[AnnieCt]

This may be an issue of "paralysis by analysis", but we are looking for a second home in Florida. Requirements;
1.It must be dog friendly. We have a 44 pound standard poodle.
2.I would like to "see" water. Preferably deep water access in the event that I realize my future dream of having a sail boat.
3. Minimal Urban sprawl.
4. A "vacation feel" while we are there.

We have visited Ft. Lauderdale, (pre cruise) Naples and Sarasota, and my favorite is Sarasota. Didn't care for Bradenton, (seems industrial) but liked Osprey and Venice and the Sarasota keys. Fort Meyers is very crowded but loved Sanibel and Captiva.
Our experience on the East Coast is minimal. Spent some time in Ormond Beach, a little time in Daytona. Friends have recommended the Stuart area. I know very little about the Tampa/ Clearwater, St. Pete area. Would that be a good place to look?
It seems like there are a lot of properties available in Cape Coral. What is that like. Thanks for any direction you can point me to in advance.

[yamahastar]

Have you looked at the panhandle area? Panama City Beach is nice, not so cowded. Also Destin. Got a nice vacation feel. Well, that's most places because people tend to vacation where you want to live. That's the down side. St. Augustine is nice as well. You know, everyone will have a different opinion, for different reasons. Why not come on down to a place you think you like, rent, and look around.

[Coconut1]

It all comes down to budget and housing requirements (condo, single family, beds, baths, etc.)

For example, Key West fits all your requirements:
1) Very dog friendly. You can even bring them to eat/have a cocktail with you at some restaurants
2) You're on an island, water isn't ever far away
3) See 2
4) No problem on a vacation feel

BUT, if you need a 5 bed, 5 bath or a lot of space, you'd have to be prepared to pay through the nose.

Naples is wonderful in Olde Naples, but again, it comes down to price.

Know that South Florida is superior to North Florida. Although NoFla has some pockets of tourism, the majority of visitors to the state go to SoFla (and Disney in Central FL, but that doesn't fit your requirements.) In the winter you're especially not going to find that vacation feeling in NoFla.

I would basically draw a line right above Tampa and focus your search south of that.

[SoFLGal]

I think you're right on track with the Sarasota/Osprey area. Siesta Key Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world with it's power white sand, which is nearly 100% quartz. I know some people would disagree but I'd much rather have powder white sand in the winter than powder white snow. No matter where you are in Florida you're never more than 2 hours or so from the beach. Siesta was just rated the #1 beach in America by Dr. Beach: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dr-Bea....html?x=0&.v=1 (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dr-Beach-Names-Siesta-Key-prnews-3044792932.html?x=0&.v=1 - broken link)

I love all the sunshine, warmth and bright sunny days. You know that the local paper used to give out free papers if the sun didn't shine. They didn't have to give out too many.

Since you mentioned you have a dog you should check out Brohard Dog Beach in Venice: Paw Park and South Brohard Beach (http://www.venicegov.com/Park_links/paw.htm - broken link) It's a great beach to let your pooch romp in the sand and water.

If your dog doesn't like the beach there are still plenty of other options: scgov.net - Parks and Recreation

Florida is full of tropical foliage and is a great place for gardeners, year round. People can also enjoy outdoor sports all year long-hiking, biking, walking, kayaking, golfing, etc We have the huge Legacy Trail for walking and biking.

In southern Sarasota county there's Warm Mineral Springs and Little Salt Spring. Warm Mineral Springs is one of the oldest tourist attractions in FL and people come from all over the world to visit.

This area has a wonderful art community with Towles Court Artist Colony, the many art galleries around, every town has a local art center, there are art festivals going on almost weekly, Ringling School of Art & Design and many resources for artists.

For all you sports enthusiast Sarasota has Ed Smith Stadium: Ed Smith Stadium - Baltimore Orioles Spring Training and Charlotte Sports Park: Charlotte Sports Park - Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training

There are many cultural activities, festivals and music events in the area. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Asolo Theater, The Sarasota Opera, Concerts, Ringling Museum (which I believe is free on Monday's), Golden Apple Dinner Theater, Circus Sarasota, Sarasota Ballet are some of the many venues and events. Siesta Key and Nokomis Beach both have drum circles on various nights in the evening. Sarasota county has free summer concerts in the park.

