Talk to me about Tampa, FL?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Houses are inexpensive there. Close to the beach. Major sport's teams.

What's it like living there? Besides being hot.

not in nice/convenient areas they're not.

This. Tampa was either #1 or #2 for places in the U.S. where home values increased the most over the pandemic. DC was one of the places where home values increased the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Tampa (33629, 33606) can be great. It’s very expensive now, though, and the cost of homeowners insurance is shocking coming from this area. The rest of Tampa is pretty much sprawl. And not “nicer” sprawl you see in the DC area and other more affluent places. Nice beaches are maybe 45 minutes away. Lots of people even in the best school zones choose private school.

I'm from Tampa and agree with this. The good public school neighborhoods (and there are few) are expensive. One of those, South Tampa, has dealt with increased flooding in recent years, and it will only get worse. Many people pick private schools. Tampa isn't super close to the beach-- you're not going to go there on a weekday afternoon with traffic on the bridge. Weekends, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s inexpensive at all. The nice areas (S. tampa) are much more expensive than DC. I have a good friend from there and visit a lot. Everyone UMC at least goes to private school.

I love it, and would move there in a second if I could afford $3m, private, a boat and the taxes.

this was not my experience at ALL having my kids in the Plant pyramid in Tampa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Tampa (33629, 33606) can be great. It’s very expensive now, though, and the cost of homeowners insurance is shocking coming from this area. The rest of Tampa is pretty much sprawl. And not “nicer” sprawl you see in the DC area and other more affluent places. Nice beaches are maybe 45 minutes away. Lots of people even in the best school zones choose private school.

PP. Forgot to mention that people are generally friendly, laid back, and more into “fun”/hobbies than their careers. I miss this about FL a lot and would still love to move back despite all the negatives. I’d get a boat if I lived there, though.

Good points. I'm so sick of the self-important blowhards in DC who talk about work during social settings. It's such bad manners and so boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s still Florida, though.

It’s the most Florida part of Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Tampa (33629, 33606) can be great. It’s very expensive now, though, and the cost of homeowners insurance is shocking coming from this area. The rest of Tampa is pretty much sprawl. And not “nicer” sprawl you see in the DC area and other more affluent places. Nice beaches are maybe 45 minutes away. Lots of people even in the best school zones choose private school.

PP. Forgot to mention that people are generally friendly, laid back, and more into “fun”/hobbies than their careers. I miss this about FL a lot and would still love to move back despite all the negatives. I’d get a boat if I lived there, though.

Good points. I'm so sick of the self-important blowhards in DC who talk about work during social settings. It's such bad manners and so boring.

Trust me the fisherman/sportsman/muddin enthusiast can be just as much a blowhard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s still Florida, though.

It’s the most Florida part of Florida.

It’s working hard to move up from Strip Club Capital.

https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/06/12/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-tampa-strip-clubs/

I mean DC was a pit in the 90s, Tampa can do it too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s still Florida, though.

It’s the most Florida part of Florida.

Truer words never have been said

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba_the_Love_Sponge

[Anonymous]

OP there are only a few people commenting who have any clue what they are talking about. There are always a number of nitwits who think it's amusing to make comments like "It's the most Florida part of Florida." Trust me, these folks go to FL a week or two each year and drop $10-20K on a Disney vacation, but other than that they don't know what they are talking about.

There are a lot of great things about the Tampa area and that general part of Florida, but you aren't going to learn much about it here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s still Florida, though.

I was going to say this. I grew up in Florida. You have to go visit and see if it's a good cultural fit. I didn't love growing up there but I lived in an area that was full of rednecks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP there are only a few people commenting who have any clue what they are talking about. There are always a number of nitwits who think it's amusing to make comments like "It's the most Florida part of Florida." Trust me, these folks go to FL a week or two each year and drop $10-20K on a Disney vacation, but other than that they don't know what they are talking about.

There are a lot of great things about the Tampa area and that general part of Florida, but you aren't going to learn much about it here.

This. They're terrified of anywhere that isn't a liberal bubble and look down on most of their fellow citizens across the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP there are only a few people commenting who have any clue what they are talking about. There are always a number of nitwits who think it's amusing to make comments like "It's the most Florida part of Florida." Trust me, these folks go to FL a week or two each year and drop $10-20K on a Disney vacation, but other than that they don't know what they are talking about.

There are a lot of great things about the Tampa area and that general part of Florida, but you aren't going to learn much about it here.

I was just going to say something like this. I lived in Sarasota for years and often went to Tampa. Most people who are commenting have no idea what they are talking about, although some do (it’s not close to the beach; traffic is bad; sprawl). There are plenty of families, my best friend raised her 4 kids in Tampa and one went to Princeton, another to Wash U, the third to Northwest and the fourth is still in HS. It’s not a bunch of “rednecks” like people would like you to think, nor is it all strip clubs. For the record, Sarasota also has a lot of families (and is close to the beach).

Housing prices depend on where you are looking.

Go down and check it out—I wish I had a good realtor to recommend but I don’t know enough people in the area anymore. Florida can be a very nice quality of life, especially if you get a boat (you will meet lots of people) and like a bit of a slower lifestyle compared to the NE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends moved their for 2 years then came right back to DC area for better schools.

Florida is for retirement, not schooling children.

Oh please! Such utter bs! I left a very high end Bethesda neighborhood three years ago (made a fortune on our house) and move to Florida. For us, lots of South American business travel so made since geographically. My DC is in a private school at a fraction of the cost of our privates in DC area and thriving. And yes, the publics in our area are pretty incredible, how do I know this? My DC's friends who attend are some of the brightest STEM students I've ever encountered, and that includes those from the DC area. This is a misnomer people like you continue to spread when in fact the influx of families from other parts of the country (especially with COVID) has greatly influenced the schools and their caliber of education. On the rise, which I cannot say for the schools in Montgomery County. My DC are doing better than I could possibly have imagined, best move ever and I hate the heat.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of families and young people in the area due to Centcom. My sister lived on Davis Island and Harbor Island when she was working at Centcom.

There are a lot of good restaurants on Harbor Island.

Tampa has several professional sports teams that are well supported in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends moved their for 2 years then came right back to DC area for better schools.

Florida is for retirement, not schooling children.

well I wonder what went wrong with me then, because I went to school in south Tampa (florida!! Gasp!) and got a fantastic education.