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Get to know Tampa

The third most populated city in Florida, Tampa is the urban center of the Tampa Bay area. It’s the largest port in the state, including serving as the primary departure port for many Caribbean cruises. Tampa also is home to the MacDill Air Force Base, as well as the Tampa International Airport. As a hub for traffic by land, air, or sea, the city has a cosmopolitan culture, influenced by those who came from elsewhere to settle the town. Tampa loves celebrating its buccaneer history, with its famous annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival where a decorated pirate flotilla sails across Tampa Bay, before delivering a pirate crew who demand a key to the city and who then continue triumphantly through the streets on parade floats. It’s why you’ll see pirate flags flying around town and why the local Super Bowl champions are known as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Living in the Tampa Bay area

Central West Florida encompasses the area surrounding Tampa Bay, including Tampa itself and stretching down to St. Petersburg, Bradenton, and Sarasota. This coastal region is what people imagine when dreaming about Florida, a place where year-round sunshine beckons and every day is a beach day. Many have been lured to Tampa Bay by its weather, including baseball’s annual migration to spring training and The Ringling Brothers Circus’s long-time winter home in Sarasota. There’s a wide range of places to live, whether it’s year-round or only for a snowbird’s sojourn. The area includes barrier islands with picturesque beaches, busy urban downtowns, artsy neighborhoods of cafes and bungalows, and inland master-planned gated communities that are among the fastest growing in the nation. There’s no shortage of fun in Tampa Bay, with pro sports teams in residence, well-regarded museums, delicious restaurants, and a ton of outdoor activities on land and sea.