Tell me about Sarasota, FL

In My Humble Opinion
1

My parents got a wild hair today and decided they might like to move to the Sarasota, FL area some time in the near future. Now, I live away from home, but they invited my sister, her boyfriend, and I to come along. I hate it here - it’s a small town in Kentucky that just slowly sucks away all motivation I have for living a proper life. I think a clean slate in a more “cosmopolitan” location is just what I need to kickstart myself again.

So, what’s Sarasota like? I’ve never been, but I’ve seen pictures that look beautiful. How’s the price of living and real estate? What’s the job market like for somebody without a college degree and six years in the printshop / design industry? Could I make $8 an hour selling hotdogs and sunscreen on the beach :slight_smile: ? Could a decent townhouse that would fit 3 be findable for ~$700-750 a month when I get tired of living with my parents?

Are there any neat attractions that are fun to visit on a regular basis? What’s the crime rate like? Come on guys - tell me about it. Thanks!

2

It’s very quiet, from what I understand.

Look, if your folks want to move there, tell them to try either renting for six months, or taking a month-long vacation during each of the seasons. I’d hate for them to uproot themselves only to find they hate it.

3

All of that area is very big for retired people. The other big industry is tourism. The one exception is Tampa has more of a normal distribution of people , not so tilted to retirees.

4

A lot of my non-retiree age friends moved down to Manatee (Bradenton) and Sarasota (Sarasota) counties several years back. We all grew up in Pinellas (Clearwater/St Petersburg) and it had become too expensive to get a house near good schools. I think Sarasota county has better schools of the two, but my understanding is that Manatee wasn’t that bad, although it’s become more hispanic lately which may or may not float your boat. Sarasota is, to me, the more posh of the two places and Bradenton is more affordable. There are of course exceptions to both - Lakewood Ranch area being the more upscale non-beach area in Manatee County now.

The minimum wage in Florida is currently $7.25 (source: myflorida.gov) so I’d say chances are good that if you can get a job it will pay over 8. I have some connections to the print industry if you come down and are serious about working - drop me a PM. It’s also possible to live in that area and work in Tampa or the area east of Tampa called Brandon, but it’s a bit of a commute.

You should move to Florida if:

  1. You’re not an idiot (we have plenty of those already, thanks)
  2. You like warm-hot weather.
  3. You really like to go to the beach or play on the water.
  4. You like outdoor sports and you don’t mind being a sweaty mess after 5 minutes outside.
  5. You won’t miss the seasons.
  6. You won’t bitch about how it’s not like it was up north.
  7. You don’t mind getting relatively low pay for hard work.
  8. It doesn’t bother you being 8-10 hours from the nearest hills.
5

I’ve been in Sarasota for a little over five years now and I really like it. In fact, I’ve lived in many different places in the US, like Chicago, Anchorage, and Naples, but other than my hometown of Atlanta, Sarasota is the only place that has felt like home to me.

Sarasota is pretty quiet, and there are a lot of retirees that live here. However, North Sarasota is where Ringling school of Art and New College of Florida are located. Both of these schools attract very interesting and unconventional students.

There is a lot of Art and culture available in Sarasota. The Ringling Museum of Art is also located here, as well as the graduate school for actors for FSU. Sarasota was pretty much founded by one of the Ringling Brothers, so there is a lot of circus culture here. There are a couple of really cute little houses near the Ringling Museum that were built for the Ringling Brothers circus midgets. The houses are are about three quarters sized in relation to standard houses.

As to your question about townhouses, you can probably find a nice townhouse in that price range right now, because Sarasota was hit pretty hard when the housing bubble burst. I paid way too much for my two bedroom, two bath home, but I don’t plan on moving anytime soon, so no loss. I on a triplex in St. Petersburg, and I have had to lower the rental prices there. Now is a great time to buy or find a nice place to rent.

Having said all that, however, the price of living in Sarasota is a bit high. You can find really terrific buys on real estate and a cheaper cost of living just to the north, in Bradenton. However, the crime rate is higher in Bradenton, there is less culture and art, and somebody just recently told me that Bradenton is the number two meth center in the country. I don’t know if that’s true. There are still some really nice properties in Bradenton, especially beachfront properties, which are significantly cheaper to rent or buy than Sarasota water properties. In comparison, let me say that Sarasota is more champagne while Bradenton is more of a beer and a shot kind of a town.

To the south is Venice. Like Bradenton, the cost of living is lower there, but there is more art. Venice is also the most handicapped-accessible town in the nation. (I know this from a series of newspaper articles; I looked it up because I am disabled.) Venice beach is beautiful, and you can almost always pick up shark’s teeth there. Venice is great for arts and crafts festivals, too.

Speaking of beaches, it’s kind of interesting how the beaches differ from each other here. One thing they have in common is that you can walk out pretty far before the Gulf is over your head. They’re great beaches for little kids. The sand is very fine and very white, although don’t expect waves you can surf on. The waves are smaller and more gentle here. My current favorite beach is Turtle Beach, which is on Siesta Key, which runs alongside Sarasota.

Casey Key, beside Venice, is where Stephen King spends his winters. I haven’t run into him but I know people who have. He seems to be a nice, regular guy.

