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I posted the below for Cosmicpal back in 2009, some of it is Denver-Tampa specific, but there is a ton a useful information (women/ culture/traffic wise) especially if you're a 25-40 single person. Also BRC, nice work man, you are doing FL right brother.
If you post age, interests, single/married, kids etc we can help you out a lot more...
I have some hopefully useful info as someone who moved from Den to Tampa and back.
- Best places to live IMO are Hyde Park, Channelside, downtown St Pete, or of course close to the ocean. Rentals are unbelievable cheap due the real estate clusterF. You can find a great deal, take your time and do not compare to Denver. You can rent a nice house for what a decent apartment goes for in Denver.
- Do not live Downtown for any reason, Tampa is very bizarre because the downtown business area turns into a ghost town at 5:15. Nothing, and I mean nothing happens there except work. It was very strange to me but that is just how it is.
-Ybor can be fun, but it is a really young area (they allow 18+ at almost all clubs) and most importantly VERY DANGEROUS. Tampa is a real big city, Denver is a pussy city as far as crime/thugs. Do not get wasted and screw around in Ybor, if you stumble down the wrong street, you will get mugged and possibly killed. You can not wander around like you can in Cap hill/Wash Park late at night. If you leave your car overnight it will be broken into, stay on the main street if you go. You will see tons of cops, they are there to keep you alive and not hassle you.
- I would recommend hanging in Hyde Park or Channelside, both are much safer areas and the crowd is 25-40.
- Prepare to get laid easily. As someone who worked hard for ladies in the sausage fest that is CO. The ladies in TPA are soooo easy to deal with, Tampa is the exact opposite of Denver. Girls move to the beach, dudes go to the mountains. There is almost always more girls than guys at any bar/club. You will notice this immediately and it is a great benefit if you're single.
- Change your style. FLA is much more dress up oriented than CO. A beard and a North face vest will not get you laid in TPA.
- Take advantage of the water. Some of the best money I have ever spent was used to kayak through the mangroves. If you look online you can find a route/rental place just west of the Dale Mabry bridge. You can rent a yak for $40 and it is a ton of bang for your buck. Also beaches, bikinis etc.
- Live close to work and travel for entertainment. Traffic can be atrocious, and you do not want to spend 2+ hours a day in your car. Get used to toll roads, they are everywhere and expensive. Tampa is HUGE distance wise compared to Denver, you will probably spend much more time in your car.
- Take a lot of weekend trips. One of the things I do not like about living in CO is there is not a ton of short car trips you can take for a weekend (the mountains excepted but I've grown complacent with those). You can get to Atlanta, Miami, Daytona, even the keys if you leave Fri after work. Go to the keys at least once, but I wouldn't stay for more than 3-4 days as they are pretty small and I personally tired of them quickly.
- CO is a state where people make their hobbies their entire persona (sick powder days anyone?). FLA is not cliquey, you do not see the groups of people who only dress and hang out with other punk, snowboarders etc. The people tend to dress and appear more "normal" and let their personalities and thoughts define them instead of adopting a hobby and revolving all dress, lingo, and social lives around it (I hate this about CO).
Have fun, I loved living in Tampa and if I could go back in time I probably would not have moved back to CO, but now own a business here and am stuck for a while.
Oh and regardless of your tastes, go to one of the huge country dance places like Dallas Bull for a night, it is an experience. And of course go to Mons Venus, its world famous for a reason.
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