We would like to move to Sarasota?
 

We want to be closer to Siesta Key beach, or any beautiful beach on the Gulf side of the state.

Has anyone recently move to TV from that area, (Sarasota and surrounding areas)?

We would like to be able to drive to the beach in 10 or 15 minutes.

I realize that I cannot afford to live very close to the beaches, but where would affordable housing for a younger person (47 years old) be? We like to have families and kids in the neighborhood.

I like the shopping close to us and activities in the area that is geared more towards younger people.

I think TVs is beautiful and great, but it’s way too soon for us to live here.

Thank you in advance for any input on the Sarasota area.

P.S. Spring Hill looks like an affordable area, but from what I have read the beaches are not very user friendly.

Also 30 minute drive is not out of the question if we and find a newer home for around 300K.

I lived in Sarasota for about five years back in the eighties. I lived in a development called Lake Sarasota which is at the intersection of Bee Ridge Road and I-75. It's about a 20 minute ride down Bee Ridge Road to Siesta Key. The homes were very affordable and it was a fairly new development at the time. I can't tell you what it's like today. Get in touch with a real estate agent down there and they'll be glad to take you around and show you homes in your price range.

We like that area too. We stayed in Parrish, Fl....about a 40 minute drive to beaches. Developments abound....nice schools too. Siesta and Anna Marie beaches are way crowded. We like St. Pete's beach better

Malls In Sarasota | The Mall at University Town Center


If you like shopping, check out this very upscale mall at University and I-75 in Sarasota. It just opened last October. The anchor stores are Saks, Dillards and Macy's, and the eating places are top notch.

OP, Only heard this second hand---"There were a lot of older people in Sarasota and we moved to the Villages". Honestly, a couple told us that about three years ago. I've only been to their beaches (nice). Just from what it's worth Department.

Be sure to check out Englewood and especially Charlotte Harbor. You will get a Premiere style home, solidly built for less than a designer here. Great family area. PC has its own small beach and twin city Punta gorda has a good beach at the end of Marion Street. Excellent boating. We drove to Sarasota in half an hour. Additionally Fort Myers to the south is just a little farther so it puts you in the center of reaching both within an hour and both have airports. PC also has an airport, a fairly new one. I lived on Siesta Key but it got way to overcrowded so we moved to Port Charlotte before coming here. I miss the boating and sand but hopefully the activities here will make up for that. Eg. You can get a 2400-2700 sf home, on canal, with pool, trey ceilings, granite, all tile for $250...older ones are less. Their market had not yet totally recovered.

Agree. We lived in The Riverwood Golf Club in Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda and the Charlotte Harbor just south, Englewood to the west, and Venice just north. Siesta Key Beach about 45 min. north but is getting a bit crowded. Hurricanes and cost of insurance in flood zones near the coast was part of our decision to move 9 years ago. The other was The Villages.:wave:

Thank you all very much!

You are fortunate that you chose a place that will sell quickly and you can be on your way again.

Hope you find all the things you want there on the coast and are happy for a long time there.

We have been all over Florida and each has some wonderful things.

BUT, well you know the rest.

We have friends that retired to Punta Gorda last year (they are both 62) and couldn't be happier. We spent some time there and were quite impressed. Population didn't seem quite as old as what we found in Fort Myers. And when I say old I'm not referring to age but lifestyle and attitude.

We almost bought a house in Palmer Ranch in Sarasota.
It is only about 10 minutes from Siesta Key - my favorite.
Good luck!

Don't forget to figure in the outrageous cost of homeowner's insurance in those places by the water. We could have bought a beautiful condo on Sarasota Bay, but the amenities were well over $700/month due to the insurance. And that was a condo, not a single family residence.

We spent two winters on Anna Maria Island, and I was concerned about the advanced age of the residents and the horrible traffic. It was a good 45 minutes to get from Bradenton to Sarasota in February.

We put a bid in on a house in Palmer Ranch during the height of the real estate frenzy. Thank goodness someone else got it. Palmer Ranch was nice but in no way compares to The Villages.

Sarasota is more expensive than north of Tampa Bay. Pinellas County (St. Pete - Clearwater) is more reasonable and the further north you go, it's even cheaper. Pasco County and Hernando County you can find nice single family homes in the $150K-$200K range.

I sold real estate in Hernando County in 1989 and at that time I held open houses for new homes. We had brand new 3 BR, 2BA, 2 Car ranchers with birdcage pool for $115K. Hernando would put you about 10 miles north of the nearest beaches, which would be in Hudson. If I were to live down there now, I would look in the Safety Harbor to Dunedin areas. There you could easily go to Clearwater Beach, or downtown St. Pete or go to Tampa across Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Insurance on a 2500sf, canal front pool home in Port Charlotte less than 10 yrs old was $2700, no bond or other fees. Lots of first rate builders in the area and a few I would not consider. A seasoned agent will help.

I know a couple who moved from the Village of Tamarind Grove to Bradenton, which is next to Sarasota, last March. They came here in 2011 from Long Island, NY. He worked part-time at Walmart and I played softball with him for a couple of years.

They were not your typical villager. Bob still smoked, and as an ex-smoker I noticed that. It didn't hinder him, he was a great ball player. He would hit a home run and then go over and have a smoke. Him and his wife both had tattooes and rode a pair of Harleys they owned. They would take day trips to the beach quite often.