Punta Gorda has the Florida Airshow where the Blue Angles fly. The Hibiscus Festival, The Redfish Fish Tournament many craft shows. Every city has their own farmer's market.

Punta Gorda Farmers Market: http://www.puntagordashopping.com/farmersmarket.html
Sarasota Farmers Market: http://www.sarasotafarmersmarket.org/
Siesta Key Farmers Market: http://www.siestafarmersmarket.com/
Venice Farmers Market: http://venicefloridafarmersmarket.com/

Boca Grande has the world's richest Tarpon Tournament every year. With so much water everywhere there are tons of activities related. There are lots of fishing guides, kayak tours, etc

Here are some of the many festivals in the area:
JAN Southwest Florida Heritage Festival
JAN Sullivan Street Craft Festival
JAN Sarasota Native American Festival
JAN Manatee County Fair
JAN-FEB Sarasota Jazz Festival
FEB Kids Art Festival at Woodmere Park, Venice
FEB Annual Sarasota Festival of the Arts
FEB Annual Wine & Jazz Festival in Punta Gorda
FEB Bradenton Beer Festival
MAR Sarasota Fair
MAR Sarasota Folk Festival in Osprey
MAR Sarasota Shamrock Festival
MAR Peace River Celtic Festival
MAR Spring Fine Arts Festival in Englewood
MAR Peace River Seafood Festival and Redfish Tournament
MAR Englewood Music Festival
MAR Englewood Fine Arts Festival
MAR Manatee Heritage Days
MAR Florida International Air Show
MAR & DEC Anna Maria Islands Art League Winterfest & Springfest
APR Sarasota Film Festival (http://www.sarasotafilmfestival.com/2010/ - broken link)
APR Annual Siesta Fiesta
APR Charlotte Harbor Kayak & Wildlife Festival
APR Venice Shark Tooth Festival
APR Charlotte County Nautical Flea Market and Seafood Festival
APR DeSoto Heritage Festival Seafood Fest in Bradenton
APR Florida Heritage Festival and Riverfest in Bradenton
APR The Kayak and Outdoor Festival
APR-MAY Sarasota Wine Festival
MAY Giving Hunger the Blues in Southside Village
JUNE International Theater Festival In Venice
JUNE Hibiscus Festival In Punta Gorda
JUNE Boca Grande Tarpon Tournament
JUNE-JULY Sarasota Offshore Grand Prix
JULY Fourth of July Freedom Swim in Festival in Punta Gorda
JULY Wildlife Awareness Festival
SEPT Englewood Pioneer Days
OCT Sarasota Blues Festival
OCT Sarasota Chalk Festival
OCT Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival
NOV Sarasota Medieval Fair
NOV Annual Downtown Venice Art Festival
NOV Festival Of Trees in Punta Gorda
NOV Family Music Fest in Osprey
Annual St. Armand's Art Festival Something nearly every month

There are many other festivals and fairs just a short drive away.

Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey has canoing, camping, hiking, birding, swimming. Myakkahatchee State Park in North Port has trails where you can bring your horses, you can hike along the trails. Myakka River State Park in Sarasota has tons of great FL wildlife, the Myakka Canopy Walk, which is a bridge that is suspended 25 feet off the ground. It extends 85 feet through the canopy and Myakka also has 38 miles of hiking trails. Manatee County has Little Manatee River State Park which runs right along the river. It has camping, hiking, canoing, etc. Don Pedro State Park you can only get to by boat and is like a private beach. I happened to have the great pleasure of living right beside it as a kid. Venice has Brohard Park (http://www.venicegov.com/Park_links/brohard.htm - broken link), one of the only dog friendly beaches around. Venice is also home to Woodmere Park a 36 acre park where you can let your pooch run and play under the big oak trees. These areas are a haven for photographers, bird watching and outdoor enthusiasts. Sarasota county has more than 200 parks, 109 athletic fields and 16 recreation and community centers.

