FL DUers: What Can You Tell Me About The Tampa Area?

[matcom]

we are kicking around moving south in a few years. Specifically, Tampa and surrounding areas like Clearwater etc...

Since this is under consideration, I would like some opinions on the following:

Housing Prices
Crime Rates
Employment Opportunities (I am a Webmaster, the Mrs. is in Banking)
Overall Quality of Life
Heat (in the summer)
Cost of Living
etc...

thanks for all the help and please, BE HONEST

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Safety Harbor & Countryside

are two good possibilities.

[matcom]

2. why specifically?

thanks

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. It is affordable, great place to raise small children and great access

to natural, beautiful places. i.e. beaches & Felippe Park. If you like ice skating, there's year round ice skating at the Countryside Mall. It also has good schools.

Just stay clear of the public areas at Clearwater beaches. Too many people walking around in white see-through bikinis. And that's the guys!

[ldf]

23. wow!

now i know where to go when in clearwater. thanks!!!

:-)

[FloridaPat]

3. I live near Tampa. I like Clearwater better because it's closer to

nice beaches. Housing compared to NYC, Chicago etc is cheap. You can get homes in nice neighborhood for I think starting around $70,000-$80,000. Although I have to admit I haven't looked at the housing market too closely lately. Crime rate is pretty much the same all over now I think. Employment for computer people really sucks down here, just like the rest of the country. OVerall quality of life is wonderfull. You can do whatever you want whenever you want. The weather is usually great. There aren't things that can only be done in winter or summer (except swimming.) The heat in summer is bad, but I just think of walking around Minnesota in 35 degree below zero temperatures and I cool right down. Cost of living is realitively cheap compared to most places. A lot of the food is locally grown.

I love it here. Winters are great and if you're into water sports of anykind, summer is good too. Pay scales for jobs are less then average because there is a lot of competition for jobs here.

[matcom]

4. thank you - question

is it safe to assume that if we lived in Clearwater, the best bet for employment would be in Tampa?

how far would the commut be?

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Only one real way to get from Clearwater to Tampa

Through the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Beautiful scenic trip, though. There are two other approaches, but they will probably be longer. Count on twenty to forty minutes, depending on traffic.

[trof]

7. Happy browsing:

http://www.islandtime.com/realestate/

[ClintonTyree]

8. I live about 40 miles............

southeast of Tampa, but have visited many times. Any coastal area in Florida will be more expensive, if you can tolerate moving inland a bit, your expenses for housing, food, basically all living expenses will be less.
Crime rates? This is Florida. Nice weather not only draws business and retirees, but also a criminal element as well. Crime around the Tampa are is not as bad as Miami-Dade, but it has a well established criminal element that easily replenishes itself. As for exact numbers, I'm sure they can be easily obtained on a myriad of websites.
Employment? Mrs. matcom would have NO problem whatsoever obtaining a job. This is the land of money, legal and illegal. Webmaster? I'm not sure about that, it would depend what you're certified in. Degrees mean shit, certification is the big thing. There are jobs in IT, but they're selective and you might want to scope out the Tampa Tribune's classifieds.
Heat? Summers here can be scorching. The coastal areas aren't too bad, there usually a sea breeze that keeps things bearable. Inland, it's not uncommon in our area to top out at over 100 degrees during the summer months. You don't do a lot outdoors in the prime hours of 10:00-6:00, just like you don't do much outdoors in the winter up north. The hook is, you don't have to scrape ice and snow off your car every five minutes. My first summer here was a shocker, but you get used to it after a while. EVERYPLACE is air-conditioned.
That brings us to quality of life. The urban areas aren't that bad. However, should you be fool hearty enough to venture to smaller towns, the culture shock will astound you. I mistakenly moved to a small, south central town ( I currently have my house for sale so I can move closer to civilization) . There's a John Birch Society billboard not 5 miles from where I live. It's redneck hell. Nothing but pickup trucks, long hair, beards, cammo outfits.........and those are the women. Stick to the more urban areas and you'll be fine. But then the crime factor increases. Education in rural Florida is not highly prized, more the adornments on one's pickup truck determine the pecking order. If you have children in public schools, remember, this is Jeb Bush's Florida. Research schools extensively for your children's sake.
For anyone considering a move to Florida, I suggest reading some of Carl Hiaasen's or Tim Dorsey's works. They may seem absurd, but they're rooted in reality.
It's not really that bad down here matcom, just be prepared for a cultural adjustment. I grew up in the northeast, and was shocked by southern life. Think it over carefully and do a lot of research. A LOT of research before you move here.

edited for TIM Dorsey, not Tom.

