Moving to Tampa, Florida

[fleurgirl]

I'm moving to the Tampa area soon in Florida and I will be finishing up High School there. I really want to present as female, but I've heard Florida is really conservative and that many people lack an open mind. I've been reading about my new school and one teacher has been fired last year for racist acts such as harassment of a group of African-American students. How should I feel? I thought beaches and coastal settings usually attract cool, open-minded people. Am I wrong and naive?

[Dani]

Expressing your concerns shows me that you are not naive. Just like most anywhere else, there are nice people and not so nice ones as well. I have lived in the Tampa area for over 10 years and there is a vibrant support group there.

In the earliest months of my transition, I was living in Clearwater. I had a few concerns so I moved to the Miami area. The town of Largo (just south of Clearwater) fired their City Manager (Susan Stanton) when she started to transition. Things are a bit more friendlier in St Petersburg and in Tampa just south of downtown.

The most trans friendly areas in Florida are Orlando, Ft Lauderdale and Key West.

[fleurgirl]

Expressing your concerns shows me that you are not naive...

Thank you for the information!

[CarlyMcx]

There's a reason they call that area the Redneck Riviera.

[steph2.0]

I live about 60 miles north of Tampa, and I expected the worst when I started transitioning. And so far I have been completely surprised. All my neighbors are cool, my doctor's office has multiple transgender patients, and the support and social groups in St Pete and Orlando are very active. Look up Metro Health in Tampa for more support.

I'm in a completely different position that you are, considering that I'm 59 years old, semi-retired, and I was well established here, having lived in this location for 10 years before I came out, so your mileage may vary. There are bigots in every place, but so far I haven't run head-on into any.

PM me if you'd like to talk about it. 

Stephanie

[JaneinFL]

I am in Palm Coast, about a half hour north of Daytona.