Here's What Tampa, Florida Looks Like These Days. It's Complicated.

Tampa is improving. But at what cost?

Tampa has a lot of new areas, but is it changing too fast? There are lots of bad areas here. But there’s more to Tampa than just bad areas, of course. It’s a big city. And in order to get a complete look at what Tampa is like these days, we need to look at a map and then drill down into each area.

This is Tampa today. Now as you can see there’s a lot of rundown parts of town. We saw that. But there’s a lot of really nice areas here, too, and it’s growing super fast. It’s still cheaper to live here than in many areas in south Florida, so it’s a big draw for new people. As we’ll discuss, poor people are being forced out, as newcomers with more wealth are flocking here in droves.

And you’ll notice there are a lot of bridges. That’s because, well, this place sits on a bay. Hence the name, Tampa Bay. Across from Tampa is the city of St. Petersburg, which I covered in another video. That’s where all the traditional beaches are. I mean, Tampa does have some beaches, but they aren’t the type of beaches with waves per se.

Driving across the bay to get into Tampa proper can be a really pretty drive. From this bridge, it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 5 hours to get into downtown, depending on traffic. And downtown is where we’re gonna start.

Now Tampa has a pretty average downtown. It’s pretty clean and well maintained. It costs so much more to live here mow, so there’s a lot of homeless in the town, but they aren’t pooping on the sidewalks or camping out.

Downtown Tampa used to be DEAD after 5pm unless it was a weekend. It was like a ghost town down here not too long ago. But that has changed, mister. They’ve brought in a bunch of new reasons for people to stay downtown now with new bars and restaurants and the like. We’ll talk about the new fancy riverwalk area soon.

#florida #moving

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[aaronm]

Ah my city. Inflation here has just been god awful. It’s going downhill if you aren’t wealthy. Also the amount of people moving here is just pushing the locals out. It’s really depressing. All my friends rent has gone up atleast 450 dollars a month.

[thomasryan]

My mom was older and got lost looking for the Tampa Airport. She stopped her car in a bad area and walked alone up to some young guys (different race) standing on a corner. One spokesman told her she wasn't in a safe neighborhood and walked her back to her car. He told her to lock her door and to roll down the window just a little bit. He then gave her instructions to the airport. There's someone out there who I'm very grateful to. I wish there was a way to thank him.

[THEGIGLITE]

I’m a father of 2 and small business owner from NJ… I’m also an explorer at heart, i appreciate that Nick gets out there and does some exploring for me to live vicariously

[richard]

As a native Texan who moved to Tampa FL and stayed there for 7 years - only moved very recently - all I can say is: God do I miss Tampa and all its craziness covered here. Can’t wait to move back.

[Frank-pepk]

You showed a map showing where the rich folks live. Glad you let us know because for years we thought we were poor!👍

[RatedRJerichoFan]

You finally covered my hometown! You pretty much got everything right. Even when i was in HS back in 2015 there was a growing resentment towards people that weren't local. Now it seems it's gotten worse because "everyone" wants to move to Tampa.

[bullwinklessprinkles]

I'd say you got it mostly right. However, as a Tampa resident for almost 30yrs, Seminole Heights is definitely not the bad part of town. East Tampa is the area I avoid, especially after dark. Ybor City is still very sketchy after dark, especially for theft, fights and car break-ins. I just moved to Pasco county, just north of Tampa in the Trinity area where the housing and people are nothing like you described. Houses start in the area around 400k and not the drug crime you described? The first thing you'll notice about the Tampa Bay area, if you come for a visit, is how clean the streets are and how much the locals are helpful & friendly

[PrettyDancingPhonics]

Very confused as to why you picked old Seminole heights as being a “bad area.” I live on its outskirts and the median house price is $425k with prices exceeding the $1m mark. Also the vid you captured doesn’t look like old Seminole heights, it looks more like east Tampa. Might want to double check your info.

[eddienash]

I can always tell I'm dealing with a person who had a pampered upbringing when they refer to people in harsh situations as "lowlifes" because anybody who grew up in poverty understands how fine the line is to end up in a similar situation...

