I sat by the Hillsborough River next to downtown Tampa. I sat with my toddler and we talked about what we saw.
We saw birds in the sky and buildings.
We saw boats. “All kinds of boats,” she said. I taught her the word “paddleboats,” as dozens of them cruised by.
We saw the green water. They were turning the river green for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
There was music playing and inflatables. Hundreds of people were out to see the river turn green, enjoy the great boat weather, and grab snacks from the food trucks. Fun was to be had. And life was happening.
Our introduction to the city of Tampa was nothing like this.
In 2001, only 600 people lived in Tampa’s downtown. And 300 of them were in the Morgan Street Jail! It was then that my husband and I drove through the dead streets, seeing only a few people who were likely walking to their cars after working late. In the late ‘90s it was easy to not love Tampa.
Fast forward to 2011. My husband and I knew we would be involved in church planting, which in Christian-speak is being involved in a new church from the ground up. We knew we wanted to love where we lived, and we surely didn’t love Tampa. We vacationed to a city in Tennessee that year – Chattanooga. We visited a church called River City Church during our trip.
“You should move to Chattanooga,” the church members said. They loved their city. And I did too. Maybe this was the place!
We wanted to love where we lived. And we could definitely see ourselves loving this quirky city in Tennessee. Becoming regulars at St. John’s Meeting Place, The Flying Squirrel, and The Farmer’s Daughter. Getting a family membership to the local climbing gym and attending farmer’s markets on the weekends. This could be the place!
We vacationed a few times to Chattanooga. We took time to explore the city each visit. We spent our time enjoying the outdoors, checking out local restaurants, and watching paddle boarders cruise down their river.
Last weekend, that’s what I did with my family – only we were in Tampa. I was sweetly reminded that through Chattanoogans, I saw what it meant to love a city, to take pride in its successes, and to care about its people. Tampa was the place for me and over the next few years, God was going to make that clear.
Now, I bubble up with excitement when I see life happening in Tampa! I love seeing small businesses succeed, watching the foodie scene gaining traction, seeing old buildings repurposed. I love seeing Twitter handles and Instagram accounts dedicated to exploring my city. Compared to the mere 600 people who lived downtown in 2001, today there are over 6,000!
The city of Chattanooga will always have a piece of my heart. God used it in a great way to show me just how much I would love my city. And that city is Tampa.
Andrea,
Thank you for inspiring many through your blogs and social media. The love that you and Corey have for your city inspires yet convicts me to gain a greater heart for mine. It’s amazing to know that your church plant will flourish because I know you will love your congregants just as much, if not more, than you love your city.
Thanks for the kind words, Shawn! I’ll write more about this in the future, but part of loving your city, at least for us, was fighting for it. Fighting to find the beauty in people and things that have become ordinary to us. :)
Growing up in Seminole Heights was always bittersweet, being sandwiched between several ghettos 10 years ago, with a very close Ybor City that at the time had charm, but was still very rough, and almost just as close was Sulphur Springs and Downtown Tampa….which were places you really didn’t go unless you had to. Now, Sulphur Springs has had many cleaning projects, and lights installed, business are popping up left and right in Seminole Heights and Ybor, and Downtown Tampa is just the same. I have watched this area go from a run-down, “used to be great” area, to a now beautiful place you want to visit, and live in. Josh and I would love to see the arts because more embraced in this area (similar to Asheville, NC), and it’s evident that it’s in the works. Thank you for sharing your heart on this!
Love it! You write well! Great pictures to!
Thanks Clint! :)
Even though I’ve heard your story, this still gives me chills. I love that God has your family right here in Tampa – in mine & my husband’s life, for our church, and for the betterment of this city.
Yay! Me too! :)
So beautiful! Loved reading that piece. :)
Thanks Kate! I really appreciate it! :)
Glad I stopped to read this today. I married last year and moved to Tampa. While we’re both from Chicago, he has mostly lived in Tampa for nearly the last 10 years. He had no desire to come back to a climate that had the potential to be cold, let alone the guarantee. And truth be told, I wanted to move to the south for a number of reasons – one being to get away from the cold. Yet, Tampa was NOT on my list. FLORIDA wasn’t even on my list. But I’m here. And I’m working on it. Tampa is growing on me and except for the pizza and a few other Chicago foodie fixes that I can’t get here, I’m not complaining.
Thanks again…
How cool, because Chicago does the green river too! Of course, it’s a much newer tradition for Tampa compared to over 50 years for Chicago. We are definitely in a tropical climate here and that’s something to get used to :)
Thanks for sharing and I hope you find the things that you love about Tampa to help call it home :) We have lots of great food around! But you are right about the pizza! The closest thing to deep dish I can recall having locally is Babe’s Pizza – double decker pie (http://www.yelp.com/biz/babes-pizza-brandon).