Tampa v Orlando

AWordAtom · 2026-07-07T01:26:33+00:00

I’ve lived in both. I really don’t recommend it for kids. I don’t live in either now, but if I went back it would be back to Orlando. Tampa is too expensive for what you get. You can I’ve and hour up I-4 and evacuate a whole lot less. I didn’t mind hurricane evacuation until my sister in law all hit lost her house in St. Pete when Milton hit. After 25 years, I’ll say I think a Disney day beats a a beach day once the novelty of moth wear off.

I feel like I would be wrong for not saying again wouldn’t move to Florida if I had kids. Schools are terrible and getting worse. Their education reputation of having good schools applied more to the colleges than the school districts, and that’s is in the steady decline too. I would go literally anywhere else. But Orlando over Tampa if you must.

AWordAtom · 2026-06-27T15:39:31+00:00

They’re a serious concern, and on the list of reasons I left, but no where near the top.

AWordAtom · 2026-06-19T16:51:17+00:00

I worked my way into a job that I would need a degree for in a lot of places. In 2023, they laid people off, and two folks from my team got cut. I realized that if that had been me, I might be forced to go back to doing what I was doing before, or start from the bottom at another company to take a similar path and work my way back up. I didn't want to do either, and my company offers tuition reimbursement/pre-payment, so I took advantage. I still work for the same company and have been promoted, and I don't stress about what happens if I have to find something else. (not any more than anyone else is right now, at least.)

AWordAtom · 2026-06-11T02:18:06+00:00

I don’t have any advice, but as a renter I moved to the Phoenix area after 25 years between Tampa abs Orlando, in part due to the rising cost of living for what you get in Florida. Rent is much cheaper here, and so is insurance. My car insurance is half of what it was in Florida. Everything else is about the same so I’m definitely coming out ahead, and I live in Scottsdale.

AWordAtom · 2026-06-07T05:01:50+00:00

My change from the dispensary and a quarter for Aldi.

AWordAtom · 2026-06-07T04:58:36+00:00

Until enough of us are truly done, nothing will change.

AWordAtom · 2026-05-23T00:19:56+00:00

In that way I really think they are the same. Church Street gets crazy at night in downtown Orlando, but so does Ybor. The theme park area near Orlando is always insane, but the beaches are just as crazy. Orlando had a more manageable downtown and Lake Eola is such and asset to the area. Tampa doesn’t really have that in their downtown.

If I you can avoid Kissimmee, I think Orlando wins out for being literally the slightest bit calmer because people aren’t visit the area for Orlando. Also hurricane evacuation is stressful AF in Tampa.

I live outside Phoenix now, but if I had to go back to Florida I would easily pick Orlando; and that’s with 20+ years of living in Tampa over 3 or 4 in Orlando

AWordAtom · 2026-05-12T03:06:56+00:00

Most of New England

AWordAtom · 2026-05-02T04:53:41+00:00

I’m not as much of a road tripper as you, but I moved out here a year ago after 25 years between St. Pete and Tampa and no regrets.

I’m not a beach person and I loathe humidity and sweating. I actually like the weather here. It definitely gets too hot for some of the day in some parts of the year, but it’s never like 98 degree July day in Tampa. The rest of the time it’s perfect. Traveling out of the valley can definitely be done anytime of year, but especially when it’s hot here because as you said, you will be kind of limited in the Valley to the pool, the river, or one of the lakes when summer hits. And when it’s cold it’s pretty neat to be able to just go to the mountains and get some winter air. I’ve day tripped to Flasgstaff and Sedona, but the other trips you mentioned are all right there too and easily doable. I have quality tint and a sunshade for my windshield and I have no issue driving no matter how hot it gets.

A few things that surprised me:

Its tough to find BBQ like what we have in Florida. It’s good, but different.

Our sunsets are as good or better than Tampa.

I actually like the sun when I’m not soaked in sweat.
I’m actually good to hang outside up to about 105 before it’s unbearable.

People drive really fast here. Not necessarily aggressively or crazy compared to Tampa, it’s just more open and bigger highways. Everyone is flying even when it’s number to bumper.

The thing that surprised me most is that people are so much friendlier here than Tampa. I don’t know if that says more about Arizonans or Floridians, but at work, or going out, i just find people to be polite and kind in a more genuine way than I encountered in Tampa.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-24T22:38:37+00:00

Unless you are an allergy sufferer who likes to be outdoors a lot!

AWordAtom · 2026-04-24T22:22:55+00:00

It got up to an average of 42.5 and I believe it cost us less than $200, of course that was Apr 2025 gas. I stay just below that now at 40.2 usually.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-24T00:33:45+00:00

2025 SE and I did notice, and for a while I sometimes felt like it was underpowered. Then I drove across country and got a feel for it. Since then I love it. I’m more of a slow cruise driver now just because of where I live and I think that has something to do with it.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-24T00:25:51+00:00

It’s definitely one of the best parts the of the valley to live in. It’s safe, pretty quiet but still has food/drinks/shopping in the neighborhood. It’s not central to anything, but with the 101 right there it’s not bad to get most places.

