from MN to FL - need all tips! (Sarasota, Bradenton: renting, construction)

[Nancy in Nokomis]

The smartest thing you will ever do is rent for one year first - rent where there is a good school nearby - you really do not know an area well until you live there.

[llrivero]

Originally Posted by photoman_6

you know the old saying of opinions are like "a******s". everybody's got one.
May-Oct are the hottest months of the year, so some people might not consider them the most beautiful months of the year. My wife happens to love the cooler weather (albeit, 50 is not cold to me, and not every day). I happen to love the hot weather, happily esconsed in my pool.
Lakewood Ranch is at least 30 minutes from the beach. How often do you see yourself going to the beach. If you love it and can afford it, then you should look on Anna maria, or Lido Beach, etc.
here's what I recommend. Soul searching. A lot of it, alone and with your wife. Finances- what can you afford. Housing- what can't you live without. Working-home office overlooking a pool or paying rent in some building.
Look at your hobbies and interests, restaurants (if it's too crowded at 6, eat at 7)
Can you live in a condo, or do you need a home> Are you familiar with HOA environments? Most newer housing is HOA centric.

Check the real estate websites and see if you can hook up with a broker that will spend a couple of days with you going through neighborhoods, etc. Then come down NOW and spend a week at least exploring.

Honest direction ... love it!

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by wifegoodman

yes.
we are thinking we will rent first. but we are not even sure of what area to begin looking. we browse often but there are such a wide range of homes from siesta key to palmetto etc that I am unsure!

In my opinion, if you haven't been here, you are not going to be able to figure out where you want to live without a knowledgeable Realtor and visits to the area to familiarize yourself. This is a huge area, with all kinds of neighborhoods -- some good, some bad, and sometimes right next to each other. It is not like the cities up North where you know your good and bad school districts and the "bad" areas are concentrated together. There are many other threads on here that will help you with your research.

[MattMN]

Easiest answer is probably Lakewood Ranch. Many neighborhoods and families in there, and quite a few rentals too. Absolutely plan to rent for the first year, to give yourself time to figure things out. My kids were out of school when we moved down, but from what I hear schools are decent in that area.

People also like the schools in Venice, but harder to find a young-family area in that older-population city.

One tip on rentals - we were surprised they only rented a couple weeks out. They go quick, so even though we scouted out rentals about 5 weeks before we moved, they were all gone within 2 weeks. So had to make another trip down about 2 weeks before the move. Spent 3 days checking out rentals, and signed. Plan to spend around $1800-2500/mo for a nice family-sized house.

[techie_g]

Easy answer, if you're renting for a while- which is smart if you really don't know the area.


Just find a house somewhere in or around Lakewood Ranch, Palm Aire/University....n/ Tuttle...Tara, off North Lockwood Ridge (Madalay, Barrington, RioMar (hehheh), etc.


But to cut through the krap, just find one of the many houses in LWR, then start seriously discovering. Easy decision

[BacktoFL17]

Originally Posted by wifegoodman

we are moving to FL in a hopeful 5 months and are looking at the sarasota/bradenton area.
any good schools to consider? we currently have two young children.
I assume we will be renting until we find a solid place that we want to settle down so we can buy new or build. but we aren't sure where to start!

my husband will likely be working remote so he can stay with his Minneapolis firm here in MN and would like to find an office in the area so he isn't working from home day in and day out, and has a place to meet clients. I don't even know where to begin looking for something like that.

we have two little ones and hope for more - so family friendly is a big bonus.

it seems that there are so many "neighborhoods" or areas of these cities - so any and all info would be so helpful!
thank you!

Hello!

I'm also in my research phase before actually moving back down to FL from PA. However, I already have 6 years of FL living under my belt. I lived in the Madeira Beach area and from my experience living down there I loved it and long story short my husband and I moved back to PA to be closer to family and now we're looking to move back down to be closer to friends who have become our family. Haha!

Anyway, there's so much info on here already that I'm not gonna get into crime stats, etc..., but I can answer your question about office space which no one else has answered​ yet. I also worked from home when I lived down there (I'm now happily "retired". Lol!) and my ex boss worked from home as well. She decided she wanted us to meet a few days a week so I did some research on an office space we could rent. There are many companies that you can find even with just a short Google search that rent out office space. Many companies do this because they're only using a part of the building and it helps cut rental and maintenance costs. These kinds of rental offices are often called Flex spaces. So, if you do a Google search for flex office space rentals or flex space rentals or shared office space rentals, you should see many options pop up. Here are some specific companies I found from my Google search: Regus Office Space Rental Company (they're a popular one), CoCreativ (they don't require a lease), CoWork, Solutions Office Suites, PS Executive Centers. That's just a few that I found in the Tampa area. You'll find that these "flex spaces" are much easier to find in Tampa, but I'm sure there's some outside downtown as well, you just have to do a little more searching. I can't remember for the life of me what rental company we used, but I vaguely remember that there was no lease and we chose one of their part time rental packages hence the term "flex space". I would start off by calling a few of the companies for more info and they might even be able to direct you to more or better options in a more specific area of your choosing. I hope this helps/answers your question!

