Comments on: sometimes tampa

By: Ribbie

Ribbie — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 18:37:56 +0000

I’d give it a 8-9. I’ve had ties to this area since ‘91 and have lived here since ‘96. Before that I lived in several different parts of the country. Tampa is my home and I’m here to stay. Whenever I travel I always feel fortunate that Tampa is my home and not some small town in the middle of nowhere.
The few negetives that I have are the lack of good public transit and the overly conservative government(who keeps electing rhonda storms?).

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 14:13:51 +0000

A fence-sitting 5. Like the “Always Tampa” Blog auther, I love and hate it equally. I’ve always lived in this area, and feel desparate to leave it at times. But my family is here, and I know this place. I’d surely miss it if I left.

By: r*

r* — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:14:12 +0000

8
Nice weather, beaches close by, cheap consumer goods, good nightlife, booming housing, mostly clean parks

People drive like brainless idiots with nowhere to go and there’s no public transportation

By: Sister

Sister — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 02:30:22 +0000

I’ve lived here 5 years as of yesterday. I’ll give it a 7 out of 10. Mass transit here is awful. I hate the sprawl, the traffic, etc., just as everyone above has mentioned. I like the weather–love the heat. Tampa has always struck me as a city acting like it’s more than it is. A small city with big city dreams. We’ll see

By: editengine

editengine — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 17:35:57 +0000

I have never lived outside of Tampa. This looks like it leaves me in the minority here I was born at St Joseph hospital and grew up in Thonotosassa. My family has been here since the early part of the century. I’ve lived in Tampa, now in Riverview and I am moving to St Pete. I have traveled to other cities often and enjoyed most of them but I always want to come home. Yes it is hot, the traffic is bad, and local government is exasperating. I am from here though, I know that I can walk slow and drink a lot of iced tea and the heat doesn’t feel so bad, I stay off the roads at the worst times, and I always vote against the incumbant. I also know that I can get a good Cuban sandwich here any day of the week, that fresh shrimp on the menu means it really is fresh, and I can count on being able to wear shorts almost all year round.

By: spiralsands

spiralsands — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 20:04:17 +0000

I’ve lived here a long time but I’ve also lived in many other places. I think living here is easier financially than a few of the other places I’ve been (or it used to be anyway)but it’s harder in other ways. Area drivers are less courteous here and people generally less friendly. I hate to say it but it’s true. Everyone seems to laud the climate but I want to know what’s so great about taking 5 showers a day and going through every teeshirt you have just to stay dry. Also, first thing in the morning you can walk outside and get a nice big lungfull of moldy hot steam. A friend from Colorado was in my car and commented about the faint mildew smell. I told her that after 5 years in Florida, every car smells this way. And the beaches? They are starting to look like Flushing, New York with all the high rise apartments. Sure, there is alot of entertainment here. The many schools in the area keep things alive with youth to counter all the pencil-necks driving around in their boatmobiles. I do love WMNF but I can hear it on the web like I do everytime I’m in Oklahoma City. I love Oklahomans. They’re the friendliest people in the country. The last word…I won’t be retiring here. I actually like snow.

By: tim

tim — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 17:18:24 +0000

i haven’t lived here long enough to know. i just passed the 11th month mark, after 25 years in ohio. i really can’t say either way. it’s better than Zanesville, OH. i know that much.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:35:09 +0000

I’d say about an 8. I’m from a sorta small town in Georgia (pop. 50,000) where there is one Catholic church and one synagogue (all others are Protestant churches); one community theater guild; one mall; one college and one technical school, and so on.

It was in Tampa where I ate my first bagel, where I first saw two people of the same sex holding hands, where I befriended people of different backgrounds, where I first ate hummus, where I can choose between films, theatre, art galleries, concerts and various festivals when going out, and where I got a good job making decent money.

Yes, I find the crime frightening and the traffic annoying, but to me Tampa offers a wealth of opportunities — for education, for employment, for enlightenment, and for entertainment.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 19:29:43 +0000

Judges score: 7.5

I lived in Tampa in the 90s, then moved away to Atlanta for several years. Since I returned in 2001, I’ve seen Tampa morph into a sorta-city; an awkward adolescence before we become an interesting and attractive adult.

I see so much potential that is just now starting to be realized. I think the downtown of 2010 will eclipse the one we call home today in all categories: culture, architecture, density, skyline. It will be greener and more vibrant, and I look forward to what it can become.

Transportaton is a challenge, as in all growing cities, and we need to do a better job of tackling this with some foresight and courage.

Yes, I hate the crime, the disfunctional relationship between the city and county, and – right now – Hurricane Dennis.

Of course, driving down Bayshore with the top down in the middle of January doesn’t suck!

By: David Jenkins

David Jenkins — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:38:48 +0000

So conflicted … so maybe I have to give it a 6. Right now.

Big cons for me right now:
The County Commission isn’t making it easier for me to be nicer in my score.
I’ll never like the dog-days heat and hurricane season.
The sprawl is obscene (It’s NOT just as bad as other cities our size – don’t be fooled. Places like Portland have laws against sprawl). The sprawl is also defeating a lot of other things – the vitality of downtown and surroudning neigborhoods, the “arts district,” mass transit etc.
With the # of people that live here, the progressive/grass roots initiatives should be stronger. It’s getting better though.

Pros for me now:
My home in Tampa Heights
My theater company – Jobsite. I feel like I’m making a difference.
In general I feel plugged in and involved, and I’m tenacious enough to stick it out. After all, it’s not Jacksonville (my hometown). I loved it enough here at USF to move back after grad school.
I do feel like progress is being made – downtown, Tampa Heights, the local arts and culture.

Regardless of any cons right now, I plan on staying. I just want it to be what it can be.