Where Should I Go For Homes and Thins To Do (Miami: rental car, appointed)

[wsamon]

On Tuesday I'm taking 4 days off and flying to the Sarasota & Tampa areas to check them out by myself. I've been told that they might be a good match for me as a possible place to move, so I want to check it out and get a feel for the weather, different neighborhoods, real estate scene, and the whole vibe.

Does anyone have suggestions of different neighborhoods I should look at or avoid? How about different places, activities, restaurants, bars, etc. that I should be sure to check out while I'm there? (the beach is obviously on the list)

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A little about me:
31 single guy. Pretty active, love playing (and watching) team sports. I enjoy being social, and am really into rock music, beer, good food, bbqs, and generally being outdoors in the sun. I am not into clubbing or the whole money-flashing, game-playing, one-upping scene.

I'm fairly intelligent and employ a wide range of skills in the computer software industry (including programming, consulting, BA, training, and presenting among others). If I did move, I believe my current job could come with me.

While I could likely afford substantially more, I would probably be looking at 2/2 (or more) places under $225k or so. Obviously, I would want them to be near the beach if possible. Ideally, they'd be near (walkable?) at least a little nightlife (bars, live music, restaurants) as well. Safety is obviously important too. I don't need a gated community, but I don't want to be walking past drug dealers and prostitutes or hearing gunshots at night either. I like ethnic diversity (including w/ my gfs) but don't enjoy the ghetto culture of any race.

[SellingSRQ]

In Sarasota I would make sure you visit St. Armands Circle. It is such a great area for shopping, dining. It's like a Mini Rodeo Drive area. If you ever are on a date, it would be a great place to take someone for dinner. Even at night it has alot of action. But, it is relaxed action.

There are great deals in real estate all over so I would suggest checking out a few different areas to get a good feel of the Sarasota/Lakewood Ranch.

Lakewood Ranch is a wonderful master planned community. Golf Courses, gym, tennis, etc. Very family orientated and prices from in the low 100's for condo's to the multi millions in the Concessions and Lake Club. Only drawback is that if you are working in Sarasota, you might get tired of the commute. Everything seems like it is 20-30 minutes away.

The University area is a great area to consider. Lots of shopping, dining and it is more centeral. There are many developments around this area in a wide it variety of prices as well. Cooper Creek is the main shopping. Close to Target, Pei Wei, BJ's, Sports Authority, etc. Also, the new rowing sports area is located in University as well as the new mall will be going up that area. They have already broke ground on that Benderson project. Young, urban vibe in this area.

Next, I would check downtown. It is close to Whole foods, right over the bridge to St Armands Circle. Lots of great places you can walk to for dining,etc. Prices there are also mixed. This would be close to the bay for walking, running and kayaking,etc. Some of the condo's do have water views.

Also, don't rule out looking at condo's in Lido area. There are still deals to be had and then you are right by the beach.

If you are not in a hurry to buy, you could consider renting for awhile to get a better sense of the area and see if you really like an area. You could rent from vrbo dot com and rent directly from the owner. It might be a good option until you find a place.

DM me if you have any more specific questions. I live in the area and we love it.

Whether we are boating, kayaking, roller blading,etc. We always are thrilled to be living in Sarasota.

[wsamon]

Thanks for the info, SellingSRQ. I'll definitely try and check out some of those places when I'm there. What university is in Sarasota? (that you're talking about) I do generally like being near the vibrance, energy, and opportunities that colleges provide.

Originally Posted by SellingSRQ

Only drawback is that if you are working in Sarasota, you might get tired of the commute. Everything seems like it is 20-30 minutes away.

Assuming my job came with me, I would be working from home, but would need reasonable access to a major airport to take pretty frequent week-long trips. I'd like the trip to the airport to be under 1.5 hours. 30 min or less would be fantastic but I realize that might limit me too much as airports are rarely in the best areas.

Originally Posted by SellingSRQ

If you are not in a hurry to buy, you could consider renting for awhile to get a better sense of the area and see if you really like an area. You could rent from vrbo dot com and rent directly from the owner. It might be a good option until you find a place.