Sarasota Parks: Parks and Recreation
Manatee County Parks: Manatee County Parks and Recreation - Manatee Chamber of Commerce
Charlotte County Parks: Community Services

Also for all the photographers and gardens, Selby Gardens is a must see. It has over 20,000 plants and displays and was named one of America's Top Ten Botanical Gardens.

The Sarasota area is also very kid friendly. We have GWIZ a science museum that caters to kids. The Children's Garden, a whimsical outdoor play area for children. Then there's Jungle Gardens, which is one of the oldest attractions in FL and has flamingo feeding, bird shows, alligators and many other various animals. Spanish Point is a historical site where they have Indian mounds, early pioneer homes and a lots of summer activities for kids. There are YMCA's in every city from Bradenton to Port Charlotte. Sarasota has Mote Marine Aquarium, which gives a wonderful look at the native sea life. They also to a great job with rehabilitating injured animals and returning them back to the gulf. Bradenton has the South FL Museum, Bishop Planetarium and the Parker Aquarium. Stop by and say "hi" to SW FL's very own manatee, Snooty. The Big Cat Habitat in Sarasota is a wonderful place to visit and see the amazing job Rosaire's do with the animals.

Many restaurants offer waterfront dining all the way down the coast. Speaking of restaurants, this area has lots and lots of wonderful, restaurants for any taste. Many mom and pop restaurants. You could spend a whole day out on St Armand's Circle shopping, browsing and stopping in at Kilwin's for some great ice cream. St Armand's has more than 130 shops, restaurants and galleries.

Here are a few of my favorite restaurants in the area:
Pho Cali
Euphemia Haye
Ophelia's on the Bay
Capt Brian's
Two Senoritas
Columbia
Crab & Fin
Yoder's
Casey Key Fish House
Bijou Café
Joto's Japanese Steakhouse
Blasé Café
Pacific Rim
Mar Vista
Sign of the Mermaid
El Toro Bravo
Lazy Lobster
Ceviche
Mattison's

And I have to add Sweet Tomatoes (for the kids) and Ophelia's (http://local.yahoo.com/info-14608433-ophelia-s-pasta-house-nokomis - broken link) (special doggie dining on the porch).

Downtown Sarasota is another all day event with the many eclectic shops and quaint restaurants. There are also some great consignment & antique shops if you make your way downtown. If you're looking to snag a bargain you can try the Red Barn Flea Market in Bradenton, The Sun Flea Market in Port Charlotte or The Dome in Englewood.

[AnnieCt]

What about the Punta Gorda area?

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by AnnieCt

What about the Punta Gorda area?

Punta Gorda is also an option. It has a very quaint downtown area. Many of the Punta Gorda residents are golfers or boaters. Most of the homes located in Punta Gorda Isles (a very popular PG community) are either on a canal or golf course. Many of the homes have sailboat access and the prices are very reasonable right now. One other nice thing about Punta Gorda is that the city maintains the seawalls in the PG area. Gilchrist park has live bluegrass on Thurs nights. The town also has many art shows, festivals and a farmers market. There is also a dog park in the downtown PG area. You should definitely add it to your list of places to see.

The only drawback to living in PG is the travel distance to the beach. It's roughly 40 minutes but many residents are boat owners and can reach beaches much quicker by boat.

Here's a little more info on the PG area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punta_Gorda,_Florida

http://puntagordachamber.com/

http://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by AnnieCt

This may be an issue of "paralysis by analysis", but we are looking for a second home in Florida. Requirements;
1.It must be dog friendly. We have a 44 pound standard poodle.
2.I would like to "see" water. Preferably deep water access in the event that I realize my future dream of having a sail boat.
3. Minimal Urban sprawl.
4. A "vacation feel" while we are there.

We have visited Ft. Lauderdale, (pre cruise) Naples and Sarasota, and my favorite is Sarasota. Didn't care for Bradenton, (seems industrial) but liked Osprey and Venice and the Sarasota keys. Fort Meyers is very crowded but loved Sanibel and Captiva.
Our experience on the East Coast is minimal. Spent some time in Ormond Beach, a little time in Daytona. Friends have recommended the Stuart area. I know very little about the Tampa/ Clearwater, St. Pete area. Would that be a good place to look?
It seems like there are a lot of properties available in Cape Coral. What is that like. Thanks for any direction you can point me to in advance.

