Tampa Bay, FL

Beautiful beach area all around although it seems to be sparatic and a bit of a drive from point A to point B. There was a ride to Clearwater where, looking on both sides and most of straight ahead was bright blue water. There seem to be a few neighborhoods near downtown with some character, most notably Ybor city which has a variety of cigar shops and I'm told was once the cigar capital of the country. That area looks sort of like Bourbon St in New Orleans.

Tons of beautiful women and def some very nice areas there. Ybor city was also a good time. A bit small for my taste and has alot of shaddy looking areas but id live there if i was making a ton of money there. I give it a 4 just because of the women and the beaches.

Most of Tampa proper is practically dead. There are abandoned buildings everywhere, and what does exist is only open during the day. Once you get away from downtown, it's all about resorts and fake tourist attractions. I was there for a conference a few years ago, and unless things have changed, I have no desire to go back.

I get off the plane and the first sight waiting for my bags is a hairy chested fella with an oversized gold cross slung on his neck...yapping with his bluetooth in a Brooklyn accent...augmented by his fancypants shoes that looked like they were stolen out of a bowling alley. Maybe he was a cement executive..lol. What a weird place. Outside of a beautiful ride across the I-275 bridge into Bradenton, this area seems like the geriatric ward for Ohio and Michigan with all their crap chains to boot (Waffle Houses all over). All these towns seem to go from opulence to getto within blocks. They whole vibe seemed truly sketchy. Downtown Tampa is a morgue at night. The east coast is certainly not a utopia..but I liked it a lot more than this cesspool.

I have lived just outside of Tampa for 5 years and commuting back and forth to work into Tampa is the low point of my day. Between the retirees and the rednecks, Tampa offers a unique driving experience of inattention, carelessness, discourtesy, and just plain nastiness. Parts of the area are shockingly run down. The stretch of Route #41 along the north bay and into the south end of the city is in my opinion the armpit of the west coast of Florida. I am lucky to have a professional job here as there are not many of them, this is certainly not the city I would be looking at if I were a young professional. However, Ybor City does offer interesting and entertaining nite life. Climate assessment is a subjective topic but I have never been able to shake the feeling that Florida's climate is over-rated in the 27 years I have lived in the state. For 8 months of the year the climate can be quite good but the 4 summer months are miserable. I call it 'Florida's dirty little secret'. Actually yo... Read more

Tampa is the epitime of urban sprawl. The rate of fatalities of people getting hit by cars is one of the highest, if not the highest, in the world. There is no where to walk, cars rule here. It is even dangerous to drive, because the people that drive here are from every state in the nation and adhere to no statewide rules (as if Florida had rules for anything--hence the high crime rate). As for the crime, it is very high, as is the rent. How can a huge city, full of crime and deviants, have such high rents on apartments and high house prices. Ohhh, that is right, all the rich from the northeast and midwest, and california drive the prices up. All the states mentioned must really be terrible, if they came to the labotimized conclusion to live in this city. Nowhere, in my life, have I been in such a heartless, souless, place. This city should be bulldozed at once. One other thing, most of the people that move to Florida, for some reason, all have had to leave their former state because ... Read more

The culture here is virtually non-existant. There really is nothing to do here. It's just another plain old city full of people with dead end jobs. If you're visiting, please visit someplace useful like the Everglades. Trust me, you'll hate it here.

Best city, hot girls.

