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Old 11-22-2012, 04:38 PM
 
Location: Wake County, NC
2,983 posts, read 4,623,481 times
Reputation: 3529

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Quote:
Originally Posted by nkapur View Post
I will be living in a extended stay hotel first and look for a good apartment. How is the public transport situation? Do I need to buy a car? I am thinking of leaving my present car in NJ for my brother to use. If I can use subway to my office during weekdays and use zipcar on weekends that would help me save money and yet not compromising on my lifestyle. In a city like NY, D.C etc. one can easily manage without a car but what about Tampa? Any thoughts?
You will need a car. Everything is spread out and public transportation is almost nonexistent.

Have you ever been to Tampa?
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Old 11-22-2012, 04:46 PM
 
5,453 posts, read 9,301,795 times
Reputation: 2141
There's no subway here. Public transit is not reliable at all.

You NEED a car here badly.

Have you done any re-search on Tampa at all?

You'll be in for surprises if you don't dig a little deeper. NJ, DC lifestyle does NOT exist here at all.


Quote:
Originally Posted by nkapur View Post
I will be living in a extended stay hotel first and look for a good apartment. How is the public transport situation? Do I need to buy a car? I am thinking of leaving my present car in NJ for my brother to use. If I can use subway to my office during weekdays and use zipcar on weekends that would help me save money and yet not compromising on my lifestyle. In a city like NY, D.C etc. one can easily manage without a car but what about Tampa? Any thoughts?
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Old 11-23-2012, 10:52 AM
 
1,759 posts, read 2,165,263 times
Reputation: 742
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia View Post
There's no subway here. Public transit is not reliable at all.

You NEED a car here badly.

Have you done any re-search on Tampa at all?

You'll be in for surprises if you don't dig a little deeper. NJ, DC lifestyle does NOT exist here at all.
NJ DC lifestyle doesn't exist here? YEAH! THANKFULLY
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Old 11-24-2012, 04:46 PM
 
Location: State of Waiting
633 posts, read 1,012,667 times
Reputation: 1592
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia View Post
That is the "Catch" all moving to FL should be very much aware off. Lower wages, higher property taxes, and actually higher cost of living once you're on the lower wage spectrum. Water property here be it canal, inlet, or ocean is VERY expensive.

A commute to Harbor Island from Clearwater will have your hair purple really quick. ALL you have to get there is a bridge, that gets packed at rush hour, and then Kennedy Blvd that has a million stop lights on it.

Trust me, pick a short commute, it will save you a LOT of aggravation. Plus, Clearwater is really touristy and obnoxious these days. Lots of rude ppl with no knowledge of traffic laws roam around there.
Taxes in NJ are pretty high... higher than in Clearwater. I'm originally from NJ, and still have friends there - and I would never move back - the taxes there are outrageous. My research and experience when we looked at houses in September was that the taxes in Hillsborough are on the higher side (they rival some of the counties in Metro DC where I live now) and Polk county are much lower.

Agree with you about Clearwater. Personally I wasn't crazy about it - super crowded and the traffic, well, it reminded me of Metro DC... and not in a good way. mega jam, especially on that bridge you are referring to.
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:34 PM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
877 posts, read 1,913,005 times
Reputation: 747
I'm sorry nkapur, our public transportation is pretty much non-existent and you will definitely need a car. I do think you will prefer FL to NJ, however. DH's company keeps trying to get us to move there and we just won't do it.

It looks like you'll work in Harbour Island. That is a nice area. Check out craigslist and roommate situations. I promise you won't be in the ghetto for $1,000. You'll be able to see the water, maybe jog along Bayshore Blvd, but there are no real beaches in Tampa. However, on the weekends you can be at Clearwater Beach or St. Pete Beach in under an hour.

It's a nice place to live, just very different from NJ.
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Old 11-29-2012, 07:07 PM
 
11 posts, read 16,955 times
Reputation: 10
I am in Tampa now. So now I know what you guys are talking about. Yes weather here is amazing and people are very nice. I did not see any trains here public transport sucks but the airport was awesome. It is a very different lifestyle if you compare it with NY or NJ. My last visit to Florida was in Miami so it is very different from that as well.
As far as the apartment goes I am thinking of getting a apartment in 5 west.
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Old 12-03-2012, 09:12 PM
 
55 posts, read 150,048 times
Reputation: 40
Look at The Cove on Westshore. Its right on the water (bay), the main pool is pretty amazing, and rent is affordable. I just moved here sight unseen (got a lot of info from the internet) about two months ago, and enjoy it. Its not super upscale, but the grounds are well kept, lots of young professionals, and the apartments themselves ae comfortable. No bugs, not much noise... never hear my neighbors through the walls.
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Old 12-05-2012, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Native of Any Beach/FL
35,702 posts, read 21,054,375 times
Reputation: 14249
In Clearwater-Belcher and RT#60 area and loving it, I drive to Int. mall area daily and the ride is NOT too bad, 35 min max - yes if there is no accident. There is ONE bus from Countryside mall Clwter to Westshore mall Tampa, but folks around here shoot anything down if it brings more people and increases their taxes.. so do not expect positive returns. I think Clearwwater is much friendlier than Tampa, but we have that fight on here daily.
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Old 12-06-2012, 06:03 PM
 
Location: New York
477 posts, read 1,406,710 times
Reputation: 297
Quote:
Originally Posted by nkapur View Post
I am in Tampa now. So now I know what you guys are talking about. Yes weather here is amazing and people are very nice. I did not see any trains here public transport sucks but the airport was awesome. It is a very different lifestyle if you compare it with NY or NJ. My last visit to Florida was in Miami so it is very different from that as well.
As far as the apartment goes I am thinking of getting a apartment in 5 west.
I just moved down here from NY and so far so good. Its NOT in any way like the NY/NJ lifestyle, but isn't that the point of moving here?

You will without a doubt, need a car. There is little within walking distance and depending on where you are living, there are certain areas that you won't want to walk through anyway. Buses are here, but nothing on the level that we have up north.

The apartments are cheaper than what we are used to up north, but they are by no means cheap. When I was looking into the cocoa beach area, they were much cheaper there than here.

Good luck with everything!
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