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my wife and i are moving from SD to FL. (many reasons for moving and i know about the weather changes and i read through most of the florida threads about pros and cons)
First and most let me say I have never been in florida before, but deep down i feel close to its beauty.
there are 3 choices
Tampa
Palm beach
Orlando
I put Tampa first since i rather live in Tampa
Palm beach I heard about Boca Raton
Orlando i heard about windermere but that is the last choice
I was wondering if you guys can help us chose a place.
we have no kid so school or community doesn't matter. both are mid 30's, not much of a night lifer but somewhere in between. like a quiet area to live. don't like to be in a middle of noises.
we'll be renting and would like to know what is the proper rent budget for 1bdr. we are watching our budget and like to pay minimum in a good area that is safe and quiet.
what areas you guy suggest and any pointers would help
Thanks
Copied and pasted this from another thread:
miami is the fast paced, young, hip trendy cousin of tampa-the slow paced, cute, small country bumpkin
even in 2012 tampa is extremely slow paced, which is not a bad thing it all depends on what people like
on paper tampa's average population age may be lower than miami's but in REAL LIFE, you see SO many more q-tips in the tampa bay, clearwater, st. pete area than southeast florida aka miami
even most of tampa bay's tourists seem to all be 40years or older I asked someone why that is and this is the answer they gave me:
"It depends. Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami. Source(s):
been to both many times over three diff. decades"
and I completely agree with that person
I don't know why people in central and north florida feel like they need to "prove" that their cities are as good as miami when there is just no comparison...miami is the hot spot city in the entire state of florida hands down- when it comes to vacations, young sexy people, movie shoots, models, south beach, nightlife and the fast paced lifestyle miami will always be #1 in the state of FL.
Now does that mean places like Orlando and Tampa aren't great? No, they both have their own unique charm and amusement parks galore but it just all depends on who you are, how old you are, what you want in life and what kind of lifestyle you are used to
Central Florida-Tampa and Orlando
Pros-
Great for families
Much less crime than south florida
Cheaper than S.FL
More places to rent than S.FL
More "Green" than s.FL such as pastures, "woods" cattle, pine trees and such
Drivers arent as crazy as south florida
People are friendlier than south florida
Schools are better in terms of size and less problems than the ones in miami
Everything a person "needs" is available without the crazy fast paced lifestyle
Definitely more jobs available than miami and you dont have to speak spanish
Clearwater beach is very clean and pretty but thats not in tampa obviously its about a 40 minute drive to get there from tampa
Weather is more mild than South Florida, it does get colder for longer in tampa/st.pete than south florida but if you have experienced northern winters the cold is absolutely nothing
Cons:
Dead nightlife compared to miami/south beach
If you are from somewhere like LA, SD OR NYC you will get tired of tampa/orlando very quickly
This is just my opinion but south florida native (miami, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach) women are the hottest in the state, and other than a few transplants you wont find a lot of them in central and north florida unless they are attending college
Beaches arent as pretty and tourist friendly as miami beach, fort laud beach, palm beach etc, the best beach in tampa isnt even in tampa its in clearwater-however the view from the bridge from clearwater to clearwater beach is gorgeous it looks like a postcard, the first time you see it, especially if you have never been to FL, it will take your breath away, I definitely recommend a drive from clearwater beach down to st.pete beach, if you look on a map it looks like a long skinny peninsula near the side of clearwater, it has a cute oahu/island type vibe to it, very pretty drive
More rednecks and hillbillies than south florida, think confederate flags, pickup trucks with huge tires, and lots of bumper stickers- this seems to be a common observation from people who are from big cities like miami, nyc, and la that visit places like tampa or even orlando
Lots of q tip tourists from places like north carolina, virginia, texas, south carolina ALL year round so instead of those hot, cute college girl tourists coming down from California for spring break you will have to deal with 40 year old+ tourists, and families from the north visiting all year round especially during the winter time, and they tend to stay closer to clearwater beach but it spills over to tampa and some people visit tampa for families and relatives so expect to see cars with northern state license plates all year
SINKHOLES
tampa is known as the lightning city- guess why? rain rain rain and lightning. Some people like that so it could be a pro but I think most people dont so I put it in con
Miami/south east florida-
pros:
Hot, young sexy people-The largest grouping in one spot of hot, sexy, modeling contract worthy people will be found in miami, south beach, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach etc that doesn't mean there aren't some people like that in other areas of the state I'm just saying you'll find the LARGEST AMOUNT of people like that in south florida
great nightlife-south beach
Its the place to be in florida
Great malls such as aventura, galleria, sawgrass, pembroke
Spring breakers woohoo!
