If Tampa and St Pete were one, would it be a world class city or All best USA city? (Orlando: transplants)

[DoctorRain]

I for one think it could be right on par with Portland anyhow if both were combined or maybe Seattle even. Boston for sure.
I think negatives in Tampa/St Pete are like the negatives in any cheaper but not really too cheap urban cities.

Like lets say a place with a ton to do (Portland) has 1 sports team, tons of restaurants (I mean tons), real inexpensive authentic food trolleys lining up throughout downtown. Large alternative music scene and indie scene, large amount of coffee shops. Great transportation


Tampa alone not counting St Pete has 2 sports teams really. Good NPR station and good alternative scene although smaller than Portlands by a good portion, it has a happening blues scene unlike Portland.
Tampa has more crime than Portland, but also has great bbq food which is hard to find in Portland. Chinese foods edge goes to Portland and its not great there either. Portland pizza isnt as good, but some isnt bad either. Tampas pizza is NY transplant pizza. Umm... coffee shops are mostly in Ybor and not many other spots. Tampa theatre looks like the Portland theatre only older and more unkempt. Tampa has 43 strip clubs to Portlands 50. Portland has way more weird businesses so.. Tampa has a ways to go here. St Pete shows potential there.
Add St Pete to this mix, and its highly possible Tampa Bay would be an all USA city. The GLBT scene in Tampa Bay seems = to Portland too and New Orleans.
It wouldnt be fair if I compared to SF, it just wouldnt be so I picked Portland.
Tampas dive bars outside of Ybor dont seem too great. In Portland, the dive bars can be found anywhere and are typically of greatness and real cheap beer. St Pete hasnt come too close in this regard nor has Tampa although Tampa bars can be cheap, Some are found dirt cheap in Portland like a pint of Hamms for 1.75 or a draft for a dollar. Im kinda rambling in this thread, but the moral of the story is, can Tampa/St Pete as one be as good as some of the elite?
Id say it can at least be NO combined with St Pete.

[algia]

I am not sure how you can compare these two cities really......the scenery alone will put Portland first!!! the population second....I am referring to the quality of people....and their expectations...

The answer to your last question is NO.....because Florida is a vacation state...people don't come here for our great culture and entertainment! (except for Disney and it's downpour of tourists and the other theme parks) .....people move here for the beaches and the "warm" weather......

IF people would last LONGER here then MAYBE, just MAYBE we would have higher quality everything......unfortunately for some reason people think Florida is cheap, and Tampa cheaper........people want the world for nothing here therefore no serious professionals are here or very few lie around still with their bags packed.......in order to have great quality stuff people have to be willing to pay for it......in Tampa people are actually cheaper than they are in Orlando....just check out craigslist where you post something at an awesome price and people want it free anyways!

[craigm1841]

^^

HAHA. I posted some free stuff on craiglist when i was moving from brandon to westshore. It was garbage... my phone was ringing off the hook. I had a 6 year old queen box spring. when the guy called and asked about the box spring, i actually said "REALLY?" even worse, the guy was gonna drive from st. pete for it. i did end up getting about 30 calls for it.

Sorry, I know that is off topic, but funny non-the-less.

[Ken E]

No

[vaughanwilliams]

Interesting. I can't imagine Tampa/St. Pete comparing to Portland. The area is too fractured along socioeconomic lines and WAY too spread out. Plus, there's a large amount of people (myself included) that hole up in the air conditioning for nine months of the year. Portland is progressive-Tampa/St. Pete isn't, though I think they're heading in a good direction. Things are changing- Ed and Flo from Ohio aren't moving to Florida anymore. They've found better places to retire, so while retirees were a big contributor to the economy, they also dictated the "feel" of the area. And let's face it- it was pretty stale around here in the past.

[DoctorRain]

It doesnt compare to Portland in the sense that the sprawl is endless in Tampa Bay and true, people dont stay around long enough. There is a more transient vibe out here.
Oh and Tampa may have Tampa theatre, but Portland has like 3 theatres or something.
The transportation in Tampa/St Pete sure as hell cant compare thats for sure as well.
I think if people stayed here enough and not left and tried to build something, you could have a potential all US city. It looks like Tampa is really up there with Louisville and St Louis and places like that. StL could even have more as of now though. But for instance, Louisville was compared to Portland since its a bit smaller as I could see Tampa being thrown in there too. The reason Id select Tampa right now though is because its closer to me than any other big city otherwise, I wouldnt relocate miles to move to Tampa unless a great job moved me there. Id do it willingly for Portland tho or Seattle I can tell you that.
Tampa and St Pete are heading in a good direction when it comes to being progressive though. If Ed and Flo arent moving anymore, Id think if anything, the city could get younger even without the older snowbirds moving. I take it you meant Ed and Flo as in that.
Portland is a much more stable place as the transplants there tend to stay for good and if they leave, they were forced out. Tampa cant be said the same for or at least it dont seem or if you make friends in Tampa, theyll move out on you so you wont ever build a base or build a core group of friends so guess what.. you take off too. It seems to have formed a dangerous cycle of people not building for the long haul out in Tampa/St Pete although Tampa more people seem to leave out of the 2.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by craigm1841

^^

HAHA. I posted some free stuff on craiglist when i was moving from brandon to westshore. It was garbage... my phone was ringing off the hook. I had a 6 year old queen box spring. when the guy called and asked about the box spring, i actually said "REALLY?" even worse, the guy was gonna drive from st. pete for it. i did end up getting about 30 calls for it.

Sorry, I know that is off topic, but funny non-the-less.

Actually, it might mean that man was needy. However, when I moved I had people asking if I had extra clothes hangers! One person from Craig's List who called about a free night stand asked if I was a believer and wanted to pray with me. When you combine Craig's List and Florida you get

Sorry - now I'm going off topic by answering an off topic post.


Oh, to answer the OP .... No!