Thinking of visiting Tampa, FL to see my dad this summer. I don’t know too much about the area. I’m thinking of taking in a Devil Rays game. I’ve listened to quite a few of their games this year on XM and I think they’ve got a lot of young talent. Tickets should be easy to get and probably good seats too. Aside from that, I am open to suggestions. Any restaurants you’d care to suggest? Any local culture information? Museums, concerts, theatre? Best beaches?
Not exactly Tampa proper, but The Salvador Dali Museum is pretty cool. If you do decide to hit St. Petersburg, Fort de Soto Park is worth a visit as well.
Actually, I’ll happily take suggestions from the entire area. I thought about staying on the beach, but that looks to be a bit expensive even in the off season.
Salvador Dali Museum? That sounds like a must visit!
I’m contemplating taking a job that’d move me either to Tampa or Philly. I’d be making 35-40 thousand a year, so would I be able to live in Tampa?
Despite the name, the Devil Rays are in St. Petersburg. So is the Dali museum. So are the beaches. No need to go to Tampa. 
Actually, Clearwater probably has the better beaches, or they used to but I haven’t really been to the beach in a long, long time. It makes me too sad to drive along Gulf Blvd and not be able to see anything but condos on the Gulf side. I never go to restaurants either. Okay, so maybe one of the Tampans should answer your question about Tampa.
I’ve heard our cost of living is a lot less than other areas as long as you don’t try to live on the beach or in the middle of a downtown area. Another plus is that so far, Florida still has no state income tax. I make about the low end of that a year, and I can live here and own a house. Property taxes are even less than mine in unincorporated areas.
I think they prefer “Tampons.” Or if you’re a Brit, “Bloody Tampons!”
I had initially typed it with that spelling but then I was trying not to piss off the neighbors too much.
Tampa drivers are probably the worst in the world. Move to St. Petersburg and deal with the second worst.
There are a lot of Cuban restaurants, pricey to dirt-cheap. Tampa Cuban cuisine is way different from Miami’s for some reason (and way better, IMO).
If you like clubbing check out Ybor City – once the cigar-manufacturing Latin quarter, later an arts district, now a bar strip; but there’s also lots of interesting architecture to see.
We don’t have a lot of theme parks like Orlando, but we do have Busch Gardens Africa.
Also the Florida Aquarium and Lowry Park Zoo.
The Tampa Museum of Art has a good Greek & Roman collection.
COL isn’t that bad. I once lived in an efficiency in St. Peterburg for $250/month. But you can expect to spend a lot of money on gas; the Tampa Bay area is more car-dependent than LA and the mass transit sucks where it exists at all.
As for theater, Here’s the summer show calendar for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Otherwise, there’s not much of a live theater scene, just some community production companies and the fine-arts school at University of South Florida.
And here’s the schedule for the Tampa Theater on Franklin Street Mall downtown – once a vaudeville venue, now an artsy cinema (the interior architecture alone is worth a visit).
If you like baseball, save the time and the disappointment of watching the Devil Rays. You have the Tampa Yankees, the Clearwater Threshers, and the Dunedin Blue Jays all within the area.
I agree that the St Pete area is way more fun and a lower cost of living.
Hope you enjoy it.
Sgt Schwartz
As a Tampa resident, there’s one thing you will have to watch out for: St. Petersburg. They’re right across the bay, and they WILL take you down if they get the chance. The entire city is nothing but a giant organlegging factory for their population of terminally elderly people. Oh they’ll go on and on about how St. Pete is SO much nicer than Tampa, but they’re eyeing your kidneys greedily while your back is turned.
Don’t fall for it! You may decide to drive over to the beach for the day, and as you’re cruising down Central Avenue, suddenly an enormous 1988 Cadillac El Dorado comes lurching out of a side street, only a mass of blue hair and arthritic knuckles visible about the dashboard; the impact hurling your ION Quad Coupe nearly a block while the other vehicle’s curb feelers are barely scratched. In their grief, your relatives never learn that your corpse came back from the hospital missing every single internal organ, corneas, bone marrow and back hair. This is all absolutely true. Seriously, they’re like nosferatu over there.
On the plus side, Tampa is also within easy driving distance of the city of Clearwater, which is probably most famous as Scientology headquarters. If you’re entertained by that sort of thing, you can park outside the historic Fort Harrison Hotel and watch the various paramilitary-clad members go about their business; it’s like a gigantic ant farm. Don’t stop too long, though; they get pissy about that. Clearwater also has an impressive annual jazz festival.
Tampa has several regional holidays that are not officially recognized by Judeo-Christian tradition. Foremost among these is the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which is essentially “Talk Like A Pirate Day” stretched out over the last half of January, and including a parade, fireworks, and a “sea invasion” where a flotilla of suspiciously dumpy-looking pirates ceremonially takes over the city. Its eye toward historical authenticity is about on a par with your average Ren Faire.
Also worth mention is the Guavaween Parade, which is held in Ybor City on the last Saturday of October. Think Halloween by way of Mardi Gras, except with fewer transvestites and more vomit. There’s also a more kid-friendly daytime version which I know nothing about, but they probably strive to keep both the vomit and transvestite levels low for that one. Fortunately organ theft during Guavaween is rare, as most citizens of St. Petersburg are already asleep by then.