More of a cultural melting pot than any other area of florida-theres a lot of latinos, blacks, indians, native americans(semnoles), europeans etc etc racism is not really a problem in south florida, whatever color, ethnicity you are you are accepted, assimilation is easy
More to see, more to do, great beaches and lots of places to hang out for young singles, lots of bars, clubs
cons
Not that great to raise a family
Not a lot of jobs but depends on what you do
High cost of living- rent, insurance, food, taxes on bills
Not that many places to rent unless you want to pay $1,000+ for a one bedroom
HOT -think 98 degrees everyday in the summertime and only two weeks of "winter" and maybe only 2 days where the weather drops below 40 degrees
CRIME-everyday someone or a few people die in miami..not even that big of an exaggeration
If you are from a small town or used to a slower paced lifestyle you will probably start to hate miami after a few months
Miami despite being the most well known city in FL is actually quite small compared to places like Vegas and LA so it can get old quick
Drivers are maniacs-there was a news story not that long ago about some driver that shot at another driver through the passenger window down in miami ..probably for cutting him off or something
Schools are getting bad, a lot of parents are turning to home schooling in SE FL, theres just too many drugs and violence
Homeless people in downtown miami - lots of them
In most of SE FL if you are not latin or black in 2012 you are a minority...this can be a con or pro but it all depends on you
Economy is still not that good in any part of Florida, reports stated that when the economy crashed florida was the hardest hit state in the entire U.S., make sure you have a job lined up or at best you will get paid $9 an hour to work at circle k gas station in cities like Tampa, and Miami/SE FL you need to speak atleast some spanish because that'll raise your chances of getting hired anywhere just like hawaii where you need to know some japanese to get a job
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heres another list I copied and pasted:
For families -central florida
For young single with some cash definitely SE FL
I have lived in both cities. Tampa is completely different from miami (just assume miami means all of southeast FL) in so many ways, but unless you visit it's just not going to register. I'll just make a list below of some pros and cons
Miami
****************
Pros-
*Hot, sexy people everywhere
*Nice nightlife
*Melting pot of cultures
*Only a week or two of "winter" weather aka great weather
*Cosmopolitan vibe
*Lots of young people
*Beaches are "built" to be tourist friendly
*Plenty of great shopping (Aventura mall and Bal Harbour shops for example) there is definitely no lack of shopping places...but you can say that about any major city in america HA [IMG]file:///C:\Users\GRACE-~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image00 1.gif[/IMG]
*Very modern, pretty developed as a city, very ritzy vibe
Cons-
*CRIME
*High cost of living
*Maniac drivers
*Hurricanes every year
*People are aggressive for no reason
*Stressful city
*It's a tiny town, it can get boring quickly
*If you are not latin or black, you are a minority (like someone else on here said and this is true for most of s.florida in 2012)
*Too freakin hot, 95 degrees almost everyday of the year give or take a month or two for "winter", and only a week of actual "winter"
*Fast paced (this can be a pro depending on how you feel about fast paced cities)
*Crazy people...people who haven't lived in Miami can only make assumptions by hearing news stories but since you have lived there, well you already know what Im talking about
*Downtown miami there are a lot of homeless
*Tourists are annoying
Tampa
***************
*Lower cost of living than Miami
*Lots more places to rent than miami, there are many more apartments and homes to rent in tampa than miami and theyre definitely cheaper than miami
*Less crime than Miami
*If you are white you are not a minority in tampa unlike miami
*Quiet, slower paced lifestyle -this could be a con depending on what you like
*People are less aggressive and much friendlier than miami
*Most days in the summer the temperature doesn't get higher than 89 degrees
*Lots of "natural" beauty, pine trees, forests, cattle, horses, even some ranches
*possibly more jobs than miami depending on what you do
*Drivers aren't as bad as miami, but still not excellent, you'll see a lot of umm "crushed" cars driving around with dents and bumps in various spots but still not as angry and aggressive as miami drivers
*Lots of golf courses if you like that kind of thing
*Has a seminole hard rock just like the one in hollywood, fl8