[wifegoodman]

Originally Posted by tazbo

Hello. My wife and I moved to Venice about 6 years age. Venice has a great school system, but I do not think it is a suitable pick for you and your hubby. My wife and I moved here in our mid 50's. We are now 60 and think we are the youngest couple here. It really is an old peoples home. Do not know what your buget is, or your preference about living on or close to the beach. I personally would consider Lakewood Rance. New town, close to one of the largest malls in the US. However it is East of I 75, which I would think would take about 30 minutes to get to the Gulf. (don't quote me however) On the other hand, if I had the bucks, I would choose a small established community close to the beach. Just remember, wherever you go, it is beautiful 6 months out of the year. May - Oct are great. The 6 months the snowbirds are here and driving, at 86 years old, eating out at 6 are damm near imposible. My wife and I will come out of hibernation in about 3 weeks. Can't wait.

thank you so much!
I truly appreciate this. we just turned 30 (me last month, him next month) so we will scope out LWR! I have heard GREAT things!

[wifegoodman]

Originally Posted by photoman_6

you know the old saying of opinions are like "a******s". everybody's got one.
May-Oct are the hottest months of the year, so some people might not consider them the most beautiful months of the year. My wife happens to love the cooler weather (albeit, 50 is not cold to me, and not every day). I happen to love the hot weather, happily esconsed in my pool.
Lakewood Ranch is at least 30 minutes from the beach. How often do you see yourself going to the beach. If you love it and can afford it, then you should look on Anna maria, or Lido Beach, etc.
here's what I recommend. Soul searching. A lot of it, alone and with your wife. Finances- what can you afford. Housing- what can't you live without. Working-home office overlooking a pool or paying rent in some building.
Look at your hobbies and interests, restaurants (if it's too crowded at 6, eat at 7)
Can you live in a condo, or do you need a home> Are you familiar with HOA environments? Most newer housing is HOA centric.

Check the real estate websites and see if you can hook up with a broker that will spend a couple of days with you going through neighborhoods, etc. Then come down NOW and spend a week at least exploring.

AWESOME!
we often eat at 7 or 8 here in MN, so that will be ok, woofta!
I love your eye opening advice. we also debate coming back to MN June-aug but we aren't sure of that yet. time will tell! 30 mins from the gulf is ok with me, as long as we have a pool! I know that as a stay at home mom of two younger kiddos, I won't be brave enough to do the gulf alone too often!

[wifegoodman]

Originally Posted by Nancy in Nokomis

The smartest thing you will ever do is rent for one year first - rent where there is a good school nearby - you really do not know an area well until you live there.

truth!
we are on Zillow often looking at rentals. that is 100% our plan for the first 6-12 months until we have a good feel of where we want our roots to be!

[wifegoodman]

Originally Posted by BacktoFL17

Hello!

I'm also in my research phase before actually moving back down to FL from PA. However, I already have 6 years of FL living under my belt. I lived in the Madeira Beach area and from my experience living down there I loved it and long story short my husband and I moved back to PA to be closer to family and now we're looking to move back down to be closer to friends who have become our family. Haha!

Anyway, there's so much info on here already that I'm not gonna get into crime stats, etc..., but I can answer your question about office space which no one else has answered​ yet. I also worked from home when I lived down there (I'm now happily "retired". Lol!) and my ex boss worked from home as well. She decided she wanted us to meet a few days a week so I did some research on an office space we could rent. There are many companies that you can find even with just a short Google search that rent out office space. Many companies do this because they're only using a part of the building and it helps cut rental and maintenance costs. These kinds of rental offices are often called Flex spaces. So, if you do a Google search for flex office space rentals or flex space rentals or shared office space rentals, you should see many options pop up. Here are some specific companies I found from my Google search: Regus Office Space Rental Company (they're a popular one), CoCreativ (they don't require a lease), CoWork, Solutions Office Suites, PS Executive Centers. That's just a few that I found in the Tampa area. You'll find that these "flex spaces" are much easier to find in Tampa, but I'm sure there's some outside downtown as well, you just have to do a little more searching. I can't remember for the life of me what rental company we used, but I vaguely remember that there was no lease and we chose one of their part time rental packages hence the term "flex space". I would start off by calling a few of the companies for more info and they might even be able to direct you to more or better options in a more specific area of your choosing. I hope this helps/answers your question!

Thank you!!
I can't wait to pass all of that on to my husband. I know he will be excited!
Good luck on your move back! I am getting nervous to leave family, but we will just have to find good friends!