So last March when I found out their home was for sale, I was a little surprised they were leaving TV. However, after thinking about it, they were probably the people I could imagine doing that. They said they spent so much time at the beach, they figured they might as well move there.

We spent over a decade living in Clearwater. We too loved living near the water even though we were not on the water. The love affair soured after the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 destroyed the homeowners insurance marketplace. If you live in a coastal county and/or live in a home constructed before the construction codes changed (around 2005 ish), be prepared for homeowners insurance sticker shock. And don't forget to check the flood zone for the property. Many locations have been rezoned in the past few years. Our homeowners premium was based on home replacement cost (not purchase price of your house minus land), and when we left in 2012, our HO renewal premium was $14,000 per year. This makes a huge difference in your monthly out of pocket expenses.

We own a home on the water in Port Richey about 30 - 40 minutes north of Clearwater (depending on traffic). The Gulview Square mall is less than 10 minutes & highway 19 less than 5 minutes. Anclote Island, Fred Howard beach &Huson beach are close. It is a boating community with an average of 40-50. Homeowners insurance is $2900 per year & flood insurance is inexpensive because the home is built above the flood plain. We will be putting our home up for sale soon to move to TV. Do you own a home in TV? Let me know if you might be interested in our home. Less expensive than Sarasota area.

We lived in St Pete Beach for 25 years prior to moving here 2 years ago. It was beautiful but we grew tired of the traffic, threat of hurricanes and the fact that the boat, sea wall, dock, pool, and lanai were not covered by insurance. We had to carry federal wind and flood.
You may want to look at a hurricane map to see the evacuation zones. Flood zones are important to consider when buying near the beach. South Pasadena which is only a couple of minutes from St Pete Beach and Treasure Island is very nice and affordable.

In 1969 there was a new franchise fast food restaurant called 'Wagon Ho'. They were headquartered in St. Pete and had plans to open 200 locations in Florida. The first one in Florida was on Pasadena Ave on the left side headed toward the beach.

I was going to St. Pete JC studying Hotel-Restaurant Mgmt and worked at the Wagon Ho in '69 for about 5 months. They were trying to combine an Arbys thin sliced roast beef style sandwiches and flame broiled Burger King style hamburgers, and McDonalds thin style french fries. We wore jeans, western shirts and cowboys hats. We greeted the customer with 'Howdy Partner, can I take your order?' This is all true.

In May of '69 I took the summer off and headed to Ocean City, Maryland to work at my cousins sub shop on the boardwalk. When I returned in August and went by Wagon Ho, the place had completely changed. The very nice couple who bought the franchise were gone, replaced by a manager who worked for the company. Half the employees were gone and business was very little. I actually went back to work for about a month and the location and the company went out of business. It looked like this, with a 15' high wagon master on top with a real canvas cover.

http://americangiants.files.wordpres...pg?w=225&h=300

I remember that place. My mom moved to St Pete in 1966. I was a teenager and went to Bogie for high school. I think my sister may have worked there during the summer when she was home from college. I met my husband in New York and lived on the island for about 20 years. We moved to St Pete Beach in 1988.

OP, real estate on the coast (east or west) seem to rise and fall with the latest "bad" hurricane. It's been a few years since the last one---are we due. Who knows?

In addition to a home in TV, we recently had a condo on Cocoa Beach. Enjoyed it and Sold it. The HOA had no flood insurance---too high according to the Board. Yeah, I was worried about a hurricane and the damage it could cause. The assessment to each condo owner would be very high. A neighbor complex similar to ours just had a $35,000 assessment to repair balconies.

However, many still prefer the coast. It's is beautiful. Buyer beware and be sure to look carefully at the HOA financials before signing a contract.

Small world. My parents moved to St. Pete in '59, I graduated from St. Pete High '68. That place was neat to work at, although I wasn't too crazy about the cowboy hat. I believe only 5 stores ever opened and they all closed by the next year. I had a good time there, but in the end, I decided I didn't want to smell like food when I went home. I would of missed your sister since I was gone all summer working in the north.

Did you look in Bradenton?

? Didn't you just want to move to Ohio an hour ago?

You picked up on that also! Old people get confused easily. ::jester::

NOT confused....they did post another thread re: Ohio!! Maybe they're the ones who are confused!!!:throwtomatoes: :mornincoffee:

Or maybe their plans have changed since this thread was started on June 18 :shrug:

Always beware the dead thread awakened :D

When looking at beach area...
 

be sure to consider home insurance. From what I understand the closer to
beach the higher the insurance and in some cases NO insurance.

Parrish, Fl is nice also Lakewood Ranch

Insurance Sticker Shock
 

Insurance on our Condo was $1800 a year and that was just "inside the walls" on 1700 sq ft and contents. Flood insurance was so high that the HOA dropped it which means if there was a "water surge" from a hurricane you had no insurance on the lower floors which everybody had to cover. However, if you want to dance you have to pay the fiddler!

However, the best of all worlds is to rent a Condo on the beach for a "beach fix" and still have a home in TV. Something to consider. :thumbup:

I saw that also. I don't think he knows where he wants to go. :loco:

Ha! I agree.

Apparently a huge percentage of sales in TV are from other areas of Florida. The range of activities and music in the squares are a big incentive among other things.

Once we arrived and we're looking at homes, many suggested buying outside of TV....which left me puzzled because we came for what is offered here not less..if we wanted less we could have stayed in our beautiful home. We bought into the friendliness and found it and it is up to all of us keep it that way as the majority will rule.

You made the correct decision. Welcome home!