I've got a good living situation where I am now, so I'm in no legitimate hurry to buy and renting at first is definitely the smarter choice. The biggest hurry I'm in is to take advantage of the really low mortgage rates and depressed housing market right now to get a nice place in an area I'd like to live which I can pay off in a short period of time (~10-15 years). This would add additional freedom to my life by giving me a place to either live cheaply or potentially rent out as an extra stream of income. Having never been to this area before, this is just a quick scouting trip for me. I want to see how it compares as a potential place to live for me vs. other southern cities such as Austin, Phoenix, or possibly even San Diego (or other southern cities). Of course, everywhere has its pluses and minuses, and that's part of what I'm trying to find out here

[Sunshine Rules]

Hi wsamon,

You mentioned wanting to live somewhere that's walkable to a little night life, restaurants, etc. Lakewood Ranch does have it's Main street (a small shopping and restaurant district that was built to mimic a 1960's small town downtown area) on the south end, but very few neighborhoods within Lakewood Ranch would be considered walkable distance to Main. LWR does have a mix of empty nesters, families and single professionals. The more affordable neighborhoods are also some of the more popular ones with young families.

Sarasota does have a campus of the USF university located at US41 & University Parkway, that area is known as the "museum area" thanks to the Ringling Museum nearby. It's also sometimes referred to as the Indian Beach area, although Indian Beach is just one of the neighborhoods there. Just south of the museum on US41 is the Ringling College of Art & Design. West of US41 running from just south of Whitfield to just north of Centennial Park are a number of small neighborhoods with a mix of bungalows, cottages and 60's ranchers. You'll find the neighborhoods also have a mix of empty nesters, young families and college students renting. It's a short drive from there to downtown Sarasota and the night life, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. It's also close to the Sarasota international airport. That may be more of what you're looking for.

What is called the "University area" is mainly the area between I75 (just west of Lakewood Ranch) and US301. There are a number of residential neighborhoods and small shopping centers in the University area, an outlet mall and it is also where the Benderson corporation is building a new upscale mall. The best known residential communities in that area are Palm Aire (a slightly older but very popular golfing community), Mote Ranch (a group of neighborhoods of newer home construction, mostly empty nesters and families) and University Park (an upscale gated, golfing community with neighborhoods ranging from villas to estate homes). Not sure if that area would appeal to a 30 something single person.

Siesta Key is another good option if you're looking for a mix of younger residents with the older ones, some nightlife and great little restaurants. You may find a nice condo or townhome on Siesta Key in your price range but houses tend to start in the mid $300's and go up from there due to the demand and popularity of the key.

There are a few neighborhoods within Palmer Ranch on the south end of Sarasota that you may like for access to nearby Siesta Key beach, although PR is farther from downtown Sarasota and the airport. Village Walk and The Isles have townhomes that would be close to your price range. A few of the condo dommunities such as Pinestone, Arielle, Plaza de Flores, Serenade or Bella Villino would actually be under budget.

If you are thinking of Sarasota I would definitely suggest renting first to see if it's a good fit for you.


For a single person in their early 30's, you may find Tampa a better fit as you'll find more business professionals living/working in the Tampa area. Tampa is also a better option should you need to find work in your field.

[SellingSRQ]

The University area I spoke of was University Parkway. It is, as Sunshine Rules mentioned a shopping area close to Lakewood Ranch. There is basically every type of store, restaurant,etc in the area. Plus the Benderson "upscale" mall is opening in 2 yrs. The area has a mix of ages but has a younger vibe to it and the stores represent that.

As far as airports go, you would be 1 hr from Tampa and around 45 from St Pete's Airport and about 10 minutes from Sarasota airport. St Petes and Sarasota are great little airports to fly in and out of. If you can get flights to and from that airport, you will not be disappointed.

You sound like you have an idea situation with your work so take your time and look around. If you do decide on Sarasota, rent for a bit and make sure you like the area.

When we were making our decision to relocate, we also considered Austin, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Sedona as well as San Diego. We were looking at the LaJolla area, not really San Diego. So we traveled to each place multiple times, did demographic/urban/crime studies on each location and selected Sarasota.
It was best suited for us. I can tell you that taxes was the one thing that tipped the scale for us. No city/state taxes was very appealing vs.LaJolla that has government spending out of control and crazy tax rates. But we loved LaJolla.