Tampa is a great place to visit, but a tough place to live. Low wages, low high school graduation rates, low SAT's relative to the nation, poor schools, and almost no value added industry make it a dismal place. If you don't have career ambition or you really enjoy jobs in the call center industry, you might like it. Even then, Tampa/ St. Pete remains the closest thing to New Orleans around. To make Tampa's economics even worse, home prices have run up here as much if not more than the rest of the country due to outside speculation-mostly Northeastern immigrants. It is certainly not the wage trends around here. Be careful if you are a single educated woman looking for a guy. San Francisco might be better. There are damn few educated guys. By the way, this is not sour grapes on my part. I have one of the few value added jobs and until recently, have enjoyed a low cost of living. I can afford to buy my way of out the crappy schools, etc. Places without a large middle c... Read more

i live in the tampa region and i can't understand how anyone can rate it higher than a "2." It's dirty, trashy, and there's drug addicts all over the place. dale mabry is the worst road to drive as people won't even let you change lanes without trying to run you down. people run red lights allover the tampa area and when they turn right on a red, you're lucky to get them to yield as most of the time they just turn without stopping as if it's green. the city is full of drugs and the jobs are horrible. people commute here to get a "decent" wage and most are making 12-14 dollars an hour instead of the 8 dollars an hour they would make in their local area they commute from. (And news to the people that are reading this those 12-14 dollar an hour jobs are going away with all the people coming down here and the mexican workforce employers are pinching wages because they have so many people that NEED a job to pay their overpriced rent). i like warm weather, but this may be good weather... Read more

Crimeful, Hot/Humid, Dirty, Boring, and the people are very arogant and rude.

CRIME......RUDE PEOPLE.....AND VERY HIGH COST OF LIVING.. STAY AWAY FROM TAMPA BAY

Tampa gives me the creeps. Pretty skyline and waterfront but most of it looked scary and I was not enticed to get out of the car. Tampa has the worst and most uninviting downtown I have ever seen...no joke! I picked up a newspaper here and was astonished to see how long the crime log was in one day. This city has 2 elements... yuppy waterfront areas and the remaining majority is a scary god for saken craphole (downtown included). St. Pete across the bay is just OK. Beautiful beaches are found in St. Pete and especially Clearwater. If your coming to Tampa Bay get on the Franklin Bridge and head for the beach. Check out Ft. de Soto. Very pretty sunsets over the gulf. If you have time check out the beaches in the Sarasota and Venice area. Very pretty and clean. Since this rating is based on Tampa Bay I give it 3 stars based on St. Pete. and it's acess to Gulf Beaches.

Very nice area, although getting expensive. Just like any other city, with both good and bad areas. Tampa Bay seems to attract either the best society has to offer or the worst. As a city in Florida, transients are an everyday event, and can be divided into to categories~ those that come here looking for something better, and those that come here to get away from something at home. The former, once they get used to the lower pay of the north, seem to stay because of the lifestyle. The latter, well they seem to leave within a year after they realize that you take your "baggage" with you when you move. They move on to other Florida towns or other cities to lay low and dodge the bullet with their name on it. As a former New Jerseyite looking for better, its been a great town for me, and did more for my resume than Manhattan ever did. By NJ standards, I live in a resort (my apartment complex with pool, tennis courts, exercise room, etc), and live around the corner from some beautiful beach... Read more

Ugh, what a dump!! Rude people,drug addicts all over downtown, yuk!

When i was there the place gave me a weird feeling. LOTS of crime in this city and cops seemed to be on every corner downtown waitng for something bad to happen. My friend moved there and he hates it, nightlife is poor and the people are weird esp. the women.

I've been to the Tampa Bay area on several occasions and I'd hate to be a cop around there - Tampa seems to have a disproportionate amount of dodgy people. And I always seem to end up witnessing some civil disorder - road rage, fights, or something whenever I'm down there. Maybe it has something to do with it the area having so many transients and non natives. Outside of Tampa, heading towards Sarasota,I've never seen so many porn stores, seemingly catering to the old people that live down there. That seems to be a metaphor for what this part of Florida is about - seamy. On the upside, Tampa Bay has great weather and I have met some fun people and done some fun things in Tampa and the Gulf has nice white sand beaches even though there's usually very little surf. There are some nice neighborhoods around Tampa but Tampa itself seems unappealing in many places.

As opposed to destefanotx... Tampa is my favorite city in Florida. A young, hip, fun city w/ lots to do. Friendly people, great beaches, fun nightlife...