If anyone in your family ever develops an addiction problem (God forbid), Sarasota is a great place to get clean and sober. There are a bunch of different kinds of rehab facilities down here, I guess because Florida attracts homeless people as well as retirees and disabled people. Fortunately, there a lot of resources here for all.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Please feel free to PM me if you have more questions, or simply post them here and I’ll keep an eye on the thread.

Come on down!!:stuck_out_tongue:

6

I went to college at New College, and I liked the area very much.

7

I stayed at the Ritz in Sarasota once. It was eerily deserted, the whole town, but it was the day after Labor day (oh, hey, so is today!) so everybody was probably on their way home.

In general, I don’t like the gulf coast of Florida. It seems to attract the more white-trashy, spring-breakish element compared to the eastern coast where you can find some upscale urban zones (Palm Beach, Vero Beach, etc).

I think Sarasota is made up largely of retired people and vacationers. Your parents are old, and there’s a gene in their brains that makes them want to move to Florida at a certain age. Like Logan’s Run. Only less sexy.

8

In Florida, all the old people live in St Petersburg- and their parents live in Sarasota.

9

I hate Sarasota as much as any guy but this is completely backwards. Now, I haven’t been south of Vero Beach very often in the past 20 years, but north of that on up to Daytona is faaaaaaar more lower class than the Gulf Coast from Ft Myers thru the Tampa area. Now, if I had to pick between ultra rich retirees and broke bums, surfers, and spring breakers I’d pick the latter (otherwise I’d move out of the East Coast :)) but Sarasota has anything but a white-trashy, spring-break vibe to it.

And from the little I know about Vero Beach on south till you hit the Keys, that seems to be more of a non white trashy, yet still spring break atmosphere compared to Sarasota.

10

Whoopsie, I thought Daytona was on the gulf. I think I was thinking of Tampa.

How about we amend the rule to include all of Florida north of (and including) Orlando?

All of those cities (at least near the beach) are generally too expensive for spring break types.

Except Miami, maybe.

Ok, how about this: All of Florida sucks, but I know some people who live in Vero Beach and they’re very nice people.

11

Thanks for the information everybody. I got some great information and a few chuckles. GP09UIS, I’ve never seen it but my dad got a big chuckle out of your Logan’s Run comment. He said “Well, I don’t think anybody in that movie was that sexy to begin with”.

Now, it looks like the focus has shifted to Clearwater, FL. As per wierdaaron’s comment, I don’t know that the white trashy element would be too much of a turnoff. I’m sure they/we don’t want to live right across from the street from some meth-head that revs up his old Chevy on blocks every night at 2am in the morning, but we all come from “humble” southernish roots. Most all of our friends come from what the “higher echelons” would call a white trash upbringing. We’ve been known to hoist a few while blaring the local country station at 12 o’clock at night.

My parents aren’t what I would call old. They’re around 50 years old. So, they’re not looking to retire. They’re looking for a place to prepare for retirement. My parents went to St. Petersburg for vacaction earlier this year and joke that they almost didn’t come back. I’m looking for a way to escape a life I feel is going nowhere. I feel like a little piece of me is dying every day I spend here.

Personally, I feel very comfortable around people of retirement age or older - as long as I could find a few friends my age, I’d be fine. I’m 24, but have always enjoyed conversation with those older than I. I feel like people who have lived longer than I have so much to provide in the way of wisdom and advice.

I lived 21 years in Louisville, Ky and the last 3 years in Elizabethtown, Ky. With the insight I’ve gained over 3 years here, I feel that Louisville is an absolute haven of excitement and entertainment. Anybody else that’s been through Louisville would probably tell me that I must have low expectations. So, if I can be as excited / more excited than I was in Louisville, it’s a beautiful idea from where I’m sitting.

So, have any of you younger guys/gals lived in Sarasota. Would a sheltered, 24 year old man be able to find entertainment in this area?

12

I’ve lived in Florida most of my life, first on the Gulf coast and now near Orlando, and I have always thought it the other way around–the east coast of Florida is trashy and spring breaky, and the west coast of Florida is laid-back, classy, beautiful.

Huh.

13

Clearly you’re wrong about everything I’m right about.

14

I grew up in Tampa/StPete/Clearwater and went to Sarasota often for various shopping errands.

If you’re looking to “unshelter” yourself then please note that Sarasota is not at all a party town. Miami FL would be something closer to that vibe. Sarasota is a quiet retirement area.

If you end up in Sarasota, you may find yourself driving to Tampa to get a monthly taste of faster paced civilization.

15

I would recommend St Pete over Sarasota in a heartbeat. The farther south you go along the coast from Pinellas County (where St Pete is (and I am)) the older it gets.

Sarasota is really pretty and artsy, but there’s just not enough there for me.

16

When I lived there, there was live outdoor musical entertainment downtown on weekends (with quite a few drinks going around). I wonder if they still do that, I imagine not.

(As a hijack, I’ve lived in Florida for around 20 years and have wanted to move back up north for the longest time, mainly due to better weather and more walkable neighborhoods. It’s ironic that I hated Sarasota for that when I lived there and yet one of my houses there was probably the most walkable neighborhood I’ve lived in in my life (we lived in a tiny enclave just south of downtown, since become a gentrified art district, that had sidewalks and trees and would be within walking distance of most of the stuff you’d need if it were one of the 6 months out of the year that the temperature is at all bearable.))