To Tampa from Upstate NY?

[Muggy]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

You're not angry or bitter? huh? Why ever could others have written you off as such? Maybe it was the predictably hateful rants...

BTW, thanks to kwflconch on another thread:Nearly half of all Americans want to live elsewhere, study finds - CNN.com

I am angry and bitter, just don't write off my comments. If you're from upstate, Tampa sucks. I'm not talking to you, or the people that responded to the Pew poll, I'm talking to the OP and anyone else from upstate contemplating moving to Tampa.

It doesn't matter, I read the other threads and it looks like he's already decided on N.Tampa 'burbs. This is perhaps one of the worst far-flung prongs of any sprawled nightmare. You know what, go ahead and write my comments off. Just revisit this thread (tblan) after you've lived in Tampa for 18+ months.

If you have kids you're making the biggest mistake of your life (let this sentence reverberate for a while).

[annaegel]

my husband relocated over 350 families from the NYC area. We have been down here for4 long years. I use to HATE it down here for similar reasons as the previous person, but I am getting adjusted. The people are not too bright down here. I've had more screw ups from the doctors offices in the 4 years down here than the 30 years in the NYC area, due to stupidity and uncaring people. The education system sucks, even in the "good" schools. People are rude and put themselves first. Stop sign? What's that? Don't bother signaling to drive into another lane, because the person in that lane will speed up, just so you won't get in front of them. Tampa is accident prone. I have seen more accidents here. Many people who moved down here from NYC would move back in a heart beat, if the economy were better. Yes, I don't have to shovel snow or deal with icy streets, but I do have to deal with unbearable heat 7 months out of the year. Beaches are wonderful, if you can find parking. Though you have to learn the stringray shuffle when you go to the beach! There are so many creepy people. I felt safer in NYC than here. I have heard too many stories, like a woman went out to get her mail. By the time she came back in and went to her bedroom she found a woman ransacking her bedroom. Took off with money and jewelry. Traffic is worse here and you have to drive greater distances to do things like shopping, movies, school, etc.

Maybe rent your place in NY and find a short term rental down here. See if you like it. It takes at least 2 years to get use to the heat. Now I am complaining when the temps fall below 60 degrees. Good luck finding work because there are NO jobs. It really isn't cheaper to live here. Yes the housing is cheaper, but we pay much more overall for other things like mowing our lawn, pest control, lawn care, pool care. Pay more in gas because you are driving a lot more. Food is about the same or slightly higher.

Wish we could move back, but now cannot afford to. Make sure you really like it here before you make the big move, then cannot move back.

[gkygrl]

Thanks for all the honest posts. We are Upstaters too (Saratoga Springs) looking at a move towards the Tampa area (Florida Gulf Coast). It all depends and is contingent upon a college academic job (if there are ones to be had in Political Science or Government). We are about 2 years out but decided we would begin the exploration process now.

[beerme1]

Originally Posted by Muggy

Yes, because all of these cities had industrial economies. What do you think Florida will look like in 10 years, now that the voodoo finance and "sell houses to each other" economy has imploded?

It will be tough everywhere but FL. as a whole has a little thing called tourism that will help.

[Muggy]

Originally Posted by beerme1

It will be tough everywhere but FL. as a whole has a little thing called tourism that will help.

I'll give you that; Florida is tourism and speculation. We still have the tourism, even though that will suffer a little in the next few years.

[DC2Tampa]

Originally Posted by Muggy

Yes, because all of these cities had industrial economies. What do you think Florida will look like in 10 years, now that the voodoo finance and "sell houses to each other" economy has imploded?

I think there will be a similar population boom in FL to the one that occurred after the recession of the late 80's-early 90's. See the difference is that even during the BOOM years of the past couple of decades the population of those WNY cities saw a steady decline. Just imagine what the next few years will do to not just the cities but also the suburban and rural areas of WNY.

Sure Florida has a surplus of homes and condos, like many cities of America, but you seriously think the state won't rebound? Barring a 25' sea level rise, baby-boomers will be retiring over the next decade looking for warmth, sunshine and income tax-free shelter. Cheap homes locally will be snatched up as vacation or future retirement homes as other economies turnaround nationally and overseas.

Sure the economy will stagnate for at least the next year or two, just like the rest of the country. But Florida has ridden out recessions before and the economy is much more diverse now than it was even 10-20 years ago.

[Mrmllr]

Here are my two cents. I am originally from the Poughkeepsie area and I moved with a few friends to Tampa who have all disliked it, but I like it here. I think some problems down here are finding jobs, sketchy people, it's difficult to meet nice people, and the big one: TRAFFIC. That being said, if you can stick it out through the adjustment period of moving somewhere new, I think it's fun. It took awhile, but I do have a good groups of friends. The weather is great, though really rough in the summer. Basically, make sure you have a job before you come (the pickins are slim) and make sure to find a nice group of people to hang out with. That makes all the difference.

[gkygrl]

I was just revisiting this thread and I can't believe this was back in 2009. 2014 and we are on the precipice of a job offer at USF Sarasota. Woot woot.

Any of the posters in this thread have any new info to offer about the area? Although we are looking at Bradenton-Sarasota now ....

Any insight?

[BucFan]

A family member of mine has lived up N. of Syracuse for the last six of so years and is digging out of snow every day of every winter. I can't imagine anyone enjoying living in that kind of climate. Freezing temps, dangerous driving, road closures, unpredictable storms every week. Granted, their climate is fantastic between June-September, the rest of the year flat out sucks. Thankfully there are a lot of people who enjoy to leave in the tundra, otherwise FLA would be much more populated than it already is. That's what the whole thread is about, isn't it?

As far as living in Bradenton-Sarasota - there's a forum for that region. I'm sure they'll give you good information. I like a lot of the communities down there - Sarasota is a decent place to live, imo.