I moved *back* to Tampa from LA

After a decade of nomadism, I have a new appreciation for friendly, familiar territory

I just moved back to Tampa after living in California for seven years. These are my thoughts, building on what another recent Los Angeles transplant wrote in a letter to the Tampa Bay Times.

People are nicer here. The average stranger on the street is far more likely to acknowledge or greet you. Tampa’s relative smallness keeps it feeling Midwestern, a pleasant little bubble.

When I left, part of my frustration with Tampa was the average standard of quality. Arts, entertainment, social opportunities, etc. Today I can say, there’s plenty to do every night of the week, and the taste and quality level locally isn’t all that ‘behind.’ Places like Tampa Theatre, Green Light Cinema in St. Pete, Tempus Projects, Florida School of Woodwork, and Elevation Coffee make me really happy and feel richly cultural.

Traffic is better here. We gripe about this interchange or that bottleneck, but getting around The Bay Area is easier than it was in metro Los Angeles. Rush hour is still just a few hours instead of an omnipresent grind. Parking is equally less stressful. It’d still be nice to have more transit options.

Tampa’s weather is an acquired taste—but so is the dry heat of SoCal. My skin is much happier here in the humidity. As a water sign, I love an afternoon thunderstorm and downpour and then a balmy evening.

Average pay isn’t as high, but then there is no state or local income tax. Gas is cheaper, but food costs seem to have ballooned. How are we paying $7 for a decent iced latte?

Nevertheless, I think it's easier to be an entrepreneur here—the ecosystem is more open, networking is more seamless.

Renting is almost as expensive too, which is a little frightening—a nice 1 bed apartment is asking around $2k, same as what I was paying in central LA. Buying a home is still cheaper here, but that gap is closing. Could there be some downward correction as new housing units come online?

Of course, Tampa just isn’t as big or busy, which is an advantage. Our airport is known for how great it is rather than how frustrating it is (LAX). There are fewer homeless people circulating our city, though I did get approached a few times while waiting outside the Tampa Theatre recently.

All told, Tampa is a beautiful gem. We have gleaming highrises and bike paths. We have an enviable tree canopy and miles of waterfront. Natural wealth is all around us, in this big urban swamp. But the mosquitoes are no joke, so keep your bug spray handy.

I really love Tampa. And I hope it doesn’t change too much.

Growth is coming, because we’ve asked for it. Could we face similar cultural dilution as places like Austin? Will there be an Hermès store at Hyde Park Village, near the AMC movie theater where I saw Titanic in 1997? If so, I hope they make a commemorative skull-and-rowing oars scarf design.

What we can do—fellow native or longtime Tampa residents—is celebrate our glow up and be willing to extend a hand to our new neighbors to show them some Tampa hospitality. There’s enough quirky local lore to go around, between the entire Gasparilla season of events and our love of Cuban bread.

Right across the bridge, a concurrent renaissance is happening in St. Petersburg. Our region, and the State of Florida, have been on the rise.

I’m happy to be back. I hope I didn’t miss the main event.