moving to tampa
tommyWe got a letter from a faraway reader, and he is asking for some Tampa-based assistance. I’ve supplied some information, but feel free to add to it as you see fit. Here’s the missive:
First allow me to say that I’m a great fan of Sticks of Fire. It’s a daily read for me, and is proving to be an invaluable resource.
My fiancée and I are planning a move to Florida from the Washington, DC area. She has applied to Stetson, and we expect to be moving some time around February.
What this means, of course, is that I’ll need a job in order to make our transition easier. Moving isn’t a lot of fun. Moving without any money is less fun. At any rate, I’ve spent most of my professional career in Washington, in politics and government. I have certainly enjoyed working for a non-profit for the last two years, and would be willing to consider a move to a non-profit in Tampa, but I’m open to new ideas and suggestions.
I would very much appreciate any ideas you might have, any suggestions you could give, even just on the transition from a place like Washington to a city like Tampa. Thanks in advance and please keep up the good work at Sticks of Fire.
Sincerely,
Lee Ving DeeCee
Dear Lee,
First of all, I’d like you to know that your taste in blogs is unsurpassed. Sticks should be a daily read for you and everyone you know.
Congratulations on your wise decision to relocate to the Tampa Bay area. Stetson is a fine school, and your fiancée should find it to her liking – as long as she is not a blogger.
February is an excellent time for a move to the area as well. If you make it by early February, you should plan on taking in the Gasparilla Festival and Parade. It’s probably like DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival, except with pirates, beads, and flashing girls instead of uh, trees.
There are other differences you can expect as well:
- Slow down: Everything in Florida is much more laid back than many places, especially DC.
- Don’t offer advice: It’s true – we really don’t care how you did it “back home.” Any suggestions that begin with “Back home we used to…” that are met with one finger pointing up (north) (don’t take offense, it only means you should drive “back home”).
- Income Tax: Ain’t got none for the State, County, City, Neighborhood, or District. Just one for your soon-to-be-former neighbors’ pockets.
- Weather: Leave your snow shovel, buy more t-shirts.
- Attire: Leave your three-piece, buy more t-shirts.
- Crime: DC was once the Murder Capital of the US, and Wikipedia even has a separate entry on Crime in Washington DC. People move to Florida after they have murdered, then become pirates.
- Sports: Your teams are named “Washington,” but play elsewhere. Our teams are named “Tampa Bay,” but actually play on land. For Redskins games, check out Elmer’s in Ybor City. For playoff games, try Raymond James Stadium and the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa (explaining this is a post in itself).
- Business: DC – government and tourism. Tampa Bay – tourism and call centers.
- Diversity: DC’s tourism board website has a section for GLBT. Tampa Bay’s tourism board website has a section for FAQ’s.
- Food: Here you have the Cuban Sandwich, or eat at Hooters. DC doesn’t want anything to do with Cubans.
- History: In DC there are too many places to mention. In Tampa there are too few.
- Politics: Big difference here - Washington politicians are concerned with an entire country of diverse citizens. Hillsborough County politicians are just trying to get rid of gay people and titty bars. But these locals fight harder and dirtier, ‘cuz it’s more important. However, none of our mayors have been arrested for crack. They do get their cars immobilized though.
I’m certain there are more changes in store for you. Check the comments in case others have more information.
As far as finding a job for you, the unemployment level here is low. You will likely have little problem finding something that appeals to you. I am not aware of any specific help needed in the non-profit sector, but I can get you some work mowing grass. Perhaps the great local SOF readers are aware of openings within the non-profit sector. (Readers, this is where you leave a comment that I can forward on to Lee Ving DeeCee).
Generally, if you like cigars, bugs, saltwater, strippers, sunshine, traffic, or pirates, you’ll do just fine here. Just don’t be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store.
At any rate, we here at Sticks wish you the best of luck with the move, and look forward to welcoming you into our great community! Let me know when you get settled, and I’ll buy you a real Cuban Sandwich.
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November 30th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Hi Lee-
I moved to Tampa from D.C. ten years ago and lived to tell about it. Here’s what I miss: free museums, efficient mass transit, non-stop flights out of the country, and Kramerbooks. Here’s what I don’t miss: winter and pantyhose.
As for the benefits of living in Tampa, I couldn’t have summed it up better than Tommy. However, I might add that you get hurricane near-miss survival bragging rights. That’s right. We don’t ever get hit by hurricanes right here in Tampa but we do get to brag about hoarding batteries and watching channel 9 weather updates around the clock to our friends back up north.
Good luck with the job hunt. I assume your wife is going to Stetson Law School. It doesn’t really matter because within a year or two you’ll both be relaxing in flip-flops and writing humorous Florida crime novels anyway. It’s the air we breathe. Keep in touch with the Sticks!
November 30th, 2005 at 9:48 pm
Hope you like sweating through three clothes changes a day. Your new car smell will turn to mildew smell in three years. Two words…fire ants. Scenery you could live without? Old fat men with everywhere hair walking around without shirts. Also, try not to stare at the leather faces of the perpetually browned sun worshippers. I know it’s freaky but staring is just impolite, even here in heat rash country.
