When he traveled to Tampa for a friend’s wedding in 2017, he was immediately drawn to Florida’s thriving and sunny Bay City, in stark contrast to what he saw in Los Angeles.
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“From the pickup at the beautiful airport, [to] the crystal clear water, the affordable lifestyle, the beauty, the weather, the lack of traffic — I think it’s the most productive position to live in America,” O’Handley told Fox. Digital news.
“I packed my bags and left California. “
Rogan O’Handley, dressed as a patriot, expects President Donald Trump to arrive at a Make America Great Again rally at Florida State Fair Grounds Expo Hall on July 31, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. O’Handley is known as dc_draino on Instagram, where he has 2. 3 million followers. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A Fox News Digital reporter spent some time this month visiting Tampa and discovering why this once-sleepy Gulf Coast city is now one of America’s places to live, paint and thrive.
O’Handley has proposed his five favorite spots to kick off the Tampa excursion as Fox News Digital’s discoveries in the coming days and weeks.
American Social offers an extensive shoreline for food, fun and entertainment where the Hillsborough River flows into Tampa Bay. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
The oceanfront dining spot is located in a trophy corner of Harbor Island in downtown Tampa, providing perspectives of the skyline and waterfront activities.
“It’s so close” to the city’s New Year’s celebrations, O’Handley said, “that you can use gunpowder. “
“I think it’s the most productive place to live in America. ” — Rogan O’Handley (@dc_draino)
American Social is steps from the Tampa Convention Center and its docks for the city’s “Pirate Taxi” ferry service, paddle board rentals and the Bay Rocket water ride.
“You skip a weekend night,” O’Handley said.
Armature Works once housed workshops to fix Tampa’s streetcars. Today, it’s a social bustle of indoor and outdoor dining, entertainment, and family-friendly activities. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
A sprawling warehouse that once housed Tampa’s streetcars has become one of the city’s most colorful social centers.
Armature Works offers an indoor and outdoor collection of food stalls, nightclubs, music and encouraged family activities around the world. It overlooks Tampa’s central Hillsborough River, around which the city was built.
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“Have a drink and walk down the river and watch the manatees,” O’Handley said. “It’s a family-oriented circle with a wealth of children’s activities and outdoor Adirondack chairs that offer one of the most productive prospects in Tampa. “”
Cheetah Hunt, a high-speed roller coaster in Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, is one of the ultimate roller coasters. A trio of throws will catapult runners to speeds of up to 60 mph. (Matt Marriott/Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)
Tampa’s venerable attraction, in 1959, continues to delight families and adrenaline junkies.
“It’s a wonderful family charm circle and an amazing theme park,” the Tampa transplant said.
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Busch Gardens combines part of a dozen world-class roller coasters, “some of the most productive in the world,” O’Handley said, with safari animal attractions.
The park offers an impressive collection of over two hundred other species of exotic animals, plus black rhinos, giraffes and alligators.
Bouzy opened Feb. 3, 2023, in Tampa’s trendy Hyde Park Village neighborhood. Fox News Digital was there for opening night. Bouzy offers high-end bar bites combined with bubbles. which is blatantly translated into English. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Tampa is full of activity hives and community centers, of which it’s bursting right now. Hyde Park is one of the warmest and most elegant.
“One thing about Tampa is that there’s no major center,” O’Handley said.
Instead, “you pick a corner of Tampa and spend the day or night there. “
“There is no major city center. You pick a corner of Tampa and spend the day or night there. “-Rogan O’Handley
The celebrated Instagram user appreciates Hyde Park Village for its luxury and diversity of restaurants, he said, adding Forbici Modern Italian, Mexican at bartaco and Italian steakhouse Timpano. In the latter, visitors “enjoy amazing cheeses and homemade pasta made on a cheese-out wheel,” O’Handley said.
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Bouzy is the new logo at Hyde Park, a new sparkling champagne bar that combines small, sparkling bites. Last week, he opened sommelier Jennifer Bingham’s first new restaurant.
Ybor City in Tampa is known for its historic downtown and immigrant heritage. Ybor City’s cigar bars, such as Tabenero, will offer hand-delivered rolled tobacco and strong Cuban coffee. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Tampa’s historic center of nightlife, immigrant culture and cigar making has undergone a welcome transformation in years.
“They took a step forward in the quality of life in Ybor,” O’Handley said. “Before, it was much harder. It’s safer now. “
He loves Ybor City’s cigar department store, where artisans roll tobacco by hand every day.
An outdoor mural in downtown Tampa is clean, sunny and thriving. The population of the Florida Gulf Coast city increased 15 percent from 335,000 in the U. S. Census. UU. de 2010 to about 387,000 in 2021. Tampa continues to grow. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Appreciate its pedestrian center and its “New Orleans vibe” of black iron balconies and railings.
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There are two villages of Ybor. A paradise for tourists exploring the local history and drinking coffee in the cigar cafes the day becomes a night party spot.
“Ybor City is great,” O’Handley said.
Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter at Fox News Digital.