Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Impressions of West Coast Florida? Tampa Bay and Ft. Myers in particular.

I was looking at real estate online for the coastal region of Clearwater in particular. Largo, Pinnelas County, etc. Prices seem to be coming down to a more realistic range of prices (compared to before).

Anyone has any impression or feelings on the Tampa Bay area? Also Ft. Myers as well?

I drove through Clearwater about a year ago, and was liked the white sands and clear ocean waters. Same with everywhere else in Western Florida that I went as well.

Downside is Tampa Bay isn't much of an international multicultural attraction, particularly from the Asian Pacific side of the world. Can't help but think that might change in the future though.

[sojourner1]

Florida is very popular for Europeans to go and for retirees to live there. I know there are a large number of retirees and I heard the job market is decent as well as pleasant weather most of the year. Not sure if it's just a bunch of low paying service jobs or if there are actually good paying career jobs present though I am sure there are many low wage jobs that provide services to retirees and the general public just like anywhere else. I came from Missouri where you only had low wage service jobs, skilled trades such as plumber, and then a tiny amount of professional well paying career positions as well as many financial service companies offering commissioned only pie in the sky gigs that didn't offer any pay and benefits.

I would like to know if Florida has a large number of under employed college graduates or if it is producing real career opportunities. A couple of graduates I went to college with in St. Louis, Missouri got great jobs down in Florida 2 years ago in the financial services industry though the job market in finance is terrible right now every where due to finance companies laying off thousands as a result of the credit crunch. Since it's a very tight job market up in Missouri, many graduates leave, particularly those not specializing in medical fields and skilled trades.

I would not expect real estate values to go down that much since there are many baby boomers loaded with money as a result of working their careers through a time optimal for wealth building who can afford a whole lot more than a typical 20 to 40 year old. Apartments are not cheap to my understanding in my research in considering to move to Florida. I don't know if I am going yet or not, but I do know I'd better have start up money.

[Rteacher]

I think that in the Tampa Bay region there's a lot of variety in terms of rich and poor areas, hick/red-neck towns, old and new developments, and land that's liable to be submerged under water much of the year.

I wouldn't buy anything on-line without personally inspecting the exact location.

Clearwater Beach is nice but probably expensive (and Clearwater is "world spiritual headquarters" of the Church of Scientology ...)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater,_Florida#Scientology

There are some very nice towns in Pinellas County, and some weird ones as well. St. Petersberg, the largest city, is kind of sleazy (and dangerous...) but has some interesting cultural attractions (like the Dali Museum...)

The per capita incomes in most towns (like Pinellas Park and Largo) is under $20,000 and most jobs are in service industries.

Lee County also has a lot of redneck rural spots, but Fort Myers Beach is pretty nice. However, you're getting close to some of the most expensive real estate in Florida - Sannibel and Captiva Islands ...

Lots of Red Sox (and Twins) fans descend upon the Ft. Myers area in March for spring training games (and many have bought retirement homes there ...)

Tarpon Springs notably has a big Greek community ...

Oldsmar has Tampa Bay Downs and a huge flea market...

In Hillsborough County, the city of Tampa has some positive things (including major league sports franchises) going for it, but a large portion of the residential areas seemed kind of ramshackle when I was there.

Current Tampa mayor Pam Iorio has made the redevelopment of Tampa's downtown, especially bringing in residents to the decidedly non-residential area, a priority.[32] Several residential and mixed-development high-rises are in various stages of planning or construction, and a few have already opened. Another of Mayor Iorio's initiatives is the Tampa Riverwalk, a plan which intends to make better use of the land along the Hillsborough River in downtown where Tampa began. Several museums are part of the plan, including new homes for the Tampa Bay History Center, the Tampa Children's Museum, and a the Tampa Museum of Art. [33]

The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns and unincorporated communities that were annexed by the growing city. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Tampa, New Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, North Tampa, and South Tampa.

Some well-known communities of Tampa include Ybor City, Forest Hills, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Hyde Park, Tampa Palms, College Hill and non-residential areas of Gary and the Westshore Business District
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa,_Florida

I think Ybor City is a largely Hispanic community known for its parties and music scene, while Hyde Park is a pleasant, historic downtown community.

