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Oh my, you guys... I was just reading about "Palmetto Bugs and it says that they will often times fall on your head from the ceilings. Please tell me this is not true... XD
Oh my, you guys... I was just reading about "Palmetto Bugs and it says that they will often times fall on your head from the ceilings. Please tell me this is not true... XD
Expect a culture shock. NOVA and Tampa are polar opposites of each other. I moved from Herndon to St. Pete. Where NOVA is uptight, career and money focused, Tampa is kicked back with a tourist mentality. You will not find nearly as many uptight A types here. I worked for a large company in St, Pete and the VPs were wearing flip flops and tie dies.
A lot of the housing stock (esp in Pinellas co, is small, older block style homes, you don't see nearly as many McMansions around although there are some areas of Tampa that are a bit more yupscale it's not like NOVA where everything was upscale. Keep in mind, this is a tourist area so the lifestyle is casual. If you notice the topics on this board don't focus on the same type of topics that the NOVA board focuses on. The people here really don't care what type of car someone drives, what their zip code is and whether or not their kid is in an AP program. If you like to chill, then this is the place. One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the food quality. Since there are a lot of retired or relocated Yankees and Jewish people, you will find that you can get NOVA quality Pizza and Bagels. I was very worried about that after spending a lot of time at the Bagel Café and The Deli in Herndon. The bugs are not as bad as advertised, In a year in St Pete, I may have had 3 palmetto bugs inside my condo. I see more lizards than bugs. I did miss the natural beauty of the Mid Atlantic though. I loved riding the Harley down skyline drive or over in WVA although in Fla, I was able to ride year round. So, overall If you are ready for a BIG change from NOVA you may love it down here, if you try to compare it to the Mid Atlantic, you will hate it here.
Expect a culture shock. NOVA and Tampa are polar opposites of each other. I moved from Herndon to St. Pete. Where NOVA is uptight, career and money focused, Tampa is kicked back with a tourist mentality. You will not find nearly as many uptight A types here. I worked for a large company in St, Pete and the VPs were wearing flip flops and tie dies.
A lot of the housing stock (esp in Pinellas co, is small, older block style homes, you don't see nearly as many McMansions around although there are some areas of Tampa that are a bit more yupscale it's not like NOVA where everything was upscale. Keep in mind, this is a tourist area so the lifestyle is casual. If you notice the topics on this board don't focus on the same type of topics that the NOVA board focuses on. The people here really don't care what type of car someone drives, what their zip code is and whether or not their kid is in an AP program. If you like to chill, then this is the place. One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the food quality. Since there are a lot of retired or relocated Yankees and Jewish people, you will find that you can get NOVA quality Pizza and Bagels. I was very worried about that after spending a lot of time at the Bagel Café and The Deli in Herndon. The bugs are not as bad as advertised, In a year in St Pete, I may have had 3 palmetto bugs inside my condo. I see more lizards than bugs. I did miss the natural beauty of the Mid Atlantic though. I loved riding the Harley down skyline drive or over in WVA although in Fla, I was able to ride year round. So, overall If you are ready for a BIG change from NOVA you may love it down here, if you try to compare it to the Mid Atlantic, you will hate it here.
YEAH !!!! Thanks for that info! We are moving to Tampa Bay area in 2015... hubby is retiring and we will be "starting over" - part 2, I like to call it, less stressful jobs, and not in it to win it.
we were there for a visit last year, going back again this year in the fall(I hope!)
Expect a culture shock. NOVA and Tampa are polar opposites of each other. I moved from Herndon to St. Pete. Where NOVA is uptight, career and money focused, Tampa is kicked back with a tourist mentality. You will not find nearly as many uptight A types here. I worked for a large company in St, Pete and the VPs were wearing flip flops and tie dies.
A lot of the housing stock (esp in Pinellas co, is small, older block style homes, you don't see nearly as many McMansions around although there are some areas of Tampa that are a bit more yupscale it's not like NOVA where everything was upscale. Keep in mind, this is a tourist area so the lifestyle is casual. If you notice the topics on this board don't focus on the same type of topics that the NOVA board focuses on. The people here really don't care what type of car someone drives, what their zip code is and whether or not their kid is in an AP program. If you like to chill, then this is the place. One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the food quality. Since there are a lot of retired or relocated Yankees and Jewish people, you will find that you can get NOVA quality Pizza and Bagels. I was very worried about that after spending a lot of time at the Bagel Café and The Deli in Herndon. The bugs are not as bad as advertised, In a year in St Pete, I may have had 3 palmetto bugs inside my condo. I see more lizards than bugs. I did miss the natural beauty of the Mid Atlantic though. I loved riding the Harley down skyline drive or over in WVA although in Fla, I was able to ride year round. So, overall If you are ready for a BIG change from NOVA you may love it down here, if you try to compare it to the Mid Atlantic, you will hate it here.
Oh, I'm ready! I'm so sick of the snobby pretentious elites and I hate living in classic suburbia. I really do want to just kick back and not take life so seriously. Sandals year-round sounds good to me! Also, I wanted to ask you all; is Tampa an okay place for an LGBT individual to live? Of course I would imagine so with the "laid back" mentality, but I just want to make sure.
Expect a culture shock. NOVA and Tampa are polar opposites of each other. I moved from Herndon to St. Pete. Where NOVA is uptight, career and money focused, Tampa is kicked back with a tourist mentality. You will not find nearly as many uptight A types here. I worked for a large company in St, Pete and the VPs were wearing flip flops and tie dies.
