Brandon

Brandon is a suburb of Tampa and located just east of Tampa.  It is minutes from downtown Tampa and is a great choice for a home for the home buyer that wants to be near a major metro area but still have a touch of privacy outside of the City. 

Brandon's census boundaries include Palm River-Clair Mel to the west across U.S. Route 301, Valrico to the east, Riverview and Bloomingdale to the south, and East Lake-Orient Park, Mango, and Seffner to the north. Brandon is 11 miles (18 km) east of downtown Tampa and 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Plant City. Interstate 75 passes through the western part of the Brandon CDP, with access from Exits 256 (US 301) and 257 (Florida State Road 60/Brandon Boulevard). Interstate 4 passes 4 miles (6 km) north of the center of Brandon, with access from Exits 7 (US 301), 9 (I-75), and 10 (State Road 579/Mango Road).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Brandon CDP has a total area of 35.0 square miles (90.6 km²), of which 33.1 square miles (85.7 km²) are land and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), or 5.42%, are water.  Neighborhoods within Brandon include Barrington Oaks East, Brandon Hills, Kensington Estates, La Viva, and Limona.

Brandon is home to Westfield Brandon (originally Brandon Town Center), the AMC Regency 20 movie theatre and the Florida Academy for the Performing Arts based at Music Showcase. Although street addresses indicate their locations in Tampa, the multilevel entertainment facility TopGolf, and the arcade restaurant attraction Dave and Buster's are closely associated to Brandon due to their proximity to Westfield Brandon.

The Hillsborough County Fairgrounds sits on the west side of Brandon on SR 60. In 2011-2012, the Hillsborough County Fair made its permanent home here on a plot of land on a rural part of State Road 60. Throughout the years, the fair was held at various locations. The Fair takes place from October 16–20.