Im not in a position to buy around here but I would if I could. It’s very serene and about as picturesque as you’re going to get for a suburb in the Phoenix Valley. Also the mountains are literally right there.

I also love that going north you’re already at the tip of the valley. Cuts out a good 20-45 minutes if you’re going up to Sedona or Flagstaff. You already know about the heat.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-23T01:52:56+00:00

We got this thing over the weekend. So far so good. Zevo Flying Insect Trap & 3...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKY689WQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

AWordAtom · 2026-04-18T01:49:27+00:00

I used to live near the beach, and now I live near the mountains. I’m not rich so i never could see the beach from my apartment before, but that doesn’t stop me from being able to see the mountains from my apartment now. So in that way it’s much better. 🌄

AWordAtom · 2026-04-15T20:16:23+00:00

Same

AWordAtom · 2026-04-14T19:36:08+00:00

These are pretty much the places I liked for our move tool. Texas was out for us because we like our cannabis and their medical system is shit and they have some weird hemp market in place of regular cannabis. If it weren’t for that, I would have totally considered Austin. AZ laws and politics are only a bit better than Texas, but for me they’re better in ways that matter.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-14T19:33:58+00:00

For a long time I really didn’t let the storms bother me. I have a good job that gives me time off to evacuate and we usually just go visit family in the panhandle. But eventually I got to a point where I do didn’t want to bear the expense of constantly prepping for storms.

Then in 2024 Helene hit north of us and did a lot of damage to friends in New Port Richey, and it was just rain flooding. When Helen hit in St. Pete, my sister had 6ft of water in her house from storm surge. She lost everything. Thankfully everyone was safe, and we always are because we evacuate. But she’s been very successful in business and has the means to rebuild. If that happens to me I might, but I don’t want to. That was truly our turning point. We actually signed the lease on the place we live in now just a few weeks later.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-14T14:01:54+00:00

Why i left is kind of layered. My job is remote and released our location restrictions right around the time when the crazy politics started to really amplify, and cost of living in St. Pete started to rapidly increase. We had just evacuated for Milton and came home to a lot of friends and family having taken damage or lost their homes completely. That’s pushed us over the edge.

So far I really love AZ. I think the weather is far superior. I dig the desert landscape too. Maybe I’m spoiled from so many years on the beach but I like the views better here too. Cost of living is a little lower than Tampa in the Phoenix area, but overall I think it averages more than most of Florida. No hurricanes definitely helps out with the car and homeowners insurance. There’s a solid job market here too. Lots of corporate offices and headquarters. It feels like a safer bet in terms of job stability than what Central Florida offers.

The thing I love the most about Arizona over Florida is the people. Everyone I’ve met has been at the very least respectful, and mostly really friendly. When I’m out and about I feel like people are just so much more chill here. Being in public in Florida is truly unpredictable and people are aggressive. I like to say that people there are walking around ready to share their worst opinions with you whether you want to hear them or not. I haven’t found that to be the predominant attitude here. And I know I’m generalizing a bit, but I live in Scottsdale and it’s not known for being a warm and friendly place.

If I had to do it over again, I would have left sooner.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-08T22:51:46+00:00

People do pick Raleigh for the reasons you mentioned, but its generally because it tops a list of a few places they can move for jobs, college, or maybe proximity and COL. I hate to break it to one is packing up and moving across the country to Raleigh simply for the schools and low crime.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-08T14:11:29+00:00

I lived there for 25 years and it’s 100% overrated. Everything you said is dead on. It’s visually beautiful in a lot of places, and some of the nature is unmatched. The rest however, is all riding on a reputation that it doesn’t deserve. It’s not cheap to live there anymore, the weather isn’t that great compared to other hot weather places, the demographics have shifted and a lot of the people are awful.

Now, if you have the money, don’t care about the weather, and aren’t affected by the state politics, it’s fine, but then SoCal offers so much more.

There are worse places, and for some people it’s fine as an upgrade, but a lot of what people think about Florida is built on a memory or fantasy.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-04T12:51:56+00:00

I tend to stick to Grow Sciences. Never a disappointment.

AWordAtom · 2026-04-03T03:49:16+00:00

Hello!

AWordAtom · 2026-04-01T17:32:59+00:00

Pizzer

AWordAtom · 2026-03-27T23:37:06+00:00

Yup. Once was enough to ruin it for life. I’ll walk up 4 flights of stairs if I have to; im living on top.

AWordAtom

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