*Has a colder and longer winter...depending on what you like this can be a con
*Peninsula next to clearwater is gorgeous especially when you see it for the first time, it has a hawaii island vibe that is very appealing, if you visit tampa definitely drive to clearwater beach, indian rocks beach and all the way down to treasure island and st. pete beach its a very pretty drive
Cons:
*Tampa is known as lightning city..wanna guess why? Lots of rain and lightning I personally love both so doesnt bother me but I think for most people this is a con
*The population from my observation consists more of older people than miami, lots of Q-tips
*Little to no nightlife compared to miami/south beach, a lot of people will tell you to go to hyde park The Hyde Park Cafe - Providing the Best Nightlife in Tampa Bay heres the link...they have a gallery where you can see pictures of the type of crowd that hangs out there, you might like it
*Quiet slower paced lifestyle I put this in pro and con because depending on how you feel it could be either one, and the slower paced lifestyle affects all things from how many bars there are to how many malls there are, just to give you an idea Tampa does not have a Costco you have to go all the way to clearwater just to get to a costco and imho tampa only has one mall that is worth going to its called the International plaza
*LOTS OF TOURISTS all year round and although most of the tourists visit and stay near clearwater, a lot of tourists stay in tampa and its just annoying, and tampa attracts a lot of older, retirees as a vacation spot so its not like miami where you get hot sexy 20 yr olds from san diego coming down for spring break its almost always 40yrs old+ people and families coming from states like North carolina, ohio, texas and virginia in their SUVs, it gets annoying after awhile -there are a lot of good opinions on this website as to why tampa attracts mostly older retirees as tourists and the main point that everyone agrees on is this "Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami."
*Some people who move from miami to tampa complain all day that the city is dead and there is nothing to do
*No beach...well the only beach worth going to is in clearwater and imo its not as great as fort lauderdale beach, miami beach, palm beach etc but thats my opinion, clearwater beach is quite pretty when you're going over the bridge to get to it the view is fantastic it was breathtaking the first time I saw it
*Lots of people on here who moved to Tampa from more developed cities such as LA, NY or SD complain that some of the people in tampa are too "redneck" and hillbilly, and in some areas of tampa and clearwater it is true, think lots of bumper stickers on 1 out of every 10 cars, some cars even have 10 or more bumper stickers, I remember one that read "My other car is a broom" possible Harry potter joke? idk (a lot of people here make jokes about people in certain areas of pinellas and pasco county marrying their cousins and only going as high as the 7th grade etc theyre definitely exaggerating but there are more "rednecks" in tampa than miami, this isnt meant to offend anyone, just look at all of the threads on here Im not making it up)
*Lots of trailer parks, funny thing is some of them are gated communities
*SINKHOLES, miami has hurricanes well so does tampa but also SINKHOLES
*Tampa was voted one of the worst dressed cities not that long ago which only matters if you care about flashy or fashionable clothes, if not then you can walk out the door in the shirt you slept in, some shorts and flip flops, run all the errands you want and no one would bat an eye
miami is the fast paced, young, hip trendy cousin of tampa-the slow paced, cute, small country bumpkin
even in 2012 tampa is extremely slow paced, which is not a bad thing it all depends on what people like
on paper tampa's average population age may be lower than miami's but in REAL LIFE, you see SO many more q-tips in the tampa bay, clearwater, st. pete area than southeast florida aka miami
even most of tampa bay's tourists seem to all be 40years or older I asked someone why that is and this is the answer they gave me:
"It depends. Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami. Source(s):
been to both many times over three diff. decades"
and I completely agree with that person
I don't know why people in central and north florida feel like they need to "prove" that their cities are as good as miami when there is just no comparison...miami is the hot spot city in the entire state of florida hands down- when it comes to vacations, young sexy people, movie shoots, models, south beach, nightlife and the fast paced lifestyle miami will always be #1 in the state of FL.
