Relocating to Tampa, Florida

If you are considering getting a new start on life,universities in the area including the University of South
relocating to Tampa, Florida might be a good choice.Florida and the University of Tampa. The city also sits
Low taxes, warm weather and friendly people makeastride major highways and has an International
Tampa a good choice.Airport. The nearby Gulf of Mexico provides a wide
If you are considering relocating to the Tampa, Floridavariety of aquatic activities.
area, it might be a good idea to get a scale and someOn a little more negative note, home prices in Tampa
weights because there are certainly a large number ofhave been rising steadily over the past few years.
pros and cons that you need to consider and thatThis has been excellent news for local real estate
might be one way to find the balance. Tampa isinvestors, but might make finding an affordable home a
located on the western side of Florida on the Gulf ofbit more of a problem for new residents. In 1998,
Mexico. It is a growing city of 342,054 people, butTampa ranked near the bottom of the top 123 Metro
actually is usually lumped with St. Petersburg andareas in the United States in median home price. In just
Clearwater to constitute the Tampa Bay Metropolitaneight years, it has moved nearer to the middle. A
area which has a population of 2.7 million and is the 12typical home here costs about the same as in Dallas,
largest DMA market in the United States.Texas, although the median income is at least 30%
The climate is really one of the main areas wherelower in Tampa. When you consider the entire
personal preference is going to come into play. It has aMetropolitan area, however, there are quite a few
subtropical climate where a serious threat of frostoutlying areas where good bargains can still be found
happens once every three or four years. The highsin housing.
range between 65-95 degrees year round, andSadly, the city does not rank real low when considering
although the humidity is high during the summer months,crime statistics. Murder is the only major violent or
the highest temperature ever recorded is a mere 99property crime that ranks below the national average.
degrees. There is a distinct rainy season, and stormsThis means all the others are above, but in most
coming off the Gulf are a problem. Tampa trails only acases only slightly. Despite these grim stats, Tampa is
city in Africa for the title of lighting strike capital of thenot considered a particularly unsafe city.
world. If you are not a big fan of long cold winters,Taxes represent a very good reason for relocating to
Tampa, Florida may make sense.Tampa, Florida. The state tax rate in Florida ranks 45
Tampa has been growing in rapid bursts ever sinceout of 50 states for putting the least burden on its
the wide spread use of air conditioning. The downtowncitizens. This means the residents of only five other
area is undergoing a major transformation that isstates pay fewer taxes. This represents a pretty
planned to be finished in time for 2009 when the citygood start on making your money go farther.
will host the Super Bowl. The city is a Mecca forRelocating to Tampa, Florida has its benefits and
sports fans with a professional football, major leaguenegatives. Basically, it all comes down to whether you
baseball, and National Hockey League team all makinglike this type of climate. Considering the growth of the
their home here. The school system is rated asarea, many would seem to.
excellent, and there are several colleges and