Temple Terrace seemed like a pretty nice town (per capita income over $26,000) just north of Tampa, but it's very Christian - Billy Graham said that "he received his calling on the 18th green of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Terrace,_Florida

[hogwonguy1979]

i've been going to the region since i was a small kid. grandparents retired to sarasota in 1960 where my aunt still lives and my father lives about 100 m north of tampa. i go there around once a year or so

i think its the best part of fla. beaches are far better than the atlantic side, not as many tourists as miami or orlando. some great culture, the dali museum in st pete and the ringling museum in sarasota are world class. ybor city in tampa is nice, lots of cigar facs there.

lots of retirees and canadian snowbirds down there. so be aware the rests start filling up at 4:30

nice but no thailand, aint gonna make it there this winter

[Tiger Beer]

Some interesting responses here.

I drove around Florida last year. Only spent two days in Tampa Bay. Not enough to really get a good sense of it, except a few impressions. Just want to post them to see if others agree or not.

Rteacher made a few references to it being redneck/hick. I did feel a sense of that. Also feels southern rooted (houses with huge porches, trees that have that swampy look, swamp somewhat as well probably) and some of the accents. That being said, it is also a huge haven for Midwesteners, so I'm sure I'm not totally right about that with the people though, but the looks feel like it somewhat.

I also noticed how residential most of the Bay Area felt combined with strip malls when it wasn't residential. Took forever to drive anywhere. The city isn't really setup that well, but it a large Bay Area afterall, so can't expect too much there! Some of the drives over water areas was gorgeous. A lot of fisherman in that area I noticed as well.

I went to Ybor City, and it was quite small but with nightlife. For some reason, I would have thought the entire Tampa Bay area would have a lot more than just that. I liked Ybor City, but it wasn't much of a neighborhood that you'd live in, unless you were just really really really into ONLY bars and nothing then that. Even then, I'm sure you'd get real tired of it real quick, as there just aren't that many bars to keep one entertained.

The beaches over by Clearwater beach were gorgeous! That is what would make the entire Tampa Bay area well worth living in!

Downtown Tampa depressingly looked like most midwestern cities. Just run down and dodgy and not a place you'd want to be walking around much at night. Not scarey like some cities, but just nothing happening and very empty, making the shadows all the more suspicious.

Another surprisingly thing to me about the entire Tampa Bay area is how solidly caucasian and slight african it is. It hasn't really been touched by Asian or Latino culture too much at all from what I can tell. That's actually a serious disadvantage particularly in the restaurant department. Actually Florida in general doesn't seem to have much Asian influence. I'm sure Miami gives it some Latino flavor, but not nearly the level of most other American cities. I'm sure it'll catch up with its great weather and beaches.

Seems like the thing holding back is lousy salaries/wages to employees.

Also, whats the story on hurricanes? I read that hurricane insurance is outrageous there as it is everywhere in Florida (it seems). But I thought Tampa was kind of out not too effected by that like most other places in Florida.

Anything else? Is a lot of the land actually swampland and due to heavy flooding or anything unusual like that?

Granted this is just my impression from two days, but would love to either be confirmed or adjusted on any of this.

[Tiger Beer]

*Bump*

Anyone else to add anything on Western Florida? Or Florida in general?

[bossface]

my dad lives not far from the water in st. pete, so i've visited many times. i lived in downtown st. pete for 6 months a few years back. overall, i hated it. pretty much every part of it. even the weather. 87 degrees and humid in february is fine for a thailand (or florida) vacation, but actually living with the heat and humidity for an extended period of time is awful.

almost everybody there is a transplant from somewhere else, which doesn't give the region much of a culture of it's own. i was there for a couple months before i even met anybody who was actually from florida, and the native floridians i met were the worst of all, like 1950s racist caricatures. it was not uncommon to see grossly overweight women in halter taps walking down the middle of a busy street barefoot and carrying a case of busch light.

i tried to go out when i could, to beach bars, to ybor city, to rock shows in downtown st. pete bars, but i had very little money there (as other posters mentioned, the job market is terrible) plus i'm not sure if i had an enjoyable night out the entire time. again, largely because of the people.

the good aspects of the region - baseball spring training (march only), the dali, the st. pete museum of fine arts (nice for a small venue), and of course the beaches. because of those things and because my dad lives there, i enjoy visiting now, but never for longer than 3 or 4 days once every 2 or 3 years.

[thepeel]