[ang314]

Hi everybody!

First time posting here so hope it's in the right place. I'm currently a college senior and will have a year off when I graduate before starting medical school. I live in North FL right now and I'm hoping to relocate to one of these areas for that year.

What I'm looking for is relatively decent rent (for a 1/1 apt), good chance of finding a job in research or healthcare with my B.S in Biology (I'm hoping at a university or hospital) and a safe area that's also a nice place for a 22 year old woman!

I would prefer Tampa or Orlando because it's a closer drive to my family in South FL.

Thanks

[BucFan]

Tough decision. There is a lot to do here in Tampa. We're like two cities in one with St Pete next door. I can't list the number of things to do around here - takes a little money - to attend concerts, sports, cultural events.

But I'd focus on where you can get the best medical education....as a med student, I'd expect that you will have very little time to enjoy a life of leisure. I worked in health care in medical centers and it seeme to me that the med students, interns, residents practically lived at the hospitals or at the universities.

I travel over from Tampa to JAX all the time and enjoy the area. Also visit Orlando and don't really enjoy that city. Tampa is my preference. Jax second.

USF is our major area research university - also has a huge hospital complex for cancer research along with a medical school with the local VA Hosp and Tampa General Hosp. I bet you can find employment there. Also a good med school if I'm not mistaken.

[froglipz]

Tampa has closer beaches!

[ang314]

Thank you both! From reading a bit on here it seems most people really like st. Pete.

Just to clarify, I'm not choosing medical schools from these areas I don't know where I'd be going to medical school I'm only planning on living in one of these area for my gap year.

Is st. Pete too far a drive from USF if I could find a job there?

[BucFan]

The main campus (USF) is quite a distance from St Pete - there is a very nice St Pete campus near the John Hopkins' Children's Ped Hospital. Downtown St Pete is nice, but doubt that one could find inexpensive housing. Other parts of St Pete aren't nice - with crime as well. USF isn't the greatest part of town IMO, either.

[TD*]

Check out Tallahassee also.

[Happiness-is-close]

Originally Posted by ang314

Thank you both! From reading a bit on here it seems most people really like st. Pete.

Just to clarify, I'm not choosing medical schools from these areas I don't know where I'd be going to medical school I'm only planning on living in one of these area for my gap year.

Is st. Pete too far a drive from USF if I could find a job there?

Going to USF while living in st. Pete would be very hard. I lived in south Tampa while attending university there and ugh, I remember hating that drive.

For which city to live in, I like all three really. Each one is different. People on this forum rip on the jax beaches not being as good as other Florida beaches and I thought jax beaches were beautiful and I like all the night life on the beach.

I've lived in Tampa and Orlando and spent a lot of time in jax recently. I can answer a lot of specific questions you might have. Healthcare economy is probably best in Jax. But I also work in the healthcare field and you would be surprised that a place you don't expect to offer you the best job will sometimes offer you great employment.

[BucFan]

I like JAX beaches. Tampa doesn't have beaches on the Gulf. That would be St Pete, Clearwater.

[bmw335xi]

I love Orlando BY FAR the most out of these cities. So many great neighborhoods with character, yet you still get millions of tourists, which keeps the city entertaining and always pumping out new things to do or see. The medical field in Orlando is also really good.

[paradiselost]

I would probably select Jacksonville over Tampa and Orlando. Tampa Bay has really changed, prices have risen considerably for rents and insurances the last 5-10 years and the roadways have not kept up with the growth. The Traffic is terrible in many parts of the Bay area. What looks close on a map probably isn't really that close. The bridge commute can be rough if you choose to do that. All the large companies seem to gravitate to a few areas Carllon/St Pete on the Pinellas side and The TIA Airport area on the Tampa side. Which Inturn causes a nightmare for rush hour travelers. The beach area has clearly a lot of tourist traps and over priced restaurants as most touristy areas do. Parking is a huge issue especially on Clearwater Beach, Indian shores is the best bet to find parking for beach life. The Suburban towns such as Brandon on the Hillsborough side and Largo on the Pinellas side are a lot of strip malls, 711s and very average underwhelming restaurants but tons of congestion. I lived in both sides of the bay so I seen both on a daily basis. Just like in Most of Urban Florida its a mish mash of transient neighborhoods. Crime can be anywhere because it is so transient and touristy in some areas. Trust me there is some Walmarts in the area you dont want to go to at night. But the worst places for Crime I would say would be South St Petersburg in Pinellas County and East Tampa in Hillsborough county.