Austin was also very appealing. We looked at Bee Cave there. You would be shocked but it has rolling hills like Southern Cal. You can get a very nice home home there for a resonable rate and they have great views. Lake Travis is in the area too but it is probably filled with tumble weeds by now with the drought. Also, Austin has great future job growth, is so clean and I must say Texans are the nicest people. Austin is getting a mix of people from big northern cities moving in and with the colleges there, the "polite Texas attitude" might be diluted a bit. AND they have the biggest Whole Foods I have ever seen! It is the flagship store so it is Whole Foods on Steroids!

We changed our mind on Austin because there was a major flash flood on the news and cars were floating down the road and that looked scary to me. But Texas has great job growth and no state taxes.

Phoenix/Scottsdale was crossed off the list based on the crime rates. I always do demographic/urban studies for each area and when I was checking out Phoenix I would call the insurance companies for autos and they opened my eyes a lot. Phoenix is the #1 city for stolen cars. They end up in chop shops and are over the border before you are even finished shopping. If you go there you will notice razor blade barb wire on all the car lots. Even the rental car lots have it on them. They also have a lot of home invasions there. Plus I hate bugs and snakes and they have the bark scorpion which is really bad and tiny and they have pack rats that get in your cars and chew up wiring and then there is that little snake issue of theirs. LOL

Looked at Sedona but thought we would get too bored with everything closing at 5pm.

Anyway, if you have any questions about any of these areas, you can ask me any questions you might have.

BTW we also looked at Nevada and Utah For 4 yrs we traveled as much as we could and in the end, we ended up in Sarasota

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by wsamon

On Tuesday I'm taking 4 days off and flying to the Sarasota & Tampa areas to check them out by myself. I've been told that they might be a good match for me as a possible place to move, so I want to check it out and get a feel for the weather, different neighborhoods, real estate scene, and the whole vibe.

Does anyone have suggestions of different neighborhoods I should look at or avoid? How about different places, activities, restaurants, bars, etc. that I should be sure to check out while I'm there? (the beach is obviously on the list)

---
A little about me:
31 single guy. Pretty active, love playing (and watching) team sports. I enjoy being social, and am really into rock music, beer, good food, bbqs, and generally being outdoors in the sun. I am not into clubbing or the whole money-flashing, game-playing, one-upping scene.

I'm fairly intelligent and employ a wide range of skills in the computer software industry (including programming, consulting, BA, training, and presenting among others). If I did move, I believe my current job could come with me.

While I could likely afford substantially more, I would probably be looking at 2/2 (or more) places under $225k or so. Obviously, I would want them to be near the beach if possible. Ideally, they'd be near (walkable?) at least a little nightlife (bars, live music, restaurants) as well. Safety is obviously important too. I don't need a gated community, but I don't want to be walking past drug dealers and prostitutes or hearing gunshots at night either. I like ethnic diversity (including w/ my gfs) but don't enjoy the ghetto culture of any race.

There are a number of neighborhoods within a couple miles of downtown that might meet your price range, but will be older ranch style homes. Downtown has a good amount of relaxed night life going on including a few clubs, many restaurants, movies, cafes, many festivals etc. Downtown is just one mile over the Ringling Bridge to the aforementioned St. Armands Circle, which is just a block from Lido Beach, so all this might appeal to you. The realtors here can name specific neighborhoods where there might be homes/condos in your price range. Definitely check out Sarasota, I do think it might meet your needs based on what you are looking for.

Tampa is only an hour's drive away for all the big sports, but there is a lot of baseball in the area here if you are into that.

Hope this helps!

[wsamon]

Thanks everyone for all the great info and ideas!

Sunshine Rules - I'm assuming I'll be getting a condo, not a house. I'm pretty sure I could afford a house - I doubt 300s would be any issue for me assuming I keep my current job (~$90k), plus I'm a first time buyer and my credit score is currently over 800 - but I want to be able to pay something off quickly. Plus, if I wind up snowbirding I'd like both the lower cost and the easier upkeep. That said, I'd love to live with as few people on the other side of my walls and as few restrictions as possible. Compared to where I live now, even Siesta Keys sounds cheap though

One concern I have with FL in general is the number of people that are, uh, out of my demographic age-wise. I have no concern interacting with people of all ages, but I'm still more connected with people from their mid-20s to mid-30s and would prefer to be surrounded predominantly by that rather than retired golf-types (though I do like golfing)

I was originally thinking of the Tampa area too, but figured I might as well check out Sarasota as well since it's so close and the flights were about the same cost.

