I live in Tampa and would agree with your daughter’s assessment, especially from that part of town. You are welcome to PM me if you want to share a more specific location and I’ll try to help. It sounds like she’ll be living in the suburbs rather than near the city. The beaches are in Clearwater/St. Pete so completely the other side of the Tampa Bay area.
A lot of fun activities are in the Riverwalk/Channelside area downtown. My daughter loves to spend an afternoon walking and shopping Hyde Park Village. She should check out what’s happening at the beautiful and historic Tampa Theatre downtown. They have a nice schedule of films and events.