If anyone has been or lived in FL, name the cities there that sorta resemble Portland or the NW (Eugene: transplants, crime rates)

[Tulippsy]

I lived in St. Pete back in the 90's and always thought it had so much potential. I was there recently and the downtown has picked up quite a bit but it's no Portland, that's for sure. The east coast and the west coast are simply too different to say any city in Florida would be like a city in the PNW. It's more like Southern California than anything out there, but much more provincial.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by HappyWhenItRains

I live in St. Pete and came across this thread because I'm looking to move the Pacific NW, most likey Portland. I've never been to Portland, or Oregon for that matter, so I find it interesting that St. Pete would be the popular choice in resembling Portland. I have been to Seattle and WA and one of the things I liked about it was that the people were nothing like they are here.

As for the city, downtown St. Pete is the entire city's only redeeming point. Several microbreweries have popped up, there are tons of restaurants and unique shops, a Saturday morning market, and art shows, etc. And that's about all the good I can say about St. Pete and the surrounding area. I've lived here most of my life and I can't stand it. I'll gladly trade the beaches and the suffocating heat and humidity most of the year for the green and rain.

I guess that says how far behind it is. I just looked up microbreweries in the two cities. Interesting, St. Pete JUST got them in 2013. Oregon has had them since 1985.

This thread is really helping me rule out St. Pete as one of my 5-6 cities to relocate to. It's good they are getting them now, but at this late in the game?

------------------------

Interesting quote from a year ago: "While the Tampa Bay region is considered the heart of Florida's independent brewing scene, St. Petersburg has no craft breweries to call its own." So, in 2013, that finally changed.
St. Petersburg readies for three brew pubs

To me, this basically implies that if it's the heart of the Independent Brewing Scene for Florida, than the entire region is very far behind.

----------------------

And this is a weird quote: "By the end of this year, St. Pete will look like one of the most beer-friendly cities in the country. There will be more than a dozen bars focusing solely on craft and import beers, four of which will be breweries themselves."
Empouria: St. Petersburg's original craft beer bar gets a facelift | Things to do in Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay Times

The latter one sounds a bit delusional. As if they are completely unaware of the fact that the microbrewery craze has been going on throughout much of the rest of the country for the last few decades. The fact that St. Pete is getting them now, they assume they might be one of the most beer-friendly cities in the country? Maybe a sign that FLorida is quite weak in national awareness.

[Explorer Dave]

There are some places here in FL that have things going for them in their own right, but there is absolutely no place here in FL that is like Portland! Look at these cities for what they are, not if they are like another city in another part of the country or world with completely, or largely, different geographies, social, political, business, and weather climates. I've looked for other cities like Portland not just in FL, but in many other areas, including the NE, and have come to the conclusion that there just aren't any other cities like Portland! The closest might be Seattle, Vancouver BC, (both very close to Portland) and Burlington VT, much smaller and colder in the Winter. I tend to like many cities in the NE as having a lot of things I like that are a bit closer to Portland than anything in FL, but they ALL fall short and are much colder in the Winter than both Portland and especially FL!

[Tulippsy]

IMO it's not the lack of microbreweries you need to worry about if you're considering moving here. It's all our other crazy state laws. Remember, if someone with a gun feels threatened by you, he can legally shoot and kill you. Be especially careful not to get into any road rage incidents. We've had a few in the news recently that ended in fatalities. And we have permanent alimony here, so if you happened to earn a lot more than your spouse, you can be on the hook to pay alimony until they die. It's still 1952 in Florida.

[Explorer Dave]

Yes, it really does seem regressive here in FL to me too. There is a saying here in FL that the further south you go, the further north you get. Meaning places like Miami are much more progressive than say Jacksonville or Tallahassee which are far more conservative. I actually haven't spent any time in Miami so I really can't speak to what that is like, but I've heard it's largely pretty rough, very high crime. But if you are at all liberal you probably wouldn't want to go much further north than Tampa!

