West Coast Florida Nesties
AMJ6511
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone from Tampa?
My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Tampa from Chicago. What do you like and what don't you like about living in Tampa?
Also, what is different about Tampa/West Coast FL versus Palm Beach area? Or are they pretty similar? Thanks for your help!
Re: Anyone from Tampa?
Married Bio
Westchase is also a really cute little area.
What would you be relocating for? I would be pretty darn sure you're set on the area. I grew up in Clearwater (across the bay from Tampa), moved to Chicago for 4 years, moved back to Tampa Bay, and lasted 10 months before I had to get back to Chicago (where we are now).
It's a nice area, don't get me wrong. But it's a complete change from Chicago and I couldn't get over all of the things I left behind.
If you go along with this idea - I LOVE Dunedin and Palm Harbor. Those were the other towns we were looking at, but ended up in New Tampa due to a job opportunity.
You really need to come down and check out the areas though. I think Dunedin vs New Tampa is very different, so you will have to get a feel for what you like...
Absolutely would choose Pinellas County over Hillsborough County. My DH works in South Tampa and used to live in Hillsb County, but will not consider Hillsb County now that he's tried Pinellas County.
Absolutely would choose NORTH Pinellas County over SOUTH Pinellas County.
Absolutely would choose Countryside (just north of Countryside Mall, EAST of U.S. 19) over Dunedin and Palm Harbor (WEST of U.S. 19 with very high property taxes).
Do not choose an area that is low-lying land which floods often and is ranked high for hurricane evaluation. Countyrside is the highest point in Pinellas County. But nearby is East Lake Woodlands, which is all built on reclaimed flood land, and you would have to buy flood insurance, which is pricey.
Palm Beach is incredibly expensive so everyone can show off how rich they are, and it's a very closed group, very cold to "transplants" (people who move here from "up north").
my read shelf:
I missed the seasons so much when we moved back to FL. In FL, there is only hot and hotter. I'm not a huge fan of winter and don't like being cold, but I'd take Chicago's weather over Florida's any day. I hate to sweat and Florida is insanely hot more of the year than not.
I also had a hard time adjusting to the lifestyle in Florida. Chicago is so vibrant, there's so much to do all the time, and the restaurants are unbelievable. I was always bored in Florida. DH and I love food and I was so unimpressed with our dining options there. Everything is really spread out too, and I hated that it took so long to drive anywhere.
I also find the people up here to be a lot more friendly. I did meet several girls from this board though, and they were all great
As far as things I miss about Florida, obviously I wish my family was closer, but they weren't enough to keep me there. I also liked having the beach close, but we honestly went so infrequently that doesn't matter much either. We love to cruise and it was nice to be right there by the port because now we can't afford the cruise and the plane ticket to get down there
Derp Engagement Photo
While I wouldn't recommend South St. Pete (dubbed the "south side") I think this is a little dramatic.
Most of FL is transplants - why would you think Palm Harbor is not friendly to transplants?
I can honestly say that most people I meet are not from FL, they are transplants.
ETA: ok i just went back and reread - it was Palm Beach that she said was not friendly towards transplants. I don't know about Palm Beach. Everything in the Tampa area has been very nice - I have only been down here for 2.5 years.
I too miss seasons. Actual seasons that is, even the occasional snowfall. There is no public transportation system to speak of, even though they keep talking about it. I also miss the neighborhoods in IL, normal size lots, trees, all that good stuff. There are good neighborhoods like what I'm talking about in S. Tampa, but not where I live (east suburbs of Tampa). The beach is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but since I burn in about 2 seconds, we don't go often.
In all honesty, I probably wouldn't move back, since my life is hear now, but that will always be home and I miss it. My parents moved to TN after I moved here and I haven't been back in over 4 years, so maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic.
my read shelf:
Florida is home to many, many transplants. Finding a native is a much harder task than a transplant, lol.
Obviously, everyone has their opinions, but if you can give us a more specific idea of what you're looking for, we can probably help you narrow down your areas to look in.
