Lived in FL, but considering Sarasota/Venice .... PLEASE HELP! (Port Charlotte: lease, home)

[Frida7]

Originally Posted by LandsharkJB

Whenever someone describes Venice is lively I just picture all the old men holding court on the park benches on Main Street next to a fiberglass painted turtle. Of course there would be all generations at a Daiquiri Deck during World Cup, it's a vacation area. To recommend it though to someone in their early 20's, single, and specifically looking for a younger area is down right criminal.

(Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy a trip there every now and then.)

I have to agree with this completely.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by LandsharkJB

Whenever someone describes Venice is lively I just picture all the old men holding court on the park benches on Main Street next to a fiberglass painted turtle. Of course there would be all generations at a Daiquiri Deck during World Cup, it's a vacation area. To recommend it though to someone in their early 20's, single, and specifically looking for a younger area is down right criminal.

(Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy a trip there every now and then.)

Hehe so true^^^! We just took a drive down there the other day, and I remarked how "old" it still seems and wonder if it will ever get any more youthful and/or vibrant. Mind you, this is coming from a 64 year young woman!

It most definitely is a charming little town, though. It has always reminded me of a small coastal California town from decades back.

[macrodome2]

Originally Posted by LandsharkJB

Whenever someone describes Venice is lively I just picture all the old men holding court on the park benches on Main Street next to a fiberglass painted turtle. Of course there would be all generations at a Daiquiri Deck during World Cup, it's a vacation area. To recommend it though to someone in their early 20's, single, and specifically looking for a younger area is down right criminal.

(Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy a trip there every now and then.)

I agree, I would never recommend Venice to a 20 or even 30 something. The only point I was trying to make is the other posters portray Venice as a town where we all have one foot in the grave.

[--chris--]

Originally Posted by LandsharkJB

Whenever someone describes Venice is lively I just picture all the old men holding court on the park benches on Main Street next to a fiberglass painted turtle. Of course there would be all generations at a Daiquiri Deck during World Cup, it's a vacation area. To recommend it though to someone in their early 20's, single, and specifically looking for a younger area is down right criminal.

(Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy a trip there every now and then.)

Having visited Venice 5 times in the last 4 years, I can confirm this. I have only visited during July/August/September so I cant give you a full picture...but during those times the area really quiets down when it gets dark out.

My cousin and his wife lived in Englewood, they spent most of their nights out in Sarasota or driving to St. Petes.

[rtfritz]

Sorry for jumping on someone else's thread, but it fits. My wife and I are moving down at the end of this month, and we are in our mid-30's, no kids. My job is in South Venice, hers will be in Englewood. We really like the Gulf Gate, South Sarasota area, but wondering if the commute will be awful in tourist season. I will have early hours so mine shouldn't be that bad, but she will be working standard hours. Google maps says about 40 minutes from Gulf Gate to Englewood, but it isn't tourist season now. Will that 40 minutes go to 60 minutes, and our we better off living closer to Venice? We like some nightlife, 2-3 nights per month, but we aren't clubbers. Our ideal night out would be a nice bar with live music and some people close to our age. What worries me about Venice is definitely the age, because I think that would make it harder for us to meet new friends.

I guess the main question is to meet new people close to our age, do we definitely have to avoid living in Venice, because that is what all the threads sound like? If we could shorten our daily commute, that would be great, but I don't want to be in an area where we are sitting at a bar and everyone is between 60-85 years old the majority of the year. Not to say I don't like a good conversation with my grandparents, but just not everyday. Any help would be appreciated.

[DragonflyMom]

We've been in Venice since October. We are comfortable here, but I would never recommend it for a person in their 20s looking for some nightlife. At age 59, sometimes I'm the youngest person in the room when we eat out.

[rtfritz]

Thanks. I guess we will commute a little further for work to be closer to Sarasota.

[Old Gal]

We're retired and we have been in South Venice for several months now. I think the age range in South Venice may be a tad younger than Venice. Our neighborhood has families with children and also retired people. I will say that they pretty much roll up the streets at 8:30.

[pats fan]

Originally Posted by macrodome2

I don't know where the other poster lived in Venice, but we're in Stoneybrook and there is a fair number of families and kids in there.I've met a lot of neighbors in their late 50's that plan to sell the house up north in a couple of years and retire to their Venice house full time. The people we met also wanted to be in a mixed age community. That was one of our criteria.

We looked at Lakewood Ranch (which Hubby loved), Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood, Bonita Springs, & Naples.

Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Bradenton, and Naples were too crowded in season. Lots of traffic. Englewood wasn't for us. That left us with Venice and Bonita Springs and we liked Venice better.

We are in our early 60's and had looked at condos from Naples to Venice. We were definitely considering Bonita Springs or Venice. Bonita Springs had alot more traffic and congestion going on than Venice and we visited in July last year. We ended up buying a condo in Venice, we also got more for our money in Venice (3 bedroom vs 2). I also agree that the original poster needs to be in a city with a younger demographic. Not to say that I am hearing more and more younger folk (meaning late 50 and up) are buying property in Venice, South Venice for future retirement.

[Michael Koester]

Originally Posted by Enigma777

The saying goes--my parents live in Sarasota, and their parents live in Venice.

Ha ha. When I first moved here in 2002 we went to Marina Jack's for lunch. The waiter told us the the population is "newly wed or almost dead." Still, I love it here and would not move.