Tampa, FL???

[jesshamner]

It seems that I may have a job offer in the near future in Tampa. A friend of mine has already taken a job and the employer liked his skills so much, they're willing to hire another Western Kentucky Grad. Does anyone here know anything about Tampa or the surrounding area? Are there any places to ride? Is it a nice city? How's the suburbs? Louisville seems to be the ideal size for me although I don't live here in town. I would like and welcome any thoughts or comments that ANYONE has. I know nothing about Tampa except that they have some professional sports and beaches.

[Giz400ex]

I know it can get un-godly hot in the summer and months around it:eek: :cool:

[jrd426]

i have a house in tampa.the city is great.they built the city to have only buisness downtown.everything else is in the out skirts of the city.there are about 5-7 tracks to ride in about an 1hr ride.3 of then are about 20min outside the city.weathers great,girls even better.and the riding is top notch.and on top of that there is a place called e-bore city.its about 10 city blocks of nothing but bars.they close down the streets on the weekends and its one big *** party.deffinetly check it out.if you have a chance to move there,go for it!!!!!!!!!

[Racing Rice]

I use to live in Tampa, and I have family there. We went back down there this summer to do some work on my late Grandfather's house. It's a lot different living down there, that is for sure. I miss everything but the Hurricanes.:ermm:

I don't really know anything about the tracks around there though.

[jesshamner]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
I use to live in Tampa, and I have family there. We went back down there this summer to do some work on my late Grandfather's house. It's a lot different living down there, that is for sure. I miss everything but the Hurricanes.:ermm:

I don't really know anything about the tracks around there though.

How does it compare to where you are in Ohio?

[Racing Rice]

Ohio:
- More Woodsy.
- Change of Seasons.
- Gets just as hot in the summer as it can in FL.
- Better roads for Motorcycling.
- No Hurricanes.

FL:
- Warm winters.
- Longer summers.
- Beaches.
- No snow.
- Sandy yards to cut, strange.
- Smell of the Salty Air.
- More Expensive.
- 4:00pm Rain Showers.

I'm sure there is more, I just can't think of any right now. Both places have advantages and disadvantages. It does get really hot down there for longer periods of time, compared to OH. That's okay though, you can just go jump in the ocean. I loved being able to wear shorts in the middle of winter. Deep sea fishing was so much fun down there too. Ohio is great for getting the motorcycles out and just going cruising. There is a lot more "Country" type of land around here. You have swamps and stuff in FL. The yards in FL are more sand then grass in a lot of places. It's kind of weird when you are use to living around here.

I lived in FL in the 80s when Hurricanes weren't as bad as they have been lately. I have been in a few smaller ones (Cat 2) that were some what scary though. I couldn't imagine being in a huge Cat 4 or 5!

Feel free to ask if you want to know anything else. I would recommend going down there and checking it out before you decide to move. Just to see what it is like.

[o4250]

You're in the perfect spot for riding, you have croom about 45 min away, and ocala and 1 1/2 away. Theres tons of MX tracks in Florida, can't name them all. A lot of them are close to you though. I'm gonna go head and tell you the riding sucks though. There is a new place getting closed everyday, only thing to do is motocross really. Check out

http://atvflorida.com

[jesshamner]

Wow that sucks that there aren't many places to ride. If I moved, I'd have to switch over to mx also. Its ok I guess, but I like trail riding and xc racing for the most part. I think I could stand the warm weather. I love the summers here. I like fall and spring but I can't really stand winter. The only cool thing about winter is the ease of getting through the woods. My winter motto is: If its going to be cold, there better be snow. At least snow is fun. Plain ol cold weather just sucks. How much more expensive is it to live in that area compared to the midwest? I'm in Louisville right now. From what one comparison said online, it is 5% more expensive...whatever that means.

[jrd426]

the cost of living is cheaper than the state of new jersey.so i'm not sure about whats cheaper,oh or fl.all in all its pretty cheap to live down there.

[Bush0102]

i used to live in clearwater. It was a pretty nice place, they've cleaned the beach up alot since i lived there too.

Sure the hurricanes are bad, but Tampa usually doesnt get the horrible ones you get in South Florida or up on the panhandle. I was actually down there when Andrew came through. Another thing i remember being bad about the place is mosquitos...

I actually lived on the water, it was like an intracostal waterway that connected to tampa bay, it was about a 10 minute boat ride from clearwater beach. Tampa is a really nice spot because you're on the coast and only about an hour and a half from orlando. The food is great there too.

There is no question in my mind that i would move back.

[jesshamner]

Anybody else?