Brendan,

This guy, Matt Woolsey,  from Forbes has to be the most boring, monotone negative "child" you have ever had on your show. I believe in what you said "Why not get started in Tampa, a smaller market place to start your career, less competition." This guy is so dry and devoid of personality it's hard to follow him.

We love your show.

Thank You

Something that was not addressed during this discussion was, you cannot purchase a home in Tampa anywhere, where you will not be subjected to at some point very loud, obnoxious, screaming illegal Latino peoples from all areas of Latin America. Drive by shootings, MS13 gangs, entire ares such as Ybor City completely taken over, and their very young children (babies) and chickens running free in the streets at all hours of the night everywhere. Who other than more illegal Latinos are going to want to purchase a home in Tampa, let alone work for crap wages and pay premium prices for home where you can even open your windows because of all the noise or gunfire. No person that pays for a beautiful home should be subjected to that, but here in Tampa you are.

I can't believe you are arguing with Matt!  He's absolutely right!  When I moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1980, I quickly became aware that the area was run by right-wing conservative Bible-thumpers who's aim was to invest little or no and reap 1000%!  It's still that way today.  All glitter. No gold.  As the saying goes, "Money talks . . . ."

I don't know why Brendan was arguing...I agree Tampa is a terrible place for a young professional, especially a single young professional. Wages are terrible, and now housing is out of sight. There are few upscale venues for entertainment (and when he suggested Ybor, I just laughed--it is tacky and scary and mostly NOT for professionals).

Matt  has done a terrific job on describing Tampa (Tampa Bay) qnd U thoiroughly agree with him he has done his homework well.  I am retired but if I was still working I'd certainly leave this area and find a location where service industry was not the biggest employer but that's what it is.  

Mr. Woolsey’s critique of the Tampa Bay area was highly damming of the state of our financial status in this country, when it comes to making a living here in the Tampa Bay reign.  However he did point out the problem we are a military based economy, and the price you pay is limited growth potential.  We need to expand our economic base or expect to become a sleepy burg of Orlando.  Film production, gambling, or electronics, are some areas in which we could look.  Mr. Woolsey is not the enemy here we are, and until we stop allowing myths like “it’s cheaper to live here” be a position point in our annual salary negotiations.  I would love to see this area become a viable destination for families and singles to live and achieve the economic status they desire.

I was born and raised in a bedroom community of Tampa and wouldn't trade my expereinces for the world, but I certainly think Mr. Woolsey is right and makes a strong case for his article.  I'm currently in grad school in England (I thank WFTS for making this broadcast available online) and had the privilege of going to one of the prestigious American Universities that Mr. Woolsey alludes to, despite my middle class background.  I would love to come back home and work in Tampa, but for any of my career choices, I can't see the city having a lot to offer me.  Being 25, I can't say I would want to end up in Ybor every weekend, and if I wanted to go elsewhere, I would have to drive all over the place, not walk.  If I do end up outside of Florida, I'll always be proud to think of the Tampa Bay area as home.

Gotta say, first of all, that if you think Ybor is tacky, you may be right. If you think it's scary, then you'd be scared of just about any city far, far away from your strip malls and generic fast food joints.

Tampa is a small pond, so it's easy to become a big fish pretty quickly,  but for many "millenials", there isn't a sense of community here. The music venues are too spread out, driving is a must and the artist communities are teensie.

As for the economy, it's based on MacDill, tourism and call centers. Not much else is going on here.  So unless you're ready to get into the wild world of sales, really not much of a draw for kids with real degrees.