Where I Live Now

I live in a beautiful place just outside of Tampa, Florida, called Temple Terrace. It was named, not after a place of religious worship, but after the half-million temple orange trees that covered the place in the mid-1920s.

What makes it beautiful are the abundant trees, rolling hills, green grass and small lake at the foot of the hill that connects to the Hillsborough River. We have more than 1,400 bird species that live here or pass through on their annual migrations. There are fish and turtles in the lake, as well as alligators that pass between the river and the lake.

There are birds all over the place, from the ubiquitous muskovy ducks to flocks of white ibis that scour the lawns for insects. Near the lake is a year-round flock of black-bellied whistling ducks that, true to their name, do not quack but whistle (I’ve been told they also are delicious). Waterbirds include great blue herons, snowy egrets, green herons mallard ducks and anhingas, also known as the snake bird, after it’s long neck. In addition to the usual suspects — mockingbirds, blue jays, cardinals and mourning doves — there are wrens, chickadees, flycatchers, gnatcatchers, woodpeckers and crows. Raptors are represented by red-shouldered and thin-shinned hawks and some very shy owls.

The subdivision is named “Raintree” after a species of tree (Koelreuteria elegans) that was imported fro its native China and Korea in the 1900s as a fas-growing ornamental. The golden rain tree is considered an invasive species in Florida and, while striking when it blooms in winter, it also produces high volumes of pollen to which some of us are allergic.

Our neighbors are a mixed bag. About 25% of Raintree’s denizens are retirees, and the rest are working professionals, many employed by the university, young families starting out and students.

The whole subdivision is known as Raintree and is located about equidistant between the University of South Florida and Interstate 75. We live in Raintree Manor, a collection of condominium units built between the late 1970s and early ’80s. Each unit consists of two three-bedroom and two two-bedroom condos, each with its own patio and garage. The feeling is more like a detached home than a quadriplex.

The entrance to Raintree Manor is located on busy, six-lane Fowler Avenue, and becomes Raintree Boulevard — a virtual tunnel of oak trees and greensward that greets one as if entering a serene haven far from the heavy traffic and strip malls that line Fowler.

On the western side of Raintree Boulevard are two apartment complexes called Raintree Lakes. Continuing north on Raintree Boulevard, one comes to a fork in the road — to the east is Raintree Oaks, a community of large upper-middle-class homes, most of which have a two-car garage and a pool.

On the east fork in the road is Raintree Terrace, a community on a cul-de-sac that consists of working- and middle-class families in homes that were mostly built in the 1970s and ’80s.

Continuing west on Soaring Avenue, one enters a gradually less affluent area that ends up at USF student housing and Section 8 projects populated by low-income families.

This area is incredibly diverse, probably owing to the proximity of USF. On 56th Street, which borders Raintree on the west and runs perpendicular to Fowler Avenue, there are at least 12 sharwarma shops and Middle Eastern restaurants, as well as Chinese, Mexican, Vietnamese, Russian, Italian, Greek and Caribbean soul food restaurants. Most of those are locally owned and operated mom-and-pop shops. That’s in addition to the usual lineup of fast-food and national chain eateries.

All in all, Kathy and I are very satisfied living in Raintree. We have some great neighbors and the place is simply beautiful, filled with birdsong and shaded by grandfather oaks, pines and hickory trees. It’s kind of an enclave, and your blood pressure drops a few points just driving in the Raintree entrance from busy Fowler and entering the shady tree-lined tunnel that’s Raintree Boulevard.