November 30th, 2005 at 10:25 pm
I hope your move goes smoothly. I have lived in Tampa for six years now and I really love it. I might mention housing is very expensive here and pay is very low. There are a lot of businesses having problems finding people to work for them because they can’t afford to live here.
November 30th, 2005 at 10:35 pm
The governor and the NRA would like me to pass on the message to Lee: Welcome! You’re in a state of the union where people can shoot you if they feel threatened by you! Our pigs are protected by the state consitution, our homosexuals are not (and they are hunted down through “Storms” in the Hillsborogh County Commission).
One thing that Florida and DC have in common - they both suffer from cases of Bush… But the comparison between the two is for another post on another blog all together.
Another thing we have in common is Doug Williams: Tampa chased him away and DC won a Super Bowl with help from him.
Hockey games are not places for reading, doing office work or snoozing… I’ve heard MCI Center has that problem… The St. Pete Times Forum does not.
November 30th, 2005 at 10:42 pm
Living in DC, you were about 4 hours away from driving to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Richmond, NYC, Pittsburgh - heck, even Newark.
You should be able to get to Miami in four hours, assuming you want to visit a dirtier, louder, more tension-filled Tampa. You can hit
CreepyArtificeVilleThe Mouse HoleOrlando in an hour. That’s about it.DC has a fantastic public transportation system. Tampa has a bus service no one uses because it’s not terribly helpful and a trolley no one uses because we’re not San Francisco. We did vote for a high-speed rail service. Then we voted against it four years later.
The fickle politics should feel familiar.
December 1st, 2005 at 6:11 am
Housing is cheap compared to the DC market, but you likely already know that. Rentals are also quite a bit cheaper. You probably don’t want to get anything too close to the Stetson campus, it is not the best area. Good news is it is very central so you can get a place pretty much anywhere in the bay area and she can commute relatively easily. A lot of people that work in Tampa actually commute in from Pasco and Pinellas counties so you have a lot of areas to consider. I have lived all over the area for the past 30 years so if you have any questions please let me know. Still a lot of new construction available as well as vacant land, condos, waterfront. You really have a lot to choose from depending on you means and personal taste. One thing very differnet from DC, you will both need reliable cars, other posters have warned you but I can’t stress it enough you will be driving youself everywhere so budget for gas and car maintenance.
Employment - you will get a job, will it pay as much or be in the same field as DC? Probably not. Just so you know one of the area’s largest employers is Verizon and they are hiring all the time for various positions related to the new fiber optic network being laid, they pay better than many area employers but it can be a real difficult company to work for.
December 1st, 2005 at 8:22 am
Just a random note, but “Lee Ving” was the name of the actor who played Mr. Body in the movie “Clue.” A movie about…someone blackmailing people who make a living in Washington DC. Ha! Sorry. Just thought it was a funny coincidence.
December 1st, 2005 at 8:51 am
Hey guy, I moved back home to Florida after a five years in The District with a new wife and the ambition of a someone looking to take advantage of his GI Bill and Bright Futures Scholarship. We got straight bitch-slapped last summer with the hurricanes that chased back to Polk county to shell up with the relatives. When we finally regained our senses, we were both full of piss and venom at the general Tampa Bay area.
I’ve since cooled off and I have grown to love days like today. Nice, breezy, brisk. Not ball-shrinkingly cold. I still miss alot of things about DC, don’t get me wrong. However, Tampa is coming around and I can see myself missing it: when I move back to the Northeast. A few words of advice… 1) scout out the area you wanna live. I suggest Hyde Park for displaced yuppies. It has a similar feel to Arlington. 2)Eat a Cuban Sandwich at La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City
Have fun in the move my fellow Washingtonian!
December 1st, 2005 at 1:37 pm
After reading all these comments I’m considering moving…Good way to make this guy feel good about coming here?
I love living here and yes there is good and bad, but that is everywhere.
December 1st, 2005 at 2:15 pm
Ahh .. *tsk-tsk* Tommy, you forgot to point them in the right direction of what’s right with Tampa’s arts and culture, The Jobsite Theater.
December 1st, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Good point. I think we joke because we love. It’s just always so much easier to criticize.
For me the good of this city isn’t something you can explain in a quick post. It’s more the overall quality of life I feel that makes me proud to live here - totally unlike my time in Miami. It’s the grand sum of all the days that end with me thinking, “Life is good,” that make me realize that this city certainly contributes to those good vibes.
Hey, I did it! Sort of. Seriously, I think the fact that there are so many of us writing about this city on a daily basis that proves Tampa is worthy of some civic pride. If we thought this town was a hole, we wouldn’t care that Ronda Storms was crapping all over it.
December 1st, 2005 at 6:01 pm
Geez, David. You’re right. Glad you brought it up!!
December 2nd, 2005 at 10:32 am
Welcome to the Giant Whang!
You will like it here, just move from air conditioned space to air conditioned space in the summer.
Don’t get rid of all your warm clothes, there are some chilly ones in the winter. My partner brought a bunch of wool socks when he moved here to be with me. HA! I laughed, but his feet are warm. He’s been wearing them.
