.C. area than in Tampa Bay. You've also got violent Salvadorian gangs like MS-13 now in Falls Church, Annandale, Springfield and parts of Alexandria and Asian gangs in Arlington and Fairfax. There are far more violent crimes committed in the D.C. area than in the Tampa Bay area.

If you live in the outskirts of any metro area, like you do in North Tampa/Wesley Chapel/Lutz/whatever, you'll find your share of "rednecks" including the D.C. area. On the flipside, if you live in the more upscale suburban areas like Potomac, Bethesda, Rockville, incorportated Fairfax City, Reston, Oakton, Old Town, Vienna... it's the same as living in East Lake/Palm Harbor/Countryside, Trinity, Feathersound, Snell Isle/Old Northeast St. Pete, Tierra Verde, Sarasota, Westchase/Country Way, Odessa/Citrus Park, Hyde Park/South Tampa, Davis and Harbour Islands, Valrico/Lithia... I bet you've never been to most of these areas. You mentioned you've never even been to South Tampa("been thru there") so you probably shouldn't even be giving advice on a majority of this forum.

Bottomline, you can find "rednecks" or undesirables in any city or area. But don't be bitter and angry just because you didn't do your homework to find a neighborhood that fits your lifestyle before moving here. And please stop spouting ignorant misinformation and undermining your credibility.


"...and maybe one or two friendly people" ...lmao, hyperbole much?!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for this post!!! Couldn't have said it better myself!

[SheetRock101]

Yes, there are a lot of rednecks still in FL. Who cares? FL used to be considered the south, and I liked it that way! I wish we had more rednecks and less arrogant, road raging, crude northerners. Sorry to put it bluntly like that, but sometimes I just need to say what others wont say!

[DC2Tampa]

Originally Posted by SheetRock101

Yes, there are a lot of rednecks still in FL. Who cares? FL used to be considered the south, and I liked it that way! I wish we had more rednecks and less arrogant, road raging, crude northerners. Sorry to put it bluntly like that, but sometimes I just need to say what others wont say!

I imagine the local Native American tribes were posting similar sentiments via smoke signal not too long after the Spanish explorers arrived in Tampa Bay.

Seriously though, just about every single city forum on the city-data website from Portland, ME to Honolulu, HI has threads that seem to breakdown into this "us vs. them", whether it's locals vs. illegal immigrants, locals vs. transplants, locals vs. rednecks, transplants vs. rednecks, rednecks vs. transplants vs. locals vs. illegals, etc...

Some people prefer to be surrounded by people similar to them, similar likes and dislikes, philosophies, ideologies and values. But for the most part, that's no longer the reality in 21st Century America so the best thing to do is embrace it or tolerate it or else live alone in a cave otherwise life will be extremely miserable.

But even most Northerners don't like "arrogant, road raging, crude Northerners" so you're not alone there.

[si33]

DC2Tampa,

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!..this is the 21st century..and is no longer a divided society...and anyone who can't evolve with the times..are just making themselves miserable..rep for you..

Again..i don't care where you came from..As long as you have things to contribute...welcome..just please don't run me over

[Eastern Roamer]

Tampa has the largest rebel flag in the world... seriously.
Big Confederate flag is no flap for Super Bowl weekend - St. Petersburg Times

A majority of people are from other parts and not really southerners. This has pros and cons. On one hand, Tampa is very tolerant - there is not much racial tension and it's very integrated and diverse. On the other hand, no one has that home-town mentality. Most people are either on vacation or passing through or just moved here - they can act a fool and no one is going to tell their mama.