Choosing Right City to Move To Advise please (Tampa, Orlando: apartment complex, lease)

[Gina9884]

I am debating between Tampa/FL which is pretty expensive or the Deland/FL or Orlando area as job transfer.
Any advise where to get the most house for the money and best place to live?

[CrowGirl]

There are a lot of factors that would determine the "best" place to live. What is important to you? Do you have kids, do you want to be by the water, etc.? IS being near a city important to you? It sounds like you are looking to buy rather than rent? Do you have a price range (or at least a maximum?) that you are looking to spend?

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

As the poster above stated it is very hard to help you with the info you gave.

If you can post some more info it will help others be able to give more advice.

For me, I would not want inside the Tampa or Orlando city area's for various reasons with traffic being one of them.

Many good areas outside of the Tampa area, north or south.

Lutz, Odessa, Wesley Chapel on the north are smaller towns close to Tampa that are family oriented towns with some good neighborhoods.

Orlando also has some areas that are decent but they are all on the outside areas of town such as Deland, Clermont, Lakeland etc.

Personally I like Deland but it is way to far away from our favorite gulf side beaches.

The Tampa area is not any more expensive then the Orlando area. If you outside of the Tampa and Orlando areas you will be able to find many great home buys right now.

I believe people coming to Florida to live should rent first to see if you can adjust to your new town, but sometimes you cannot pass on the great home buys out there.

Once you post your needs, if you have kids, schools then would be the most important, drive times to work, housing, etc someone will be able to help more.

[MAniacTHW]

I tried moving to Orlando. Had recently lost my job and was going to "restart my life." The apartments there were ridiculous. I'm not even going to try to explain. My girlfriend and I ended up in a tiny apartment complex that we learned as soon as we signed the lease was going bankrupt. The crime in the area was so bad that a cop had pulled me over (while walking) to make sure I wasn't breaking into any of the nearby businesses (because, apparently, walking at night makes you a thief) and the traffic made this city VERY unfriendly to pedestrians. This was in the Metro West area. The positives were I was next to EVERYTHING. I walked to Universal on a daily basis. However, if you don't have a job, do not move there.

Tampa is where I've been my whole life. It's getting pretty gloomy here as no reputable businesses want to come down, and no small businesses open. You're stuck with what you have. Again, public transit is also a joke here, but it's more pedestrian friendly (if you don't mind walking a good half hour to get to a store). There's very little entertainment IN Tampa outside of bars. It's a short drive to Clearwater and St. Pete, however, where there are a few more activities one can partake in.

I've never been to Deland, so I can't comment.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by MAniacTHW

Tampa is where I've been my whole life. It's getting pretty gloomy here as no reputable businesses want to come down, and no small businesses open. You're stuck with what you have. Again, public transit is also a joke here, but it's more pedestrian friendly (if you don't mind walking a good half hour to get to a store). There's very little entertainment IN Tampa outside of bars. It's a short drive to Clearwater and St. Pete, however, where there are a few more activities one can partake in.

I just have to ask...what type of entertainment is missing from Tampa?(outside of bars). What do you find elsewhere that you dont find here in Tampa?

As far as walking a half hour to the store, im not sure where you live in Tampa, but my neighborhood its about a 5 min walk to over a dozen restaurants, farmers market, banks, bars, mechanic, convenience stores, doctors/dentist, bus stops, pharmacy, florist, bakery, meat market, wine shop, cigar shop, small businesses, etc..and about a 15 min walk to the Library, and even more shops/restaurants. (South Tampa - Westshore Blvd and Manahtten Ave area around El Prado and Euclid Ave).

[MAniacTHW]

Not everyone lives in South Tampa. I lived over by Anderson and Gunn. I now live in Valrico and that should explain everything.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by MAniacTHW

Not everyone lives in South Tampa. I lived over by Anderson and Gunn. I now live in Valrico and that should explain everything.

Ahh, that does explain alot...you dont live in Tampa.

Anderson and Gunn is not in the City of Tampa limits and we all know Valrico way outside the City of Tampa...(both are Hillsborough County suburbs of Tampa).

[MAniacTHW]

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

Ahh, that does explain alot...you dont live in Tampa.

Anderson and Gunn is not in the City of Tampa limits and we all know Valrico way outside the City of Tampa...(both are Hillsbrough County suburbs of Tampa).

I suppose. The Anderson/Gunn area did use "Tampa" as the address, but yes, is outside city limit.