Is Tampa a Good Move??? (St. Petersburg, Daytona Beach: short sale, car insurance, houses)

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by redcar

I'm glad that someone has something has nice things to say about the Tampa area. I will be taking a position at USF and have been looking in the Wesley Chapel, Brandon and a few other areas. All of your information has been very helpful. I have a thirteen year-old and have a concern about schools. I also want to feel safe whereever we live. I'm also looking at Lutz, Land O Lakes, and Valrico. Any information about these areas would be appreciated. I'm a little scared because my son and I are alone with no man in the house.

if you are going to be working at usf check out the new tampa area. seven oaks, meadow point, even in w.c. lexington oaks, even the fairways of quail hollow section. you should be fine.i think maybe brandon with all the traffic might not be fun.

[Obamanation]

Wesley Chapel is great. Crime doesn't exist in the area, well almost.

[Gosox05]

Originally Posted by Dawnie

Please help!! Is the Tampa Bay area a good place to raise a family? We are a family of four, possibly migrating from Queens, NY and looking for someplace more affordable to live, with a good quality of life - which to us means a comfortable home, good schools for our children who are now 3 and 7, some access to entertainment and culture, and an overall a place we can call home. My husband is a HVAC technician so he would be working typically ALL OVER Tampa; we would need relatively easy access to the city.

I am considering the Lutz area, as it seems to be affordable with good schools and close to Tampa. I have a few concerns: What are the homeowner's insurance rates like? Property taxes? And electricity due to running the A/C for like a 3 bedroom home? What are those monthly bills like?All these things considered, is the Tampa Bay area an affordable place to live? Is there anything I SHOULD know about Tampa/Lutz that is important???? Good and bad....

Thank You in advance for your help!!!

No, Tampa is not a good place for a family. You will thank me if you research area such as Atlanta or Charlotte. I lived in Tampa and it's more for singles and older people. You will have much success in N.C or GA because of tremendous growth and jobs. Also, you can find good schools and affordable neighborhoods if you look. Gooooood Luck

[marlene775]

Hello Everyone, Hopeing here is someone out there that can give me some good advice. My husband and I currently live in Illinios and we are thinking of moving to the Tampa area, we have one son and are looking to expand our family. Can anyone tell me the good areas in Tampa and is it a good place to live, and any good private schools and how our the jobs, my husband is in banking and I am a secretary. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...=)

[Artsywoman]

I moved to Tampa from DC and do not like it. In my opinion after a year living here, I have discovered the following:

Terrible, nasty drivers and a lot of traffic
Bad Public Transit
Many uneducated people
Too many motorcycles
Too many rednecks
A lot of Boom Cars
I have heard from others that the Public Schools are bad
Too humid most of the time
Trash on the sides of the road constantly
High unemployment
Low culture
Urban sprawl
Many strip clubs
Billboards all over.

Good:

St. Petersburg is near and very nice
The beaches
The winter weather
Swimming pools always open
A lot of thrift stores
rents are relatively low
A lot of Walgreens

[Krulik]

I just visited Tampa and considering (still) to move there, some of my observations.

Originally Posted by Artsywoman

I moved to Tampa from DC and do not like it. In my opinion after a year living here, I have discovered the following:

Terrible, nasty drivers and a lot of traffic
I am not sure nasty is the proper word, but I don't understand why they don't stop before the pedestrian crossing at lights.

Bad Public Transit
I can't comment.

Many uneducated people
Many educated ones as well.

Too many motorcycles
What is the problem with that? They take less space than SUVs.

Too many rednecks
I will not get into this.

A lot of Boom Cars
What is a boom car?

I have heard from others that the Public Schools are bad
I have heard that some are bad and some are good, like in many places.

Too humid most of the time
Well, that did not start a year ago.

Trash on the sides of the road constantly
I seemed to have travelled different roads.

High unemployment
I have been made a nice job offer.

Low culture
What is high culture?

Urban sprawl
This is the US.

Many strip clubs
I missed them!

Billboards all over.
True.

Good:

St. Petersburg is near and very nice
The beaches
The winter weather
Swimming pools always open
A lot of thrift stores
rents are relatively low
A lot of Walgreens

Was the Walgreens comment misplaced?

[Artsywoman]

Originally Posted by TampaOrNotTampa

I just visited Tampa and considering (still) to move there, some of my observations.



Was the Walgreens comment misplaced?

No! That is the best part of Florida! We had our first Walgreens in Nova last year!

[Keeper]

LOL... Walgreens or CVS appear to be on nearly every corner, although I think Walgreens has won out on that honor.

While Artsywoman's comments are valid to some degree, the problem is IMHO that they do not pertain to all of Tampa. I agree the boom box cars are a PITA to us who prefer to play our own music in our cars and homes. I also agree that drivers in Tampa do not follow the law regarding pedestrians, I have seen ppl speed up while a group of us where trying to cross a street. There are strip clubs but not everywhere..

Artsywoman has stated that she is not happy where she lives and has never been to many of the areas often mentioned here on City-Data. I am sure to her that these are real issues where she lives. Not all motorcycle riders are Hell Angels, in fact I worked with a lot of ppl who rode bikes to work everyday that made close to 100K or over and not one of them had a visible tattoo. I would certainly not call everyone in Tampa a lowlife since there are many ppl who are patrons of the Arts. There is a symphony, ballet co and Broadway shows in Tampa. Not exactly low culture.

I suggest you ask for recommendations on different areas before you decide on a particular area.

[TXRyan23]

My wife and I saw a house for sale off Bayshore for 99k with 3,200/yr taxes. Is Bayshore area still fairly good ? I haven't lived in the area in nearly a decade..

Also, Who doesn't love the Mons Venus ?

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by TNRyan23

My wife and I saw a house for sale off Bayshore for 99k with 3,200/yr taxes. Is Bayshore area still fairly good ? I haven't lived in the area in nearly a decade..

Also, Who doesn't love the Mons Venus ?

Whats wrong with the house? Sounds like a demolition for 99k off Bayshore Blvd. The entire area along Bayshore Blvd is nice from downtown to MacDill AFB gates.