Tampa-area transplants: What surprised you? (Thonotosassa: live, moving, metro)

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by jambo101

That's making the assumption you enjoy being out in 90 degrees and high humidity conditions for 8 months of the year, while it may sound appealing right now in mid winter for many that relentless heat and humidity gets old and many end up spending most of their time in air conditioned environments.
Personally I lived in St Pete for 20 years and never did acclimatize to Florida weather, had to move to a place with 4 seasons .

I am a Florida native and I absolutely despise the Florida climate May through September.
But I would rather take 5 months of oppressive heat than just one month of cold weather.
Cold weather has a lot more negative side effects/related hassles than heat.

[The Villages Guy]

Fewer thunderstorms as in not enough of them.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I am a Florida native and I absolutely despise the Florida climate May through September.
But I would rather take 5 months of oppressive heat than just one month of cold weather.
Cold weather has a lot more negative side effects/related hassles than heat.

I'm not a Florida native but the heat and humidity of summer really doesn't bother me.
I only use A/C in the evening when the bugs arrive but other than that open windows,shade and ceiling fans make it very pleasurable.
I really hate the cold.

[bobandsherry]

Originally Posted by medjen

Seems like lots of places are all electric all around, no gas--is that accurate or am I just getting a skewed sample?

When we were looking for a home most areas were electric only. We looked down further south and north in Florida. My understanding is it costs a lot to run the gas lines and obviously we don't have the demand for it that the states in midwest do to run furnaces. However, some areas do have gas. I'd prefer gas for my stove and dryer and def for pool heater. We have a heat pump for AC and heat, works fine.

[bobandsherry]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I am a Florida native and I absolutely despise the Florida climate May through September.
But I would rather take 5 months of oppressive heat than just one month of cold weather.
Cold weather has a lot more negative side effects/related hassles than heat.

How to dress/prepare for cold:


vs

How to dress/prepare for the heat:


I take the heat too

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I am a Florida native and I absolutely despise the Florida climate May through September.
But I would rather take 5 months of oppressive heat than just one month of cold weather.
Cold weather has a lot more negative side effects/related hassles than heat.

I find the cold weather brisk and invigorating,i find I get out a lot more in cold weather than overly warm days,its also a nice change from the seeming endless summer that is Florida.
Today I was out for a few hours in -20C I didn't feel cold at all,but you do have to dress for it.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...etMaderePC.jpg

[hokiepoke]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I find the cold weather brisk and invigorating,i find I get out a lot more in cold weather than overly warm days,its also a nice change from the seeming endless summer that is Florida.
Today I was out for a few hours in -20C I didn't feel cold at all,but you do have to dress for it.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...etMaderePC.jpg

I'm the opposite. I prefer temperature above 65F (aka shorts and t-shirt weather) and love the hot summer and the sun on my face. Our AC is set to 78F in summer and I find that a bit chilly sometime even. The only thing I like that is ice cold is my beer.

Also warm weather makes me less susceptible to being sick. I've gotten sick probably once in the past five years here whereas other place I've lived it's an annual event. Allergies season for me is shorter here too. Our kids are more active with outdoor sports year round so they don't get sick much either.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by hokiepoke

I'm the opposite. I prefer temperature above 65F (aka shorts and t-shirt weather) .

I prefer temps of 65 as well but 65 and 90 are two different things.

[norman_w]

Tampa had a big homeless problem when I was there. All of south Florida. And the flakka problem too

[dnc19694339]

Originally Posted by rHop

Been here almost 2 years now from Syracuse and like others, I welcome the heat and humidity over the cold and snow. Lot's of good info in the posts above, a couple things I would add is 1) allergies...you have different plant life down here and being a tropical environment you basically have pollen year round. 2) If you buy your own home get pest control....doesn't need to be monthly, we do quarterly, but we tried to do it ourselves and it just didn't work. Finally got a pest guy, the cost is reasonable and worth it! (most apartments will provide it) 3) Again, if you buy a house, check the HOA regulations. It's difficult to find a nice neighborhood without a HOA and they can really be strict on what you can or cannot do with YOUR house, to the point of fining you and placing a lien on your home if you don't comply. 4) Up North, our water bill was CHEAP but electric/gas was HIGH. Down here is the opposite.

That's all I can think of that I don't believe has been mentioned. Time to go out and enjoy some sunshine and warmth!

Coming from the snowiest metro in the US, (Syracuse) anything above freezing is welcomed! Ill never complain about the cold again! Just the amount of sunshine down south puts me in a better mood than up north. As you know, the sun rarely comes out all winter in Syracuse.