Considering moving to Siesta Key - Manatee and Sarasota Counties - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

siestajane · 07-15-2009, 11:18 AM

I've lived on Siesta Key for 20 years and my reply would be "What crime?" It's a great place to live and those who complain about the traffic are just jealous

dmccauley · 07-15-2009, 09:32 PM

I don't live that far from Siesta Key. I would love to live there however I don't think its the best place to raise your kids. Yes you get the beach 24/7 but I never saw the sense of a neighborhood when I was looking, it is more touristy then full time residences. I don't remember seeing kids outside playing except at the hotels and during the summer months things are boarded up due to hurricane season. This may not be a concern now but when your children get older it may be.

ben0ku · 07-16-2009, 08:50 PM

nothin is boarded up for hurricane season.... what are you talking about?? stuff might be boarded up just prior to a hurricane, but what in the world is boarded up 'during the summer months' just because its hurricane season?? Its summer right now... nothing is boarded. Last summer, the county put up shutters for one storm, but that was mainly just residential and even more of them didn't bother to put up shutters.

As far as it being a goodd place to raise your kids... Yes, people around Sarasota know Siesta Key for the beach, which has hotels along it, and the small strip of bars off the beach. Certainly a nice place to live opposed to the tired feeling of retirement cities. Even though the beach front is what we think of when you refer to Siesta Key... I'm sure there is more to the city than that.
Just like when people think of Venice, they typically think of the island or near it. I live in Venice, and it takes me almost 20 minutes to get to the island. Even the suburbs have their own 'suburb' areas. I think Siesta key would be doing the kids a HUGE favor... finding kids to play with and things to do is easy when you're little....
As soon as they hit middle school though, almost every kid HATES to live in bradenton/venice/sarasota, even when though beach is near. Siesta key is a beach that actually ATTRACTS those same kids... I'll tell you the blunt truth, kids in Venice, Englewood, Bradenton, etc... they find other ways to have fun, and for them it is having sex, smoking weed, and popping pills (which there are tons of in Florida thanks to a large ammount of older people, *in pain*). I was surprised when I moved here from Kansas to find that every 13 and 14 year old girl my nephew you knew was not a virgin, liked to smoke marijuana, and liked to drink (I'm 22, so my nephew and his friends are honest with me about these things)... Siesta Key is a great place to live if you have kids, especially if you are still planning on keeping them when they turn 12.

ben0ku · 07-16-2009, 08:59 PM

Also, the comment about cops in Florida is sadly somewhat true... I have been pulled over, and when asked why, the officer changed to a sharper tone.... never did tell me why I was pulled over. Most likely because it was just after midnight. Still, its an example of using stereotypes instead of any actual evidence for a group of the LEOs down here (but of course I don't speak regarding all of them).

Crime isn't something you would need to worry about in Siesta Key... However, in all of Florida and especially in the areas with less to do / more retired citizens, you need to pay close attention that your kids don't get into sex too early, as well as drugs. Of course marijuana, but mainly oxycodone aka 'roxys' '30s' 'blues', widespread issue with preteen and up. Siesta Key is one of the places to go 'hang out' for kids when they are bored in their own area... which is why I think it would be a good place for your kids down the road

Peter the Brit · 07-17-2009, 07:36 AM

New place for teenagers just opened near Siesta Key on the Trail, just after the South Bridge. Seems to be a clean place to hang out !

dmccauley · 07-18-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ben0ku

nothin is boarded up for hurricane season.... what are you talking about?? stuff might be boarded up just prior to a hurricane, but what in the world is boarded up 'during the summer months' just because its hurricane season?? Its summer right now... nothing is boarded. Last summer, the county put up shutters for one storm, but that was mainly just residential and even more of them didn't bother to put up shutters.

As far as it being a goodd place to raise your kids... Yes, people around Sarasota know Siesta Key for the beach, which has hotels along it, and the small strip of bars off the beach. Certainly a nice place to live opposed to the tired feeling of retirement cities. Even though the beach front is what we think of when you refer to Siesta Key... I'm sure there is more to the city than that.
Just like when people think of Venice, they typically think of the island or near it. I live in Venice, and it takes me almost 20 minutes to get to the island. Even the suburbs have their own 'suburb' areas. I think Siesta key would be doing the kids a HUGE favor... finding kids to play with and things to do is easy when you're little....
As soon as they hit middle school though, almost every kid HATES to live in bradenton/venice/sarasota, even when though beach is near. Siesta key is a beach that actually ATTRACTS those same kids... I'll tell you the blunt truth, kids in Venice, Englewood, Bradenton, etc... they find other ways to have fun, and for them it is having sex, smoking weed, and popping pills (which there are tons of in Florida thanks to a large ammount of older people, *in pain*). I was surprised when I moved here from Kansas to find that every 13 and 14 year old girl my nephew you knew was not a virgin, liked to smoke marijuana, and liked to drink (I'm 22, so my nephew and his friends are honest with me about these things)... Siesta Key is a great place to live if you have kids, especially if you are still planning on keeping them when they turn 12.

Tell me where in Siesta Key do you see a neighborhood filled with kids outside playing? I know a family that owns a beautiful home on the water in Venice and moved inland because their kids wanted a neighborhood with other kids around them. There 2.5 million dollar home sits vacant.

The scenerio that you described maybe true in areas of Sarasota, but its also true around the USA. It all comes down to how you raise your kids.