A lot of the housing stock (esp in Pinellas co, is small, older block style homes, you don't see nearly as many McMansions around although there are some areas of Tampa that are a bit more yupscale it's not like NOVA where everything was upscale. Keep in mind, this is a tourist area so the lifestyle is casual. If you notice the topics on this board don't focus on the same type of topics that the NOVA board focuses on. The people here really don't care what type of car someone drives, what their zip code is and whether or not their kid is in an AP program. If you like to chill, then this is the place. One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the food quality. Since there are a lot of retired or relocated Yankees and Jewish people, you will find that you can get NOVA quality Pizza and Bagels. I was very worried about that after spending a lot of time at the Bagel Café and The Deli in Herndon. The bugs are not as bad as advertised, In a year in St Pete, I may have had 3 palmetto bugs inside my condo. I see more lizards than bugs. I did miss the natural beauty of the Mid Atlantic though. I loved riding the Harley down skyline drive or over in WVA although in Fla, I was able to ride year round. So, overall If you are ready for a BIG change from NOVA you may love it down here, if you try to compare it to the Mid Atlantic, you will hate it here.
The info above is misleading. I've been down here 16 yrs and don't remember VP's or anyone coming to work in sandals or flip flops (jeans yes, but not flip flops). Corporations, no matter where they are, do not allow that. Also, a lot of people down here care about social status too, i.e where their kids go to school, what they drive and where they work(believe it or not there's friction, jealousy and other situations derived from human nature). If you're single, that's a different ball game. The corp world is just as competitive with A types competing, playing games/politics etc.. (this is the standard everywhere in the US); also don't forget this is an employment at will state. In addition, you're comparing a single metro area(NOVA) calling it upscale with parts of St Pete, which besides downtown, much of the rest is older/working class neighborhoods. As an example, why not compare it with Snell Isle, Tierra Verde, Bell Air/Bell Air Beach, North CLW Beach, Casey Key or many other similar areas in Hillsborough/Pinellas/Sarasota. That would be a fair comparison. As a rule of thumb, everything close to the beaches is upscale with plenty McMansions(from Pasco county down to Venice).
The person will hate it down here if she expects Tampa Bay to fit the profile of the nation's capital (we're blessed to not have as many criminals in local politics down here, as up there)
Btw, just went on Google maps - Arlington VA and could see plenty of houses that resemble what you see inland in St Pete. So not sure what this "everything was upscale" comment is about!
Last edited by Trigger-f; 07-30-2013 at 08:44 AM..
I think this is a pretty accurate set of expectations. I didnt see any VP's dressed is flip flops but I would say that people in the workplace definitely have a more laid back attitude. I do miss VA sometimes but reading your post just reminded me of the things that I DONT miss. Like, pretentious uptight people. Ugh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsterjohn
Expect a culture shock. NOVA and Tampa are polar opposites of each other. I moved from Herndon to St. Pete. Where NOVA is uptight, career and money focused, Tampa is kicked back with a tourist mentality. You will not find nearly as many uptight A types here. I worked for a large company in St, Pete and the VPs were wearing flip flops and tie dies.
A lot of the housing stock (esp in Pinellas co, is small, older block style homes, you don't see nearly as many McMansions around although there are some areas of Tampa that are a bit more yupscale it's not like NOVA where everything was upscale. Keep in mind, this is a tourist area so the lifestyle is casual. If you notice the topics on this board don't focus on the same type of topics that the NOVA board focuses on. The people here really don't care what type of car someone drives, what their zip code is and whether or not their kid is in an AP program. If you like to chill, then this is the place. One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the food quality. Since there are a lot of retired or relocated Yankees and Jewish people, you will find that you can get NOVA quality Pizza and Bagels. I was very worried about that after spending a lot of time at the Bagel Café and The Deli in Herndon. The bugs are not as bad as advertised, In a year in St Pete, I may have had 3 palmetto bugs inside my condo. I see more lizards than bugs. I did miss the natural beauty of the Mid Atlantic though. I loved riding the Harley down skyline drive or over in WVA although in Fla, I was able to ride year round. So, overall If you are ready for a BIG change from NOVA you may love it down here, if you try to compare it to the Mid Atlantic, you will hate it here.
Oh, I'm ready! I'm so sick of the snobby pretentious elites and I hate living in classic suburbia. I really do want to just kick back and not take life so seriously. Sandals year-round sounds good to me! Also, I wanted to ask you all; is Tampa an okay place for an LGBT individual to live? Of course I would imagine so with the "laid back" mentality, but I just want to make sure.
Oh my, you guys... I was just reading about "Palmetto Bugs and it says that they will often times fall on your head from the ceilings. Please tell me this is not true... XD
They only fall on your head during the daytime.
At night when they tend to come out in droves they just like cosy up in the bed with you - I often wake up in the morning and find two or three of the critters quietly staring at me on the pillow. And there's always one pesky one that likes to crawl into my hair and make himself really comfortable.
Don't worry - you'll get used to them after a year or two.
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YEAH !!!! Thanks for that info! We are moving to Tampa Bay area in 2015... hubby is retiring and we will be "starting over" - part 2, I like to call it, less stressful jobs, and not in it to win it. 
