Tampa to Los Angeles (sales, rent, townhouse)

[t-town]

Anybody made this move, or been to Tampa from L.A.?? How would you say the 2 compare??

[sussmank]

Tampa has an ugly downtown skyline, too many old people & old people activities, flat-boring landscape, extremely humid and disgustingly hot 9+ mo of the year. No real grass, fire ants & large flying roaches to contend with. Not as many jobs as here. The pay there is lagging behind the newer/higher cost of living that has developed. Rains every day in the summer.

Although I don't get out much in LA anymore since I became a single mom-my son is now 3- I like to think that there is a lot of opportunity to do many things. Start dancing again, hit a lot of different Karaoke bars, do stand up at open mike nights. I hear LA is good for finding a man- lots more single men here than say NYC for example. Want to feel energized- just drive to Hollywood at night to feel the energy and excitement.

[mikewu9900]

Originally Posted by t-town

Anybody made this move, or been to Tampa from L.A.?? How would you say the 2 compare??

i am actually making the move to LA from tampa, but ive only live in florida 6 months, im from NY orig. how do you compare the diff.?

[t-town]

I honestly cant compare the two because I've never actually been to LA. I'm just curious because Im thinking about moving there myself. Ive lived in Tampa for 8 years and before that Pensacola, and before that Tallahassee. So really I've never lived out of Florida. I like Tampa however, and in contrast with the person above, I think Tampa has a beautiful skyline. I can agree on most of the other issues stated though. Moving to LA has always been a dream of mine, but I've still heard a lot of negative things about it. One thing I can say in favor of Tampa though is that its not too overcrowded, and its got a lot less traffic than LA.

[uppercut1134]

T-town,

I just made the move from Clearwater to LA 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier. The weather, opportunities, things to do far surpass Florida.

[armystrongmd]

We should bring this back from the dead, if people can not turn it into a badmouthing Tampa forum, especially for those who have never been here! I too am considering the move from Tampa to LA

[nighthouse66]

need i remind everyone that there are 8 people for every job out here, before you guys go thinking this is the land of milk and honey.

[mwhaley]

Whether you like it or not depends on your lifestyle and socio-economic position. I moved here 20 years ago from Knoxville, TN and tried to make it in music and lasted 2 years. I had a great time but its hard to be a dirt poor musician. The houses were smaller and older, the smog was bad, but it was vibrant and I never loathed it, just couldn't afford it.

I moved back to LA as a Finance VP 6 months ago. I still had to pay out the nose for a house, but found a pretty nice house in the hills. THe smog is much better and there is SO much more to do here than the SE.

If you are a middle class homebody, then I could see how LA would be frustrating. I don't have young kids, so I can't opine on that either. But if you like to go outdoors, wear summer clother 11 months a year, have the beach, museums, mountains, vegas, SF, etc within a half day commute, it really is hard to beat here.

Again, you will pay some more in taxes, but honestly, most other states are catching up as far as that goes. I lived in NC for 4 years prior to moving here and their Income tax was 7% (comp to 10%) sales tax was 8.25 (comp to 9.75%), propoerty taxes are actually lower by rate, but more expensive due to the increased housing cost.

I enjoy the diversity honestly, most people are initially more gaurded here than the SE, but once you make an effort, people are pretty friendly.

SoCal will always be a popular place and there are many things you can't beat. That said, if you like 10 minute commutes, stay indoors 90% of the time, don't care about having opportunities to do something different, and don't have a good job with a household income north of $140K, then you may not like it long term. There's nothing wrong with not being adventurous - many of my HS friends are that way.

On the flip side, If you are coming and rooming with 5 bandmates in a 2 br apt in WeHo, you will have some amazing stories if you can not get sucked into the abyss and just have fun.

I had the choice of NY or LA for my job and LA (to me) is less stressful and better weather. Most people who worked in NY commuted 1-1/2 hours from NJ if they wanted a house, so the commute was a wash.

[armystrongmd]

It's good to hear more positives about LA, but this is a Tampa to LA forum lol.

I live in Tampa, and I have lived all over Ohio and in Newport, TN, near Knoxville. Compared to anywhere I've lived before Tampa is amazing. The weather is phenomenal (I don't mind the summer heat, some do). Hyde Park and Channelside are great places to go out (not a fan of Ybor). I live right by USF so there are lots of people my age (grad students). My rent is less than I have ever paid since I live in a 4 bedroom townhouse with roommates. I went from paying about 800 a month in Ohio to paying less than 300 a month here. I also went from making 40k a year up there to 100k down here.

Thats not typical, since the economy is probably worse here than Ohio, but I still feel that if you smart, educated, and ambitious, you should be able to find a career anywhere you want to live. I am still thinking about saving up here for 3-5 years, maybe 6 so I'll be out of the National Guard, then moving to SoCal. I want to spend some more time there first so I know if it's really where I want to be though. I think I could buy a house in St Pete and be perfectly happy but I want to give LA a chance first.

[lovingcitylife]

I am from Tampa (born and raised), but currently live in Atlanta. I, too, am moving to LA with my family this summer. I can sum Tampa up in one word - blech. I always describe Tampa as an abusive relationship. It's nice to be around part of the time with good emotional highs. However, the constant grind of very a shallow economy, with limited number of employers and advancement out number the things that are good. Not to mention the horrible bug problem, the humidity, the old people, the flat land…

LA has hills. What other place can you ski in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon? The older people don't act old. There's surfing (real surfing). Tons of opportunities. NO HUMIDITY.

Need I say more?