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Having previously lived in Tampa Bay, and spending lots of time in Orlando, I can say that while I like Orlando better than Tampa , Tampa trumps Orlando in terms of Sports, Culture, Recreational Activities, and being less congested, even though it is a larger metro area. Tampa Bay is a larger metro area, so it had the amenities fit for a larger metro area.
However, I like Orlando a bit better because it seemed to have a more youthful atmosphere, and due to it catering to tourists, I found it a lot more cosmopolitan and "faster" than the Tampa Bay Area. Better shopping too. Metro Orlando also felt more cohesive than Tampa Bay. I realized how much water can be not only a physical boundary, but a psychological one as well. There were a lot of people who did not venture over to St. Pete, and a lot who did not venture over to Tampa. It felt more like a collection of mid-sized cities rather than a cohesive metro of 2.7 million people. I liked the more historical feel of parts of Tampa such as Ybor City and South Tampa (Hyde Park in particular). I loved the water views, and some of my favorite beaches in the country are right over in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.
Both have some of my favorite airports in the country due to their layout and ease of use, but Tampa wins to me because it's a less crowded airport.
I hated that only I-4 was the only freeway in Orlando. The rest of the limited access highways were tollways.
Yes, I know the economy isn't so hot in either. Lots of low-paying service jobs and the cost of living is pretty high compared to the salaries. And Tampa was Call Center central. It's an honest, but stressful living (I did it for awhile), but I realized that neither are the best options for young professionals.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Economy: I believe Tampa has a good chance of diversifying and expanding their economy. I have seen articles listing it as a possible future hot spot. I don't know too much about Orlando, but it's way more than tourism, I know a few people who work in IT in Orlando. It came as a surprise to me a few years ago.
Cost of Living: I would say they're both fairly equal in this regard.
Shopping: I give the edge to Orlando, since I had a good experience there. But I have heard great things about Tampa's shopping scene too.
Culture: Tampa. I like how the city has more of it's own culture.
Recreational activities: Both, depends on what you want to do, I personally wouldn't go to Disney everyday, but the parks in Orlando are pretty nice and the museum is pretty underrated. Tampa is near the coast, can someone say Water Skiing? YES!!
Restaurants: Orlando.
Airport: Toss up, but I loved Orlando's airport, never been to Tampa's since I drove there.
Roads/Freeways/Tollways: Tampa, bigger city with other big cities in the metro, they have to have a good system that works.
Nightlife: Orlando. Their nightlife is quite overlooked. I love the city, it's got a lot going on.
Sports:
Orlando- NBA (Magics)
Tampa- NHL, MLB, NFL (Buccaneers, Rays, Lightening)
I say overall I like NBA more, but Tampa wins in this regard of sports!
Other:
I really love downtown Orlando. Nice thread by the way, it's nice having one other than the Big 10 cities.
Economy: Bout the same really. Neither one is good for my profession so in the end I won't live in either one but I'd rank them about equal.
Cost of Living: Kinda goes hand in hand with economy, they're again about equal.
Shopping: Orlando wins, not even a debate.
Culture: Both have unique cultures that go under appreciated. Neither one is amazingly rich. Tampa has a lot of history but its all fairly centered around Ybor City. Orlando has a few historic places such as Winter Park, Sanford, and Eatonville. Like it or hate it Disney Culture is Orlando as well. So I have to give this one to Orlando.
Recreational activities: Orlando again takes this although if you prefer salt-water you'd obviously prefer Tampa but boating in general Orlando has no lack of with 91 lakes just in Orlando and hundreds more in the metro. Including Lake Apopka, Lake Jesup, Lake Monroe. It also have multiple natural springs, the highest elevation in Florida, bike trails, skate parks, rivers, hunting reserves, hiking trails, gardens, and all sorts of other stuff. Then on the non natural side we have far more clubs and nightlife than Tampa although it is a different feel. City of Orlando Public Works Department
Again Orlando takes this
Restaurants: Orlando, there's a poll Orlando between Miami for restaurants and the two are going back and forth. Orlando takes a lot of crap on these forums for being all chain restaurants but its not and its not just Disney either. Its got A LOT of top restaurants including one of only two 4 diamond restaurants by Triple A in Florida (the other is in Palm Beach)
Airport: Who cares? They'll both get you where you want to go...
Roads/Freeways/Tollways: Based only on these factors I'd say Orlando - its consistently regarded well on rankings for its roadways. Lots of people hate it because its not a straight grid but as I've explained in the Orlando forum - it can't be because of the lakes. However, if you included Public Transportation than at least for now this would go to Tampa.
Nightlife: Orlando wins.
Sports: Tampa gets the pro sports, Orlando takes the Olympic Sports + NBA. Personally I prefer the Olympics, Strongman Competitions, and X-Games all of which are better in Orlando. But I'm sure most prefer NFL and MLB.
Other: Um, I guess I'll put Weather here... Orlando gets more rain than Tampa although I think Tampa gets more lightning. Not sure which is actually worse for Hurricanes they both get their share. I suspect when Tampa does get hit its harder but probably less frequent than Orlando.
Poverty: 13.9% in Hillsborough vs 13.7% in Orange... but then Orange also has one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country (Pine Hills)
Education:
81.8% High school diploma and 26.15% bachelor's in Orange.
80.8% High school diploma and 25.1% bachelor's in Hillsborough.
Last edited by EndersDrift; 05-29-2010 at 03:27 PM..
Shopping: Both have great shopping opportunities, but Orlando has more.
Culture: Tampa, older communities, not centered around tourists.