As far as urbanity I've heard that Miami is one of the most urban cities in the US, it even ranks #5 on walkscore, far ahead of Portland which is #19 That's largely because it's very landlocked the only way it can grow more is to get more urban. St. Pete is landlocked too but while Miami has a walkscore of 75.6 St, Pete is only 40.5 (Portland BTW is 62.8) But since it is landlocked St. Petes urbanity can only grow as it grows. Much of the rest of FL there is room for sprawl, so that's what they do, actually I'm surprised Orlando is as urban as it is.

[classicanne]

Originally Posted by Tulippsy

Be especially careful not to get into any road rage incidents. We've had a few in the news recently that ended in fatalities.

I became involved in a scary road rage incident in Inverness, Florida, some years back. I was behind a pickup truck that started to pull into an intersection and stopped for some inexplicable reason. I had to make a hard stop and tapped the horn. The driver, a tall and powerful-looking guy, came bursting out of his truck and made a beeline for my driver's side window, swearing and swinging his fists. I became flustered and tried to put the car in reverse, when the two girls riding with him came up and each grabbed an arm and talked him into leaving me alone. My daughter, 7 or 8 at the time, was petrified. We were both quite shaken.

This was before Florida's gun laws became even looser. If they'd been looser then, I might not be writing this right now.

What a horrible excuse for a state Florida is. In 25 years there, I did accumulate some good memories, but the bad ones far outweigh the good.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I've been to Florida a number of times. My parents live in Cape Coral. I've been around Orlando/Kissimee, Palm Coast. Driven through the rest of it... ... Seen the people, talked to the people... ... I'm scratching my head here because nothing, not one single thing jumps out at me and says 'Portland!'. Nothing. Nada. Nicht.

+2

My Mom lives part time in Port St. Lucie, I use to vacation every summer in Orlando or Daytona beach and while I was in college I took spring break trips to my roommates house just outside of Tampa. Also been to Miama, yadda yadda yadaa...Basically I've spent some time there and what Leisesturm said is exactly right.

Florida as a whole just has a totally different culture and feel. Florida's more car oriented, more strip mall focused, more suburban and much more conservative.

This quote is a good example of the glaring difference in cities and States as a whole:

Originally Posted by HappyWhenItRains

As for the city, downtown St. Pete is the entire city's only redeeming point. Several microbreweries have popped up, there are tons of restaurants and unique shops, a Saturday morning market, and art shows, etc.

You describe St. Pete a lot like people from Portland describe Bend, OR the town I live in now....except, Bend has a population of 80,000 people....

Most people from Portland find Bend to be cute and provincial in comparison...which it DEFINITELY is.

[HappyWhenItRains]

Originally Posted by kapetrich

You describe St. Pete a lot like people from Portland describe Bend, OR the town I live in now....except, Bend has a population of 80,000 people....

Most people from Portland find Bend to be cute and provincial in comparison...which it DEFINITELY is.

And if that's the nicest thing I can say about it, you can imagine what the rest of this city is like. I think you summarized it pretty well

I certainly hope Portland is nothing like St. Pete, I've lived here most of my life and I am clawing at the walls to get out and head to the PNW.

[classicanne]

Originally Posted by HappyWhenItRains

I certainly hope Portland is nothing like St. Pete, I've lived here most of my life and I am clawing at the walls to get out and head to the PNW.

No. Portland is N O T H I N G like St. Pete, believe me. Portland is actually pretty unique, I can't think of any place that reminds me of it. So don't even entertain the thought that they might resemble each other.

[Explorer Dave]

Something I thought to share for those looking to change locations, you might check out Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed It's a quiz ithat focuses on issues that are important to you regarding the type of community you want to live in—climate, crime rates, recreational opportunities, community resources, etc. There are some things I think it could do better, but this one is better than anything else I have found.

I've taken the quiz several times changing a few answers that still work for me, to see what changes in the results of top twenty communities that could work as my spot. No matter how I answer, Portland is ALWAYS in my top twenty, with answers that fit me best it's always in my top 5. No city in Florida has ever shown up in my top twenty, I don't think it's because they don't include FL, I think it's just because Florida is not a good fit for me!