I'm on the east coast, but am myself considering relocating to just south of tampa
beaches are great
Tampa PING, you might want to field this one
If you're willing to commute a little, Spring Hill, about an hour north of Tampa, is nice.
The baseball team sucks.
Clearwater is full of $cientologists, so I would steer clear of that entire area. Actually, with the weather patterns there, you couldn't pay me enough to live in Florida.
I love the Tampa-St Petersburg area.
The traffic can be highly annoying and the Scientologists in Clearwater freak me out a bit - but all in all, it's good.
I don't know how your finances are or what part of the area you'll be working in but I loved Indian Rocks Beach. More residential than touristy. Tarpon Springs is a nice community. If you workplace is more on the Tampa Bay side, I suggest Plant City.
Visit Mon's Venus...
You asked:
share any "inside" information. Areas to avoid?
Anywhere south of the Georgia state line.
Ping
Here's a St. Pete website.
http://www.stpete.org/
I now live in Indiana.
Tampa? A nice place to visit but I would not want to live there.
Single and looking for opportunities? It could be a good fit.
I am just not into traffic lights and reaching out your window and touching your neighbors house.
I lived in Tampa in the mid-late 80s, returned to Florida in 1993 and now live in the Sebring area.
I am currently commuting to Tampa on Mondays for a temporary job, and I have one strong suggestion. Live near your work location. While freeways and tollways are being built/added to, commute traffic is pretty heavy. I-75 on the east side of Tampa was a magnet for development, and the traffic jams reflect that.
Great golf course communities, nearby beaches, great fishing good entertainment venues, all await you. It's a fun place to live, and a growing city will only offer more things to do in the future.
Last numbers I heard Tampa area was getting something like 2000 new people a week moving to the area... now that was a while ago, but if those numbers are remotely true, that's a lot of business opportunity.
I lived in St. Pete in the late 80s, early 90s. For a young, goofy recent college grad--it was a phenomenal area. Tampa was just over the bay and had enough 'culture' and big city vibe for me, St. Pete was more laid back (admittedly, a little crunchy granola, which was fine). The beaches were phenomenal.
I think the area tends to be a little on the liberal side--but its still Florida, so it still wouldn't be like living in Boston or NYC. The cost of living down here can't be beat, although housing and rents are out of control--but will subside shortly, I'm thinking.
Traffic might be the only drawback. Florida roads aren't able to accommadate the influx of new people, so there are a lot of headaches these days.
Anybody who lives in North Carolina should never consider moving anywhere else. Nothing could be finer, and deep down inside you know that. Whenever someone leaves North Carolina, they regret it. There is a reason the sky is Carolina blue on a sunny day. North Carolina is the absolute best place to live in the entire country.
Check out Brandon, Valrico, Seffner. These areas are close to the interstate and are nice areas to live. Tampa has a lot of good sports. Hot in summer. Avoid Dale Mabry Highway on days that end in the letter "Y".
Best places to eat in Tampa:
The Columbia
Collanade Seafood on Bayshore
The Brunchery
Babes Pizza
Bern's Steakhouse
tiredoflaundry lives in the area..and she knows everything..
tiredoflaundry lives in the area..and she knows everything..
If traffic doesn't bother you it is a very nice place to live.