San Diego or Tampa? (San Francisco: live in, military, move to)

[JakeDog]

To the OP- you can do just fine off of 200K a year and should qualify for a mortgage in the 600-800K range and get a nice house. A lot of the responses are not directed at the OP. If you are in the medical field, SD has more prospects than Tampa, not fewer. Further, the OP can afford SD. Tampa isn't San Diego. I wouldn't rate Tampa beaches "better" if you like surfing, cliffs, etc. Warmer water year round, yes. On all other fronts, the comparison is absurd. Very few people who could afford both would choose Tampa over SD.

[NotAFanOfSnow]

decision has been made and we will be moving to San Diego (Clairemont) on April 23rd. Can't wait to get out there and enjoy everything that SD has to offer! Thank you all for the replies!

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by NotAFanOfSnow

decision has been made and we will be moving to San Diego (Clairemont) on April 23rd. Can't wait to get out there and enjoy everything that SD has to offer! Thank you all for the replies!

Welcome to the 'hood! What part of Clairemont? We live behind the Costco on Morena Blvd.

[limitup]

Good move. This is the San Diego forum so I'll just go ahead and say it - Tampa is HELL compared to San Diego. Period. Anyone who says otherwise just can't afford to live in San Diego and is only fooling themselves.

[intelfan11315]

The only reason I would recommend Tampa is because you are closer to Miami. I wouldn't go north of Miami if you are living in Florida. San Diego vs Tampa - - I choose San Diego!

[sdlife619]

What's so bad about Tampa, is it a backwards place or something?

[Gatorgrad2004]

Actually anywhere north of Tampa/Orlando is a better term, Tampa to Miami is about a good 3 1/2 hr drive. Florida isn't all rednecks, the north part, yes, but central and south Florida is more mixed and diverse. But either way I say SD since you already got family in SD and wife is already got a job there.

[mgm531]

I moved from the SF Bay Area to Tampa in 2005 because I read an article in Business Week touting Tampa as the next city to thrive. BIG MISTAKE!!! First, there is no job market unless you want to work in a call center or some fast food joint. Second, housing prices are not as attractive as you might think. True, with the recent market downturn the prices have come down a bit, but there are other places in the SE region that are cheaper and with a better quality of life, such as Atlanta, where we eventually settled.
Second reason -- 3 words: thugs and bugs! Tampa is redneck hillbillie Hell that happens to have a lot of money pouring into it from people moving down from the North East region. That means you get dumba** rednecks mixed in with aggressive and obnoxious New Yorkers -- not a good combination! And the bugs are scary and hideous! HUGE coachroaches that are everywhere and some of the scariest spiders I've ever seen -- and I'm not one to be afraid of spiders. And of course the mosquitos are unbelievable.
Third reason, the weather is very hot and very humid. I'm talking 90+ degrees with 80-90% humidity from June until September. Some people like that type of sticky, sweat-drenching steam bath, but to me if felt like living in a sweaty armpit for months. It was so bad that you didn't ever go out to do anything because the heat and humidity was so repressive. Ironically enough winter time in Tampa is actually the best and at times can be quite pleasant, but by the time May/June comes around it begins to suck really bad!
Fourth reason, alligators. It rains -- A LOT -- in Florida which means that there are lakes and ponds EVERYWHERE!!! Mosquitos aren't the only things that thrive in all that water. Alligators love it too and the year I stayed in Florida I saw lots and lots of Alligators. One even took up residence in the small pond behind my apartment building. Most are harmless and are more scared of us then we are of them, but it still doesn't mean I like the idea of my kids playing near a lake or a pond and having to worry about them being attacked.
Now, I've provided a lot of negative reasons why I'd stay away from Tampa, but there is one positive that does provide some redeaming value to the area. It has some great beaches that are just a short drive away. Not the best beaches in Florida -- the 'Emerald Coast' up in the Destin area beat the Tampa beaches hands down -- put pretty nice nonetheless. There were many times we'd go to the beach in the evening to escape the oppresive heat and stick our toes in the Gulf. Clearwater Beach is one of the best beaches because in addition to being a great beach it has a great kids play area and nice pier that have lots of vendors selling jewlery and art and often there will be live music playing. An all round nice way to end the day.
Another positive is the relatively new Tampa Bay Aquarium. I've always been a big fan of aquariums and I've seen quite a few of them over the years and this is a good one with a nice kids play area that has fountains for them to play in. We got annual memberships and went a couple of times a month.

[sdlife619]

Does Tampa have any real urban neighborhoods like in SD? It looks so country, un-city like, after viewing the place from Google Maps.

I could never imagine myself ever living in the Southeast part of the US, no freakin WAY! The weather alone will kill me, and the people might drive me insane.

It's amazing how California is so vastly different from the rest of the US, it's it own place, I mean seriously we should be our little country or something Because to me, the real America resides in the Mid-West and South, well that's where the majority of Americans live anyway, and as a Californian, we are completely different, have our own culture, have more diversity of people compared to many of the Mid to southern states, which makes a lot of people in this country hate/envy California, and Californian's alike. Maybe that's another reason people feel like California doesn't represent real America, because of our lifestyle, and the constant drive to obtain so many materialistic things. I blame Hollywood for the majority of reasons, mainly our image, I mean people get this sense that everyone is rich here, and are either singers or actors, while all kicking back at the beach being lazy doing nothing. We all know that it's complete BS, and totally not what the real CA is like.

Anyways back to Tampa, mgm531 it really seems like the place sucks ass. So how would you compare Florida, and it's other surrounding cities to cities like San Diego? Besides SD having great weather, what about the amenities and overall diversity of neighborhoods over there? When I mean diversity, I'm talkin about, the diversity comparable to SD County. For instance, East County is very different from the South Bay, and the South Bay is extremely different from North County, physically politically, racially and economically.

Is Tampa the same way? Or is the city practically much all the same no matter where you go? Is there any liberal neighborhoods like here? Any heavily conservative neighborhoods like here? Is the nightlife better in Tampa, what are some cool things to do?

Thanks

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

Does Tampa have any real urban neighborhoods like in SD? It looks so country, un-city like, after viewing the place from Google Maps.

Absolutely. There are lots of urban neighborhoods in Tampa, especially south of I-275, and in general, I'd say there a greater number of nice old neighborhoods in Tampa than in San Diego, where developers were allowed to destroy thousands of old Craftsmen homes and replace them with cheap apartment buildings - with "lovely" concrete front lawns/parking lots.