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Are you thinking of moving or relocating to Tampa, Florida? Would you like to know what the quality of life is like living in Tampa?
Bonnie reports in this review:
| Weather | | How much crime? | | What are the neighborhoods like? | | What are the people like? | Most days in Tampa are warm to very hot and very sunny. Winters are very mild,
One of the best things about the weather is Tampa is the lightning. Tampa has long been known as the "Lightning Capital of North America." A reporter at The Tampa bay Times recently looked into validating that claim and the data was unclear, but I can tell you first hand the lightning is frequent and spectacular.
Almost every day in the summer, heat and humidity build to a later afternoon crescendo. The air gets thicker and the sky darkens just a bit with clouds. Suddenly, a storm breaks and with it, the heat. It feels like the whole city breathing a sigh in relief. Water pours down and amazing branches of lightning flash across the wide sky. Then after about forty-five minutes the clouds disappear, the rain stops and everyone enjoys a slightly cooler, pleasant evening. I have missed that daily thunderstorm since I moved away.
| | Once late at night while driving away from a bar in downtown Tampa, I saw a woman being pulled by the arm and screaming. I began to honk and flash my headlights and the man assaulting the woman ran away. I got out of the car and tried to comfort the frightened woman until police arrived. She had been walking to her car alone and the man came up and grabbed her just before I rounded the corner.
While working at a restaurant also down town, another waitress observed a car that seemed to be waiting across the street by the bank where our manager made a deposit of cash every night so she warned him not to do it that night. We later heard that another local manager did get robbed that way.
I spent the night at a friend's condo in a large complex in North Tampa near USF and in the morning someone had stolen my car radio. However, it seems that I foolishly left my window down, so the thief simply reached in and unlocked the door.
| | Hyde Park is the most wonderful neighborhood in Tampa. This neighborhood lies between Bayshore Boulevard to the east and south (Bayshore follows the curve of the bay), and the truly beautiful University of Tampa. The boundaries of the neighborhood are approximately Kennedy and Armenia Avenue.
This area is lined by large antique bungalow style houses with wide front porches covered in flowers. Take a walk weaving up and down the side streets off of Bayshore to appreciate all the gardens and the historic mansions right across from the water. Then stroll into the shopping district on Swan Avenue. This charming brick pedestrian area is Hyde Park Village. Here you'll find upscale chain stores and little clothing and jewelry boutiques, a number of good restaurants that are popular for a sophisticated afterwork drink or a date, cafes, and coffee and ice cream shops.
This is one of Tampa's priciest neighborhoods, populated by upper middle class to wealthy families and young professionals. It is a primarily white neighborhood with a "preppy" look. Single professionals live in a number of apartment buildings built in the 1920s
| | Ybor City is the Cuban historical district of Tampa and is sometimes called "Tampa's Latin Quarter.
This neighborhood lies just northeast of downtown Tampa. The boundaries are defined as approximately between Adamo Drive and Nebraska Avenue, with I-4 as a northern boundary.
Ybor has come to feel like the city's own little New Orleans, where every weekend is Mardi Gras. Old brick tobacco warehouses have been transformed into artist studios, nightclubs, eclectic stores and modern loft apartments. This is the city's most diverse area and you will see people of all races, income levels and tastes out enjoying the neighborhood.
Expect to hear some Spanish spoken; a large Cuban population remains in the area. On weekend nights, thousands of college students surge through the streets and music from jazz to electronic and dance, to traditional Cuban pours out of hundreds of nightclubs and bars. The cobblestone and brick streets are closed to cars and the entire neighborhood is a party.
| | Downtown Area | | Restaurants | | Schools | | Single life | | You will find excellent upscale shopping in Old Hyde Park, and eclectic, young and creative shops in Ybor City. | | Burn's Steak house is a (literally!) world renown restaurant that pioneered the farm to table movement by growing many of their own herbs and vegetables. Bella's is an Italian cafe is SoHo that is a longtime personal favorite. They really know wine and make some of the best fancy pizza I have ever had. Their happy hour is unbeatable. Bernini is Ybor city's old historic bank building has an exciting feel and great seafood and drinks. | | Hillsborough County school district received a 2009 Gates Foundation grant for $100 million dollars. In 2013, 12 out of Hillsborough's 27 high schools were named among America's best high schools in Newsweek. | | Tampa a great town for singles. It's a very social place where strangers feel free to chat at bars, while jogging on Bayshore, at art events and just walking down the street. There is always a neighborhood party, music festival, or open art studio evening so it's easy to meet people. The city surges with young professionals just starting out, and is a great place for the recently divorced to start over. | | Noise | | town comparison vs. | | Best hospital | | Tourist attractions | | Tampa is quiet and lovely. The only area with increased noise is right by the airport. | | Tampa is close to and often compared to St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Clearwater is a sleepier beach town that offers beautiful nature but feels disconnected from any culture but beach culture. It's a lovely and safe place to raise a family and perfect if what you want is an affordable house with a yard near some great fishing. St. Petersburg has a large retired population and everywhere you look you will see very elderly people. Downtown and on the beach there are some relaxing spots for drinks and music and some fun younger people.
Neither St. Petersburg or Tampa offers the diversity and culture of Tampa. Tampa feels like a real, world class city. Major bands and art exhibits come through and the colleges offer lots of lectures and classes. Whereas St. Pete and Clearwater are great fits for some specific types, Tampa offres so much for a larger range of people. | | Tampa General Hospital, right in the middle of the water between Harbor Island, Davis Island and downtown is a major trauma center and has a caring staff who treated me promptly and well. | | The University of Tampa's main building is a historic hotel and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, with silver minarets that hover over the river, across from the museum. Go to the museum's amphitheater and bring a picnic at sunset to watch the minarets sparkle.
Go see an independent or foreign film at the historic downtown Tampa Theater and you will feel like you have traveled back to a more glamorous time.
Walk, run, bike or rollerblade all the way down Bayshore to the pier at the end and watch old fisherman do their work while dolphins leap against the sunset.
Have a drink on Harbor Island and enjoy the view of more dolphins and old wooden pirate ships.
| | General comments | | | | | | | Tampa is a fun, friendly, warm town where it is easy to meet locals and make friends. You'll meet native Floridians plus a large number of people from all around the United States. There is a feeling in this city that life is to be enjoyed. Expect to be urged to enjoy the sunsets or the weather. Despite being in the South, there is a vibe of open minded acceptance here. Perhaps due to all the street festivals, art and music in this town, people seem ready to let everyone be themselves and do their own thing.
Everyone in Tampa seems to agree: they way to live is enjoying the weather by sitting outside with some good friends or new neighbors, having a few beers and some fresh seafood and hearing a little music. People who live in Tampa tend to really appreciate the attributes of their city and often remark on how lucky they feel to live there and to enjoy all the area has to offer. Over and over, you'll hear people extol the virtues of the sunsets, the nearby beaches, the aquarium, the museum, the art galleries and the festivals. It seems like all of Tampa lives by a credo something like, "Why not just relax and be happy?" | | | | | | |
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