Will be moving to Bradenton, have some Questions (Sarasota, Palmetto: condos, crime)

[LenJ]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a lot of posts and seems like the city is fair. I plan on moving to Bradenton in an area close to MCC but on the west side of 34th street. It is very close to the tennis academy and I know it is close to some other schools.

I know the area some what well. I know the Oneco is not the greatest but I will be away from that area.

Is this generally a good area to live in? I know the Valencia area and I will be close to that and from what I know, the area is full of newer homes and more expensive Condos. From what I remember/know (dont know if it changed) that east of MCC/34th street is not a wonderful area and west of it is much nicer.

Can everyone give me a general idea of what to expect? In addition, I am looking to possibly join the Bradenton Police department if they are hiring. Any idea about the department?


Thanks,
Joe

[TKramar]

Originally Posted by LenJ

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a lot of posts and seems like the city is fair. I plan on moving to Bradenton in an area close to MCC but on the west side of 34th street. It is very close to the tennis academy and I know it is close to some other schools.

I know the area some what well. I know the Oneco is not the greatest but I will be away from that area.

Is this generally a good area to live in? I know the Valencia area and I will be close to that and from what I know, the area is full of newer homes and more expensive Condos. From what I remember/know (dont know if it changed) that east of MCC/34th street is not a wonderful area and west of it is much nicer.


Can everyone give me a general idea of what to expect? In addition, I am looking to possibly join the Bradenton Police department if they are hiring. Any idea about the department?


Thanks,
Joe

I don't know about the area between 26th and 34th too much, as far as quality of homes...but the few I have seen west of 34th don't look bad, a lot of residential communities, with gated entrances though (have only come west of 34th on SR70 and Cortez...and Cortez isn't really known for it's residential communities. I think it's positioned well for "access". Post office west of 26th, off 57th (*biggest struggle for me after moving to Bradenton, EVERYTHING is numbered!*). Public library on 26th, near 61st and 63rd. Winn-Dixie on 34th, as well as A gas station, and at least one restaraunt. And if you want more, you can head out to 41 or Cortez Rd. Plenty of businesses on either road.

[LenJ]

Yes, I will be a little south of WinnDixie, maybe a ~mile.

Thanks for your input!

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by LenJ

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a lot of posts and seems like the city is fair. I plan on moving to Bradenton in an area close to MCC but on the west side of 34th street. It is very close to the tennis academy and I know it is close to some other schools.

I know the area some what well. I know the Oneco is not the greatest but I will be away from that area.

Is this generally a good area to live in? I know the Valencia area and I will be close to that and from what I know, the area is full of newer homes and more expensive Condos. From what I remember/know (dont know if it changed) that east of MCC/34th street is not a wonderful area and west of it is much nicer.

Can everyone give me a general idea of what to expect? In addition, I am looking to possibly join the Bradenton Police department if they are hiring. Any idea about the department?


Thanks,
Joe

34th St. West is okay, between Cortez & 53rd.
It gets better after you hit the MCC/Boleteri going South on either side, E. or W.

BPD & MCSO budgets are about to be slashed, and layoffs will be forth coming, do your homework first!

[LenJ]

Thanks for the heads up. I see that they are hoping for grant money to save those and add on over the next 3 years so I will keep my fingers crossed.

What else should I expect?

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by LenJ

Thanks for the heads up. I see that they are hoping for grant money to save those and add on over the next 3 years so I will keep my fingers crossed.

What else should I expect?

Great beaches, beautiful island (Anna Maria), and not much else going on.

What are you looking for?

[LenJ]

I will be going to school down there. I will take some classes at MCC. Later, (after 1 year) I will continue at USF and later get my law degree in St. P.

I like Bradenton being that it is a quieter town. I don't do bar hopping or parties which I know this city is not known for. We plan on staying down there and that is where we want to stay for the future, in the Bradenton Sarasota area.

Just wanting to see how the city has changed. I know the area was hit hard with the economic downturn and am looking for some opportunities which are much better down there than up here in Wi.
From what I see the area is experiencing more crime segregated towards the center right of the city, is this true? Have gangs been moving in or is this just general crime?

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by LenJ

I will be going to school down there. I will take some classes at MCC. Later, (after 1 year) I will continue at USF and later get my law degree in St. P.

I like Bradenton being that it is a quieter town. I don't do bar hopping or parties which I know this city is not known for. We plan on staying down there and that is where we want to stay for the future, in the Bradenton Sarasota area.

Just wanting to see how the city has changed. I know the area was hit hard with the economic downturn and am looking for some opportunities which are much better down there than up here in Wi.
From what I see the area is experiencing more crime segregated towards the center right of the city, is this true? Have gangs been moving in or is this just general crime?

Most of the crime is drug related and used to be concentrated between on the east side of town. Now, it's branched out everywhere, probably because there's just no one to rob who has anything between 41/Cortez/Oneco. I'm not too up with the gang scene, so I can't go there. My xbf used to hang out with the drug dealers and hookers so that's my area of expertise. Crack used to be king. Now it's a heroin/pills game. There was an arrest made at the Applebee's parking lot last Friday with pills, heroin, crack & weed involved. Knew both of the people involved and it's just a shame to see people arrested over and over for the same crimes & not changing their ways. I'm sure it was a set up of some sort as well. One of the bad guys is a REALLY BAD GUY, the other one, not so bad but still in the game.

IMO, the gang scene tends to contain the hispanic element of Manatee County. I heard there was a gun purchasing frenzy at the last gun show over in Palmetto at the Civic Center and buys were easy. Where's the law during this type of activity? Some vendors were legal and the purchases went accordingly but a friend of mine who was there said he couldn't believe the amount of weapons sold without the proper paperwork.

[TKramar]

According to today's paper, the SO is cutting 12 more jobs. He said it has yet to affect road deputies, but any further cuts would affect them.