[brooklyn1234]

I apologize if there are a ton of these threads, but I could really use some advice! My boyfriend and I are presently planning a move to Florida, and we're looking to purchase our first home. We really like Bradenton/Lakewood Ranch, but we know that we're very close to priced out of this area. We're looking for suggestions of other areas to expand our house search to and would appreciate any insight you can give!

About us: 27, no children and not planning on it for at least a few years (i.e. schools aren't very important to us right now). Our maximum budget is $200k. We'd ideally like to find a single family house that is of newer construction, but are open to considering townhouses. We'd like to live in an area that has convenient shopping/supermarkets/some places to go out to eat/things to do. Neither of us really drink, so it's not important to be near nightlife. We'd like to be somewhere with easy access to I-75. My boyfriend is able to work from home, and I will be working between two locations- one in Sarasota, and one close to Tampa.

My boyfriend is currently staying in Bradenton and I'm still in NY tying up a few loose ends, which is making our house hunting more complicated. As I said, we like parts of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, but are finding that most of the areas we like are at the top of/out of our budget. We looked at Palmetto and felt like it was a little bit 'rough' for lack of a better word. We also looked at Ellenton (in the area right by the outlets) and thought it was ok, but we didn't love it. Aside from those, can anyone suggest areas to check out? We're looking primarily north of Bradenton but south of Tampa, but we would also consider areas that are just south of Sarasota. We heard that Parrish is worth looking at- can anyone weigh in on that?

[Fl1150]

Gibsonton, Ruskin in Hillsborough might be good areas to look at as those areas are nice family friendly areas when you decide to have kids.

[beninfl]

Parrish is a good fit for your budget. It's close-ish to Tampa, and close to Sarasota/Bradenton. My Uncle's lived there for 20 years. What Parrish does not have, is young people. You'll find it a bit "old" for your 27 years of age. Most residents there are twice your age and up.

Check out Southern Manatee County -- Zip code 34243. It should have everything you need.

[FloridaHappy]

Suggest you rent for a year instead of jumping into a house in an area you may end up not liking. We rented for 2 years before we bought our current home. Like you, we moved from out of state and I came down a few weeks before we closed on our house in TN. Looked at about 6 houses, bought the last one I looked at, and found out a few months after we moved in that Live Oak, FL, was not where we wanted to live. Nice people, but you have to drive 60 miles to buy a book that doesn't have a pirate and a half-naked woman on the front cover (romance novel), and it gets darn cold in Live Oak!

We rented in Dunnellon, FL, for 2 years and explored basically the whole state before we bought our home in Ocala. At the moment, it's the best place for us to be as we have 2 old horses and can't afford to live any further south and still keep them...and nobody else wants 2 old horses. Once they pass, we'll sell out and move yet further south as it still gets darn cold in Ocala.

I lived in Bradenton and Sarasota in the '80s. There were areas then that you did not want to live in. I'm sure there are still areas, but realtors by law can't steer you away from (or to) those areas. It's only after the dogs next door bark for 24 hours straight and the law is there busting the drug dealers down the street that you discover this just isn't where you want to be.

So...rent for a year. It's really not money thrown away if it saves you from buying somewhere you have to basically give away to get away from.

[kyle19125]

How often will you be in Sarasota for work? If not regularly (twice a week or every other week?) you might consider something closer to Tampa which you'll probably find more appealing as 27 year olds given it has far more to do in terms of things to do nights/weekends. Check out the Bloomingdale/Lithia/FishHawk Ranch area 30 minutes southeast of Tampa which has a lot of younger families and A-rated schools. It's a fairly easy one hour drive to Sarasota.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by beninfl

Parrish is a good fit for your budget. It's close-ish to Tampa, and close to Sarasota/Bradenton. My Uncle's lived there for 20 years. What Parrish does not have, is young people. You'll find it a bit "old" for your 27 years of age. Most residents there are twice your age and up.

Check out Southern Manatee County -- Zip code 34243. It should have everything you need.

Great advice, I concur. We live in southern Manatee - Whitfield Estates by the SRQ airport. This is a fantastic neighborhood, my husband commutes to downtown Tampa every day. It is a long drive, but easy, a straight shot up the interstate with never any traffic delays. And this neighborhood is close to everything. People of all ages, classes and income here. Downside is most homes are older, but nice.

Parrish is good location wise, but as ben mentioned kind of "old" and a bit removed from everything. There are other subdivisions in east Manatee you could look into, but not being a realtor can't name them all off the top of my head - Tara comes to mind but there are many others.

Hope this helps!

[Sunshine Rules]

Hi,

There are a number of subdivisions within south Manatee county in the 34203 or 34243 zip code that may be more of what you're looking for. Creekwood on SR70 (just west of I75) is one of them. Tara is a nice subdivision but prices are higher than $200k, plus most sections of Tara come with a mandatory class A country club membership that you have to pay $$$ for each year. Lionshead, Briarwood, Barrington Ridge, Sabal Harbour, Fairfax, Silverlake, Sarapalms, Centre Lake, Copperfield, University Pines, Regal Oaks are some other nearby neighborhoods that sometimes have a home in your price range. Once in a while you'll see a home in Summerfield Village in Lakewood Ranch for $200k.

Sabal Bay is townhomes located at Honore & University Parkway (south Manatee county) that's a great location close to I75.

Just south of the University Parkway/county line into Sarasota is Longwood Run. SE of there is Country Meadows. Zip code 34235.

If you are willing to go further south into Sarasota, Colonial Oaks (34232) or Lake Sarasota (34241) are fairly close to I75 at Bee Ridge.

Those are some of the options I can think of at the moment.