life in tampa? (University, New Port Richey, Oldsmar: chapel, houses, unemployment) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

nikster13 · 09-27-2011, 07:01 PM

I am from Las Vegas and I'm thinking of buying a business in New port richey. Which is a small town North of Tampa. About 30 minutes or so. Since Its a very small town, I don't think we can ever live their, we will be living in tampa. and I will be traveling to work everyday. What's the best place to live in tampa? I have a wife and 2 year old. We are in our early 30's. Were looking to move in to safe neighbourhood , family oriented place, since were from vegas, we would like to enjoy a city life as well. How are the schools in tampa? I'm big sports fan and I know Tampa seems to be a sports city with some professional teams. Our nationality is Indian and would also like to know if their is a small or big indian community?(from India). We like attending culture program and some functions. How's the life in Tampa over all? fast, laidback, friendly??? Any suggestions will help! Thank you all!!

jambo101 · 09-28-2011, 04:45 AM

I'd seriously consider an extensive exploratory trip ( at least 2 weeks)to the area before committing as NPR may not be what you had in mind when imagining Florida, its also quite a commute from NPR to Tampa every day.
Indian culture? sparce..As some one who often likes to cook Indian food i find that most of the west coast Floridas knowledge of the cuisine is limited to a bottle of curry powder at Walmart, in other words most have no clue about Indians and their culture and its reflected in the availability of restaurants and or food stores..

Tampa as big city? As there is basically just office buildings downtown it kinda closes up after business hours as no one lives in the downtown area and i imagine it would be a total disappointment to anyone comparing it to downtown Vegas...

BucFan · 09-28-2011, 05:49 AM

You're going to experience a culture shock from Vegas to Tampa, that's for sure. Not so much in a negative way. The weather is very different as well.

You definitely need to visit for a few weeks to get a feel for the area - you'll also want to see what the traffic patterns are for the work commute. There are areas that can get very congested and frustrating if you have to drive a certain route everyday.

Regarding being a sports town - we could use any help w/ attendance - so happy to have you here. We have a couple of teams that are on the rise (Bucs, Bolts) and one that has been relatively successful over the last couple of seasons (Rays). Our major university USF has a football team that also fun to watch and offers pretty inexpensive tickets to games.

You might find cultural resources from the University community - might have to research the area via internet or maybe one of our posters has more information.

Sunscape · 09-28-2011, 06:49 AM

NPR is very down on businesses right now. Analize very well what you will be getting into. Most businesses are not doing well.
On the other hand, Oldsmar has a very large Indian community at the Abbey apts, which is in Forest Lakes road. Most of the ppl living there are Indian and they work at various jobs throughout Tampa.
A new Indian restaurant opened near there recently, and it seems to be doing very well.I can't remember the name right now , wish I did.

Tim Tim Tim · 09-28-2011, 09:45 AM

NPR is like the armpit of this part of florida.

that said, if your business with thrive their then go for it but your commute might be a bit long to get into something you may enjoy. Its certainly nothing like vegas though

nikster13 · 09-28-2011, 01:07 PM

Thank you all very much for your reply This really make me want to go their and spent some time and look into the business, area, and commute. I went their for about an hour and had to drive back to palm beach for a reason, so did not get a chance to do any research. We were looking into buying a pharmacy. Only thing that makes me want to move their was the numbers I saw from this business. Our business is targeting more older folks and nursing homes. Since business and unemployment has been bad to this town, I will have to do some more research on this.
Once again thank you all, and more comments are always welcome!!!!

jambo101 · 09-28-2011, 02:46 PM

Is this going to be a stand alone pharmacy or one of the super pharmacies that sell a lot more than just pharmaceuticals?

Your competition will be giants like Walgrens and CVS and they are all over the area ,heres 5 pages of your competition in New Port Richey.
Drug Stores & Pharmacies (Results 1 - 6 of 57)*~* Pharmacies New Port Richey FL*~* Simple Search ~ Superpages.com: Yellow Pages

This place you are thinking of buying would have to be very special if it has a hope of competing with the big boys..

newguy101 · 09-28-2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annie of Oldsmar

NPR is very down on businesses right now. Analize very well what you will be getting into. Most businesses are not doing well.
On the other hand, Oldsmar has a very large Indian community at the Abbey apts, which is in Forest Lakes road. Most of the ppl living there are Indian and they work at various jobs throughout Tampa.
A new Indian restaurant opened near there recently, and it seems to be doing very well.I can't remember the name right now , wish I did.

i think it is named "fifth element" wife and i have the lunch there sometimes.

tom11011 · 09-28-2011, 08:49 PM

We just moved to Tampa 6 weeks ago.

We live in "New Tampa" which is northeast Tampa. I did extensive checking before we moved. In my opinion, New Tampa and Wesley Chapel just to the North are the premier areas of Tampa if you are accustomed to living in an area with a lot of new/modern home construction, schools that rank very highly, lots of shopping etc..

My wife commutes every day from New Tampa to New Port Richie, about a 40-45 minute drive depending on traffic. It's a state route, not a highway, but speeds average about 55 mph.

rgbuckl · 09-28-2011, 09:25 PM

I like the houses I'm seeing in New Tampa and definitely the prices, however, the taxes seem way higher there (CDDs?) and GreatSchools.Org doesn't seem to think highly of the schools. What are your experiences?

You mention your wife's commute, but are you commuting somewhere downtown? How is that? I've wondered how doable the commute would be to MacDill by shooting down one of the freeways, then cutting across the Expressway toll road.