travdis

Just returned from a trip to Tampa and Southwest Florida. After reading the postings on this board I thought that the west coast of Florida would be heaven. Was I shocked!

The whole area was overbuilt with a lack of zoning and growth controls. Basically all the way from Tampa to Naples there was one huge strip of fast food restaurants, gas stations and strip centers on Highway 41. I have never seen such a long strip of retail in my life. There seemed to be a total lack of parks and open space!

The only beauty was right along the coast and in a small weathy area of Naples.

Anyone else disapointed in Florida?

gummo66

I guess if you consider wealth to be indicative of a good place to visit, you'd best be served by Naples or Palm Beach or Jupiter Island. I think the West Coast is largely excellent--Ybor City in Tampa is undergoing a really interesting rebirth, and there are some excellent restaurants there (including the famous Columbia Restaurant). In addition, St. Pete Beach is beautiful (and uniquely frozen in its doo-wap 50s architecture), as is Sarasota, Long Boat Key, Anna Maria Island, Sanibel Island, Captiva, Tarpon Springs, the Everglades...even inland, Lakeland boasts the largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world (look it up). If you were driving along the interstate the entire time, I suspect you wouldn't see much beauty or excitement (but you wouldn't expect to, would you? You wouldn't write off NYC because of the Jersey Turnpike...or would you?)...

I don't mean to be a staunch Florida defender (I moved to NYC from there), but geez, to write off the whole west side is kinda narrow-minded.

GoTravel

Methinks someone is up to something. Myrtle Beach was trashed yesterday and now Tampa.

Hmmn.

gummo66

You're completely right, GoTravel. I fell for it. Look at the other posts by travdis (click the name). Every post by this troll trashes a different city.

What a waste.

snowrooster

Huh? Sorry, but that does not appear to be the case - I checked (posters of both the Myrtle Beach & this thread appear to be regulars who don't exclusively post troll-like remarks). I agree that it is rude to start a thread to trash a place, but there doesn't appear to be any sort of conspircay going on. Besides, gummo66, I think you gave some good info in your initial response and perhaps informed travdis of some things of which he/she was not aware.

Dan

Every post travdis starts is a troll post to get people mad. Don't fall for it.

Patrick

What a surprise. Someone passes through a state on an old highway which used to be the main thoroughfare through town after town and sees nothing but strip malls and franchise restaurants. And that is how you view the state? Reminds me of people who said they drove through Cincinatti, or Atlanta, or even Chicago on the interstate and declared they all looked like dumps.

Frankly you didn't look very hard if you wanted to see parks and open space (imagine the thousands of golf courses for starters). Only a fool would think he'd spot those beautiful spots and parks by driving along an old thoroughfare highway. I'd suggest you come back and try again, but frankly Florida is better off without such ignorance.

GoTravel

Oh, I forgot about the post about garbage along the roadsides of NC,SC, and GA.

I think someone has a couple of screen names.

It does no one any good when you overgeneralize and trash a location. Chances are that destination employs many people in tourism.

If you have a particular problem with somewhere, I totally understand but the above post and two other mentioned are bull%$#@.

travdis

I saw alot of Southwest Florida outside of the Interstate Highway and Route 41. Generally I still state the whole area was tacky. Sure there was some nice areas of town, like the Westpark area of Tampa and parts of Naples and Sarasota.

The residential areas of Tampa and Fort Meyers looked run down. 1000s of small run down houses with lots of trash in the yards and cars parked right in the front yard. There seemed to be no zoning.

I saw the Tampa area from the air in a long slow approach to the airport. I was shocked by the lack of a natural forest. The only trees were small palms that were planted.

Someone talked about Atlanta. Even with the massive development overtaking the greater Atlanta area there are huge forested areas and lots of open space and beautiful homes hidden in thick forests. I did not see that in Tampa!

snowrooster

Actually, travdis started the thread about old-fashion small town restaurants, which I rather enjoyed.

Patrick

Tampa doesn't have forests? Imagine that!!! The mountains there are pretty dismal too, I'll admit? How are the beaches in Atlanta? I suggest you get an atlas or learn something basic about geography travdis. There were never Georgia style forests in the Tampa area.

Obviously you missed the nice residential areas -- your comments have no meaning since you only went through the poorer sections, obviously.

Besides, didn't we have this from you once before? How dumb are you that you had to come back!

snowrooster

It does seem that if parks and open space are what interest you, it would be best to venture off the highway at some point. You really can't judge an entire state just by driving through it on a highway. It don't even consider myself having been to a place if all I do is drive through.

TravelLaughter

travdis, next time, go west young man, go west, and discover some fabulous beaches, you won't miss the trees. But, yes, there are a few pines interspersed with the palms and sea oats and grasses. There are some strip malls however, inland.

GoTravel

Patrick, the beaches in Atlanta are all ugly and full of poisonous fish because one time when I went to the beach in Atlanta I got stung by a jellyfish and it hurt and anyone who goes to the poisonous dirty beaches of Atlanta will get stung by jellyfish.

Patrick

Wow. Thanks for the warning GoTravel. I was hoping to do some fabulous shelling on the Atlanta beaches, but maybe it won't be worth it if I have to worry about those jellyfish. Maybe I'll just stay in Southwest Florida and do some whitewater rafting in the mountains.

rjw_lgb_ca

"travdis" can change her alias all she wants, she's still bunchargum (and all those other aliases she uses). Troll, troll, troll. Either there isn't enough greenery to suit her delicate tastes, or the people are too low-class for her refined upbringing (they might touch her!), or there are too many beggars and touts, or the culture isn't interesting enough, or the dealers aren't sufficiently generous to let her win big at blackjack/poker/whatever.

Don't let her remarks get to you-- they're made to provoke, not to offer anything useful. And yeah, any city looks horrible if you never leave the Interstate running through it!

GoTravel

Don't be silly Patrick. Everyone knows that white water rafting is only good in the Mojave desert.

Snowskiing is the activity of choice in the mountains of Southwest Florida. Be warned that everyone skiing in Southwest Florida wears fannypacks.

beachdreams

The beaches are not dirty in Atlanta. I am looking out my office window and watching the clean waves gentle lap the parking lot.

Now our rain forests could use a bit of work. LOL

highbay

GT: and tube socks with their sneakers

karens

Travdis - did you visit Siesta Key? Ringing Museum of Art? Marie Shelby Gardens? Sanibel Island? You cannot judge the whole area on Rte. 41, but it is an annoying road.

I do like western FL, but I do agree that there is rampant commercialization in too many areas. My mother-in-law lives in Sarasota and traffic is getting worse every time we visit.

Most of Florida is not my cup of tea. I like my beaches natural and not lined with high-rises. So we go to Sanibel.