[matcom]

10. LMFAO! "and those are the women..."

:D

thanks for the heads up. no kids so the school system isn't a factor. i'll certainly do my research and perhaps visit a couple of times over the next couple years.

really appreciate it :hi:

[ClintonTyree]

12. If you're ever............

visiting the area, look me up. PM me and we'll get together. I imagine we could get a whole group of we Floridians together for a matcom visit. Then you could get a taste of the "real Florida". Everybody has a story to tell down here.

[ClintonTyree]

13. One more thing............

remember, there is NO state income tax here. There is a sales tax on a sliding scale depending where you live, but no income tax (yet anyway). That's a big thing to consider when calculating income.

[greatauntoftriplets]

17. I love Tim Dorsey's books!

Can't wait for Serge's next misadventures.

[KG]

22. heh, once you get outside the cities in into rural FL, it definiately

is cracker country similar to other rural areas in the deep south.

[trof]

9. Craig's list, Tampa Bay

http://tampa.craigslist.org/

[teach1st]

11. The summer lasts eight months...

...and in my book that ain't good. Humidity. Actually, only mid-May to mid-October are unbearable. The winter weather is generally wonderful, but there is an influx of northerners making for very crowded conditions in popular areas (we need tourists, though - they're our tax base).

I moved from Florida to Hawai'i for twelve years, so I'm biased. Most people think the beaches here are swell; I think they're too crowded and access can be restricted by hotels and condos. (This has been a good year for surfing, but usually surfing is better on the East coast.)

Nature is loosing here, although there are still some secluded areas. The roads are awful and the drivers worse. We were a huge strip mall before it became popular elsewhere.

Some people remark about how unfriendly people are here. I say screw 'em. <sarcasm>

Pay is the pits, but the cost of living does appear to be lower. According to one online calculator, one would need to earn $76,392 in Clearwater to match a $100,000 salary in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Florida in general has a lower unemployment rate compared to other states. I don't know much about job opportunities. According to some friends, banking is relatively easy to enter into here...I could be wrong about that.

[Florida_Geek]

14. Look at Jacksonville first

IT jobs in the Tampa area are the pits. I have lived here 30+ years. A couple major employers, Verizon and a credit bureau and AC Neilson.(sp).

The Silicon valley of Florida is Jax. BCBS is always looking for Web ppl. There is a major Citibank computer site there and a lot of other IT companies.

I enjoy swimming 8 months of the year. People say the summers are hot, well yes but the water is fine :)

Tampa is also the home of a lot of military contracting firms, so a lot of the jobs require you to already have a security clearance.

[KG]

15. St Petersburg is the place to live.

trust me on this one.

[matcom]

16. why St Pete?

[KG]

19. well

light traffic
charming mature neighborhoods
light traffic
relatively low housing prices
not much traffic
the best downtown in the TB area
low traffic
easy access to I-275
not much traffic,
you don't have to use US-19 (hells hiway) to get around,
i live here
not much traffic
bicycle friendly,
many neighborhoods still have old fashioned alleys
light traffic
close to tons of beaches
culturally diverse population
best of all, it's not tampa

the sarasota/bradenton area is very nice also.

[curse10]

18. Isn't Clearwater and St. Petersburg repug heaven?

IIRC :shrug:

[KG]

20. nope.

a strong and growing progressive community in the tampa bay area, built around the worlds greatest community radio station WMNF-FM 88.5

but, the farther south you go from here, the repook-ier it gets.

[teach1st]

26. Yup, WMNF is the cat's pajamas

WMNF Schedule:
http://www.wmnf.org/programming/daily.shtml

You can listen to WMNF here

http://www.wmnf.org/programming/listen.shtml

Right now, Sunday afternoon, isn't the best time to listen, unless you're into polka.

Schedule for the week:

http://www.wmnf.org/programming/index.shtml

[PDittie]

21. I lived in Treasure Island for a year

a calendar year; 1992, to be precise.

It's one of the beach communities north of St.Pete.

I thought it was fabulous.

My sister lives in Tarpon Spings; now that's Repuke Country.

I wouldn't live there (but my sister is a Repuke, when she's not too busy to pay attention), but i'd live in or north of St. Pete, up to Clearwater and no farther, again in a heartbeat.

[LynneSin]

24. And leave all that beautiful weather in Boston

:shrug:

[retread]

25. I would suggest you send a week or two here in August before

committing yourselves.

[camero]

27. Look up Pasco County

Less dense in terms of population
Lower Property tax
Lower Housing prices
Schools aren't really that great all over but they are on par with the rest of the state here.
Bank of America is in Tampa, a short ride.

I live in Dunedin close to Tarpon Springs and I think it's ok here but crime in Pinellas County is unreal. If you're going to move to this county my advice is to stay in the North part.