Now does that mean places like Orlando and Tampa aren't great? No, they both have their own unique charm and amusement parks galore but it just all depends on who you are, how old you are, what you want in life and what kind of lifestyle you are used to
Central Florida-Tampa and Orlando
Pros-
Great for families
Much less crime than south florida
Cheaper than S.FL
More places to rent than S.FL
More "Green" than s.FL such as pastures, "woods" cattle, pine trees and such
Drivers arent as crazy as south florida
People are friendlier than south florida
Schools are better in terms of size and less problems than the ones in miami
Everything a person "needs" is available without the crazy fast paced lifestyle
Definitely more jobs available than miami and you dont have to speak spanish
Clearwater beach is very clean and pretty but thats not in tampa obviously its about a 40 minute drive to get there from tampa
Weather is more mild than South Florida, it does get colder for longer in tampa/st.pete than south florida but if you have experienced northern winters the cold is absolutely nothing
Cons:
Dead nightlife compared to miami/south beach
If you are from somewhere like LA, SD OR NYC you will get tired of tampa/orlando very quickly
This is just my opinion but south florida native (miami, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach) women are the hottest in the state, and other than a few transplants you wont find a lot of them in central and north florida unless they are attending college
Beaches arent as pretty and tourist friendly as miami beach, fort laud beach, palm beach etc, the best beach in tampa isnt even in tampa its in clearwater-however the view from the bridge from clearwater to clearwater beach is gorgeous it looks like a postcard, the first time you see it, especially if you have never been to FL, it will take your breath away, I definitely recommend a drive from clearwater beach down to st.pete beach, if you look on a map it looks like a long skinny peninsula near the side of clearwater, it has a cute oahu/island type vibe to it, very pretty drive
More rednecks and hillbillies than south florida, think confederate flags, pickup trucks with huge tires, and lots of bumper stickers- this seems to be a common observation from people who are from big cities like miami, nyc, and la that visit places like tampa or even orlando
Lots of q tip tourists from places like north carolina, virginia, texas, south carolina ALL year round so instead of those hot, cute college girl tourists coming down from California for spring break you will have to deal with 40 year old+ tourists, and families from the north visiting all year round especially during the winter time, and they tend to stay closer to clearwater beach but it spills over to tampa and some people visit tampa for families and relatives so expect to see cars with northern state license plates all year
SINKHOLES
tampa is known as the lightning city- guess why? rain rain rain and lightning. Some people like that so it could be a pro but I think most people dont so I put it in con
Miami/south east florida-
pros:
Hot, young sexy people-The largest grouping in one spot of hot, sexy, modeling contract worthy people will be found in miami, south beach, fort laud, boca raton, palm beach etc that doesn't mean there aren't some people like that in other areas of the state I'm just saying you'll find the LARGEST AMOUNT of people like that in south florida
great nightlife-south beach
Its the place to be in florida
Great malls such as aventura, galleria, sawgrass, pembroke
Spring breakers woohoo!
