Sarasota Neighborhoods Best for Kids? (Plantation, Bradenton: rentals, HOA, townhomes)

[nature1]

Hi, I was wondering which neighborhoods tend to have the most young children? We have two under five and they love to play with others in the neighborhood. Thank you very much!

[TamRE]

Stoneybrook in Venice is a good neighborhood for kids. Here is their web site: Stoneybrook at Venice by LENNAR®

Lakeside Plantation in North Port is a good neighborhood for kids: Home

Are you looking to buy a home or rent a home? What is your price range?That might make a difference in the neighborhood choices.

[Sunshine Rules]

There are lots of neighborhoods with younger families in the Sarasota - Bradenton area at a variety of price ranges. Are you looking to rent or buy? What would be your targeted rent or price range? Newer homes or older homes ok?

If you could give a little more information as to what you're looking for, I could give you a list of possible neighborhoods to check into.

[nature1]

Hi,
We would be looking to rent at first, with the idea of taking say 6 mos. to a year to really get a feel for the area and where precisely we want to buy. However, we would want to rent in an area that seems like it could possibly be the neighborhood/town where we'd want to settle, if that makes any sense. You know, make an educated guess for the rental area, then take some time to get to know sarasota and the surrounding areas before making that huge commitment. We bought a house in silicon valley three years ago, thankfully after the bubble burst , though not quite at the absolute bottom, and we'd be renting that out. Our price range would be $2k or less (less is good) (:
Appreciate the pointers!

[siestachica]

Siesta Key - We have lots of young families in our area, us included, if you wait until after the season I know a couple of properties in my neighbourhood that would be available, send me a dm for more infor.

Really safe and friendly neighbourhood, good luck with your move, you'll find some great advice on here

[Sunshine Rules]

For south Manatee county neighborhoods, you might try the following:

Summerfield and Greenbrook villages in Lakewood Ranch. Summerfield also has the bonus of having 2 parks & easy access to the elementary school nearby. Greenbrook also has a playground and other outdoor activities.

Central Park at Lakewood Ranch has a large park with playground, dog park, pavillions, picnic areas, baseball & soccer fields, tennis courts, etc for use of the communities. I've been there several times and usually see parents with small children at the playground, although there's also usually some retirees walking dogs too.

If you're interested in Lakewood Ranch, please be sure to get and read a copy of the deed restrictions as they do have very specific rules regarding property standards and what can be placed in the lawns. So if a tree house or large play set is a must for your family, you may want to look at neighborhoods without deed restrictions, as many of the newer communities will have similar deed restrictions regarding those kinds of things.

Greyhawk Landings just east of Lakewood Ranch on SR 70 has amenities geared towards families with children, including the community pool with some resort style play features, the playground, baseball and soccer fields.

Barrington Ridge has a lot of younger families, I cut through that subdivision frequently on the way to my home and I see a lot of children out and about, riding bicycles, playing in yards. BR has a community pool.


In Sarasota, there are quite a few options, both deed restricted and non-deed restricted. Here are some of the more popular neighborhoods or areas:

If you like older, ranch style homes from the 60's - 70's, the Forest Lakes Country Club and South Gate areas are an option. These would be zip codes 34231 and 34239, south of Bahia Vista & north of Bee Ridge, running mainly from the Beneva Road area to west of Tuttle Ave. Families like this area for the more reasonable home prices, larger yards, you're close to Arlington Park with it's pools and recreational facilities (playground, gym, basketball & raquetball courts, tennis courts, walking trail), plus home owners in the actual South Gate neighborhood can join the voluntary HOA & pay just under $100 a year to have access to the community center and pool. The area is also a reasonably close drive to the north Siesta Key bridge and one of the area malls. Nearer to Arlington Park you'll find a mixture of home styles -- ranch, cottage, bungalow and 50's Modern styles. Most of this area does not have deed restrictions or HOAs.

Just east of I 75, south off of Bee Ridge is Lake Sarasota. Lake Sarasota has a mixture of 60's thru new homes, but most were built in the 1980's and have the more modern floor plans with split bedrooms and master suites with walk-in closets. The larger yards, reasonable prices and good school districts are what make this neighborhood popular with families, although you are farther from the beaches.

Gulf Gate (34231) south of Clark Road and running between Beneva and US41, has older ranch style homes on larger lots. Gulf Gate has a mixture of families and retirees who like the location, close to shopping (2 malls) and the south Siesta Key bridge. Gulf Gate does have a HOA, dues are very reasonable, deed restrictions were put in place in the 1960's so not nearly as restrictive as newer subdivisions. Gulf Gate Elementary is a popular school too.

Rentals frequently pop up in the South Gate and Gulf Gate areas on the various rental web sites. Some owners just stick "for rent" signs in the yards. Others put ads in the local paper, the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Good luck with your move.

[surferguy]

how about Palmer Ranch for kiddos? I was looking in the Village Walk.

[Sunshine Rules]

Village Walk has the townhomes, villas and single family homes. The townhomes are geared more towards young professionals and 2nd home owners, the villas towards retirees. The customers that I've shown Village Walk to have all been baby boomers (soon to be retirees) or retirees. I've not noticed many children around, even at the community pools, deli or clubhouse. I'm not saying that families don't live in Village Walk, I'm just saying it's not readily apparent that they live there vs many other communities where you see children out riding bikes and playing in numbers. The demographics for zip code 34238 (which is Palmer Ranch) show that a large majority of the households are 1 or 2 person households. So that seems to fit my own observations.

[surferguy]

Thanks Sunshine