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Building your custom home in the Tampa Bay area means living in a vibrant city rich with history, beauty, and excitement. The city of Tampa offers some of the best Florida living. City lovers and nature lovers alike call Tampa their home, and there are many unique places to build in this multifaceted city. Arjen Homes has the expertise and flexibility to build you a beautiful, modern custom home in Tampa that you’ll love as much as the city itself.

Where in Florida is Tampa?

Tampa is on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, nestled in Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area, the second largest being St. Petersburg, which is a short drive away across the bay.

Rain from tropical systems is a vital part of the ecosystem in Florida, and it also keeps the water supplies healthy. There is a distinct rainy season from June to September. Sitting on the west coast of the peninsula, Tampa is a bit more sheltered from extreme weather conditions than the further southern or eastern cities. Being on the coast also keeps temperatures slightly more moderate than much of Florida. Although it’s certainly a very warm city, you’ll find it comfortable year round. 

Is Tampa a good place to live?

Tampa is one of the best places to live in Florida, and it’s a great time to move here. The beautiful nature and exciting city attract visitors from around the world year round. Living in Tampa, you’ll have endless opportunities to explore world class attractions in an evolving city. 

In Tampa alone you’ll find enormous amusement parks like Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, where you can spend an entire day having fun with the whole family. The Florida Aquarium is home to over 20,000 species of aquatic animals and plants for you to see.

Tampa was founded in 1849, and the many museums in Tampa offer lots of different glimpses into the history of the city. The Henry B. Plant Museum is perhaps the most famous, and the building itself is the most striking exhibit. The museum is housed in the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel, one of the earliest resorts of its type. Visitors can experience what it might have been like to visit Florida a hundred years ago, and see many artifacts of vintage luxury.

Tampa is also one of the best places to retire in the country. Florida has no state income tax, so Social Security benefits, pensions, and IRA/401(k) income will not be taxed at the state level. Florida also has no estate or inheritance taxes. Other tax rates are near the national averages. Tampa also attracts many retirees because of the city’s cleanliness, outdoor recreation, and, of course, the weather. But another thing that makes Tampa a uniquely great place to retire is that people of all walks of life move here. There are so many awesome and different areas in which to build, and Arjen Homes can help you find the perfect place to fit your lifestyle.

So much of what you see in modern day Tampa is connected to the city’s past. For instance, take the Gasparilla Pirate Festival. Annually since 1904, the city has held a parade and many other associated events to celebrate the spirit of mythical pirate José Gaspar. The celebration begins with a pirate ship filled with costumed pirates entering the bay and “invading” the city. Although people disagree on whether or not Gaspar the man actually existed, Gaspar the legend is larger than life. 

Cuban culture is an essential part of the city of Tampa. Vicente Martinez-Ybor, an early businessman in the cigar industry, moved from Cuba to Tampa in 1886 and brought with him the tradition of excellence in cigar making to Tampa. Ybor City is a neighborhood in Tampa that arose in those days. Today, it’s home to a variety of shops, restaurants, and bars that reflect the diversity of the immigrants who built it.

The food culture in Tampa is a melting pot of different influences, much like the city itself. Traditional restaurants and bakeries like Colombia Restaurant (the oldest restaurant in Florida) and La Segunda Central Bakery have treated residents and visitors to authentic Cuban cuisine for over a hundred years now. The paella at Colombia is one of the quintessential dishes in all of Tampa, combining so many of the signature ingredients of the region in one delicious skillet. The recipes for the world class cocktails at Colombia have been passed down and perfected for generations, and Tampans have been enjoying sandwiches on fresh bread from La Seguna for as long as anyone can remember. La Segunda ships their bread to many restaurants across the country, so it’s possible you’ve already tried it, even if you haven’t set foot in Tampa yet.

Cuban food is just one of the many flavors of Tampa. Florida is where the east coast meets the south. The Gulf of Mexico provides Tampa with a bounty of fresh seafood, like oysters, crab, shrimp, and grouper. The tropical climate fosters lots of fresh citrus fruit, which you’ll notice is a highlight of many dishes and drinks in Tampa. Tampa Bay has welcomed immigrants from all over the world throughout its history, and you’ll find many of them represented in the restaurant industry. Sometimes nothing hits the spot like a generous serving of jerk chicken and red beans and rice from Jerk Hut, which is a fierce contender for best Jamaican spot in Tampa. You’ll get to tour food from countries Latin America, the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia.

Tampa has also been ahead of the curve on the popularity of food trucks. Tampa is home to the world’s largest food truck rally. Whenever there’s something going on in Tampa, you can guarantee there will be food trucks. And there’s always something going on in Tampa. Some food trucks have been slinging tacos in Tampa for decades, and newer ones are riding the wave of popularity food trucks are seeing. You can find food trucks with practically any of your favorite cheap eats, from tacos, to italian food, to grilled cheese sandwiches.

In recent years, chefs in Tampa have been pushing the envelope even more, synthesizing all the culinary influences of Tampa into unique and innovative dishes that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Trendy restaurants like Rooster & Till are creating dining experiences that will blow you away. 

Tampa is a great place for a food lover to live, whether you love fine dining, late night take out, or cooking for your family at home with fresh, local ingredients.

What is Tampa famous for?

In a few words, Tampa is famous for its celebrations. You’ll find celebration as the drive behind a lot of aspects of life in Tampa. Much of the food is a celebration of the past, and of all the countries that make up the diverse heritages in Tampa. Tampa is filled with many tourist attractions where a “go big or go home” attitude means there’s always cause for celebration. From one weekend to the next, you might find a world record gathering of food trucks, or maybe an invasion of partying pirates.

Something else Tampans love to celebrate is their sports. Baseball has always been a popular pastime in Tampa, so it was long overdue when the Tampa Bay Rays officially entered Major League Baseball in 1995. Tampa Bay is also home to the Buccaneers, a team José Gaspar would be proud of. The Bucs have played in the National Football League since 1976, winning the Super Bowl in 2003. The city currently could not be more excited about the future of the team, with the news of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski joining the team for the 2020 season.

Moving to Tampa you’ll enjoy the vibrant city, the great outdoors, and the great indoors in your modern custom home by Arjen Homes. We can’t wait to find the perfect place for you in our special city. Move to Tampa and you’ll be proud to call this city home. Contact us to take the first steps toward your new home.