Misc Tell me about Tampa Bay? What do you know? - Page 4

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 12:32 PM

I told the company in Phoenix thanks but no thanks. Now, I've got a job in Tampa Bay that I've interviewed for, past the tech screen and HR wants to talk. What do I need to know about the area? Which ones are nice? Avoid? etc. Looks like you get beachfront property for 1/2 of what it was worth a year ago. Has the area real estate reached bottom yet?

The job would be at a military base in the area on the bay.

vailpass · 04-13-2010, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicPal

Don't get me wrong vp, I love Colorado, and Denver's a great town. But, there were a lot of homeless peeps in the city of Denver. I couldn't go to and from a single establishment without having some strange, decrepit dude ask me for money.

Oh I hear you, I remember they camped out on the sewer grates when it got cold outside.
Anyone ever asks me if I have any spare change my answer is always:
"There is no such thing".

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 05:31 PM

Man, you can get 2 bedroom condos with ocean/Bay views in Hyde park for $140-$150K. Ranch homes near beach Park for $190K. Looks like the houses selling for $488K one year ago are going for $225K now. Combine that with my huge jump in pay and all the overtime I want.....thats pretty appealing.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 04-13-2010, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Man, you can get 2 bedroom condos with ocean/Bay views in Hyde park for $140-$150K. Ranch homes near beach Park for $190K. Looks like the houses selling for $488K one year ago are going for $225K now. Combine that with my huge jump in pay and all the overtime I want.....thats pretty appealing.

Not to mention - no state income tax in Florida - or is it Personal Property Tax?

Or both?

Al Bundy · 04-13-2010, 05:52 PM

I grew up there. Clearwater is a wonderful place, many many things to do. I can't speak on the school system there at this point. It is hot and humid, but no snow and plenty of ocean, sand and fishing.

Al Bundy · 04-13-2010, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Not to mention - no state income tax in Florida - or is it Personal Property Tax?

Or both?

No state income tax. But the tolls are everywhere.

Mr. Laz · 04-13-2010, 05:57 PM

to hell with your job,house and living location, will this get in the way of our "source" information?!?!?!

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

to hell with your job,house and living location, will this get in the way of our "source" information?!?!?!

No, I've not met "the source" in over 2 years. It's all email these says.

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Not to mention - no state income tax in Florida - or is it Personal Property Tax?

Or both?

Holy crap, no state income tax adds another 6% of pay to the total. Add in the 1% I have to pay because I work in KC(whatever happened to taxation without representation?}. Thats a 7% increase in pay before I even get a way too generous bump in pay.

**Rain Man** · 04-13-2010, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Man, you can get 2 bedroom condos with ocean/Bay views in Hyde park for $140-$150K. Ranch homes near beach Park for $190K. Looks like the houses selling for $488K one year ago are going for $225K now. Combine that with my huge jump in pay and all the overtime I want.....thats pretty appealing.

Jeepers, can I move there too?

**Rain Man** · 04-13-2010, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

Oh I hear you, I remember they camped out on the sewer grates when it got cold outside.
Anyone ever asks me if I have any spare change my answer is always:
"There is no such thing".

When a homeless guy says, "Spare change?" to me, I always say, "No, thanks, I have enough."

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Jeepers, can I move there too?

It was the same type of real estate market when I looked in Phoenix. Houses are half what they were a year ago.

2 bedroom, 2 bath next to the water. Built in 1998. $209K
http://www.americanhomeguides.com/fo.../31982906.html

Ralphy Boy · 04-13-2010, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booyaf2

They too have a football team that picks in the top 5 consistently!

Except they won a Superbowl in the last 10 years.

Ralphy Boy · 04-13-2010, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Man, you can get 2 bedroom condos with ocean/Bay views in Hyde park for $140-$150K. Ranch homes near beach Park for $190K. Looks like the houses selling for $488K one year ago are going for $225K now. Combine that with my huge jump in pay and all the overtime I want.....thats pretty appealing.

The job market sucks and there are foreclosures everywhere. Don't know where your office would be but you should look at New Tampa. Nice newer area, but pretty far from the beach. If you like golf, its a good area to be in and the schools in that area are pretty good.

Some friends of ours moved here from there because the economy there was so bad.

JD10367 · 04-13-2010, 07:21 PM

My info is outdated, but I lived in Tampa in 1995 and 1996.

I lived and worked to the northeast of downtown, in the Busch Gardens area (USF). It was pretty decent. The apartment complexes are all nicely landscaped with nice pools, and it was cheaper at the time than my rent had been in the northeast. I think I had strippers at the complex, 'cause hot chicks would sunbathe during the day (so I assumed they worked at night).

The weather in Tampa is "nine months of hot, and three months of really ****ing hot". It was unbearable for me... but, then again, I'm from New England and love the cold, AND I had a car without A/C.

Keep in mind that Tampa is the lightning-strike capital of the world. Also, while they haven't had a hurricane in a long time, they are RIPE for a Katrina-style disaster if one hits them directly. Just saying. If you end up with beachfront property... pack light and make sure something large on your land can double as a flotation device.

Downtown Tampa (at that time) was fairly dead, with the exceptions of the Tampa Theater (nice old-style Loew's movie palace where they did some productions) and Ybor City. They then built the Florida Aquarium (which was overpriced but nicely done). Apparently they've now added something called the Channelside district, which has surpassed Ybor. I would think in Ybor you'll find a younger more drunk crowd and at Channelside you might find more sober thirtysomethings, but that's a total supposition.

The bugs in Tampa are big enough to saddle. The cockroaches are giant and they fly, and are EVERYWHERE. I had to scour the house for them daily. Palmetto bugs are the size of a coffee-cup saucer, I shit you not.

