Anyone here live in both Tampa Bay AND Seattle? (Bainbridge Island: apartment, neighborhood)

[DoctorRain]

I ask because the closest city to me is St Pete FL, but I also have considerations perhaps to move to Seattle one day in the future.
Can anyone tell me perhaps the social climate differences between the 2 areas.
Everything I hear about Seattle states how everyone is really polite, but nobody wants to make friends. Tampa Bay seems to share some traits socially - the overly politeness and even has good coffee as well in spots, but nothing is ever overly polite and more drivers are rude here. Its like a weird combination in Tampa/St Pete, but it seems looking at the downtown cores, I see possible similarities to Seattle only smaller, but not quite sure. Thoughts? I mean are transplant based places in general kinda strange in that way (for those who lived in both places or another transplant based city)

[Robineli]

St. Pete - "home of the newlywed and the nearly dead" - yeah, Seattle is not at all like anything in Florida. Southwest is running a special rate, so visit and get a better idea before you move.

You won't see the same type of older folks here, if you see many at all. Other posts on this forum cover activities, people, food, and prices - so check those. Traffic is a different version of bad and you'll have to get used to steep, narrow residential streets.

Let's see if I can list a few things you may not find on those threads....

Three things you'll notice in abundance (coming from Florida) are dogs, bikes, and Subarus. Replacements for the lizards, roaches, and giant trucks that Florida has.

Coming from Florida, we were not prepared for the intense brightness of the sun when it's out.

Everyone rides the bus, not just DUI-ers and other unfortunate souls. And when everyone rides the bus, it's helpful to remember that fact when planning to go to another part of town for some celebration, lest you stand at a stop and watch packed bus after packed bus drive right by.

Biking around is great, but get a great lock and keep it in your apartment. Mine was stolen out of a secure (lol) garage. My bf's bike was untouched - better lock.

Lavender and conifers add a gentle, pleasant fragrance to the air, and it's stronger on Bainbridge Island - so be sure to take a ferry over.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by Robineli

St. Pete - "home of the newlywed and the nearly dead" - yeah, Seattle is not at all like anything in Florida. Southwest is running a special rate, so visit and get a better idea before you move.

You won't see the same type of older folks here, if you see many at all. Other posts on this forum cover activities, people, food, and prices - so check those. Traffic is a different version of bad and you'll have to get used to steep, narrow residential streets.

Let's see if I can list a few things you may not find on those threads....

Three things you'll notice in abundance (coming from Florida) are dogs, bikes, and Subarus. Replacements for the lizards, roaches, and giant trucks that Florida has.

Coming from Florida, we were not prepared for the intense brightness of the sun when it's out.

Everyone rides the bus, not just DUI-ers and other unfortunate souls. And when everyone rides the bus, it's helpful to remember that fact when planning to go to another part of town for some celebration, lest you stand at a stop and watch packed bus after packed bus drive right by.

Biking around is great, but get a great lock and keep it in your apartment. Mine was stolen out of a secure (lol) garage. My bf's bike was untouched - better lock.

Lavender and conifers add a gentle, pleasant fragrance to the air, and it's stronger on Bainbridge Island - so be sure to take a ferry over.

You wont see the same types of older folks in Seattle? Well what kinds, 70 yr olds going on 40?

I am still trying to save so cant go anywhere right now despite Southwest being cheaper.

Look at here, its funny because after you mentioned subaru, i looked up the 92 subaru video by Fountains of Wayne. Im sure that song is popular there too. Sure enough, it showed an old subaru with a Washington plate on it. Small world. I might even be interested in getting a Subaru down the road now.

It seems like in FL, only those ride the bus who HAVE to.
Even in MA where Im from, if you rode a scooter to work because you had a DUI, you'd get laughed at or if you had to bike places because of it or even take the bus. My uncle had to. Pretty bad considering MA has transit options, but nope, many still drive into the city and some take the train, but people don't make a habit of loving to take the train like out in Seattle/Portland. Many want their cars.