[wsamon]

SellingSRQ - I might chat with you a bit about your experiences in the near future if you don't mind

I've been to Austin several times and love it. I had a pair of friends that lived there for a few years so I visited a couple times. It's one of my favorite cities. I love the eat well, drink well, exercise well (outdoors) culture, plus the music scene, the friendliness of the people, and youth and vibrance of it. That said, I've never been there longer than about a week. Its biggest negatives to me are:
*distance from a major airport (Houston? Dallas?)
*its real estate never really sank much and isn't really growing much either, making it more expensive than some places I'm looking and I question the appreciation possibilities (course it shouldn't bomb either)
*no major sports teams close by
*rarely gets the big entertainment coming through (sxsw and acl being the two exceptions but even they are usually filled with indie and up-and-coming bands)
*far from a beach

I really enjoyed the food, weather (haven't been there in summer yet though!), physical beauty, major sports (plus cheap easy access to them), the whole spring training thing, etc. of Phoenix / Scottsdale. Plus its real-estate market bombed so there's some nice stuff for really cheap and it might rebound quicker than some place like Austin that never bombed. The people were again great. If I got a place I think I'd be looking at either near the stadiums (walking to hockey and football games would be awesome), Scottsdale, or maybe in Tempe near the college. Drawbacks include:
*lots of driving
*very pockety neighborhoods - some are really good, some are really not, and it seems more random than most cities
*no real good central area to just go to and have lots of stuff to do (that I'm aware of)
*really far from a beach
*might sick of the barren desert after a while
*traffic is awful (one of the things I want to get away from)
*crime

Sedona - too remote

I liked San Diego a lot. Beautiful city, lots of stuff to do including the wine country in Temecula, etc. Vibrant. Unfortunately for me:
*expensive (a little cheaper than where I'm currently at, but not a lot)
*too cold (low 60s every night is not what I'm looking for, and mid 70s is nice but barely)

[pdm_ad]

Originally Posted by wsamon

*too cold (low 60s every night is not what I'm looking for, and mid 70s is nice but barely)

60's are cold? You may prefer MIA or the Keys.

I know what you mean about SAN being cool at night but SRQ gets chilly at night in the winter as well. 50's would be the normal low from Dec-Feb.

Otherwise I would echo the other poster by recommending Siesta Key and check out Siesta Village and have a few libations.

[wsamon]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Tampa is only an hour's drive away for all the big sports, but there is a lot of baseball in the area here if you are into that.

lol yes I am I love baseball. In fact, I still play it in an adult recreational summer league. Though I must admit, my days of playing in the 18+ A division are probably reaching their close. I might have to move to 25+ next year or worse, depending on my arm :S

Originally Posted by pdm_ad

60's are cold? You may prefer MIA or the Keys.

I know what you mean about SAN being cool at night but SRQ gets chilly at night in the winter as well. 50's would be the normal low from Dec-Feb.

60's aren't cold to me per se, but they're much cooler than I like. 50's, even as the high, from Dec - Feb is nothing for me. But in San Diego, it's 60's every night, starting about 6pm, for the entire year and rarely gets into the 80s. My ideal temperature range is about 85 - 95. That means every night (and early) it's going to hit a point that's about 20+ degrees below my ideal temperature range and it's never going to actually get into it. That's not exactly perfect weather for me lol. Plus the water is too cold even in the summer

Yes, Miami would be awesome temperature wise but the culture there isn't my thing. It's too flashy, clubby, materialistic, etc. I'm about substance over style. I'm a jeans, t-shirt, bbq, beer, sports, rock music, rum, gastropub, close friends sort of guy. I'm not into the expensive clothes, expensive cars, electronic music, night clubs, flash your money, random girls, lots of debatable friends scene.

The keys might be cool, but they're too remote. They're expensive, probably a little too laid back for this stage of my life, and I need to fly about 15-25 times / year for my job.

My favorite place I've been to so far in regards to climate and topography is Panama (the country). It's basically 85 - 95 and sunny year round. No major disasters, and it has rain in the same way that FL does. Somewhat frequent, but short bursts. No matter where you are you have easy access to both the Caribbean and the Pacific with nice beaches, mountains, rainforest, and it even has a legitimate city.