More of a cultural melting pot than any other area of florida-theres a lot of latinos, blacks, indians, native americans(semnoles), europeans etc etc racism is not really a problem in south florida, whatever color, ethnicity you are you are accepted, assimilation is easy
More to see, more to do, great beaches and lots of places to hang out for young singles, lots of bars, clubs
cons
Not that great to raise a family
Not a lot of jobs but depends on what you do
High cost of living- rent, insurance, food, taxes on bills
Not that many places to rent unless you want to pay $1,000+ for a one bedroom
HOT -think 98 degrees everyday in the summertime and only two weeks of "winter" and maybe only 2 days where the weather drops below 40 degrees
CRIME-everyday someone or a few people die in miami..not even that big of an exaggeration
If you are from a small town or used to a slower paced lifestyle you will probably start to hate miami after a few months
Miami despite being the most well known city in FL is actually quite small compared to places like Vegas and LA so it can get old quick
Drivers are maniacs-there was a news story not that long ago about some driver that shot at another driver through the passenger window down in miami ..probably for cutting him off or something
Schools are getting bad, a lot of parents are turning to home schooling in SE FL, theres just too many drugs and violence
Homeless people in downtown miami - lots of them
In most of SE FL if you are not latin or black in 2012 you are a minority...this can be a con or pro but it all depends on you
Economy is still not that good in any part of Florida, reports stated that when the economy crashed florida was the hardest hit state in the entire U.S., make sure you have a job lined up or at best you will get paid $9 an hour to work at circle k gas station in cities like Tampa, and Miami/SE FL you need to speak atleast some spanish because that'll raise your chances of getting hired anywhere just like hawaii where you need to know some japanese to get a job
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heres another list I copied and pasted:
For families -central florida
For young single with some cash definitely SE FL
I have lived in both cities. Tampa is completely different from miami (just assume miami means all of southeast FL) in so many ways, but unless you visit it's just not going to register. I'll just make a list below of some pros and cons
Miami
****************
Pros-
*Hot, sexy people everywhere
*Nice nightlife
*Melting pot of cultures
*Only a week or two of "winter" weather aka great weather
*Cosmopolitan vibe
*Lots of young people
*Beaches are "built" to be tourist friendly
*Plenty of great shopping (Aventura mall and Bal Harbour shops for example) there is definitely no lack of shopping places...but you can say that about any major city in america HA
*Very modern, pretty developed as a city, very ritzy vibe
Cons-
*CRIME
*High cost of living
*Maniac drivers
*Hurricanes every year
*People are aggressive for no reason
*Stressful city
*It's a tiny town, it can get boring quickly
*If you are not latin or black, you are a minority (like someone else on here said and this is true for most of s.florida in 2012)
*Too freakin hot, 95 degrees almost everyday of the year give or take a month or two for "winter", and only a week of actual "winter"
*Fast paced (this can be a pro depending on how you feel about fast paced cities)
*Crazy people...people who haven't lived in Miami can only make assumptions by hearing news stories but since you have lived there, well you already know what Im talking about
*Downtown miami there are a lot of homeless
*Tourists are annoying
Tampa
***************
*Lower cost of living than Miami
*Lots more places to rent than miami, there are many more apartments and homes to rent in tampa than miami and theyre definitely cheaper than miami
*Less crime than Miami
*If you are white you are not a minority in tampa unlike miami
*Quiet, slower paced lifestyle -this could be a con depending on what you like
*People are less aggressive and much friendlier than miami
*Most days in the summer the temperature doesn't get higher than 89 degrees
*Lots of "natural" beauty, pine trees, forests, cattle, horses, even some ranches
*possibly more jobs than miami depending on what you do
*Drivers aren't as bad as miami, but still not excellent, you'll see a lot of umm "crushed" cars driving around with dents and bumps in various spots but still not as angry and aggressive as miami drivers
*Lots of golf courses if you like that kind of thing
*Has a seminole hard rock just like the one in hollywood, fl8
*Has a colder and longer winter...depending on what you like this can be a con
