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Let's start with what information are you looking for? I can't say I know Parrish and Palmetto well but I can say that each of these towns can be described in very different terms depending on where in the town you are looking. You can quickly go from old and run down to new development to boonies (and I say that in a nice way) in a very short distance. Ellenton has some great shopping, there are entertainment venues and boating water in Palmetto, etc. What do you want to know?
I can answer the North Port question. "Dr. Rain" lives in the Parrish area and has some strong opinions. I don't know if anyone else that posts regularly lives in the Parrish area.
I live in North Port. The average age is 38. It's about 25-30 minutes to the beach. I usually go up to Nokomis Beach. There's lots of things for the kids to do although for some reason my kids always seem to make lots of friends in the Sarasota area so I'm forever driving up there. North Port is actually the second largest city in land area in the state of FL.
Here's something I wrote about the NP area that might give you a better feel for things:
North Port, Florida is located on the west coast of Florida in the southernmost part of Sarasota County midway between Sarasota and Fort Myers. US 41 and I-75 provide easy access to airports in Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. At 103 square miles, North Port is the second largest city in Florida in land size, but it still retains the friendliness and convenience of a small town since it is only 18% developed.
North Port, Florida visitors and residents find the Gulf of Mexico only 20 minutes away on Manasota Key, which has miles of beautiful beaches for boating, shelling, and picnic areas. North Port, Florida is criss-crossed by a network of canals and greenbelts providing breathing room between homes. Water lovers enjoy the canoeing the miles of canals and lakes that wind through the city. Streets were laid out with many cul de sacs and U-shaped sections to minimize traffic in residential neighborhoods. Charlotte Harbor is also close by and is a favorite of boaters and sports fisherman alike. Imagine living in a place where the average temperature in January is 63 degrees and a balmy 82.5 degrees during the month of August.
North Port, Florida became a city in 1959, and its population has more than tripled in the last fifteen years. North Port’s population is around 46,000 now but projected to climb to 250,000 in the next 10-25 years. Concerned with urban sprawl, the city of North Port, Florida is extending more sidewalks and encouraging walking by planning smaller neighborhoods within the city. With a vast inventory of new homes, resale homes and land, North Port, Florida is a fast growing area where you will get more bang for your buck.
Among the city’s attractions is the North Port Library, a beautiful new building with over 50,000 books in print and access to over 500,000 through the Sarasota County Library system. A second library is planned in another part of town.
Another draw to North Port, Florida are twelve parks and recreation areas, where you can bike, hike and bird watch to your heart’s content. The newest one is the Garden of the Five Senses. Kids enjoy the North Port Skate Park, and a dog park is planned for the future. Most of Florida’s Myakka State Forest is within the city limits of North Port, Florida and provides 8592 acres of unspoiled land for hiking and primitive camping along the river.
Each year residents enjoy the Freedom Festival which is held July 4th with a parade and fireworks, and the annual Christmas Parade second Saturday in December ending at Dallas White Park with a community block party.
The new North Port High School and Heron Creek Middle School will be joined by another middle school this year and another high school in the near future. Cranberry Elementary, Toledo Blade Elementary, Glenallen Elementary and Lamarque Elementary meet the needs of grade school students. To meet the demand of a younger population, a new elementary school has opened nearly every year for the past few years with a total of four now and another planned. North Port has a new high school, a performance arts center, and is close to Manatee Community College, which plans a North Port campus by 2010. You will also find numerous pre-school and day care facilities.
To accommodate future growth, new commercial complexes are unveiled constantly along US 41 and in the Price Boulevard and Toledo Blade areas, the two access points to I-75. A new shopping center making a third Publix and numerous other retail stores just opened on Toledo Blade, and a theater and medical complex are in the permitting stage of construction. A second YMCA and library will also be in this vicinity. More specialty restaurants and major chains like super Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Perkins, Walgreen’s, ABC Liquor and Lowe’s are opening every few months, and a major mall in Port Charlotte is only 10 minutes away.