I loved it here, but not my favorite floridian city.

Tampa is the best...Ybor city is awsome for nightlife...kind of like a cross between New Orleans and Charleston, SC. Once you get past all the industrialized areas, like Dale Mabry, it's a very nice city. The weather here is warm all year long, but not insufferably humid. There is so much to do here with Ybor City, Channelside, and St. Pete and Clearwater beach nearby. University of South Florida is nice, but UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA is even better, and an architextural masterpiece in itself...

There is a reason hurricane Charley only skimmed it, it didnt think there was anything worth destroying. The buccs are a cool team though! lol the locals can be called tampons

Tampa gave me a weird vibe. The Tampa Bay area doesn't have much personality, and it seemed rather run-down compared to Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Orlando. Aside from relaxing at Clearwater Beach, there wasn't much to do. It's an OK city, but it just doesn't seem very Florida to me.

the friendliest place ever. totally fell in love with it. would love to live there and not one day goes past when i dont think about what a great holiday i had there.

There is really a whole lot of things to do ANYTIME of the year. Very friendly people, too. Had a great time

Decent university town with some interesting things to do. Most cities in Florida are laid out the same way with long distances between destinations. Ybor City is an interesting place to visit, it's a gentrified 19th Century cigar factory with a lot of clubs and restaurants. Busch Gardens is the top attraction in the area, it's one of the best theme parks in the country. Beaches are good, not the best in the state by far but still decent.

UGH! HORRIBLE! That was a vacation destination to forget.

It's ok in Tampa. Some ok beaches and ok restaurants. Busch Gardens. I wouldn't want to live here though, or take a long vacation here. After four days you'll start to get sick of it. Orlando is better.

The beach scene there is no better than dozens of other cities in the Sun Belt. There's little culture, which is not uncommon for the South, and the nightlife is fairly active, but low in quality. The climate is brutal for about half of the year. The restaurants are nothing special. There doesn't seem to be many people living here between the ages of 18 and 65. And the rednecks, obnoxious snowbirds and villianous-looking minority types give this place an uncomfortable feel. Furthermore, this city is in Florida, which is one of the dumpiest and crappiest states to live in. Head for the Georgia or Carolina coasts instead.

It amazes me when friends and family up North take Florida vacations and head straight to Orlando. Sure if you want to go home blurry-eyed,broke and stressed out !!! Come to Tampa Bay and spend the most relaxful week you'll ever spend!! Just the beaches alone, i could spend a week at, warm clean water, soft white sand !! Busch Gardens, party in Ybor City at night if you like the night life. Awesome funky restaurants in every price range. Go to Frenchees right on Clearwater Beach, have the grouper reuben, its the best night out you can find. Tampa is inexpensive, laid back, beautiful weather year-round, "yes a little hot in the summer" If you're lucky enough to have someone who lives here, "with a pool" LOL they will show you the ultimate Florida lifestyle. And yes, Orlando is just slightly more than an hour away, if you feel the urge to stand in lines for an hour at a time. I could go on and on, but trust me, Tampa is the perfect Florida getaway if you want a taste of al... Read more

I have been in all 50 states, and the Tampa Bay area is the best place to live. A combination of great weather, nice people, low cost of living, good business opportunities and lots of fun things to do. So come for a visit and spend some money, but don't move here. It is big enough, and we don't want to become another Atlanta. Thank you.

Tampa RuleS!!!

Go to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Pete!!!!

This place is amazing. There's this Japanese Restaurant--I forgot the name, I think it's "7"?--that's really2 good. You have to find it. Their spicy salmon roll is da bomb!! The Clearwater Beach is great too. The sand is so soft compared to the other beaches I've been in Florida. A nice place to live.

I was really surprised when I visited Tampa. I honestly hadn't expected all that much, but it was great! The beach was great (and I don't really like beaches), but I was most impressed by the food. It was wonderful, at very reasonable prices, served in fun, pleasant atmospheres.