[alwaystrying]

I posted the following in the Orlando Forum. It was brought to my attention that I would get skewed responses. I didn't know there was a general Florida forum...but here you are!! GREAT!!

Hello everyone,

My family has the opportunity to temporarily move to either Orlando or Tampa. We have never lived in Florida, but have visited the Orlando area and enjoyed it.

Since we are not very familiar with Florida I would LOVE your input. Please consider the following factors when advising:

1. Young family (mid 30's...well, that's young to me anyway) with two children (1 and 3).
2. This is temporary, not to exceed 18 months. Thus, we will be renting. We can't pay more then $1500 per month. However, we require a safe and family friendly neighborhood. Is that possible with the given budget? We prefer to live in a single family home but are open to other options (condo's, townhome's).
3. I would really like to attend grad school during this time. I was looking at the public administration programs at UCF and USF. Any opinions on either of these schools?

We are kinda leaning towards Orlando because we highly enjoyed our visit. However, I've heard that there is a lot of crime. I'm a paranoid mama bear and that scares me.

I've heard Tampa is great, but crazy expensive.

Wish we could go test run both places, but that's not possible. So, those of you in the know...please share your wisdom!

Thanks you so very much!!

[vaughanwilliams]

Why exclusively Orlando or Tampa? Both areas have loads of smaller, cheaper and safer cities to live. I'd go for the Tampa area-I'm not a fan of of land locked Florida cities.

[alwaystrying]

Originally Posted by vaughanwilliams

Why exclusively Orlando or Tampa? Both areas have loads of smaller, cheaper and safer cities to live. I'd go for the Tampa area-I'm not a fan of of land locked Florida cities.

Those are the two cities where my hubby's employer is offering him the opportunity. I'm not at all familiar with Florida, so I don't know anything about surrounding area's, but I'm totally open to learning.

[vaughanwilliams]

$1500 a month will get you a nice place in St. Petersburg (half hour or so commute to Tampa). USF has a satellite campus in St. Pete.

[user8]

Whichever pays better.

Tampa is not "crazy expensive" but I guess that's a relative term. It's cheap down here IMO.

[gypsychic]

You could find a nice place in either city. However, since this is a temporary move, I would choose something in the Tampa Bay area. Closer to waterfront and beaches, lots to do, weather a little better here because of breezes from the water.

Good luck!

[sware2cod]

If you want to do the theme parks with the kids, Orlando might be a better option for you.

There are lots of nice areas in the orlando area. Near UCF and out east in the Oviedo area is very nice. It's close to the city for work and close to the college You could head east to the Atlantic ocean and be there in less than an hour when you want to hit the beaches.

Tampa has some very nice areas not far from USF...just east of I75 and also just north of USF. You have Bush Gardens for the theme park in that area. But Disney might be cool for the little kiddos. But in reality, they might be too young to realize how cool Disney is and the local carnival or park might be just as fun for them at that age.

where is the tampa job located? In the downtown tampa just off the Selmon expressway, or somehwere else in the Tampa area?

Where is the Orlando job located? The jobs there can be spread out into the burbs.

If too much of a commute between the job and a decent place to live, that might make you choose one place over the other.

I don't think there is much difference is cost of living/housing between Tampa and Orlando, in general.

[chopchop0]

I prefer Orlando for its attractions and amenities. Honestly, this topic has been beaten to death several times. you'd be wise to do a search of the forums

[NALEXAND]

I would choose Tampa because the traffic is less hectic and its not a tourist trap. I like to visit Orlando for the theme parks but I would absolutely hate to deal with tourists on a daily basis and be charged outrageous prices at local establishments just because Disney is close by. Please keep in mind that some establishments within a 10 mile radius of Disney assume that everyone there is going to Disney so they increase their prices to take advantage of that. I dont like that at all. For example, I live outside of Tampa but drove over to the Orlando outlets on Vineland which isnt close to Disney in my opinion and was told that their prices are increased due to the vicinity to Disney. So, for a less hectic pace and no price gouging... I vote for Tampa.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by NALEXAND

Please keep in mind that some establishments within a 10 mile radius of Disney assume that everyone there is going to Disney so they increase their prices to take advantage of that.

Care to share exactly where? If anything, there is so much supply in the restaurant/low-end hotel space that they often have specials. The restaurants right outside of downtown disney off hotel plaza blvd are no more expensive than anywhere else. There are lots of chain restaurants in the attractions area and they are the same price regardless of where they are in proximity to disney.