There are (or, at least, were) some decent malls: a fancy-schmantzy one downtown near the Sombrero (which has now been replaced with Raymond James Stadium); the University Mall near USF; and the Brandon Town Center.

St. Pete is nice to visit. Good beaches, John's Pass is (was?) a touristy area, and they have the Salvador Dali Museum. Plus you have the MLB Rays, and tickets should be easy to come by.

Since we lived on the northeast side of town, and Disney is on the west side of Orlando, it was 75 minutes from my parking lot to theirs. That was pretty cool. We got annual passes and would go once a month for a weekend.

Busch Gardens is awesome, obviously. And Tampa has a decent zoo (Lowry Park). As usual, it's in a bad section, but it's a good zoo.

Speaking of "bad sections", that's one thing about Tampa which was strange to me: the bad parts of town look just like the good parts. One side of the street could be "bad", the other "good", and they look the same. So make sure you research carefully and talk to some of the board people here who live(d) there more recently.

If you enjoy outdoor activities (fishing, rollerblading, etc.,.) then Florida's probably for you. If, like me, you don't really love hot weather, and you hate bugs, then Florida's probably not for you.

**BigRedChief** · 04-13-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralphy Boy

The job market sucks and there are foreclosures everywhere. Don't know where your office would be but you should look at New Tampa. Nice newer area, but pretty far from the beach. If you like golf, its a good area to be in and the schools in that area are pretty good.

Some friends of ours moved here from there because the economy there was so bad.

I'd be working near Port Tampa Bay

04-13-2010, 12:32 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3239627 VARSITY	Tell me about Tampa Bay? What do you know? I told the company in Phoenix thanks but no thanks. Now, I've got a job in Tampa Bay that I've interviewed for, past the tech screen and HR wants to talk. What do I need to know about the area? Which ones are nice? Avoid? etc. Looks like you get beachfront property for 1/2 of what it was worth a year ago. Has the area real estate reached bottom yet? The job would be at a military base in the area on the bay.
Posts: 78,934

04-13-2010, 05:31 PM	#47
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3239627 VARSITY	Man, you can get 2 bedroom condos with ocean/Bay views in Hyde park for $140-$150K. Ranch homes near beach Park for $190K. Looks like the houses selling for $488K one year ago are going for $225K now. Combine that with my huge jump in pay and all the overtime I want.....thats pretty appealing. __________________ Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. -YODA
Posts: 78,934

04-13-2010, 05:52 PM	#49
Al Bundy Damnit Peg Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $5401831	I grew up there. Clearwater is a wonderful place, many many things to do. I can't speak on the school system there at this point. It is hot and humid, but no snow and plenty of ocean, sand and fishing.
Posts: 23,315

04-13-2010, 05:57 PM	#51
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	to hell with your job,house and living location, will this get in the way of our "source" information?!?!?! __________________
Posts: 95,626

04-13-2010, 07:21 PM	#59
JD10367 Cheaterlover* Join Date: May 2009 Location: RI Casino cash: $10010716	My info is outdated, but I lived in Tampa in 1995 and 1996. I lived and worked to the northeast of downtown, in the Busch Gardens area (USF). It was pretty decent. The apartment complexes are all nicely landscaped with nice pools, and it was cheaper at the time than my rent had been in the northeast. I think I had strippers at the complex, 'cause hot chicks would sunbathe during the day (so I assumed they worked at night). The weather in Tampa is "nine months of hot, and three months of really ****ing hot". It was unbearable for me... but, then again, I'm from New England and love the cold, AND I had a car without A/C. Keep in mind that Tampa is the lightning-strike capital of the world. Also, while they haven't had a hurricane in a long time, they are RIPE for a Katrina-style disaster if one hits them directly. Just saying. If you end up with beachfront property... pack light and make sure something large on your land can double as a flotation device. Downtown Tampa (at that time) was fairly dead, with the exceptions of the Tampa Theater (nice old-style Loew's movie palace where they did some productions) and Ybor City. They then built the Florida Aquarium (which was overpriced but nicely done). Apparently they've now added something called the Channelside district, which has surpassed Ybor. I would think in Ybor you'll find a younger more drunk crowd and at Channelside you might find more sober thirtysomethings, but that's a total supposition. The bugs in Tampa are big enough to saddle. The cockroaches are giant and they fly, and are EVERYWHERE. I had to scour the house for them daily. Palmetto bugs are the size of a coffee-cup saucer, I shit you not. There are (or, at least, were) some decent malls: a fancy-schmantzy one downtown near the Sombrero (which has now been replaced with Raymond James Stadium); the University Mall near USF; and the Brandon Town Center. St. Pete is nice to visit. Good beaches, John's Pass is (was?) a touristy area, and they have the Salvador Dali Museum. Plus you have the MLB Rays, and tickets should be easy to come by. Since we lived on the northeast side of town, and Disney is on the west side of Orlando, it was 75 minutes from my parking lot to theirs. That was pretty cool. We got annual passes and would go once a month for a weekend. Busch Gardens is awesome, obviously. And Tampa has a decent zoo (Lowry Park). As usual, it's in a bad section, but it's a good zoo. Speaking of "bad sections", that's one thing about Tampa which was strange to me: the bad parts of town look just like the good parts. One side of the street could be "bad", the other "good", and they look the same. So make sure you research carefully and talk to some of the board people here who live(d) there more recently. If you enjoy outdoor activities (fishing, rollerblading, etc.,.) then Florida's probably for you. If, like me, you don't really love hot weather, and you hate bugs, then Florida's probably not for you.
Posts: 12,916

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