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I read through the past forums and couldn't find any related posts.
My husband and I are relocating to FL and we've been told that Sarasota is a great place to live. I am doing research and need to know what the best communities are and which ones to avoid.
We're in our late 20's and have a 2 yr. old; however, we don't really need city life atmosphere. Schools are somewhat important; although we are unsure we will permanently stay in FL.
I'm also looking into the Cape Coral area, any thoughts? I really appreciate any feedback. Thank you very much.
Are you looking to buy a home or rent a home? What is your price range and criteria? What type of things are you looking for in a community - pool, golf, tennis, playground, etc? Most of the communities have homeowner association fees. What amount of fees are you willing to pay? Or do you prefer to be in a neighborhood that does not have homeowner association fees?
There are lots of threads in this forum on Sarasota communities, neighborhoods, crime rates, school info and more. Use the Search Forums box to type in Sarasota Communities for example and you will find detailed information and a lot of it is recent information.
@ Rushmore, I guess I should have also added that I am new to this site. Thank you for your ... I guess I can call it feedback.
@ TamRe, Thank you for your feedback. After using your search term I was able to find more threads that gave me some ideas on some communities. Thank you again. To answer your questions, we are looking to buy a home I would like our range to be around 145k and no we're not looking for anything with amenities in the community. Simply an area that is safe and has the least amount of sex offenders (although I know that there quite a few).
I found a few homes in some communities and perhaps I can get some Useful feedback on them?
Whitfield Estates, Whitfield Country Club, Glencoe, Lake Sarasota? Once again I appreciate the help.
@ Rushmore, I guess I should have also added that I am new to this site. Thank you for your ... I guess I can call it feedback.
@ TamRe, Thank you for your feedback. After using your search term I was able to find more threads that gave me some ideas on some communities. Thank you again. To answer your questions, we are looking to buy a home I would like our range to be around 145k and no we're not looking for anything with amenities in the community. Simply an area that is safe and has the least amount of sex offenders (although I know that there quite a few).
I found a few homes in some communities and perhaps I can get some Useful feedback on them?
Whitfield Estates, Whitfield Country Club, Glencoe, Lake Sarasota? Once again I appreciate the help.
Hi Jewel, I live in Whitfield Estates, on the Bay side (west of US 41) and it is a wonderful, wonderful neighborhood. It is diverse and eclectic - there are homes ranging from below $200,000 up to multi-million; people of all ages, families, and it is beautiful here. It is near the airport, but no one here is bothered by it - there are only a few planes per day and they are over in 3 seconds. I definitely recommend checking it out. There may not be anything on the bay side in your price range but I believe there are a few east of US 41 which is very nice also. We have lived here (and lived here before as well) about 4 years now and plan to stay. The neighbors here are friendly and wonderful.
Glencoe – close to Riverview High. No deed restrictions. Only one home for sale at $165,500.
Lake Sarasota – East side of I-75 off of Bee Ridge. No deed restrictions. Close to shopping, dining, medical facilities, dog park, and short drive to downtown Sarasota area and beaches. Area has some well-maintained older homes and some newer homes. The area is mostly made up of ranch style homes.
Whitfield Country Club – Golf community – Sara Bay Country Club Donald Ross golf course. Optional HOA fee. Has community restrictions. Is located in Manatee County not Sarasota County. The Sarasota-Bradenton airport is just 2.4 miles away. 5.5 miles to downtown Sarasota and 7 miles to St. Armands Circle and Lido Beach.
Whitfield Estates – Located in Manatee County. Optional HOA fee. Built along the fairways of Sarabay Country Club. Some homes back up to the golf course others are on water. Located on the north side of Sarasota. Close by are the airport, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, New College, University of South Florida, Ringling School of Art and Design and the Asolo Theater. The community has Spanish-Mediterranean and Florida style ranch homes.
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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I am very familiar with both Lake Sarasota and the Whitfield area.
Lake Sarasota is just east of I75, south off of Bee Ridge Rd. The part closest to Bee Ridge has typical FL style ranch homes built in the late 60's and into the 70's. There are also a row of duplexes along the north end of the subdivision mixed in with those homes.
The western and southern parts of the subdivision are mainly 1980's built homes. These start to become more contemporary.
Towards the southeastern part of the subdivision is where you'll find most of the newer homes, most built in the 1990's, although there are some built after 2000.
The late 80's homes and after are mainly split plans, the earlier ones are usually not.
Lake Sarasota is located within Lakeview Elementary school district, which is located just east of the subdivision. It is an A rated school. Middle school is McIntosh (A rated) and high is Sarasota (B rated, but then so are all of Sarasota's high schools). The state of FL's dept of Education came out with rankings for all of the state's schools in February of this year. Sarasota High was ranked #119 in the state with Riverview High, our most popular high school, came in at #161. (That was interesting.)
The community does have a voluntary HOA association, you'll see their notices posted when you enter the neighborhood on Mauna Loa at the traffic light. Homes have been selling well there, especially in the past year.
The Whitfield area is actually several neighborhoods grouped together, located north of the Sarasota county line, in south Manatee county. Even though they are in Manatee county the mailing address is Sarasota.
