Just bought in Sarasota. Helpful hints. (Port Charlotte: rental market, sex offender, crimes)

[Adream]

Originally Posted by smiledoc1

I spent a looooooong time monitoring threads before visting. It was the wisest investment I made. Next to Google

Good going doc! (Funny, too! )

[mkbmpb]

Coming down again for a vist, can anyone tell me about Myakka River State Park? We love the beaches, etc. but wondered if this was something worth visiting?

[kbeejbee]

my husband and i live in miami. in our 50's and thinking of future. we both still work here, so we are looking to buy now while prices are low and are slowly looking. he is a Ringling graduate and we've always been drawn to Sarasota more than anywhere. if winters disappeared, i would move up north, but sad to say, not that much global warming yet. thus, we are staying in Florida. i wondered if you still feel the same way about Sarasota after living there for over a year? we are beginning to look and the prices (to us) are just so feasible for retirement. taxes seem a little high (remember, we've lived in our house for over 20 years and our taxes are $1500/year. if we buy now, we're not sure we can take our tax base with us, i haven't read into the law. we would try to rent the house out for 5 years (and NOT fix it up) and do not want an HOA or a "little box" neighborhood. my husband is a designer and cabinetmaker and we have fixed up all our homes ourselves. any opinions out there on buying now and renting out? any opinions on our plan? good or bad? thanks.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by mkbmpb

Coming down again for a vist, can anyone tell me about Myakka River State Park? We love the beaches, etc. but wondered if this was something worth visiting?

If it's your first trip down, Myakka is interesting. Lots of gators, and if you go down the river you can see wild hogs. If you like to hike there are something like 40 miles of trails there, but there isn't much tree coverage on much of the trail system.

[Peter the Brit]

Also look at the new Park on SR 64 which is just as good

[Allwyna]

hi SmileDoc,

It is my very first message here, and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your point of view. Actually I registered especially to answer your message

So far I have read several sites... and saw many negative posts. So it is good to see some smiles around.

I am planning to relocate to Florida, I am a bit older than you, but not in my mind, and if it is ok with you I will send you a PM.

I know and like Fort Lauderdale, Naples... and Sarasota.

Thank you very much

[smiledoc1]

Originally Posted by Allwyna

hi SmileDoc,

It is my very first message here, and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your point of view. Actually I registered especially to answer your message

So far I have read several sites... and saw many negative posts. So it is good to see some smiles around.

I am planning to relocate to Florida, I am a bit older than you, but not in my mind, and if it is ok with you I will send you a PM.

I know and like Fort Lauderdale, Naples... and Sarasota.

Thank you very much

Allwyna,
Thank you for your kind words.
My perspective is just that, my perspective. Since my kids are grown, schools are not an issue for me. Employment is also not an issue for me. But I do understand that others who are in a different position than me would have a different view.
Please feel free to PM me. I will try my best to answer your questions. BigHouse and SoFlGal are also excellent resources.
As for Ft. Lauderdale, there is a HUGE difference between the east coast of FL and the west coast.

Best,
Smiledoc1

[lanceanne2]

Just moved to Venice but can't seem to find a church where there is a younger crowd. Since we are willing to drive to sarasota, I was wondering if anyone knows of a non denominational church that meets the following criteria:
1. 1 hour service 10am or later
2. 30 min. of rocking contemporary christian music.
3. 30 minutes of scripture. Not looking for skits or lessons on finances or marriage- 30 min of reading scripture from the bible.
4. Relaxed atmosphere where dress is casual

It seems as though everyone is out recruiting people to visit their church. My family and I have visited several but can't seem to find one we can call home. The church doesn't have to be large or even located in a church at all (schools or other meeting places are ok as well)

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. My family and I would like to visit a church in Sarasota tomorrow. Thanks so much for the help and God Bless!

Lance

[Peter the Brit]

The Bridge meets at Laurel Nokomis school on Laurel Rd

[TerriW58]

My husband and I have been considering relocating from South Florida to either Vero Beach or Sarasota. After conducting extensive research on both cities, the thing that has me concerned about Sarasota is its high crime rate. The crime statistics for Sarasota, a city with a population of around 55,000 seem to put it on par with the city we live in now in Broward County, that has a population of over 145,000. Can anyone from Sarasota please elaborate a bit on that? It appears to me at the moment that Vero Beach would be a much safer place to reside, but you can't always tell what's REALLY going on just by short visits to the areas in question. And I'm fully aware that things can happen no matter WHERE you are and no city in the world is 100% crime free, but we would like a respite from the constant tension of living in a place with higher crime and neverending traffic.