There are a number of viable options on the Atlantic coast as well and many real estate agents that can point out the advantages of each. Of those that I've visited and am familiar with I'd recommend:

Vilano Beach is a beautiful small beach town just north of St Augustine and has a wide deep water inlet for boats.
http://www.vilanobeachfl.com/

New Smyrna Beach which is south of Daytona Beach is a thriving small beach town which also has excellent boating potential.
New Smyrna Beach Visitors Bureau

Jupiter is another great option as it has a major inlet to the ocean and is a very nice area as well.
JupiterFloridaUSA.com - The Website Guide To Jupiter, Florida

[TamRE]

Originally Posted by AnnieCt

This may be an issue of "paralysis by analysis", but we are looking for a second home in Florida. Requirements;
1.It must be dog friendly. We have a 44 pound standard poodle.
2.I would like to "see" water. Preferably deep water access in the event that I realize my future dream of having a sail boat.
3. Minimal Urban sprawl.
4. A "vacation feel" while we are there.

We have visited Ft. Lauderdale, (pre cruise) Naples and Sarasota, and my favorite is Sarasota. Didn't care for Bradenton, (seems industrial) but liked Osprey and Venice and the Sarasota keys. Fort Meyers is very crowded but loved Sanibel and Captiva.
Our experience on the East Coast is minimal. Spent some time in Ormond Beach, a little time in Daytona. Friends have recommended the Stuart area. I know very little about the Tampa/ Clearwater, St. Pete area. Would that be a good place to look?
It seems like there are a lot of properties available in Cape Coral. What is that like. Thanks for any direction you can point me to in advance.

How about Burnt Store Marina? It is located in south Punta Gorda, FL at Lee county border. It has a minimal urban feel and is dog friendly. It also has the deep water access you are looking for. And it even has that "vacation feel."

Here is their web site if you want to take a look. Also, notice on the main page they are dog friendly. Look through the photos, activities and resort info. Burnt Store Marina and Country Club - Villas, Condominiums and Home Rentals in Punta Gorda, Florida

Here is a description of the community as well.

Burnt Store Marina has been ranked by Sail magazine as one of the top ten places for sailing. It is also one of the best residential areas of the local region. Featuring the largest deep water marina in the Southwest Florida area, Burnt Store Marina is considered to be one of the leading marinas in Florida. The marina is equipped with more than 500 deep water wet slips as well as everything else you might need to enjoy an exceptional waterfront lifestyle. Whether you enjoy sailing, fishing or boating you will find that the Burnt Store Marina offers you the chance to live the lifestyle you have always wanted.

This is actually the only gated community within the local area, spanning more than 625 acres and sprinkled with stunning estates, alluring waterfront and garden style condos and charming villas. The stunning high-rises here offer breathtaking views of the coastline. Residents of Burnt Store Marina are able to enjoy all of the amenities and attractions offered by the Marina, including excellent waterfront dining, a 27-hole executive golf course, marketplace, fitness center, tennis facilities, resort style swimming pool, walking paths, hiking trails and fabulous views of the harbor. While you will find that Burnt Store Marina is conveniently near all of the amenities of urban life, everything you could possibly need is available within just a short distance of your new home in Burnt Store Marina.

Regardless of the size or style of home that you may be seeking, there is a good chance that you will find a home that will suit your needs in Burnt Store Marina. The homes and condos here are ideal for families as well as for singles and active adults who want to take full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the numerous local amenities.

[traveler55]

We just started to look in PGI, a new venture for us. We are staying a month in Cape Coral, and once we say PGI we were interested. Does anyone know the rates for seasonal membership in Twin Isles CC. I thought help us meet other residents.
thanks

[vtallison]

So Fl Gal,

I have to commend you on such an informative post above. I know it took you a long time to put that together! It makes me want to move to that area! We are zeroed in on the space coast and I will have to research all of the amenities available there.