[alexg]

Tampa has grown tremendously in the last 5 years. An enormous amount of people are moving here making it a very competitive market. The housing market is top 3 in the nation depending on what article you read but according to Zillow it’s the number 1 market in the US right now. Personally, I love it here, tons to do, close to the beaches, great restaurants, and warm weather. However, it has become extremely expensive to live here now and you definitely need a good paying job to live anywhere near downtown or south Tampa area.

[laurentruong]

Born and raised in Florida, I have been moving around quite a bit over the last couple of years. Despite its flaws, Tampa has been my best experience by far. You get a lil of everything so fitting in isn’t the hardest compared to other cities I’ve lived in.

[barbaragalbreth]

I was there in 1975 all I can remember is Tampa was beautiful especially at night. The warm breeze off the bay at night with the palm trees blowing in the wind it was just heavenly.

[KellyDavisMusic]

I lived in Tampa back in 03' to 05'. I can't believe the transformation of YBor and Downtown Tampa. What a difference! Ybor used to be a life or death decision. Now it's gorgeous. I may have to go back and visit.

[randya]

We bought our home in 2008 in the Lutz area. We liked it because our area seemed rural even for the suburbs. In the morning I-275S going towards downtown is choked with heavy traffic. In the late afternoon it is just the opposite on the Northbound. Despite all the construction for years as well as the toll roads it never seems to matter how many lanes people are given, slow traffic in the left lane and impatient drivers create incredibly dangerous patterns especially at the I-4 East ramp. 18 Wheelers contribute to the chaos since there is no left lane restrictions. Cost of living is a topic, what isn’t is car insurance costs. I don’t care what your record is, you will pay more period. Accidents are common place, the I-4 corridor to Orlando is always choked East/westbound. On the upside there is a lot to do, major sports and plenty of entertainment. I have been in major cities all over the world. Downtown Tampa is one of the safest you will find for pedestrians. Ybor City on a weekend gets dicey with some bars but I have always felt safe here, with the exception of E. Fletcher and Fowler in the Busch Gardens/Temple Terrace, University South Florida campus area in general gets dicey late and night. Because it is a tourist area the primary concern is drunk drivers who like to go the wrong way on a one way. We loved it here, but the area from New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Odessa, Land of Lakes has become saturated with too much traffic and people the smaller communities and businesses and identifies are being swallowed up. Unlike the Panhandle of Florida, hurricanes in the Tampa Bay area are rarely major events unless you live right on the coast. Up there we evacuated about 2-3 times a year. Here, not at all. Because of the urban sprawl and traffic, we are less enamored with Tampa so we are headed to the mountains of NC where the pace is a lot less hectic. Love this series, you do a good job capturing the areas you research.

[robertmoore]

As I watched your video, Nick, I was thinking about Jacksonville, Florida how so many hopes and dreams for the downtown area never come to fruition well Tampa Bay looks like their downtown is real prosperous and full of life and then your guest Randy showed up and he said the same thing I was thinking earlier in video. Downtown Jacksonville a place were plans and dreams and schemes for itself come to die. Jacksonville downtown was just like Tampa downtown used to be like, dead after 5 PM on the weekdays and it’s like a ghost town on the weekends. I know because I live in Jacksonville. I know it all too well. Great job, Nick!

[TampaAerialMedia]

Nice job Nick, really impressed, very well done, thanks for the feature...

[Jeannified]

Great to see you with Randy from Tampa Aerial Media. You guys both put out great content!

[kala]

I’ve lived in Tampa my whole life. The way all these people moved to the city is horrifying for the people who’ve lived her for years. A lot of people can’t afford to live anymore. Apartments are ridiculous. I have a really good job and STILL can’t afford to move out of my parents house because the market is destroyed. And the traffic is so bad it takes me an hour to get to my grandmas house and a few years ago only took me 20min. If you’re going to move her at LEAST drive properly the amount of accidents daily is ridiculous.

[kevintessier]

I would vacation 2 weeks every year from the early 80's through late 1990's. Tampa, Clearwater and Orlando
It wasn't' too bad then. What a difference now.

[Mexicobeanpole]

That “poverty” doesn’t look like poverty at all. All I saw were neat, clean but humble homes.
I live in Jensen Beach, fl. But I’ve always loved Tampa.