THE REAL ESTATE POST Connecting Buyers & Sellers in Tampa Bay

TAMPA is a city in the state of Florida that sits on the central west coast and has a population of over 300,000 and it is now the 54^th largest city in America. Tampa Bay which consists of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater make up the largest population in Florida second to Miami then Orlando. The history of Tampa has a layered tapestry of culture and although it is now a popular tourist destination it hasn’t always been this way. The economy and business is better than it has been and more and more visitors are coming here. The fantastic weather and amazing entertainment offers everyone so much to see and do. Tourism is our main source of revenue.

The best time to visit Tampa is in the winter and spring (December-April) as the summer temperature rises to an uncomfortable level. Tampa is well known for being in the Guinness World Records for having the most days of sunshine in the world, having the longest continuous sidewalk in North America, and having the longest rolled cigar. We also have miles and miles of clean golden coastlines. The history of Tampa interests many of the visitors and finding out about the different meanings of the name is the first thing of interest. Tampa is believed to mean “the place to gather sticks” or “sticks of fire”. Some believe this is why the lightning strikes here a great deal in the summer months.

When the Spanish explorers landed at this coast they were amazed to find the Tocobaga villages on one side and the Calusa villages on the other. The explorers originally wanted to use this to set up colonies and explore for gold. The explorers soon lost interest when the only bounties they found were the fish and shellfish. With the explorers came disease, which was so bad that the whole of Tampa was depopulated and virtually ignored for over 200 years.

The history of Tampa then seems to pick up again in the early 18^th century when there were only a handful of residents in the area. Fishing was the main industry here until 1821 when America bought Tampa from the Spanish and then great plans became evident. The US destroyed all of the native settlements which had been established and looked to redevelop the area and free all of the black slaves.

Tampa remained a very isolated part of the US with very few inhabitants as the Seminole war raged on it was only when this war finished that colonies began to return. Cigar manufacturing was the main industry in Tampa for most of the 20^th century and it employed many of the residents. As the city began to grow so did the residents. The majority of cigar factories were located in Ybor City and Old West Tampa and are still used today as converted work space.

As Tampa grows so do the amenities to support a vibrant life under the sun. We have three new museums, a new downtown river front park, one of the best international airports you will find, and high–speed rail on the way. Our history has been diverse and unique, and no matter the economic climate, it has proven to be a strong community as it continues to entice us with layers of character.