Reviews & Comments
Tampa, FL
This city is amazing -
4/15/2016I was born in and grew up in Fort Lauderdale and it was great, 1990s and all and the times were different, when teachers actually wore button up dresses and before cellphones, Internet, before all of that, the place was incredible, safe and family friendly I used to play outside every single day, bikes, scooters, playing with a tree you know before video games, Xbox, before all of that, when furbies were trendy remember that? I live there for nearly two decades and Ive lived all across the United States in nearly every major metro area in the US and I lived in Tampa for 3 years recently, moved back to south florida for a year and then moved back to Tampa. The quality of life is so much better in Tampa than South Florida, the people are still nice and still have manners, the drivers drive normal if you know what I mean and the place is just perfect. South Florida is only decent for people who have a lot of money or maybe if you're really, really attractive and really lucky you'll be a trophy wife or maybe you'll win the lottery but other than that the rest of the population is just barely getting by and it shows, they look miserable, it's written all across their faces and it was really noticeable after living in Tampa for 3 years. If youre not a trust fund kid from Palm Beach or a successful lawyer, doctor or golddigger youre probably working a minimum wage job at Target or stuck in a dead end job with a wife you dont even like and kids you regret barely scraping by with an average life and hating every moment of it but hey what can you do right? Thats how most people live in South Florida now, rat race, miserable and just getting by pretending to enjoy life but everyone looks miserable! Everyone I know from Fort Lauderdale who went to colleges in different areas of Florida and other states have not gone back to South Florida and have no plans of going back, some go back for a couple months and haul out of there as fast as they can because they notice after living somewhere else that South Florida is not livable anymore. There's no reason to live like that, with the rude people, crazy drivers and high crime rates, it's like a government experiment to see how they can drive you crazy down there, it wasn't always like that! But anyway this is a review for Tampa not south florida, the quality of life in Tampa is infinitely better in 2016 than South Florida, the people, oh my goodness the people are so nice and sweet and well mannered and respectful I feel like I'm living in a pretty perfect postcard like seriously I don't know why you'd love anywhere else in Florida, Orlando without Disney is um, well there's a reason Disney makes so much money, there's nothing in Orlando but Disney and UCF but Tampa is amazing it has everything you could want without feeling like you're in hell, actually quite the opposite it's beautiful, quaint, family friendly, safe you have USF and the military base, you have retirees and tourists from Canada, you have spring breakers but not the lunatics that go to Miami, actually nice, respectable and adorable people from up north. Sure there's only one Costco in clearwater and one in Brandon but I hear they're opening another one near west chase but don't quote me on it. I love it's so incredibly different and there's plenty of schools, restaurants, bars etc whatever you need and God did I mention how sweet the people are? I love Tampa and highly recommend the place to anyone looking for a medium sized metro area in Florida that is family first and yet has everything you need or want. Seriously I don't really want to leave!
Tampa, FL
re: Making a little better - 1/17/2016 -
4/14/2016I lived in Tampa for three years and I used to feel the same way but its only because so didn't appreciate the quaintness of it, if that makes sense, making Tampa more "city like" would just turn it ink another Miami Metro and then what would be left? Orlando. Tampa needs to stay safe the way it is, safe, family friendly and medium sized, otherwise families and retirees wouldn't want to come here they'll leave for Naples and Orlando suburbs, if you want a large city feel just move to Fort Lauderdale, that's way more LA than even LA can get, since Los Angeles is so sprawling it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere, but In Miami you really get that big city feel, rude drivers, crazy crimes. Anyone looking for the big city feel can just go down to Fort Lauderdale it's only three hours from Tampa but Tampa doesn't need to turn into another LA or Miami its perfect
Tampa, FL
re: Making a little better - 1/17/2016 -
4/14/2016No! It's perfect the way it is
Fort Lauderdale, FL
re: Do NOT move here! - 7/1/2015 -
4/14/2016I know exactly what you're talking about, Fort Lauderdale used to be amazing I mean amazing in the 90s but its changed for the worst and its really sad to see, I recommend you move to Tampa! I am a Fort Lauderdale native and grew up there in the 90s when it first started to develop and become a big metro area and I recently went back for a year and WOW it's not what it used to be if you want a safe, family friendly and sane place to live absolutely do not move to Fort Lauderdale move to the Tampa area or Clearwater instead, everyone I went to high school with in Fort Lauderdale who went off to colleges in different areas of Florida and other states have no returned and have no plans of going back there, the drivers are insane, road rage incidents in Broward lead to shootings on the highway it's not a joke, and manners ? Forget about it! If you come from NYC or LA you will like Fort Lauderdale because there's less people and its relaxed and all compared to downtown LA or NYC but seriously if you want a place with nice people, family friendly environment, yet still a city vibe move to the Tampa metropolitan area not south florida this is coming from someone who lived in Palm beach county and Broward county for two decades back when the place was nice and liveable, now unless you want to be a drug dealer, hooker or you're an aspiring model of some kind, there's really no reason to live in Fort Lauderdale. Now despite all of this I plan on moving back to Fort Lauderdale and living there for a long time but for people from other states I absolutely do not recommend south florida for you, I lived in Tampa for three years and the people are so much nicer, friendlier and have basic manners! The drivers are also not lunatics, I am moving back to Fort Lauderdale because I can take it and all of my memories are there but for people who middle class income and want to live somewhere with sane people do my I repeat do not move to South Florida it's only liveable if you have a lot of money or you have nerves of steel and are willing to work at whole foods for minimum wage. Think you're going to move to South Florida and magically become a billionaire and magically be transformed into your dream, forget about it, if you move here real life will hit you in the face really quickly. Now I must state that I will love South Florida forever and I will go back but for out of staters save yourselves ! Don't do it! There isn't enough space here to write why it's not a good idea to move to South florida from another area in 2016.
Safety Harbor, FL
This place is an incredible safe haven just like t -
4/14/2016I've lived across the entire US, Fort Lauderdale and Palm beach for nearly two decades, Tampa for three years, Dallas, Tulsa, been to New York, Naples, Fort Myers, Orlando, Los Angeles, Seattle you get the point, but I recently moved to Safety Harbor two months ago in 2016 and this place is amazing, it's quaint, safe and family friendly, this is the perfect place to get away for families and anyone who wants to visit Florida but doesn't want the hustle and bustle feel of places like Miami, even though I don't plan on living here for very long I think I will definitely visit quite often. This place still has that safe 90s feel with ice cream trucks and little kids playing outside without a care in the world, I love this place, I highly recommend it to tourists and anyone in other parts of Tampa I lived in Hillsborough for 3 years and I only wish I had spent those three years in Safety Harbor instead. Highly recommend this city/village.