What's it like living in Sarasota? (Tamiami, Five Points: short sale, house, buy)

[ess.ess.ess.esq.]

Sarasota is basically business owners and wealthy snowbirds and wealthy tourists on the one hand, beneath that is a level of government and institutional officials and managers as the middle class---- and then below that is the vast majority of the citizenry, which exists to serve the two higher classes, in low paying jobs in businesses, restaurants, hotels, nursing facilities...
as for the question about swimming? This may be a bit of an over-generalization, but by and large, during the 4 months or so when it would be genuinely pleasant to go to the beach, the beaches and parking lots are filled with snowbird BMWs and Cadillacs and Lexuses...and it gets dark at 6 o'clock...might be best to consider an alternate move from Atlanta...?

[annestrauss]

We looked at Cleveland and now love Sarasota !

America's Most Miserable Cities - Forbes

Forbes thinks Cleveland is horrible, glad we chose Sarasota !

[whitetigersoul]

Thanks cardiff. Its final my home has sold! I will hopefully be moving at the first of November and during this short lapse in time I have found a few jobs that are hiring for what Im interested in so Ill be checking in with these employers to line up something as many as you have said. Im excited but then again nervous, so ive decided to lower my spending limit a little for a home to float us comfortably until we get settled in. As far as the older generation living there, I do not mind......The more of them the less amount of drama and ignorance I have to deal with when it comes to my generation of iphone texting, social networking, status updating idiots that take pictures of the food they eat and bragg about it. Lol My rant of the day I wish it were spring instead of fall but Im sure it wont make much difference considering its that far south. What do you locals think the best seafood and steakhouse are there? Thanks for all responses, I will be updating periodically through the transition. Also...... is the cable provider Comcast in the area....I ask because our tv and internet are through them and know providers vary from one location to the other.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Originally Posted by whitetigersoul

Thanks cardiff. Its final my home has sold! I will hopefully be moving at the first of November and during this short lapse in time I have found a few jobs that are hiring for what Im interested in so Ill be checking in with these employers to line up something as many as you have said. Im excited but then again nervous, so ive decided to lower my spending limit a little for a home to float us comfortably until we get settled in. As far as the older generation living there, I do not mind......The more of them the less amount of drama and ignorance I have to deal with when it comes to my generation of iphone texting, social networking, status updating idiots that take pictures of the food they eat and bragg about it. Lol My rant of the day I wish it were spring instead of fall but Im sure it wont make much difference considering its that far south. What do you locals think the best seafood and steakhouse are there? Thanks for all responses, I will be updating periodically through the transition. Also...... is the cable provider Comcast in the area....I ask because our tv and internet are through them and know providers vary from one location to the other.

November is the start of the good weather season (dry instead of rainy, more moderate instead of hot), so in a sense it is like spring as the beginning of great weather.

[Chester Burnett]

The only months that I avoid the beach are July through September. It's too hot to have much fun. The rest of the year is great. It gets tourist infested in the winter but that's ok. It's crowded because its so nice and there are places to park and access the beach that aren't the main area, which you sometimes can't get into. Occasionally the traffic is heavy going to the keys and we change plans but not often.

Be aware of the cost of living here. Things like car insurance and registration are very high. $9 or $10 dollar jobs will be part time and will barely pay for your cars. It's hard to juggle two part time jobs because employers expect you to be their full time servants for that part time job. I made 50k a year before I moved here and finally gave up trying to find work. Luckily my wife's company moved us here and that covers our expenses. I've gone back to playing music full time and couldn't be happier but it can be tougher than you think it will be.

That said it is wonderful here if you can make it work. Living in a vacation destination is most definitely a trade off that you have to weigh carefully. Sounds like you are doing just that. Best of luck!

[mylittletyguy]

I moved here with my husband 4 years ago. We moved from PA, and we HAD to secure jobs before we moved. We live in North Port and TOTALLY LOVE it here. We go to SRQ all the time, and I think it is an awesome place to visit, but love the quick drive home. We love the beaches in Venice as opposed to the ones in Sarasota....it is so much less crowded and touristy there. Good luck!

[ess.ess.ess.esq.]

Sarasota:

1. lots of low paying jobs in businesses that cater to tourists.
2. lots of rich folks who come to town for the 4 mild months, but fly away when the high humidity and heat begin.
3. crowded restaurants, streets, and beaches during those 4 mild months when the rich are here.
4. lots of homeless panhandlers who came for the climate
5. lots of folks who brag that they have found "paradise" but who secretly dislike the humidity, the bugs, the panhandlers, and the snowbirds.

[nphomeowner]

No secret for me, I do NOT like the humidity but I deal with it.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by ess.ess.ess.esq.

Sarasota:


4. lots of homeless panhandlers who came for the climate

Gone. Downtown Sarasota cleaned that up last Spring. My husband worked on St. Armands and never saw them again after the city cleaned up the homeless problem.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by blueherons

Gone. Downtown Sarasota cleaned that up last Spring. My husband worked on St. Armands and never saw them again after the city cleaned up the homeless problem.

I was downtown a couple weeks ago and saw more homeless hanging out at Five Points Park and the library area than I have even seen in downtown Sarasota. The downtown Sarasota homeless population generally increases during winter because some of them head south to escape the cold up north. But late September was too early for this increase to be related to them being homeless snowbirds.

Bottom line, the homeless are still in Sarasota. Maybe they aren't panhandling like before. But they are hanging out downtown.