Explore Tampa Bay
The Four Jewels of Tampa Bay.
Thinking about a move to the Gulf Coast? Here is the case for it, and a local’s guide to the four places that make up the best of the Bay.
Why people move here
Sunshine is only the start.
No state income tax
Florida takes nothing off your paycheck, one of the biggest reasons buyers relocate to Tampa Bay from higher-tax states.
361 days of sunshine
St. Petersburg literally holds the world record for it. Life here is lived outdoors, on the water, year-round.
Water everywhere
The Gulf on one side, the Bay on the other: beaches, boating, and waterfront living are part of the everyday, not the vacation.
Culture and value
World-class museums, pro sports, and a real food scene, at a cost of living well below Miami or the coastal Northeast.
Jewel 01
St. Petersburg
The Sunshine City
Walkable, artsy, and endlessly sunny. Downtown St. Pete pairs a world-class waterfront with murals, galleries, and a restaurant scene that rivals cities twice its size, while its neighborhoods stay genuinely livable.
Explore St. PeteGood to know
- 768 consecutive sunny days: a Guinness World Record set here that has never been broken.
- One of the largest collections of Salvador Dalí’s work outside Spain sits on the waterfront.
- Miles of downtown parks and the new St. Pete Pier anchor the bayfront.
The must-sees
Where locals go
Saturday Morning Market, the Central Avenue and Grand Central districts, Sunken Gardens, and sunset at North Shore.
Jewel 02
Tampa
The big-city side of the Bay
The Bay’s urban engine: a booming downtown, the Riverwalk, historic Ybor City, and championship sports. Tampa brings the jobs, the nightlife, and the big-league energy, with waterfront neighborhoods to match.
Explore TampaGood to know
- The 2.6-mile Tampa Riverwalk connects parks, museums, and restaurants along the Hillsborough River.
- Ybor City, the historic Latin quarter, is one of only a few National Historic Landmark districts in Florida.
- Home to the Buccaneers, the Lightning, and spring-training baseball nearby.
The must-sees
Where locals go
Bayshore Boulevard’s waterfront path, Armature Works food hall, Sparkman Wharf, and Cuban sandwiches in Ybor.
Jewel 03
Clearwater
America’s beach
Sugar-white sand and turquoise water with a laid-back, family-friendly feel. Clearwater is the postcard: consistently ranked among the best beaches in the country, with a real community behind it.
Explore ClearwaterGood to know
- Clearwater Beach was named the #1 beach in Florida and #2 in the U.S. in Tripadvisor’s 2025 Best of the Best.
- The Clearwater Marine Aquarium: rescue home of Winter the dolphin from the film Dolphin Tale.
- Pier 60 hosts a nightly sunset festival with buskers and craft vendors.
Where locals go
The Caladesi Island ferry, morning walks on the north beach, and fresh grouper at the Dunedin edge of town.
Jewel 04
The Gulf Beaches
The barrier-island string
The chain of beach towns from Pass-a-Grille to Madeira: each with its own character, all on the Gulf. This is where locals keep their boats, their beach chairs, and their favorite sunset spot.
Explore the beachesGood to know
- Fort De Soto Park’s beaches regularly rank among the best in the nation.
- John’s Pass Village in Madeira Beach is the Bay’s busiest working waterfront and boardwalk.
- Pass-a-Grille is a historic, low-key beach town with none of the high-rises.
The must-sees
Where locals go
Shell Key kayaking, the Pass-a-Grille seawall at sunset, and the neighborhood bars of Treasure Island.
Living here
Everything the Northeast has. Minus the winter.
Tampa Bay pairs big-city culture, finance, and dining with weather nearly as perfect as Miami’s, and beaches whose sunsets are hard to beat anywhere. Where temperate America meets the Caribbean tropics, you can live like you’re on vacation without ever leaving the mainland.
Everyday essentials
Publix is the hometown institution, Florida-born and on nearly every corner, alongside Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Aldi, The Fresh Market, Winn-Dixie, and Walmart. Whatever you shopped at up north, it’s here.
Banking & finance
Every national name you know: Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Truist, and Regions, plus homegrown credit unions like Suncoast, GTE Financial, Grow, and Achieva. And Raymond James, the only major financial firm headquartered in Florida, is based right here in St. Petersburg.
Arts & stage
Opera, ballet, and Broadway tours at the Straz Center, one of the largest performing-arts complexes in the Southeast, plus the St. Petersburg Opera, the waterfront Mahaffey Theater, American Stage, and freeFall Theatre. Culture to rival cities twice the size.
On the water
World-class tarpon fishing, with the runs peaking in May and June, boating and paddling year-round, and some of the best sunsets on Earth: on the Gulf coast, the sun sets over the water, not behind you.
Wild Florida
Tampa Bay sits where temperate America meets the Caribbean tropics, so manatees, dolphins, and mangroves share the map with oak hammocks and pine. Two biomes, one backyard.
Ready to explore in person?
Let Kashmir show you the Bay.
Relocating or just curious? Kashmir will help you find the neighborhood that fits your life, then the home to match.