Here in North Port, Florida you are surrounded by lush landscape and indigenous foliage, meticulously maintained homes, lawns and gardens and upscale golf communities. There is a lifestyle to suit everyone. Generally, the waterfront homes that stretch north of US 41 are on the canals or lakes and have no Gulf access, whereas the canal homes on the south side of US 41 have Gulf access.
You will love the laid-back, tropical style of North Port, Florida and its surrounding communities. These neighborhoods are home to golf fanatics, boat lovers and nature enthusiasts. Some of the original neighborhoods in North Port, Florida include Country Club Ridge, Highland Ridge, Jockey Club. City water and sewer is available in the original communities and in the newest gated complexes. Everything else has well and septic.
Adjacent to North Port, Florida is the famous Warm Mineral Springs area which was recently annexed to the town. Warm Mineral Springs is an established tourist attraction and home to mineral waters with a year-round temperature of 87 degrees and the third richest density of minerals in any known spring in the world.
Local communities in the North Port, Florida area featuring a golf club environment include Bobcat Trail Golf Course, Sabal Trace Golf Course and Heron Creek Golf and Country Club plus about 30 others within a short drive.
Planned communities include The Woodlands, a Centex development with 2,596 home sites planned in North Port, and the Isles of Athena with 15,000 homes planned on 5,700 acres in northeast North Port.
West Villages, formerly an 11,600 acres cattle ranch on either side of US 41 and River Road, is only in its first buildout phase with Island Walk. This will be a small city itself.
North Port Estates is an equestrian dream. This neighborhood has many recreational areas, horse and hiking trails. Bring your horse and stay awhile! The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park stretches for nine miles, coursing through North Port Estates. Most homes sites are three to five acres mini-ranches and are zoned agricultural. Throughout North Port, Florida you will also find 2 to 10 acre tracts for a sprawling estate in a residential neighborhood.
Country Club Ridge, Highland Ridge and the Jockey Club have underground utilities, central water and sewer, street lights, sidewalks and deed restrictions and are close to shopping, the community pool and North Port Library. Duck Key is a new upscale community surrounding a small lake. Many homes are on the waterfront with direct access to the Myakka River and on out into the Gulf of Mexico. Talon Bay, Lakeside Plantation, Largo Preserve and Charleston Park all provide activities and amenities for their residents.
You’ll find mobile or manufactured homes limited to a few communities along US 41, some with Gulf access.
North Port, Florida still has thousands of lots available for development, and it is working diligently to preserve the pristine environment and balance growth with conservation. You’ll find upscale golf course homes in Heron Creek, Bobcat Trail and Sabal Trace, a variety of deed restricted communities, waterfront canal homes, mobile homes, acreage for horses and vacations villas and condos.
NORTH PORT
Bobcat Trail -Golf, Gated
Cedar Grove at the Woodlands
Charleston Park -Gated
Cypress Falls at the Woodlands -Gated, +55 Community
Parrish gets a bad rap on this forum but there are nice areas with newer construction and much larger lots than you can find in town. During our reconnaissance missions last year, we stumbled upon Twin Rivers which is just north of the Bradenton communities of Mill Creek, Waterlefe, Country Meadows, etc. and really liked the large amount of conservation areas and ponds and access to the Manatee River. It has upscale homes and is definitely not cookie cutter. When we had a real estate agent take us there she had no idea it existed and was very impressed. There are some other nice communities in the area, also. Just depends on what you are looking for, but it's worth a look.
I can only give my opinion; and that is that we initially loved the area about 4 years ago. We found it to be serene, safe and beautiful. However, in looking at that area again just a few months ago, my husband and I felt it went really downhill. There are A LOT of foreclosures and properties seemed to be falling apart, we looked in most of the subdivisions too. Parrish also has a lot of potential to go somewhere, but just doesn't seem to have the oomph it needs. Whether it's the economy or something else, it seems to be nothing more than a quaint town with newer subdivisions built in the middle of farm. I guess it depends what you are looking for... No offense to anyone who lives in Parrish, it has great potential but I don't think it will ever get there
When we were there in November, Twin Rivers, as well as a couple of other upscale subdivisions we drove through, were beautiful and well maintained. But I guess like any town, there are some areas that are nicer than others. That is why you need to take all of our opinions with a grain of salt and check it out for yourself. Good luck and have fun searching for your new home!
