Tampa which serves as the county seat of Hillsborough County, Florida in the United States is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area. It is a medium city with an estimated population of 399,700 in 2019. Out of almost 19,500 cities in the US, Tampa is the 48th most-populous and the third-largest in Florida.
Finance, retail, healthcare, insurance, tourism, and real estate are vital Tampa’s economy. This mid-sized city is indeed a good place to live if you are looking for blue- and white-collar careers.
Here are 4 more reasons to move to Tampa.
A Growing Job Market
Tampa has a large and growing job market where many companies have relocated parts of their operations to the area because of all the advantages. Healthcare, retail and finance industries are the top three largest employers in the city. Meanwhile, education and telecommunications are also growing industries. As a whole, Tampa is an emerging tech startup hub. In fact, it was named one of the nation’s Top 20 Tech Towns at the end of 2019. Twenty corporations with over $1 billion in annual revenue is headquartered in the city and around 500 foreign-owned companies from more than 40 nations are established in the community.
Excellent Colleges and Universities
Tampa has a number of growing public schools and highly regarded private schools. The city houses the main campus of the University of South Florida (USF), the eleventh highest individual campus enrollment in the U.S. with over 46,000 students in 2010. The University of Tampa (UT), a private, four-year liberal arts institution which had an enrollment of over 9000 students in 2018 can also be found in Tampa.
Hillsborough Community College, a two-year community college in the Florida College System; Southern Technical College, a private two-year college that operates a campus in Tampa and Hillsborough Technical Education Centers (HiTEC), the postsecondary extension of the local areas Public Schools district; provide a variety of technical training certification courses as well as job placement skills.
Hillsborough County Public Schools or the School District of Hillsborough County which operates Tampa’s public primary and secondary education is the eighth-largest school district in the United States. It has around 189,469 enrolled students and runs 208 schools, 133 being elementary, 42 middle, 27 high schools, two K-8s, and four career centers. Newsweek had listed 12 out of 27 high schools in the SDHC as America’s Best High Schools.
Inexpensive Living
Tampa’s market offers good housing at a reasonable price. In fact, the cost of living in Tampa is 5% lower than the national average, and the housing costs are 23% lower. Since it’s in Florida, there’s no state income tax and that’s one of the best things that make Tampa a great place to relocate.
If you are thinking about moving to Tampa, be sure to check Zumper first and gather some data that could be helpful in your search for the best property to rent in Tampa.
According to Zumper, an online tool used by millions of renters to find houses, rooms, condos, or apartments for rent; the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Tampa is currently $1,217; that’s 11% increase compared last year. The average rent for a studio apartment in Tampa decreased by -5% to $1,305 over the past month. On the other hand, there was an increase of 1% to $1,217 on the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment, and the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment also increased by 2% to $1,445. Out of 53, 900 households in the metro, 48% is renter-occupied, the rest is owner-occupied.
Family-Friendly Attractions
In Tampa, you will find plenty of fun and adventure for kids and kids at heart and they welcome children of all ages. Topping the list is Busch Gardens, a well-run theme park with a wide variety of animal-themed activities and exhibits, thrill rides for all ages, as well as dining options for the whole family to enjoy.
Meanwhile, ZooTampa which has been voted the #1 Family Friendly Zoo in the country by Parents Magazine, is loved by both locals and visitors. It is a 56-acre nonprofit zoo featuring 1,300 animals and regionally endangered species.
Another kid-friendly, family-friendly attraction is the Tampa Bay Water Bikes located on the public docks downtown Tampa. Water biking is easy and fun at this perfect sightseeing option to get a water view of the city’s iconic landmarks.