Ok, so I moved for very similar reasons. It was after college and I just had to leave. I lived in Wisconsin, I hate cold weather, and warmer weather sounded very appealing to me. Job transfer came up, and I took it. Didn't know anyone here. Figured I'd stay for a few years and move back. Still here.
I don't miss the seasons, but I really REALLY hate the winter. Winter is six months in Wisconsin. Summer is six months here. Both, in my opinion, are the indoor seasons. Difference is here, I can still go to the beach or the pool and be happy. And I never ever have to scrape a window, shovel a driveway, or hold my feet by a heater in the hope that I will some day feel my toes again.
I live in Hillsborough County, and I'm in the New Tampa area, and I love it. Traffic blows, but it'll be better when the expansion is finished, though if you had to drive downtown every day for work, that would suck. This is a very suburban area, but I feel very comfortable here and I like it. I picked it mostly because it is close to my work, though. If it weren't for my job, I would definitely consider the Westchase area. It's very pretty and feels very family friendly, and it's closer to downtown and also the beaches.
I'm not as familiar with Pinellas, though we do go there a lot because my in-laws live there. I really love the downtown St. Pete area. We go there a lot just to walk around and hang out. It's very pretty, but I know nothing of living down there. It's probably expensive because it's close to the water. My husband and I got married in Dunedin, at Honeymoon Island State Park, and so we spent a lot of time there while planning the wedding. I love it there. It's really got that downtown charming feeling, and it's by the water. Honeymoon is one of my favorite beaches in the area.
I don't mind being a bit of a drive to the beach. It probably takes around 45 minutes to an hour to get to any of the beaches that we go to often (Fort Desoto, Pass a Grille, and Honeymoon), but it doesn't bother me. A drive that long is often helpful right now because it's the perfect amount of time for my daughter to nap. Either way, I'm a helluva lot closer to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country now than I was in Wisconsin.
For me, Tampa is ideally located in the state, too, because it's very central. The first year that I moved here, after I met DH (who was darling boyfriend at the time), we spent a lot of time being tourists in Florida. We drove all over the state seeing different beaches and other stuff there is to see here. I can't think of a better way to fall in love :-) But really, it only takes a couple of hours to get from here to the other coast, Orlando is close, even South Florida is not far. It's bit of a trek to the Keys and the Panhandle, but everything else is easily accessible.
My child has playdates at Disney, FFS. I couldn't possibly move her to Wisconsin with everything she has here :-) Sorry I wrote so much. I tend to talk too much.
My silly Lily is almost 4.
i agree with all of this.
also, seasons are nice and all, but being able to wear flip flops year round beats seasons any day of the week. winter blows.
hope you enjoy your non snowy visit
I live in Pinellas County(closer to the beaches than Hillsborough), Palm Harbor, barely N of Clearwater. I have lived in several areas of Pinellas County and my favorites are definitely the Countryside are in Clearwater, Safety Harbor and Dunedin.
Good luck w/your move!
Lol.. I felt the same way. I lived in South St. Pete (22nd Ave South to be exact) for a year, and although it by no means was glamorous, I didn't feel nervous driving in my car to work every morning. Would I get out of my car in a random neighborhood in st. pete that I'm not familiar with.. no. But I think that's the reality of today anywhere.
I live in Carrollwood in Tampa and it's a lovely place to live. We will either stay here or possibly move to Westchase which is also great and I work there. I lived in Pinellas but just wasn't a fan of the school system - they were going through a lot of budget issues (and still are) and they closed the school I was teaching at so I transferred to Hillsborough. Even though pretty much all the school districts in Florida are crappy, I prefer working over here and now I prefer living over here as well. When we lived in Pinellas we were constantly going to Hillsborough to do things because there just seems like more to do than in that area besides the beach, of course.
In Tampa there are tons of museums, restaurants, great shopping, access to sporting events for the NFL, NHL, AFL, and baseball. The beach is close - 20-30 minutes tops depending on what beach (some are farther), and I don't need flood insurance. I think the people are super friendly here but then again, I lived in Miami for 18 years where almost everyone is rude so it has been a really positive change for me.
As far as West Palm or Palm Beach, the cost of living is lower here and I prefer the west coast beaches to the east coast personally.
Good luck!