Neighborhood Spotlight: Ybor City
Who: Ybor City Resident
Q: How long have you lived in Ybor City?
A: 7 years
Q: What are your and your husband’s professions?
A: My husband is a commercial insurance agent and I stay at home with our 2 young children. I previously also worked as a commercial insurance agent.
Q: How has living in Tampa positively impacted your careers?
A: Tampa has grown exponentially over the last 10+ years and it has made for a ton of new business opportunities. Tampa’s growth has also helped me out in my stay-at-home mom era! We are never bored with all the things that Tampa has to offer for toddlers. Being less than 10 minutes from the children’s museum, zoo, and aquarium keeps us busy.
Q: Why is Ybor City the perfect lifestyle fit for you?
A: The walkability is a huge factor for us, especially with 2 young kids. Not having to load them up into the car and just being able to get the stroller out to go grab coffee or out to dinner is a major plus. It has definitely grown in the past few years, but we don’t have much traffic and can even get into dinner without reservations….sometimes. We also love how relaxed and laid back the neighborhood is.
Q: What roles do the local businesses play in the community? How do these businesses add to Ybor’s culture?
A: The businesses are the heart of Ybor! 7th Ave is what brings most people to Ybor, so the bars, restaurants, and shops play a huge role in to the culture.
Q: What community events and engagement opportunities do you always look forward to?
A: You can find us at the Saturday Ybor market every weekend! We love all the vendors and stock up on sourdough bread and vegetables for the week. We also look forward to all the different events on 7th Ave throughout the year – specifically the Tampa Seminole Club block party (go Noles!), the Cigar Festival, the Sant’ Yago Knight Parade, and the tree lighting!
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in the area?
A: This is a hard one because we love so many. El Puerto and Rosenheim’s are two of our favorites, but we also love the peanut butter wings from Gaspar’s Grotto.
Q: What’s your favorite local coffee shop to visit?
A: We frequent Grassroots the most because it is steps away from our home and my daughter loves to sit outside and watch the chickens, but we also love Blind Tiger.
Q: What recreational hobbies do you enjoy participating in that are available to Ybor City residents?
A: I LOVE Yoga Loft and cannot shout out Johnnie’s classes enough. We take the trolley a lot to The Florida Aquarium or the hockey games – my daughter is obsessed with both the aquarium and riding the trolley. In the summer we like to go to Hotel Haya to swim in the pool & grab a few cocktails. Next on this list is to check out the pickle ball courts!
Q: Why do you believe Ybor City is the perfect fit to raise your children and build a home?
A: When we first moved to Ybor we didn’t really think of it as family- friendly and weren’t really thinking about family planning yet, we just thought it would be a fun place to live for a few years, but as we met more people in the neighborhood and community and decided to start our family, we quickly knew Ybor was where we wanted to plant our roots. We love how centrally located it is, we totally get the “city” feel while also still having the community of a smaller neighborhood.
Q: What advice would you give someone considering making their home in Ybor City?
A: I would say that while we are so excited about the future of Ybor the one thing we love the most is its historic, old Tampa feel. As much as Tampa has changed over the years, the unique part of Ybor is that it has remained pretty strong to its core and I think the community of Ybor has totally helped keep it that way. So, if you are planning on making the move to Ybor I’d say to make sure you love it for what it is now just as much as what it will be in the future! And you’ll have to learn to love the roosters because they aren’t going anywhere!