The Whitfield Estates portion runs both west of US41 and east of it. The western part still has many of the original, 1920's historical homes mixed in with newer ones. Some of the homes are gorgeous, huge bayfront properties that cost 7 figures to buy. I agree with gypsychic, it's a great neighborhood and definitely not cookie cutter.
East of US41 one of the Whitfield neighborhoods is actually named Woods of Whitfield, which is the southern portion closest to Tallevast/airport. (The planes for the most part take off towards the bay, NOT over the eastern Whitfield neighborhoods.) Wood of Whitfield is mostly 1970's & 1980's built homes. They do have deed restrictions, although as you go through the neighborhood you will notice not everyone complies. HOA fees run $25/year.
The Sara Bay country club and golf course (private) are east of US41 & just north of Whitfield Ave. Along the golf course and just north and northeast of it are where you will find some of the nicer homes in the eastern part of Whitfield Estates & Whitfield Country Club. Along Whitfield Ave you'll find a number of the older 60's built homes were torn down and mini mansions were built in their place. In this area you'll find home prices range anywhere from the low $100's to well over $300k, so quite a diversity in style and prices.
Once you hit 9th St East's 4 way stop sign the Whitfield residential neighborhood ends abruptly and Whitfield east of there becomes retail & commercial.
As to schools, most of Whitfield will be in the Abel elementary, Harllee Middle & Southest High districts. Abel went from being a C rated school to A rated last year. Southeast High also showed a lot of improvement, going from being a D rated school to B rated last year. Southeast was ranked #186 in the state by the FL dept of Education in the report that came out in February of this year.
You didn't mention anything about employment. Are you bringing your jobs with you, relocating for work, or will you need to find employment once you move here?
I suggest researching the various neighborhoods and narrow down your search to a handful of your top choices, then come for a visit. If in doubt, perhaps renting 1st would be a better option, giving you more time to decide what locations and neighborhoods would work best for your family.
My husband's work is relocating him around the Arcadia. the 1+ hour commute is not a problem (since we currently live in Houston, TX our commute is about that already) . The problem that I am finding is that there are so many different areas to look at and before we travel there I want to narrow down a few options of where to look since We're only going to be intown for 4 days when we do visit. I am a stay at home mom, that is why a safe neighborhood is most important.
I have narrowed down city search to Sarasota, Cape Coral, Wachula, Englewood; I know that they are very different from each other. Any thoughts? We just found out that our move is happening within 3 weeks.
My husband loves to fish, so a >30 minute drive to the water would be ok. Most of my activities revolve around a toddler, and my hobbies don't require any special arrangements.
My husband's work is relocating him around the Arcadia. the 1+ hour commute is not a problem (since we currently live in Houston, TX our commute is about that already) . The problem that I am finding is that there are so many different areas to look at and before we travel there I want to narrow down a few options of where to look since We're only going to be intown for 4 days when we do visit. I am a stay at home mom, that is why a safe neighborhood is most important.
I have narrowed down city search to Sarasota, Cape Coral, Wachula, Englewood; I know that they are very different from each other. Any thoughts? We just found out that our move is happening within 3 weeks.
My husband loves to fish, so a >30 minute drive to the water would be ok. Most of my activities revolve around a toddler, and my hobbies don't require any special arrangements.
Once Again thank you for your help.
If your husband is going to be working near Arcadia then North Port, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are much closer, less than an hour drive. Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda offer lots of areas for fishing. Charlotte County Schools are an A rated school district. Charlotte County Public Schools Home Page
North Port is in southern Sarasota County and has great schools as well. There are a lot of parks and playgrounds around the area for a toddler. There are family programs, the library, lots of local shops, grocery, restaurants, medical facilities and more. Most of the facilities are newer, even the schools. There is a performing arts center, youth sports, city hall, a community center, an activity center, public bus transportation, and special events. North Port has a lower median age with a lot of young families with children. You would be able to find a very nice newer home in North Port in your price range built in the 2000's. North Port is about 20 minutes to Venice Beach and less than an hour from Arcadia.
City of North Port web site - www.cityofnorthport.com
Sarasota County Schools - Sarasota County Schools, Home
Englewood, Sarasota and Cape Coral are all over an hour away from Aracdia. Wachula would be closer to Arcadia but is more inland with not very many amenities, more like living out in the country as Arcadia would be. Another location that would be close to Arcadia but not far from I-75 would be Lake Suzy. There are some nice homes there with a quick drive to Port Charlotte or Arcadia.
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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Knowing your husband will be driving towards Arcadia for work, I would suggest looking closer to I75 for neighborhoods if looking in Sarasota. Lake Sarasota would therefore be a good option.
I would also suggest looking at neighborhoods east of I75 off of SR70 in south Manatee county. The school districts are good, there's a lot of newer construction and you'll still be within a fairly short drive time to Sarasota.
You mentioned that you now live in Houston. Have you lived in small towns before? I'm asking because most of the options closer to Arcadia than the Sarasota - Bradenton area are going to put you in much smaller towns. Some people love small towns, others don't. I grew up in a small town so know both the pros and cons of small town living.
While the city of Sarasota has a population of just under 60,000 people, the metro area of Sarasota is somewhere around 250,000 people, and that's not including south Manatee/Bradenton metro area. Still not a big city by Houston standards, but Sarasota does offer more of a bigger city vibe.
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