Tampa is a city of about 300,000 people, Florida's third largest city after Jacksonville and Miami. As well as being a major vacation area, Tampa is a diverse business center. The skyline depicts the number of banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms that are located within the community. Numerous companies have chosen Tampa for their home base or regional headquarters.

Tampa has an industrial base of more than 1,000 manufacturing firms and boast a large list of prestegious companies as well. Companies such as GTE, Metlife, Time Customer Service, USAA, and Anchor Glass to name a few.

Tampa's port is the country's tenth largest port and Florida's largest deep water port. Approximately 50 million tons of cargo go through her port annually. Domestic cargo through the port includes petroleum, ammonia, phosphate, rock, scrap metal, sulphur and phosphatic chemicals.

There is more than just the port in Tampa. Also on the water front is the Florida Aquarium, The Ice Palace - home to the Tampa Bay Lightening and Channelside, a 230,000 square foot complex now under construction that will soon provide entertainment, dining and shopping.

Tampa's business district, Bayshore Boulevard and the Westshore area are surrounded by some of the finest residential areas on Florida's West Coast. Within a 20 minute drive of the downtown area, there is a wide variety of housing available. These areas include Ybor City, Davis Island, Bayshore Blvd., Hyde Park, Culbreath Bayou, Beach Park and Palma Ceia.

Photos Provided By THCVA, Tampa's Offical Visitors Site