Recreational activities: Both are some of the best in the nation for these, Tie
Restaurants: Very close, butif you have ever been to South Tampa, you will know, Tampa
Airport: Both are user friendly, but Orlando has more flights
Roads/Freeways/Tollways: Orlando's aggravating toll roads and conjested freeways give Tampa the edge.
Nightlife: Both cities nightlife scenes are underrated, But Tampa's nightlife areas are spread thoughout the city, while Orlando's are centralized in its downtown which gives Orlando the edge.
Tampa, and particularly the Tampa area has more to offer than Orlando. On the surface Orlando looks nicer (especially the downtown), newer, and has more well paved roads. Tampa is a much better sports town with professional football, hockey, and baseball. Orlando has the basketball which does not create nearly the same buzz that baseball and football offer. In Tampa there is definitely more of a sense of community and history and I've found the local TV in Tampa to be much more professional and informative than in Orlando. Someone mentioned the nightclubs and Orlando may have the edge but only if you are teens through mid twenties. Tampa area seems to have a more varied bar scene for those in their thirties. Tampa seems more of a live-and-let-live vibe than Orlando. There are real strip clubs in Tampa while Orlando caters to family friendly activities.
^^Yes, Tampa's strip clubs are legendary. I knew of Mons Venus and 2001 long before I moved there. Only thing is that there are a lot of them in the area. I'm a pretty live and let live kind of guy, but I noticed how pervasive they are. Ironically, one of the larger megachurches in the country is right around the corner from Dale Mabry Highway, which is strip club central.
I'm currently living in another city that is renowned for it's strip clubs (but doesn't seem to have nearly as many as Tampa) but after gettng ripped off from a lovely dancer at Magic City, I haven't been back to them as often. But I'm not bitter
I forgot to add education as a category. Neither seem to be outstanding in that category. Both have some of the largest universities in the state (USF in Tampa, UCF in Orlando), but due to their newness, they both feel like glorified community colleges to me. Neither are as established as UF, U Miami or, *ahem, GO NOLES* Florida State. There are a few private colleges (Rollins in Orlando, UTampa & Eckerd College in Tampa Bay). As for K-12, since I don't have kids, I can't really comment, but my mother worked for Pinellas County schools for awhile and to say she was unimpressed would be an understatement. I will say that St. Pete HS has one of the more highly regarded International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in the country.
I personally thought that St. Petersburg has the best Downtown in the region, with Orlando not too far behind. DT Tampa could be better, but Ybor City is close by. DT Clearwater is mostly owned by the Church of $cientology (which is headquartered there), so most efforts to improve DT Clearwater are stifled by them.
Regarding restaurants, Tampa has good Cuban cuisine, but Miami pwns them in that category. Orlando has a good restaurant scene for a metro area of it's size. A large amount of chain restaurants started in. Tampa and Orlando. Hooters and Outback got their start in Tampa, while Olive Garden started in Orlando (albeit by General Mills).
Also, I noticed that Midwesterners seemed to prefer Tampa Bay, while Northeasterners and Puerto Ricans preferred Orlando. However, I ran into a ton of Philadelphia transplants in St Petersburg/Clearwater, and more New Yorkers in Tampa.
Tampa, and particularly the Tampa area has more to offer than Orlando. On the surface Orlando looks nicer (especially the downtown), newer, and has more well paved roads. Tampa is a much better sports town with professional football, hockey, and baseball. Orlando has the basketball which does not create nearly the same buzz that baseball and football offer. In Tampa there is definitely more of a sense of community and history and I've found the local TV in Tampa to be much more professional and informative than in Orlando. Someone mentioned the nightclubs and Orlando may have the edge but only if you are teens through mid twenties. Tampa area seems to have a more varied bar scene for those in their thirties. Tampa seems more of a live-and-let-live vibe than Orlando. There are real strip clubs in Tampa while Orlando caters to family friendly activities.
Don't the Rays have one of the worst attendance records in MLB? Agree on most of the other things you said. One thing I don't like about Tampa....it smells like old people . Orlando feels more vibrant.
Don't the Rays have one of the worst attendance records in MLB? Agree on most of the other things you said. One thing I don't like about Tampa....it smells like old people . Orlando feels more vibrant.
Lol @ the stereotypical Florida joke "it smells like old people". Actually the Rays have increased their attendance in the past years, people have become more interested, especially since they have the best record in the league right now.
Lol @ the stereotypical Florida joke "it smells like old people".
But Tampa does . It's birth and death numbers are almost the exact same, actually. Similar to cities like Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
Quote:
Actually the Rays have increased their attendance in the past years, people have become more interested, especially since they have the best record in the league right now.
Even with the best record right now, the Rays are only filling up half of their stadium. Been that way for years. Don't know why that is, because the team is pretty good.
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, Tampa trumps Orlando in terms of Sports, Culture, Recreational Activities, and being less congested, even though it is a larger metro area. Tampa Bay is a larger metro area, so it had the amenities fit for a larger metro area.
I forgot to add education as a category. Neither seem to be outstanding in that category. Both have some of the largest universities in the state (USF in Tampa, UCF in Orlando), but due to their newness, they both feel like glorified community colleges to me. Neither are as established as UF, U Miami or, *ahem, GO NOLES* Florida State. There are a few private colleges (Rollins in Orlando, UTampa & Eckerd College in Tampa Bay). As for K-12, since I don't have kids, I can't really comment, but my mother worked for Pinellas County schools for awhile and to say she was unimpressed would be an understatement. I will say that St. Pete HS has one of the more highly regarded International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in the country. 
. Orlando feels more vibrant.