I knew a guy in FL, he biked everywhere only because of a suspended license. He said he lived in Seattle too. You'd think it be by choice wouldnt you since he lived there lol?


So in FL, you werent used to the sun? I feel like I try to find any dark place I can and dont get much sun exposure. Now and then I do, but I like it darker myself.

I love lavender as well especially that lavender oil Soothing Touch makes.

[Jojim]

Well, we live in Gibsonton---south of Tampa. We'd like to move to the Pacific Northwest and have wanted to for a LONG time, but a move like that? Wow! Still, we hope to achieve it and haven't totally given up---after years here of heat and mosquitoes, we want COOL, cool and cool. The heat here just gets harder and harder to take each year. Some people here just don't seem to be bothered by it at all. We used to live out in California and I never saw a day over 75 degrees, here it's been over 90 for months---and will be most likely well into October. We've been delighted to live all over the place, it's about time we got to pick one, eh???

Peace All,
the DragonLady

[Jojim]

Of course, we wanted to move to Oregon too, but. . . hmn. . . we shall have to rethink things. My son is hoping to move out to the Northwest, we can't seem to agree on either place. Seattle calls my husband and I, but Oregon seems to beckon him. We'll figure it all out. . . hopefully before we're ninety!

Peace All,
the DragonLady

[Robineli]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

You wont see the same types of older folks in Seattle? Well what kinds, 70 yr olds going on 40?

Well, you just have to see, because it's difficult to accurately describe. In Florida, I lived many years in a beach town heavily populated with upper middle class retirees. They, for the most part, were very active - tennis, 5k races, and swimming. I'm meeting people left and right here who make those folks look like slouches. The culture of physical activity is stronger here for all ages. It's just what they do.

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

You
So in FL, you werent used to the sun? I feel like I try to find any dark place I can and dont get much sun exposure. Now and then I do, but I like it darker myself.

Oh I've gotten plenty of sun, and have sun damage in my eyes. But the brightness is piercing. I've got SPF 30 on always, but my bf doesn't and he burns like crazy here. When the is haze from humidity, it's bluish, not yellowish.

[banosd]

I lived in both Seattle (2004-2007) and Tampa (2007-2009). I remember the drive thinking it would be the road trip of a lifetime until moving from Tampa to LA last year and taking another one.

Neither Tampa or Seattle were real social for me. I went to Seattle with aspirations of starting mid-life over and it was a slow go. The image I had of going to a Starbucks and immediately catching "the scene" never materialized. Even when I worked at Amazon, the geeks there were good at drinking coffee and talking some tech, but pretty weak in other areas. Anyways, I met my wife (finally) and moved to Tampa with her when she got a job there.

Fortunately for us, we did not have to be too social in Tampa as we started a family but what little life we did have outside of the air conditioning was pretty lame. The only people we did bond with were people there from other areas (which there are many).

However, if I was a little younger, I think both places would have been all right. Seattle had greater diversity and Tampa has outdoor life going for it. The downtown core in Seattle is MUCH more happening than any of the Tampa Bay cities but Tampa has a few big events that are cool. And Tampa is a big coffee place too, surprisingly. I read some study that had them as even more caffeinated than Seattle.

One thing I liked was Tampa being an epicenter for Spring Training baseball. The only neighborhood I saw as a direct comparison with Seattle was Westchase in the NE. Kind of an upscale community with similar architecture and a yuppy social scene. There definitely is no replacement for Seattle's Capitol Hill in Tampa though.

[Patron of Wrath]

I live in the Tampa Bay area and have been looking to move to Seattle for a number of years; sadly the crashing economy brought on by rampant unrestrained greed and poor oversight has led to a delay in those plans.

Anyway, on to the point...

My friend moved from Tampa to Seattle about 8 years ago, and loves it; she's not regretted it a single moment. One thing she does say is that it's more expensive to live in Seattle than here in the Tampa Bay area.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by Robineli

St. Pete - "home of the newlywed, overly fed and the nearly dead" -.

Fixed that for ya.