Relocating to Tampa area. (Miami, Everglades: rental, amusement park, insurance)

[Rdiamond]

My Husband and I are relocating to Tampa. We have a few questions.

1. How severe are the hurricanes in the area and how frequently do the hurricanes/heavy storms occur.

2. How much can I expect to pay for a 3 bdrm rental home, close to the Gulf?

3. When it rains, does it rain for a long period of time?

4. How long does it take to drive to the theme parks - i.e. Six Flags and Disneyworld

5. Is the job market/economy good there?

6. How long does it take to drive from one end of the state to the other? (my husband will be traveling throughout the state for work.)

7. What is the current price for a gallon of gas?

8. We've heard St Petersburg is a great area. Any comments?

Thank you very much for your help!!

[ChrisJ]

[quote=Rdiamond;929670]

My Husband and I are relocating to Tampa. We have a few questions.

1. How severe are the hurricanes in the area and how frequently do the hurricanes/heavy storms occur. - We're pretty lucky in the bay area. The last major storm to hit us head on was in 1984. We had a couple scares a few years back. You might say we are due for another one soon, though!

2. How much can I expect to pay for a 3 bdrm rental home, close to the Gulf? Depends on where you mean. If you're looking in say Pinellas County, it will be a lot more than in Pasco County

3. When it rains, does it rain for a long period of time? - Our normal summer rain storms usually only last for no more than an hour. Rarely do we have it rain for several days in a row

4. How long does it take to drive to the theme parks - i.e. Six Flags and Disneyworld - The nearest six flags is in Atlanta (8-9 hours), Disneyworld is only about an hour to an hour and a half away, depending on where in the area you live.

5. Is the job market/economy good there? - Our job market is good. Money magazine rated Tampa in the top ten for job markets recently. However, taxes and insurance put a drain on our economy

6. How long does it take to drive from one end of the state to the other? (my husband will be traveling throughout the state for work.) a long time!!

7. What is the current price for a gallon of gas? - I filled up yesterday at 3.12 a gallon (for 93 octane). I've seen 87 octane for around 2.80

8. We've heard St Petersburg is a great area. Any comments? St. Pete has some really nice areas, that are surrounded by some really not so nice areas.


Good luck to you!!

[Rdiamond]

Thank you very much for your input. Sounds like Tampa/St Pete might be a great fit for us.

[wesleychapel24]

You are looking at just the right time....there is a great supply of inventory in this market, especially on both sides of Tampa Bay, close to the Interstate System to help your husband with his commutes around the state for work.

[ntfeldman]

Originally Posted by Rdiamond

My Husband and I are relocating to Tampa. We have a few questions.

1. How severe are the hurricanes in the area and how frequently do the hurricanes/heavy storms occur.

2. How much can I expect to pay for a 3 bdrm rental home, close to the Gulf?

3. When it rains, does it rain for a long period of time?

4. How long does it take to drive to the theme parks - i.e. Six Flags and Disneyworld

5. Is the job market/economy good there?

6. How long does it take to drive from one end of the state to the other? (my husband will be traveling throughout the state for work.)

7. What is the current price for a gallon of gas?

8. We've heard St Petersburg is a great area. Any comments?

Thank you very much for your help!!

I concur with what ChrisJ wrote. My additions are:

1. Can't predict weather. Just have an evacuation plan and alternate place to go. Hurricians give you 3-5 days notice - take it.

2. Depends on where but we generally quote $1/ft. There are some better deals out there no question about it. Family I helped last week rented a lovely newer home 3 bdrm/2bth for $1350/mo and it was 1750 sq.ft. Owners are flexible at the moment so you can get a good deal.

4. We have Busch Gardens locally (very much like a Six Flags and it's in North Central Tampa - lots of fun. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay-Florida Amusement Park it's as good as an excellent zoo too. The animals are beautiful.

5. Job market.... unemployement here is a record low for the US but most of the jobs available are service level jobs. I would check Monstor.com and check your current employers SIC codes and look for competitors in the Tampa market to get a good feel for your niche. If you're in health care pack now and come, name your price, you start tomorrow.

6. Drive from one end of the state to the other.... which way? From the GA boarder to the tip of the Miami-Dade area it's 400 miles. But there's no real direct route. Give yourself 10 hours if you're on the West side (no real freeways) if you don't stop for coffee or sleep. Give yourself 8 hours if you're on the East coast, they have freeways. To go from West shore to East shore it's 130 miles. Depending on whether you're going through the Everglades or across Highway 4 you should leave 3 hours to cross but it's really not this simple. It depends on where your going. Just mapquest it and you're good.

8. St. Pete is lovely and has some wonderful areas - it also has pockets of crime so take your time to look around.

Welcome, you'll find the people here very friendly.

[yukon]

Go to www. myfoxtampabay .com (remove spaces) and click on the weather tab, then click on Hurricane & Severe Weather Guide, then on Video of Florida Hurricane History. Cool tool that shows the hurricane's that have hit Tampa (most skirt by). We don't get hit as often as people think.