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Old 02-28-2013, 08:37 PM
 
241 posts, read 463,563 times
Reputation: 131

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Hello all,

I'm going to be graduating college soon, and will have a job lined up with a top firm in my field, which has the advantage of them having offices in every major city all over the globe. Basically I have my pick, but I have to let it be known relatively soon. I've lived in Florida my entire life basically, mostly south florida, then moved a little further north for college. I am now strongly considering Chicago as a future location because I'm sort of tired of Florida's blandness. Plus, I just don't feel like any cities (besides maybe Miami) are a great place for 20 somethings. It's mostly families, college kids, and retirees.

Obviously, I'm not exactly excited to move halfway across the country away from my friends and family, so I'm hoping to find a city in Florida that has a large population of 20 somethings. Obviously nothing is going to come close to a major metropolis like Chicago or NYC, but as long as there is a somewhat large young professional population I'd be willing to strongly consider it to be near my friends and family. I know some say any city is what you make of it, but in my field there are very long hours (70-90 in busy season, 50ish in regular season), so I won't have a ton of time to go out and meet people, so I basically need the place to have a large population of young professionals so that it makes it easy for me

Any advice/experience with Tampa? or any other cities that one would recommend in Florida?
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Old 03-01-2013, 01:30 PM
 
170 posts, read 232,607 times
Reputation: 263
Hi Michael Scott,

I'm originally from the Tampa Bay area (grew-up in Central Tampa/Northdale) currently finishing undergrad in Jacksonville. I'll tell you while growing-up I loved Tampa, and I think the Bay Area is one of Florida's best kept "secrets" out there. However there are multiple pros and cons

Pros:
-Major research university (USF plus local colleges)
-Climate (Absolutely "perfect" not too cold or hot)
-World-Class Sporting Events (Rays, Lightning, Bucs, Magic in Orlando)
-Up and coming "Start-up/Tech" scene (TampaBay Wave)
-Geography (1-1.5 hr from Orlando, 4 hrs Miami, 3.5 Jacksonville, 6 to Atlanta)
-Urban renewal (Growing interest, with density and urbanization)
-Art scene (Downtown St. Pete, Dunedin, Ybor City, Downtown Tampa)
-Diversity

Cons:
-Lack of mass transit (Tampa tried to pass light rail but it failed)
-Sprawl
-High paying jobs (They are definitely here but still "behind" Austin, Boston, Atlanta, etc.)
-Young professional intellectual capital (Personally I find the area still suffers from "brain drain" however politicians and leaders are trying to reverse the trend)

What are your interests? I'd say if you want more of a "city" feel check out Ybor City, Channelside, Downtown Tampa, SoHo (South Howard), and Downtown St. Pete I think these are the more "yuppy/younger areas of town" I find the suburbs (Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Carollwood, etc.) to be boring for a young twenty-something.

In closing, the metropolitan area is "changing" and I personally like it better than Northern Florida (too backward). However, if you want a more cosmopolitan city that is vibrant "24/7" I utterly would consider Miami (Wynwood, Brickell) or checking out other cities across the country.

Overall, I love my hometown and think it has a bright future with continued leadership/vision just realize the overall VIBE differs from SoFL more chill/laid-back. Miami = Los Angeles, Tampa = San Diego

Resources:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/where-...13.html?page=2 IMPORTANT READ
http://83degreesmedia.com/ (Urban News + Design/Development)
http://www.tampachamber.com/ci_emergetampa.asp (Young Prof Group)
http://cltampa.com/ (Culture)

Last edited by gjosephunf; 03-01-2013 at 01:43 PM..
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Old 03-01-2013, 11:58 PM
 
241 posts, read 463,563 times
Reputation: 131
I'm guessing from the responses, or lack thereof, that my suspicions are correct that its probably not that great for anything but families and retirees, like pretty much everywhere else in Florida.

OH Florida, why doth thou make me leave my kin
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Old 03-02-2013, 12:52 AM
 
170 posts, read 232,607 times
Reputation: 263
I wouldn't say the Bay Area is only good for families and retirees, the average age is (41.7). I just think all metropolitan areas in Florida and just the state in general struggles retaining college graduates/young professionals who eventually go off to San Diego, Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Austin, NYC, SF, Atlanta, etc. due to "better" opportunities. Things are slowly to improving, the state/"Central Florida" relied on a "tourism/hospitality" economy however, the state is focusing on STEM & Business in which Tampa Bay and Orlando will form a "SuperRegion" for high-tech + paying jobs.

Honestly, once I graduate in April I'm heading to Orlando/Tampa if good opportunities present themselves or off to Atlanta, Philly, Seattle, or Houston for better pay + greater venture capital.

Good Luck!!!

Tampa Bay, Florida Demographics | Demographics of Tampa Bay Area
http://www.orlando.org/clientuploads...uperregion.pdf
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Old 03-02-2013, 03:59 AM
 
205 posts, read 292,050 times
Reputation: 176
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Scott View Post
I'm guessing from the responses, or lack thereof, that my suspicions are correct that its probably not that great for anything but families and retirees, like pretty much everywhere else in Florida.

OH Florida, why doth thou make me leave my kin
First off, love your username.

I would venture to guess that many of those roaming City Data are not 20's-aged anyways, regardless of location, hence fewer responses.

You will find a very decent amount of young professionals in South Tampa, especially around the South Howard/Armenia area. They flock all over that area on Friday and Saturday nights to go to the bars. I would say that if you lived, ate, partied, etc. right in this area, most of the people you'd interact with would be younger people. Apartments like Madison at Soho might suit you very well.

Statistically, Miami has the largest amount of young people in the state. But it all depends on how you live your life. As you said, you wouldn't get out a whole lot, so you wouldn't really need to be in a city with a whole lot of young people as much as in a concentrated area, correct? If this is the case, South Tampa most definitely could work for you. If you want a Chicago or Manhattan-level amount of young people, just kind of generally all around the city, or if you want to live in a big fast-paced environment with teems of people out on weekends, Tampa wouldn't be for you. Otherwise, I'd say young profs find a nice little niche here in South Tampa (or Ybor, or parts of downtown) and settle into it.
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Old 03-02-2013, 10:52 AM
 
Location: Treasure Island Fl
663 posts, read 1,137,538 times
Reputation: 868
Jacksonville is the youngest major city, with Tampa and Orlando a close second and Third.
Average Population Age in Florida by City
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Old 03-02-2013, 03:11 PM
 
241 posts, read 463,563 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonyff67 View Post
Jacksonville is the youngest major city, with Tampa and Orlando a close second and Third.
Average Population Age in Florida by City
Averages don't really mean much, young kids due to a bunch of families could drag down the average.
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Old 03-02-2013, 03:17 PM
 
99 posts, read 145,694 times
Reputation: 126
Median age for Tampa is 35; and ~10.5% of the population is between the age of 18-24 and and 15% between 25-34.

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

Last edited by Yac; 09-10-2018 at 06:36 AM..
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