Thanks for all of the great responses! I guess to sum it up Parrish seems to have become something of a ghost town, Parrished away--which is great if you dont like people around.
You would be doing a disservice to your kids if you moved here. The schools are poor. They gotta be bussed to Palmetto. If you want drivers who constantly tailgate you and drive like crap (yes they are better in Tampa even), tacky places to live, then this is the place to come. I never felt so crappy in a "relaxing village". Its only a paradise right now if you dislike being around the individuality that some cities offer. A hell if you want a town with diversity and individuality. I highly doubt lots of the kids in grade school will stick around once they become of age to move. That says something. They may never return after college either like they do to some places they grew up.
Some nice people live here, but I also see a lot of these "upper class redneck" types with their huge pickups who think they are the **** or many D-bags in general.
Parrish = future slums. Its future revolves around Bradenton/Sarasotas future development. Once they fix up 41 in Bradenton and some parts of Sarasota and they get even more affluent, expect the hoods to come out to Parrish. They aren't all here now, but they will be in a few yrs. Houses getting cheaper and cheaper indicate it too.
I hate to sound pessimistic to those who may "love it" here, but exurbs all across the US, depending on how the big cities nearby will evolve are gonna become future slums, not just Parrish.
I don't consider myself a democrat, but I am a lot more blue than most people here. Blue kid trapped in a red state kinda fits for me.
I have a new thought so I am gonna revive a thread from 1-11 so bare with me:
Whats the deal with this rowing team thing in Parrish? A new bridge is supposed to be built. I have a theory about it. With decreasing house prices, I see this as an opportunity for a shortcut and an easier way to come to town for lower income people. They will no longer HAVE TO go through Palmetto. More people from Oneco and MLK area in Sarasota could be coming up here are my exact thoughts.
This whole rowing team thing might have been a good idea IF homes valued stayed high in Parrish and it was guaranteed to stay whitebread land, they didn't. Unless of course other surrounding towns with more white preppy types use it. They will still build the bridge anyway if anything, to make it so the "lower class" have an easier way to get to town and buy the cheap properties. With all the mexicans and blacks moving here down the line from Sarasota/Bradenton and more whites leaving for places closer to the cities, I surely don't think rowing teams are in the future here. People who own horses there now are gonna be shltting in their shorts once Ft Hamer gets crowded up.
Just looking for a few answers from those in the know.
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s-crossed by a network of canals and greenbelts providing breathing room between homes. Water lovers enjoy the canoeing the miles of canals and lakes that wind through the city. Streets were laid out with many cul de sacs and U-shaped sections to minimize traffic in residential neighborhoods. Charlotte Harbor is also close by and is a favorite of boaters and sports fisherman alike. Imagine living in a place where the average temperature in January is 63 degrees and a balmy 82.5 degrees during the month of August. 
ing by planning smaller neighborhoods within the city. With a vast inventory of new homes, resale homes and land, North Port, Florida is a fast growing area where you will get more bang for your buck. 
her retail stores just opened on Toledo Blade, and a theater and medical complex are in the permitting stage of construction. A second YMCA and library will also be in this vicinity. More specialty restaurants and major chains like super Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Perkins, Walgreen’s, ABC Liquor and Lowe’s are opening every few months, and a major mall in Port Charlotte is only 10 minutes away.
waters with a year-round temperature of 87 degrees and the third richest density of minerals in any known spring in the world. 
ng trails. Bring your horse and stay awhile! The Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park stretches for nine miles, coursing through North Port Estates. Most homes sites are three to five acres mini-ranches and are zoned agricultural. Throughout North Port, Florida you will also find 2 to 10 acre tracts for a sprawling estate in a residential neighborhood. 
