I dont get it ? (Tampa, Spring Hill: home, unemployment rate, minimum wage)

[DUNNDFRNT]

There are different Florida experiences, if you move down here retired then you dont have to worry about schools, traffic and the everyday grind. I dont see how pointing out how great your day is helps a family moving down here, people need to know the challenges they are going to face. If you are talking about the job market is it all 8/hr? no of course not, but it is service sector driven, the professional sector is small and highly competitive. Do I need to tell you that the beaches are beautiful, or should I tell you that you are most likely going to be 45 min away from a beach and for the most part is going to be hard if you think you can spend all your afternoons relaxing by the beach? what information is most useful to someone who is looking to relocate. I get there are some people that are just looking for reaffirmation to their desire to move here, and there are plenty of people in the forum that provide that I just don't see it as constructive.
Take for example the poster who asked about the possibility of using your bicycle as the main mode of transport, first reply something about the Pinellas Trail, which granted its nice, but how does that help the guy at all, isnt better information the fact that the area ranks as the one of the worst for cyclist safety, that he is more likely to end up under billy bob's pick truck here than anywhere in the US that to me its useful information, no that there is a trail with a nice view.

[cjrudy]

What ?? I'm not going to be able to spend my afternoons relaxing at the beach ?

Thank you, but I have a better grip on reality than that.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by cjrudy

What ?? I'm not going to be able to spend my afternoons relaxing at the beach ?

Thank you, but I have a better grip on reality than that.

But you can -- If you work night shift or have a 5am-12pm job. ;-)

[cjrudy]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

But you can -- If you work night shift or have a 5am-12pm job. ;-)

Very nice .....

[ApolloBeachRetiree]

Originally Posted by cjrudy

We live in Buffalo, NY because that's where we were born, raised and raised our own family. With our son off at college and our daughter heading off next year, its now our time to make the move.

And yes, I want to know about the reality of living somewhere, but the negatives get a little old. There are plenty of negatives to living in Buffalo, NY, but also plenty of positives. We plan a move to Florida to enjoy the things in life we cannot get here.

If I can help by answering questions, you only have to ask. I promise to be very positive about where we live and why we chose it over other communities.

I was born and raised in Toronto and I know all about the joy(?) of winter; however, I remember many storms where Buffalo got the brunt of the storm and we sent snow clearing equipment down there from Toronto.

[Trigger-f]

Originally Posted by saltzman143

This is a most EXCELLENT question, and one that anyone looking to move to Florida should know the answer to. Don't listen to the people who say this is "trolling" or people don't hate it here. This is a VERY big problem in Tampa and in Florida in general. Before you move here you must know that you will constantly run into people who hate living here, complain about it and have a very negative attitude about Tampa and Florida.

First of all I am a Florida native. I have lived here most of my life. I moved away for 15 years (NY, LA) to gather new experiences, and now I am back. I love it here. LOVE IT. It is the perfect combination of fast and slow, the weather is gorgeous 7 months of the year, the people are nice, traffic is tolerable, pollution is low, and it's cheap compared to many large metro areas. It has positives and negatives like any other city.

It is absolutely true that Tampa Bay and Florida are full of people who moan, groan, ***** and whine about Florida. Most of these people have moved here from somewhere else for various reasons. Many of these people were derelict in their duty to conduct the appropriate research about living here before they made the move. And they are constantly comparing Florida to where they came from.

The Midwesterners whine about how they miss how "nice" everyone was back in Iowa (insert any Midwestern state here), they miss the Ohio White Castles, the Detroit pizza, they miss the Chicago L, shopping at Zingermans and Meijer, they miss the cool summers, and on and on. They are really intolerant of the Florida weather. A lot of them move back.

The people from the Mid-Atlantic whine about how they miss the DC job market, the "highly educated" populace, the food in Pennsylvania (grinders, cheesesteaks, pizza, etc.), the VA countryside, the transit options, Delaware beaches, etc.

The people from the Northeast and New England REALLY love to moan about how they miss their autumn leaves, the apple picking, the pizza, the change of seasons, the trains, the seafood, the mountains, Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, etc. These are some of the worst offenders. They can really whine your ear off.

The people who move here from the West Coast and Southwest, they are absolutely miserable because they are not used to humidity and hate the whole Southern attitude found in Florida. They are used to political correctness and liberal towns and In and Out Burger on every corner. They are here because they can't afford California. And they hate it. They think Florida is very backward. (Actually so do most of the other non-natives.)

One thing they all have in common is they all say Florida drivers are the worst. As if the drivers in every other part of the country are perfect.

To all of these whiners, I say, I don't get you either. Life is way too short to marinate in misery. Move back to Boston STAT so you can have fried clams every day! Move back to Philly so you can shop at Reading Terminal! Move back to Scottsdale so your hair doesn't frizz! Oh, but moving isn't easy? Well, you moved here, didn't you. Stop making excuses and move back to where you will be happier!

Top the people thinking about moving here, many of us LOVE IT. But don't say you were not warned.

Right on target...good post.

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

But you can -- If you work night shift or have a 5am-12pm job. ;-)

Also if you didn't work, were independently wealthy, set your own hours, retired, lived on the beach, had a helicopter with a helipad on your own barrier island, yep that is some useful information.

[ApolloBeachRetiree]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

Also if you didn't work, were independently wealthy, set your own hours, retired, lived on the beach, had a helicopter with a helipad on your own barrier island, yep that is some useful information.

Let's see:

• didn't work - have to work - just part time
• were independently wealthy - I wish
• set your own hours - to a certain extent
• retired - yup, but I still have to work
• lived on the beach - does 1/4 mile from Tampa Bay count?
• had a helicopter with a helipad - nope
• your own barrier island - nope

Damn, I don't qualify.

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by ApolloBeachRetiree

Let's see:

• didn't work - have to work - just part time
• were independently wealthy - I wish
• set your own hours - to a certain extent
• retired - yup, but I still have to work
• lived on the beach - does 1/4 mile from Tampa Bay count?
• had a helicopter with a helipad - nope
• your own barrier island - nope

Damn, I don't qualify.

The world famous beaches of Apollo beach, they are beautiful.
The point is that yes if you have the afternoons off, you can certainly do with them what you wish, do I need to tell you that? My comments are geared towards the average person working 9-5 or 8-4 with your average afternoon responsibilities, is that being negative?

[ApolloBeachRetiree]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

The world famous beaches of Apollo beach, they are beautiful.

I hear ya.