OT - Tampa, Fla.

[DaddyChoc]

How is it this time of year, weather-wise, what are the areas of interest in the "Downtown" area?

 

[todbo]

The Ybor City area is pretty interesting. We took a walking tour that covered it, including feral chickens, a cigar roller at work, and a piece of current Cuban territory. The Columbia restaurant is excellent. Their 1905(?) salad and Cuban sandwiches are outstanding.

Historical Old Town Tampa - Review of Ybor City, Tampa, FL - TripAdvisor

 

[HuskyNan]

Everything you want to know about Tampa's climate
Average Weather in Tampa, Florida, United States, Year Round - Weather Spark

 

[HuskyNan]

Busch Gardens is in Tampa. I haven't spent a lot of time in Tampa so I don't have much more to add.

 

[FedupFred]

I live 25 miles north of Tampa near the coast. We had 2 days that started in the high 40s and warmed up to lower 70s. Today it's back to lower 60s to start and should hit upper 70s. It has NEVER hit 100 in Tampa. It has dropped to 31 twice in the last 2 years and hasn't snowed in over 30 years.
The Florida Aquarium is worth a look. The Tampa Zoo is really good-one of the best in the world. The Tampa Lightning are top notch. However, the Bucs
suck. The Rays are decent and tickets are cheap. They are looking at building a new stadium.
The Clearwater Aquarium sucks.
The Tampa Airport is one of the better ones I've been to.
Disney World is a 2 hour drive.
Red tide never hit northern Pasco County. There are beaches galore.
Clearwater Beach is awesome.

Don't buy a house without a pool-you'll be sorry.

 

[Centerstream]

And what about statistics on hurricanes? There seems to be more and more "deadly" hurricanes every year, according to The Weather Channel...

 

[BRS24]

If you live 30 mins north of Tampa, you can drive backroads to WDW and get there in 1:40, w/o dealing with the I-4 deathtrap drive. Busch Gardens has a lot of events that cater to adults (Real Masters Music, Food & Wine and concerts, etc), and some of it is on school days, which makes BG a great place to meander around with friends on weekdays, even if you don't do the thrill rides. Approx two visits on an annual pass and you break even compared to purchasing individual day passes. Selby Gardens is another good find 1 hr south. If you have a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch debit or credit card, there's a list of museums with free admission the first fill weekend of each month. St Pete is a fun visit, Dunedin is artsy (not been there yet), and if you go further north (Pasco, Hernando), it gets more rural.

We elected to buy in a gated community that has a pool, and happy that we don't have to maintain one ourselves (materials, insurance, etc). As a former new englander, I cherish when the weather gets below 70, and don't mind putting on jeans and a fleece, but that's a different perspective than true FL natives. Then again, we come north to CT for 2-3 months in the summer. We love the seafood down here, but also miss some of the northern varieties. We are former USAir/American flyers, so our only issue is that there's always 1 connection to make for most . Upside is TPA is getting some direct flights to Europe (Amsterdam, possibly London), so that's cool.

If you are into craft beers, there are a lot of small breweries popping up. The food scene in Tampa is quite diverse too. Feel free to PM me if you want more info as I could type forever about random things.

 

[Nuyoika]

I’ll be in Tampa from 11/23 through 1/02. I hope to have plenty of adventures!

 

[j66kicker]

If you like art there’s a crazy-good Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Pete. If you happen to be a Yankee fan you’ll be in heaven in the spring.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Everything you want to know about Tampa's climate
Average Weather in Tampa, Florida, United States, Year Round - Weather Spark


View attachment 36478

Im excited about the weather... and catching my first NFL game

 

[FedupFred]

Two years ago Hurricane Hermine came up the coast and we got a ton of rain for a week. I had to lower my pool 3 times. Last year Irma passed around 60 miles to my east over night. We got 95 mph winds, had absolutely no damage and didn't even lose power. I was supposed to evacuate but where can you go with a 100 lb dog. I am not in a flood zone and power in my area is all underground. My house is concrete block with stucco.
Do not buy in a flood zone. Insurance is mucho dinero.
Do not buy a mobile home. They turn into a pile of junk in high winds.
The further from the coast you are, the hotter it gets in the summer.