[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by AmineToyo

Pinellas more desirable?? what???

Pinellas COUNTY? more desirable than Tampa's msa? not HIllborough?

The City of St. Petersburg is crime central, the City of Tampa has its share as well
St. Petersburg is now populated with some real weirdos/strange people - southern part of the city is *almost* ghetto and crime ridden.

"Desirability" is relative and subjective I guess. I find Manatee and Sarasota Counties "more desirable" in the region. I find Lakeland "more desirable" in many many ways.

Newsflash: Pinellas County is part of the Tampa MSA.

But you knew that, didn’t you? Or are you too focused on trashing the place with your 10th C-D account after previous ones kept getting banned?

[silverct9a]

I along with many within my demographic value amenities, downtown activity, interconnectivity with other hub cities in my MSA; However you're right that these factors alone don't make a city so I don't necessarily disagree with most of your post (aside from the unnecessary name calling at the end). Those factors however DO make a city desirable on a regional and even national stage which in turns lures investment, jobs, and growth.

If one is older and not working age, they probably care little for this and a smaller, more suburban, and less dynamic area would most likely suit them best.

Also, I agree with the earlier statement that Tampa is probably only a notch above Jacksonville on the city criteria that matters.

Originally Posted by AmineToyo

yes, but downtown St. Petersburg is downtown, it's NOT indicative of the City's environs/city limits one bit -

What's going on "Downtown" in any city doesn't automatically make ANY city a great place! - certainly NOT downtown City of St. Petersburg - which is changing into a rather strange cultural anamoly given the rest of The City of St.Petersburg PROPER. It's odd for me to fully understand how and why some people choose to focus on a city centre ! that's NOT where most people reside in most any city ! Just look at Chicago for example - yeah, around the loop or near north seems okay, but the rest of the City especially on the sw and so side is complete trash and mostly crime central.
There are similar examples of Atlanta, Memphis, New Orleans, Birmingham and others I think...the overall desirabliity of any City in toto, has little to do with "what's happening downtown" or how many restaurants, theaters and galleries there are, or if they have electric bikes or scooters to ride around for free or how many dogwalkers live there. Any City is far more complicated than that.....well for most lucid, sober and normal prospective residents.

[silverct9a]

Glad I'm not the only one who has really noticed this about Tampa. I live in South Florida but regularly visit Tampa, Riverview/Fish Hawk, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs as I have several good friends and even my best friend/former college roommate who live there so I'm not spouting these statements lightly.

They get so excited to "show me around" since they know the wife and I live South Florida and in their mind I can tell there's this "well we're just as good as Miami/South Florida" competition. When pushed I'll literally let them know there is no competition at the amenities, transit, walkable neighborhoods, celebrity, and international importance levels...most times however I just nod my head and play along.

I've bolded your statement because in South Florida and Miami especially, "fake it til you make it" is literally a way of life for many down here - we're guilty beyond belief for this. Between the constant designer labels, leased luxury cars, and name dropping it is exhausting to be around those types. The one difference however is that down here one CAN actually make it with enough effort...not so sure about Tampa however due to my PERCEIVED lack of combinations of cultural embrace of "hustle culture", infrastructure, and just plain opportunities (high probability of running into high net worth individuals down here if you're in the right circles) in Tampa Bay.

I can provide many examples of people I know who 15 years ago were complete "losers/dreamers" now fast forward today they're pretty successful and even rubbing shoulders with local politicians and even celebrities...I'm still shocked at times at how Miami's hustle culture can produce results - even if it's nontraditional.

Originally Posted by Daryl_G

I totally agree. When I describe what it is like to live in Tampa I pretty much describe this "Almost" position you illustrated that confuses those who have never lived here. I use a lot of "Well is sort of" "kinda like" "it has some" "it could be" and "it is and it is not" vague statements because Tampa is what you described as an Almost city.

The cost of living here is outrageous for what the city is and what most jobs pay. I look around daily at all the strip malls, franchise big box stores full or low-pay workers, and job listings all hovering around $40k annually and wonder how most afford to live here. My salary puts me further up the income ladder as I am in healthcare and I feel underpaid for the cost of living in the area so how are retail and service workers making it here?

I often feel it's a "fake it but never make it" city (working in healthcare may skew my observations). People live right at the edge of affordability or slightly over and just get to that look and feel of living in a "cool and happening" place that does not really exist. Tampa is somewhat of a weird and difficult place to describe accurately. It really feels like a "Photoshopped" city, looks great in pictures and video but it feels totally different and worse living here.