Hey all,
I might be transferring to the Tampa Florida area around the Summertime (great time to move to Florida, I know, HOT!) and don't know squat about the area other than I visited once when living in Orlando 25 years ago.

Might be renting for a short time and then looking to purchase (or build?) a house, looking at a couple areas with better Elementary schools as I have a couple young kids. Would leave much of our furniture and a couple pins behind, would likely bring along our MAME Arcade, Twister, and Jungle Princess.

Second thing I'll have to get used to (The heat being the first) is the lack of a basement gameroom, which I've had everywhere I've lived in Jersey. So not sure what kind of main floor space we'll have to play, but wife is a fan so there will be something setup.

I know Orlando isn't great for pin play, how is Tampa? Are there places to play in the wild and/or a good sales market to pickup new/used machines? I never go out to Leagues or such much where I live now, but would be something good to do once in a new area to meet folks and have some fun.

What's Tampa like, and how is it for Pinball??

Thanks for the feedback all,
I'm looking forward to the move if it happens, and might visit the area in a few weeks when we head down to Disney. I've bookmarked the village site and will check that often if we move to the area.

Not sure where we'll end up but the wife is checking out everywhere. Checking schools, taxes, flood zones... all that fun stuff.

After we get settled I'll definitely want to get the gameroom setup and hopefully add a few machines, so I'll be checking the market.

Any specific do's or don'ts if moving into the state? Like in Jersey you want to check the humidity in the basement, sump pump and french drains are good ideas. Radon should be checked. Know what's involved with Septic systems, if it's hooked up to natural gas, well or city water, etc. Any particular watch-outs for this area for new arrivals?

Thanks all.

Appreciate all,
Looks like my wife as secured the private sale of our house already. Mind you I haven't received an actual offer yet, but she's all set to go. Assuming this actually goes forward it looks like we're got a jump on some of the details.

Might give one of my Pins to a brother-in-law that has helped me to make some repairs on the house. His favorite of mine is Spy Hunter which is my first Pin purchase, so be nice to keep that in the family rather than sell outright.

We shall see...

This is finally happening,
Finally got the job offer, gave away a bunch of furniture to different family members, gave away 1 pin, hope to come down in next couple of weeks to house search, might hit some pinball while I'm down there. House sale current in complications, what else is new.

See you soon!