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Located along Florida's West Coast, Tampa/Hillsborough County is one of the fastest growing areas of the United States. The four-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties has about 2.5 million people, making it the second-largest MSA in the Southeast and the 21st-largest MSA in the U.S.
The region encompasses a physical environment that cannot be topped: miles of blue waterways and sugar-white shorelines, brilliant sunlit skies and a perfect average annual temperature of 72 degrees.
In Hillsborough County, downtown Tampa is at the region's center, about 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico beaches to the west, and one hour from Disney and Universal theme parks to the northeast. The City of Tampa is Florida's third largest city with 300,000-plus residents, while Hillsborough County has more than a million residents in all.
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Thanks to steady in-migration, the population of Tampa/Hillsborough County is growing ever younger. Tampa Bay offers year-round cultural events and social activities for people of all ages and interests. From ballet to professional baseball, football and hockey, from golf to jazz, from beaches to art festivals, from the exciting entertainment of Ybor City night life to serene strolls along beautiful Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa and surrounding areas offer a multitude of opportunities for residents to live, work and play.
Besides nearby beaches, major attractions in the region include: Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, The Florida Aquarium, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Lowry Park Zoo, Salvador Dali Museum, Fantasy of Flight, Tampa Museum of Art, Hillsborough River State Park, the downtown Tampa Channelside retail complex, and upscale shopping centers, including International Plaza and Westshore Mall in Tampa.
Traditional events specific to the region include The Gasparilla Parade - a mock pirate invasion that has taken place each February for over a century. Also in February, the area hosts the Florida State Fair, and the Sant'Yago Illuminated Night Parade in Ybor City. The Guavaween Parade and Festival in October is Tampa's unique take on Halloween. The Outback Bowl provides championship NCAA football in January, and Plant City's Florida Strawberry Festival in March provides world renowned entertainment and mass quantities of the "world's best strawberry shortcake."
Tampa has active professional sports alliances- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Tampa Bay Lighting and New York Yankees Spring Training all call this region home. The University of South Florida Bulls and University of Tampa Spartans provide multiple NCAA sports for the area. There are multiple opportunities for participation in amateur sports. Dozens of beautiful golf courses are located nearby, and boating and other outdoor opportunities are ever present.
Nearly 20,000 hotel rooms are available, and meeting space is plentiful in Tampa, including the 600,000-square-foot downtown Tampa Convention Center.
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