Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 02-22-2010, 08:13 AM
 
64 posts, read 225,636 times
Reputation: 18

Advertisements

Hi Everyone. I'm ready to move out of the NJ cold and know that Florida is the place for me and my growing family. I'm already familiar with the Ft. Lauderdale & Miami area, but really don't know much about any of the other areas. Before making any decisions, we are taking trips to visit each of the main places (next week we are headed to JAX and St. Augustine), in the fall we'll head to the west coast, and then next year we'll check out the Orlando/Central region. But I'd LOVE to hear from all the experts on here. I love city-data and find all the feedback to be sooo helpful!

My husband works from home and I am a fitness instructor making our relocation choice pretty flexible.

Here is what I'm looking for:
- 4 bedroom home in the 300k-400k range
- community with pool/fitness/community center would be nice, not necessary
- a nice family town (I have a 2 yr old and another on the way)
- good shopping with maybe an organic supermarket nearby
- a cool downtown area - shopping, restaurants - within 15 min
- culture & arts (within 45-60 min driving dist. to the nearest city)

I'd love any input. I'm all ears!

THANK YOU!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-22-2010, 08:49 AM
 
78 posts, read 185,647 times
Reputation: 48
Can't really help with areas to choose but we are also relocating and seeing as you have a growing family one thing I would definately add to that list is schools. From what I have read on these forums and constantly doing my research is that the school system is pretty bad or I should say not on par with other states. Your child is still young but depending on if you are planning to live in the home for several years I would "pre" plan on looking at areas with a good school. A site we have been using is greatschools.net.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2010, 09:10 AM
 
96 posts, read 255,047 times
Reputation: 63
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennkarma View Post
Hi Everyone. I'm ready to move out of the NJ cold and know that Florida is the place for me and my growing family. I'm already familiar with the Ft. Lauderdale & Miami area, but really don't know much about any of the other areas. Before making any decisions, we are taking trips to visit each of the main places (next week we are headed to JAX and St. Augustine), in the fall we'll head to the west coast, and then next year we'll check out the Orlando/Central region. But I'd LOVE to hear from all the experts on here. I love city-data and find all the feedback to be sooo helpful!

My husband works from home and I am a fitness instructor making our relocation choice pretty flexible.

Here is what I'm looking for:
- 4 bedroom home in the 300k-400k range
- community with pool/fitness/community center would be nice, not necessary
- a nice family town (I have a 2 yr old and another on the way)
- good shopping with maybe an organic supermarket nearby
- a cool downtown area - shopping, restaurants - within 15 min
- culture & arts (within 45-60 min driving dist. to the nearest city)

I'd love any input. I'm all ears!

THANK YOU!
Been down this road so figure I'd give you my take. Just from researching City Data I immediately eliminated Orlando just wasn't for me then I was left with Tampa area, Palm Beach County, Miam area and Jacksonville. I eliminated Jacksonville/St Augustine although nice just didn't have as much to offer as Tampa as far as job security,recreation and entertainment so I felt the Tampa area was better. Looked at Palm Beach County and HOA fees were extremely high, job opportunities just OK but weather warmer. I think if I was loaded Boca Raton would be my first choice but I'm not so I chose Tampa. Like ur hubby I also telecommute. Miami, well in my 40's, been there done that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2010, 10:14 AM
 
Location: North Pinellas
626 posts, read 1,347,734 times
Reputation: 638
Might want to check out Sarasota as they have a better downtown/organic/family vibe... otherwise I think the best area right around here would be South Tampa
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2010, 10:59 AM
 
64 posts, read 225,636 times
Reputation: 18
sjea0124 - ahh yes! of course! the educational system is on top of my list and don't know how I didn't include that in my criteria! Thank you for the reminder. Schools is absolutely a big part of where I will choose to move to.

Island_Guy - great feedback. I like the comparisons. Thank you so much!

kdubose - good to know. I like that whole downtown/organic/family vibe so I will give Sarasota a much closer look.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2010, 11:03 AM
 
17,533 posts, read 39,105,017 times
Reputation: 24287
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdubose View Post
Might want to check out Sarasota as they have a better downtown/organic/family vibe... otherwise I think the best area right around here would be South Tampa
definitely agree with you kdubose -South Tampa and Sarasota have a great vibe. I personally think Sarasota is better, for such a small city it has just about every amenity Tampa has, and it has a "real" downtown that is just great (Whole Foods right there among other things) Now to mention it is a gorgeous waterfront city.

For Tampa, South Tampa can't be beat. JMO, of course.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2010, 11:08 AM
 
64 posts, read 225,636 times
Reputation: 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsychic View Post
definitely agree with you kdubose -South Tampa and Sarasota have a great vibe. I personally think Sarasota is better, for such a small city it has just about every amenity Tampa has, and it has a "real" downtown that is just great (Whole Foods right there among other things) Now to mention it is a gorgeous waterfront city.

For Tampa, South Tampa can't be beat. JMO, of course.
Just reading what you guys are writing is giving me a better feel for all of these places. I can't wait to see them in person, but you are all verbally painting a nice picture.
THANK YOU
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:24 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top