Tampa Bay 'burbs. Would you move there?

And that's why I exactly like south Florida. Never have to even consider attempting to keep up with the Joneses. Lots of nice restaurants and shopping areas down there, too.

 

I guess our definitions of Tampa Bay suburbs just differ slightly, as I consider all of the bay area the "burbs" - Agree that Tampa Palms would not be very convenient to get to the beach, but considering that the OP mentioned no more than 30 minutes to get to boating would be one of his priorities, Westchase (which is Tampa) or anywhere in Pinellas would fit the bill.
Don't know how/why Orlando even got into the mix - given that there is no decent boating anywhere nearby

 

Yes, the geography of the bay area makes it difficult to explain to those that don't know the area how commuting is. People consider a lot of places to be "Tampa," but it is very very different to get around town depending where you start (live) so I gave a very specific example that I had personal experience with.

Orlando got in the mix because I had to compare Tampa to something else in the state as far as what the suburbs are like. And Orlando has a lot of lakes for boaters. My family used to have a boat for skiing, tubing, and fishing and enjoyed it a lot on the lakes, which were always nearby.

Although I don't know/think it can be done for $700k, but living on Davis Island would be able to get you in a safe area with a boating community close to downtown, but still has the feel of a neighborhood. The island has a private airport for those that like flying their own planes and there is a sail club or something with a small beach iirc. Of course there is a level 1 trauma center on the island if you have to go to the hospital quickly. That's really the only place I'd ever consider moving back to Tampa to (of course with a job at TGH). Otherwise I'd prefer farther west on the intracostal/beach area.

 

Look at Davis Island and Hyde Park.
There are areas in Tampa and Orlando that are very similar.

 

I used to live in Palm Harbor. I really liked the area. Lake tarpon is there and really close to the coast. i would recommend the highlands at innisbrook or Lansbrook areas.

 

I know an excellent realtor in that area, a friend for many years. She would be a real asset in any home search in the greater Tampa area. PM me for her contact.

Ed

 

+1 on Highlands at Innisbrook. I haven't been there in years, but I visited the placed not too long after they started building homes and it was a beautiful neighborhood. We were visiting Sunset beach (Gulf Rd) at the time and nice area as well. I definitely recommend that place over Tampa.

 

You lived in the wrong areas of Tampa for your needs/wants, which explains a lot. North Tampa is not really a good representation of the whole Tampa Bay area. North Tampa and Brandon would be my last choice for areas to live in in Tampa due to long commute times and traffic is horrid going into downtown from those areas. And of course, these areas are not a good place to be if you want to be "close" to the beach, so why would you even consider living there if it was a priority?

The beaches and boating on the Gulf in Tampa is outstanding and if you choose a wise place to live, you're going to be closes to it and everything else this area has to offer.

I still think your sinkholes excuse is ridiculous. Tampa is also the lightning capital of the world, so if you're paranoid about sinkholes, you would probably be scared of Lightning. Of course you would consider the risks of a sinkhole on any property in the state, just like every other thing you would look at during an inspection. But to use it as a reason not to move to an entire area? It's laughable.

 

This has been very informative as my wife had a few job offers in ORL and TB. Living in the NYC either would probably be good for me. Here we have real traffic so ORL would not faze me.

Schools are important consideration also I have young kids also.

 

Yes it would faze you. In NYC, NYC'rs drive like NYC'rs. When they come to Florida, they pull out everything that remained in their rectum, and just drive stupid. When Floridians show up somewhere up north, and we are asked why we are there, we usually just respond that we have come to their location to drive like a Northerner, drive slow, right turns from extreme left lanes, and simply irritate the locals.

 

I will agree that Floridians drive as if their only purpose is to aggravate NYers ...BUT it would a relief not to take 2 hours to travel 5 miles

I considered Orlando over Tampa because there's more hockey there and my industry , I think , is slightly better .

 

You do realize that most Floridians ARE from other areas..NY included

 

Yes, the florida water turns them into bad drivers

 

Wow, I'm baffled at this statement as I am very much into hockey.

Tampa has the Lightning, and four rinks with 7 sheets of ice within 45 minutes of central Tampa… all of which are booked from 6am through midnight. They are building a new rink with several sheets of ice in North Tampa also. Hockey is very strong in Tampa.

When I was in Orlando, all they had was the Solar Bears which are only in their second season (as a returning team), and let's face it, it's nothing like the Lightning (not even close). While I haven't been over there looking for ice in about 5 years, the did not have a very good selection of rinks there (one had been boarded up and shut down, the other I found was barely surviving).

Good to hear that the Hockey industry is strong there… but for Tampa, it is very popular and strong also, so much that you can't even get ice time.

 

This is what i was told ...i was referring to rec ie ice,roller and dek leagues. Im not into pro hockey ...i prefer to play not watch

 

The worst drivers are DC metro area. There are literally hundreds of traffic jams for NO reason. Normally because people don't know how to merge and it causes huge problems as they slow down and stop eventually rather than merge at-speed. Then you have weather changes causing more traffic jams. Snow flurries? Everything comes to a stop. Daylight saving time when it gets darker an hour earlier also causes people to slow down as they're not used to driving in low light that quickly, hah. Makes you wish they were Floridians that always are speeding. No one really speeds around DC...all slow drivers way under the limit.

 

That happens when everyone is determined to turn either right or left at every opportunity and few ever go straight.

 

Are you referring to DC or FL? Have you recently moved to Sarasota because I could've sworn your location before said something like Northern VA, DC metro, or something, which is making me confused what place you're referring to.

 

I was making a thinly veiled political comment about DC denizens.

We just relocated from north of Boston and spent time on the way down in DC visiting a nephew.

 

Go for St. Pete, monthly C&C's @ DuPont, some enthusiast Ferrari drivers around (members on this forum) Tampa has a really convenient airport, great boating options, great restaurants, great beaches and reasonable cost of living. Have been living there, and I go back once or twice ayear and hope to live there permanently in the next 10 years - currently living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands --- take my advice, opt for St Pete.