If any of your vehicles were ever exposed to salt/sand on the winter roads and it’s an older car, thoroughly wash the under carriage. I mean thoroughly.
And watch the four-way stops! It’s not that people are rude, they are polite. Consequently, they’re all waving everyone else on. It’s like a Abott and Costello skit.
As for history, there are plenty of fantabulous places to visit. Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, and Safety Harbor have quaint downtowns and there are some beautiful examples of lovely architecture.
And really? Where else can you visit Celebration Station and travel about a quarter of a mile to visit a strip club? It is far out, I tell ya. Far out.
Good luck and feel free to write any time.
Otherwise, it’s a fine place. Personally, I’d rather be in D.C. and I miss the snow. I do! Still, there are charms here that can’t be beat.
B
December 2nd, 2005 at 10:33 am
And don’t forget the Jacarandas blooming in the spring. Beautiful!
B
December 2nd, 2005 at 11:41 am
I was born and raised here, and love it still! I have visited places up north, and yes, the cities are more sophisticated, but I can not get past the bitter cold of winter. Thus, as far as southern cities go, I feel Tampa is among the best. I lived in Orlando for awhile, but am so glad to be moving back to the bay area. I Obsess about moving back. I reccomend checking out St Pete to live. It has it’s own downtown district filled with things to do, and is closer to the beaches. It is peaceful, quiet and clean (with the exception of a concentrated area of blight that is easy to stay away from), but minutes from everything Tampa has to offer.
January 5th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
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January 6th, 2006 at 12:55 am
I moved to Tampa last year after living in Falls Church and working in D.C. for 33 years. Although I miss many, many things about D.C. (the great bike paths and the beautiful open spaces), I don’t miss the weather. I’m picking tangerines off the trees in my yard and raking leaves in a t-shirt and shorts in January!
I don’t know how old you both are, but you’ll be surprised at how young the folks in this area are. It’s not just a bunch of elderly retirees at all (drive down to Venice for that).
If your fiance is going to be at Stetson’s Gulfport campus, I’d advise living in St. Pete. Some parts of Gulfport are great/funky, but living in downtown St. Pete or in the yuppie Old Northeast neighborhood in St. Pete would remind you a little of some sections of D.C. and Arlington. Walk around the Old Northeast area and ask some of the dog walkers for info on rentals in the neighborhood. I lived in a 1-bedroom condo (The Madison) at $900 month in downtown St. Pete for 6 months when I first got here and loved it. You could definitely find something cheaper. Housing is MUCH cheaper here than in the D.C. area. I now live in north Tampa (Carrollwood), but only because my partner got a job teaching at USF.
You’ll be surprised at the great restaurants and cultural offerings in the Tampa Bay area. For example, check out some of the shows at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Some of the acts never come to D.C. And many of the shows at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center are just as good as shows at the Kennedy Center. But then how many times did you go to the Kennedy Center anyway or do any of the other great things that D.C. had to offer?
People always talk about a city’s museums, aquariums, theaters, restaurants, bars, etc., but where are you really going to be spending most of your time? At home and at work, so concentrate on making those two places great and the rest will fall into place.
Just go to a few beach bars to watch the sun set over the gulf, and you’ll see why lots of former D.C. residents like Tampa Bay.
Ray
P.S. My only complaint is the traffic. It’s no better than D.C. and there seem to be more SUVs and large pickups that drive too fast and change lanes too often. But hey, I’m approaching geezerhood and have to drive on Dale Mabry all the time, so my perception may be somewhat skewed.
January 6th, 2006 at 1:00 am
For an example of the housing available in the Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Pete.
January 6th, 2006 at 1:03 am
For an example of the housing available in the Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Pete, check out this URL, which I’ve had to make not look like a URL so it will get posted:
January 6th, 2006 at 1:04 am
Well, damn it, just check out Craig’s List, okay?
January 6th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
I fixed it, Ray!
January 25th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Hi guys. I’m formerly from DC, now Michigan, also en route to a job transfer in Tampa. I have 3 kids, will be working near the intersection of Interstates 75 and 4. Can anyone recommend neighborhoods that aren’t too suburban but near that location?
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:13 am
[...] A commenter from a previous post on Sticks needs some help. Ben-DC asks: Hi guys. I’m formerly from DC, now Grand Rapids, Michigan, also en route to a job transfer in Tampa. I have 3 kids, will be working near the intersection of Interstates 75 and 4. Can anyone recommend neighborhoods that aren’t too suburban but near that location? [...]
December 17th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Hey guys,
Just stumbled across this page! I’m an Aussie who’s moving to Tampa with my soon to be US wife! We’re both late 20’s and we haven’t found a place to live yet so we’re up for ideas of some middle - upperclass areas that cater to us late 20’s early 30’s types. We both love going out and being active and we like the odd drink or too. As for the weather, i’m Australian so the heat thing won’t even register with me and my wife is from Arizona so i think we’ll be fine on that front! Thanks for all your help!
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Hey Lee,
Have you moved yet? I have a lovely Town house in Charleston Corners. We’ve moved to LA and are looking to rent it out. Let me know if you’d like to see pictures. jenniferelias@kw.com