*Peninsula next to clearwater is gorgeous especially when you see it for the first time, it has a hawaii island vibe that is very appealing, if you visit tampa definitely drive to clearwater beach, indian rocks beach and all the way down to treasure island and st. pete beach its a very pretty drive
Cons:
*Tampa is known as lightning city..wanna guess why? Lots of rain and lightning I personally love both so doesnt bother me but I think for most people this is a con
*The population from my observation consists more of older people than miami, lots of Q-tips
*Little to no nightlife compared to miami/south beach, a lot of people will tell you to go to hyde park The Hyde Park Cafe - Providing the Best Nightlife in Tampa Bay heres the link...they have a gallery where you can see pictures of the type of crowd that hangs out there, you might like it
*Quiet slower paced lifestyle I put this in pro and con because depending on how you feel it could be either one, and the slower paced lifestyle affects all things from how many bars there are to how many malls there are, just to give you an idea Tampa does not have a Costco you have to go all the way to clearwater just to get to a costco and imho tampa only has one mall that is worth going to its called the International plaza
*LOTS OF TOURISTS all year round and although most of the tourists visit and stay near clearwater, a lot of tourists stay in tampa and its just annoying, and tampa attracts a lot of older, retirees as a vacation spot so its not like miami where you get hot sexy 20 yr olds from san diego coming down for spring break its almost always 40yrs old+ people and families coming from states like North carolina, ohio, texas and virginia in their SUVs, it gets annoying after awhile -there are a lot of good opinions on this website as to why tampa attracts mostly older retirees as tourists and the main point that everyone agrees on is this "Miami is a little much for older people who want to bask in the nice weather and just golf or check out Spring Training, and also a bit much for underage kids who do want to go to Orlando. Miami is more for single 20-30 somethings, and better if you are well off financially than not. Tampa is cheaper and has less crime, and is a less socially and racially stratified place than Miami."
*Some people who move from miami to tampa complain all day that the city is dead and there is nothing to do
*No beach...well the only beach worth going to is in clearwater and imo its not as great as fort lauderdale beach, miami beach, palm beach etc but thats my opinion, clearwater beach is quite pretty when you're going over the bridge to get to it the view is fantastic it was breathtaking the first time I saw it
*Lots of people on here who moved to Tampa from more developed cities such as LA, NY or SD complain that some of the people in tampa are too "redneck" and hillbilly, and in some areas of tampa and clearwater it is true, think lots of bumper stickers on 1 out of every 10 cars, some cars even have 10 or more bumper stickers, I remember one that read "My other car is a broom" possible Harry potter joke? idk (a lot of people here make jokes about people in certain areas of pinellas and pasco county marrying their cousins and only going as high as the 7th grade etc theyre definitely exaggerating but there are more "rednecks" in tampa than miami, this isnt meant to offend anyone, just look at all of the threads on here Im not making it up)
*Lots of trailer parks, funny thing is some of them are gated communities
*SINKHOLES, miami has hurricanes well so does tampa but also SINKHOLES
*Tampa was voted one of the worst dressed cities not that long ago which only matters if you care about flashy or fashionable clothes, if not then you can walk out the door in the shirt you slept in, some shorts and flip flops, run all the errands you want and no one would bat an eye
Nothing like living spontaneously or making spur of the moment decisions but in a move this major wouldnt a 2 week exploratory trip be in your best interest as even though most love their move to Fla many hate the place for whatever reason.
I concur with the St Pete area,old style Fla with all the beaches.
I was going to say the same thing, Jambo. Look before you buy.
San Diego is great. Weather, humidity and beautiful landscapes. However, California in general is extremely expensive. Rents, insurance, grocery and taxes and many laws that simply is annoying.
too bad we human put price on beautiful things that god blessed all of us to enjoy equally. since i don't have the power to change this human rule, then my choice is to move somewhere, where the prices are much more reasonable and still beautiful
I would choose Palm Beach County (Boca Raton is there) because the weather is warmer than any other FL city you mentioned, and the beaches there are nicer than Tampa. Also, more exotic palms.
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