Tampa is also famous for its stri- er, gentlemen’s clubs. The “bikini bars” serve alcohol, the fully-nude clubs don’t – county ordinance. In either, you can sit right next to the stage and grope the st-- exotic dancers while stuffing bills in their garters. This is not allowed in Miami-Dade County, where there’s always a barrier between audience and dancer – but private lap dances are still allowed, for some reason.
Upon rereading the OP I see you’re only visiting briefly. Opps… Well, anyhoo, definitely hit the Tampa Theater if you get the chance, and Busch Gardens is always entertaining. Another vote for the Lowry Park Zoo, which seems to be a pretty well-put-together little facility. You can probably give the Florida Aquarium a miss if you’ve ever been to another modern metropolitan aquarium, as it’s not hugely distinctive. Try Bern’s Steakhouse if you want bragging rights and a lighter wallet; they supposedly have the largest wine cellar in the world (although it’s technically a ‘wine warehouse,’ as cellars are architecturally problematic here in Florida). I’ve also heard that Charley’s Steakhouse is a good lower-priced alternative.
Also,when visiting in the summer months, remember to wear sunscreen and keep hydrated to avoid sunstroke. The humidity alone will knock you out, and that’s when the St. Petersburgers get you.
It has a distinction: It specializes in aquatic creatures native to the coasts, lakes and rivers of Florida. However, it has no manatees, in deference to Lowry Park Zoo, which has manatees and was there first. Don’t look for dolphins or killer whales, either.
Well, I mean “distinctive” in the sense of having uniquely impressive or charismatic animal displays, like the aforementioned manatees and dolphins. It’s certainly a decent opportunity to get a close look at a lot of smaller sea creatures, if one isn’t visiting Florida long enough to check them out in the wild. But it’s not like they have whale sharks or other signature displays. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Aquarium, so it may have more going for it these days.
However I note that the big news on their website is about a new penguin display, so I guess the local Florida sea life alone isn’t the only draw. Honestly though, when you subtract manatees and dolphins from Florida’s coastal fauna, what are you left with? Mostly alligators, tilapia and sea hares. (I exaggerate slightly.)
If you do check out the Aquarium, you might also be interested in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which is sort of a relic of an earlier philosophy of aquarium design, in that it has a lot of exposed concrete and taxidermied animals on display. However, it also cares for several dolphins, including one which was rescued as a baby after getting tangled in a fish net and had to have its tail amputated. They had some sort of plan in the works to create a prosthetic tail for her; I have no idea how that’s progressing. The Aquarium also has a fairly vigorous sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation program, as well as a variety of adults on display. They have otters and a number of other critters too.
Of course viewing the critters in the wild is generally preferable, so you could swing by Hillsborough State Park or any of the various other public parks in Hillsborough County-- there’s lots of little ones in east Tampa like Flatwoods, Morris Bridge, John B. Sargent, etc. In the summer, early morning and late afternoon’s best for critter watching. There’s also an outfit called Canoe Escape on Fowler Ave. that, as the name implies, offers canoe rentals on the Hillsborough River, so you can check out the gators and such up close should you so desire.
I think I may have to see what accepting the Job in Tampa has to offer. I’ll at least go through the machinations and see what springs loose.
LOUNE, you’re from Up North like I am. I can just about guarantee you’d love it in Florida. I do, and I have from the first time I set foot in it.
I don’t wanna turn this thread into a Tampa/St. Petersburg rivalry, but the Burg is way cooler. We’ve got, what, 7 museums? Including the Dali, always worth a visit, plus the 4th largest Holocaust museum in the U.S. (they’ve got an original boxcar from Auschwitz, set on train tracks from Treblinka. Morbid, yes, but very moving). There’s also the Museum of Fine Arts, the International Museum, plus tons of art galleries and things.
We have the beaches this side of the bay, and the motels aren’t as expensive as you’d think if you don’t mind a small, hideously-painted in bright Florida colors little mom-and-pop beach cottagey place. The Rays are also here in the Burg, although I don’t like baseball and am just glad I don’t live 3 blocks from the stadium anymore.
We also have some great concert venues too, Jannus Landing and the State Theatre. You’ll also find lots of fun, funky shops downtown and great restaurants and bars. I’ve got 5 different Thai places within walking distance of my apartment, plus Indian (if you like Indian, India Grill rocks), French, sushi, and a ton of others.
Fort Desoto’s worth a visit, it’s America’s Best Beach and great for barbecues and camping (as opposed to most beaches which have been stripped of mangroves and manufactured into picturesque white sand strips, this is as close to a natural Florida beach as you can get). Don’t miss Sunken Gardens, a really peaceful and gorgeous place to spend an afternoon.
Anyway, long story short, St. Petersburg’s got the culture and the beaches, and Tampa’s got… horrible traffic and snobs. 
(Just one last piece of evidence to support the argument that St. Pete’s better than Tampa- one of Tampa’s largest venues is named…
the St. Pete Times Forum, after Florida’s best newspaper. :p)