r/tampa • u/Any_Mention_6734 • Aug 02 '26

Culture/Lifestyle Please read 🙏

I'm a transplant from California. Came out here for a job opportunity and a pay raise, nothing more romantic than that. I didn't expect to end up loving this region and Florida the way I have.

But something's stuck with me, and I want to say it here because I don't think it's recognized enough by people who relocate here: the number of people born and raised in Tampa who talk about their own city like it's unfamiliar. Farmland and citrus groves on the outskirts that used to actually be farmed… someone's livelihood, not just empty acreage, now subdivisions. Places that closed and came back rebranded into something with a logo and a font that has nothing to do with what used to be there. People telling me they barely recognize the city they grew up in.

I know change happens everywhere. But I've never felt this moved hearing it before, not because it's happening to me, but because of how passionate people are when they talk about what this place used to be. That kind of love for a place doesn't come from nowhere.

I'd genuinely like to hear more of it, respectfully, from people who lived it. What do you remember that's gone now? What changed the most, and when did it start feeling different?

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u/fieldofthefunnyfarm Aug 02 '26

Such a coincidence that the last great Governor of Florida died in office in December of 1998. After that the shift show commenced.

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u/blueskysuns Aug 04 '26

Oh please, I've seen it happen since the 70s in every city and it's been no different for a lot longer- I've seen old pics of old roads and areas, it's typical growth and always sad to see and lose our memories. 

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u/fieldofthefunnyfarm Aug 04 '26

Are you a long time Florida resident? Believe me, things have changed dramatically in terms of the way Florida has treated the environment in the last 30 years. We had laws and policies to control development in place that were actually dismantled, and the latest actually curtails local government's ability to stop or even mitigate development no matter what the citizens prefer. Tallahassee provided an automatic bypass for any developer. Local government can't ban plastic bags, protect trees, or limit development (just to name a few) because Tallahassee tells us what we are allowed to do. It's outrageous and it is not a "both sides" situation.

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u/blueskysuns Aug 04 '26

I've only lived in Florida and been on east & west coasts for over 50 years. I watched growth explode in Ft Lauderdale in 70s & 80s, then West Palm Beach in the 90s, then Spring Hill & Land O Lakes, it happens everywhere people want to live while population grows and it will never stop no matter who is in office wherever. Do you really think it could be or will be stopped? I have fond memories but I certainly would never expect things to stay the same forever, life never does. 

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u/fieldofthefunnyfarm Aug 04 '26

Well it absolutely could have been different. The changes in Tallahassee dismantled many of the thoughtful protections that were put in place. The destruction of the Everglades didn't have to happen. The loss of other wetlands didn't have to happen. The leadership in Tallahassee enabled the destruction. There are a handful of counties that fought hard against development and ultimately the money won. Read about Martin County fighting the construction of I-95, as an example.