Sarasota vs. Punta gorda vs Riverview vs Melbourne (Bradenton, North Port: foreclosed, houses)

[Kathleen82]

Hi! My husband and I with our two year old daughter are planning on moving to FL within the next few years, we are from Chicago, IL. My husband and I have done a lot of research on areas in Florida.
Our criteria is :

Good Schools
Friendly community
Lots to do (I enjoy almost any recreational activity)
We want a 3bdrm/2bath house

We are planning a trip to FL this june to check out all of these areas, we have pretty much narrowed down cities to these top 4 places so we want to see them in person. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. I would just like opinions on these areas- good and bad.

Thank you!
Kathleen

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Kathleen82

Hi! My husband and I with our two year old daughter are planning on moving to FL within the next few years, we are from Chicago, IL. My husband and I have done a lot of research on areas in Florida.
Our criteria is :

Good Schools
Friendly community
Lots to do (I enjoy almost any recreational activity)
We want a 3bdrm/2bath house

We are planning a trip to FL this june to check out all of these areas, we have pretty much narrowed down cities to these top 4 places so we want to see them in person. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. I would just like opinions on these areas- good and bad.

Thank you!
Kathleen

Hi Kathleen,

My vote is for Sarasota, mainly due to the school system. I went to Sarasota county and Charlotte county schools (Punta Gorda) as a child and I much prefer Sarasota county, although Charlotte county does have good rating s from the state. When I was pregnant with my first child I moved from Charlotte county to Sarasota county so my child could be in Sarasota county schools.

My older two children attend Pine View School in Osprey (southern Sarasota county). You must "test in" to attend this school. They require an IQ over 130, good grades, and achievement test and teacher recommendations. Pine View was just rated the school with the best performance in the state of Florida by BuisnessWeek Magazine. The school has grades 2nd-12th all on one campus. We've been there for eight years and absolutely love it!

Sarasota has lots of stuff to do: Selby Gardens, Jungle Gardens, Selby Library, The Children's Garden, great beaches, awesome parks, etc.

What type of community are you looking for? Gated/non-gated, new/older homes, price range. What kind of things do you like to do? golf, boating, tennis, etc. Many of the communities are geared more toward certain activities.

[Kathleen82]

thanks so much for your reply, I am set on Sarasota but my husband is not, he wants to look at different communities so we are visiting in June to look at all the others, but we are stayingi n Sarasota. I like to do almost anything, I love golfing, the beach, doing activities with my daughter such as parks, libraries etc... I want to live in an newer home, not necessarily a gated community but I want a safe neighborhood, can you suggest any areas to stay away from in Sarasota? Do you know of any realtors in the sarasota area? Thanks! Kathleen

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Kathleen82

thanks so much for your reply, I am set on Sarasota but my husband is not, he wants to look at different communities so we are visiting in June to look at all the others, but we are stayingi n Sarasota. I like to do almost anything, I love golfing, the beach, doing activities with my daughter such as parks, libraries etc... I want to live in an newer home, not necessarily a gated community but I want a safe neighborhood, can you suggest any areas to stay away from in Sarasota? Do you know of any realtors in the sarasota area? Thanks! Kathleen

OK, let's start out with Sarasota Realtors-yours truly I can tell you neighborhoods that might interest you-Palmer Ranch, Trillium, Misty Creek, possibly Sherwood Forest or Bent Tree but they're a bit older. Really depends on exactly what you are looking for.

[Kathleen82]

so you are a realtor? That would be perfect!

We are looking for at minimum 3 bed 2 bath, at least 1200 sq ft. I dont mind an older home, we are looking for something under 120,000. Those are a "must" oh - amd we also must be in a good school district - our daughter is two. It would be great if a park is nearby, do most homes in sarasota have an association fee? I was really hoping to find a house without a fee each month.

Any chance you want to show us around when we come down there? I was about to start a search for a realtor in Sarasota to spend half a day with us when we are down there in June. I would like someone to show us neighborhoods, a handful of houses, and explain the city to us

[Kathleen82]

and I forgot to add that we do not want well water or a septic system

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Kathleen82

so you are a realtor? That would be perfect!

We are looking for at minimum 3 bed 2 bath, at least 1200 sq ft. I dont mind an older home, we are looking for something under 120,000. Those are a "must" oh - amd we also must be in a good school district - our daughter is two. It would be great if a park is nearby, do most homes in sarasota have an association fee? I was really hoping to find a house without a fee each month.

Any chance you want to show us around when we come down there? I was about to start a search for a realtor in Sarasota to spend half a day with us when we are down there in June. I would like someone to show us neighborhoods, a handful of houses, and explain the city to us

OK, I typed in 3/2 at least 1200 sq ft in Sarasota and came up with 42 homes. Most of these homes were located in Newtown Estates, Gulf Gate, South Gate, Lake Sarasota, Beneva Ridge, and Kensington Park. So, here's the situation for that price range in Sarasota. The homes would be older, built in the 1960's or 70's at best. So, so neighborhood at best. Probably city water and sewer.

If you went to Venice or North Port you have A LOT more options. In Venice there are 13 homes and most are in South Venice. In North Port there are 96 and most of them are newer.

In South Venice the homes would probably be a little newer than in Sarasota. Most homes are built in the 1970's or 80's. Close to the beach. About half are well and septic and the other half are public water and sewer.

Or North Port with homes that are nearly new. Most homes are built in 2000 or newer and most neighborhoods have newer homes. Almost all the homes have well and septic, very few have public water.

All homes are in Sarasota county and for the most part the school system is pretty good and many of the schools are "A" rated by the state.

I'll DM you on the dates

[Kathleen82]

Great! Thank you! After talking to you I looked up homes in North Port - VERY nice! I still dont know about the well water and septic though but I will keep North Port in mind. Thank you!! I will DM you by the end of the week with dates so we can plan to meet up. : )

Kathleen

[mr&mrssunshine]

great golf, safe = Rotonda. However its Charlotte county. cant comment on the schools as I am just a bit too old to attend !

[LLL129]

My opinion is that Sarasota is the better city to live in vs. the surrounding cities such as: venice, englewood, punta gorda, and north port (unless you like to drive alot to get to work, the beach, activities, etc). Sarasota is where its at. The best schools. It is voted one of the best beaches over and over again. It also has the most activities of all those citiies. It is family oriented. However, finding a 3/2 house for $120k will prob be tough, unless you find a foreclosed home. I cannot comment on Riverview or Melbourne since I don't know those areas very well. Have you considered Bradenton? Lakewood Ranch? Lakewood ranch is new and has some really nice homes and its close to Sarasota. Bradenton has alot going too and is close to Sarasota as well.