Looking for laid back, affordable beach towns to visit for an upcoming move!! (Sarasota: real estate, to rent)

[Gemini435]

Hi everyone,

I have been scouring the boards for months as we try and narrow down where may like to move to in the upcoming year!! Hooray! We are staying with friends in Fort Myers next week in order to drive around and get a feel for the towns that interested us. (I do not love Ft Myers but that's our starting point!) Since I am making myself crazy with all the great info here, I thought I would just tell you what we are looking for and perhaps some of you can steer us in the right direction We are only there for a week, so I am trying to map out our course and visit several areas while there... see which areas have a vibe that interests us and that is affordable also.

We are looking for an area that is laid back and close to the beach. We will be retiring soon and would love a little spot where we can relax at home, ride our bikes as much as possible, to the beach would be great, and not have to fight tons of traffic. We enjoy birding and nature walks and would love to take up kayaking too. We do a little gardening but can always work that in wherever we land. I see a few beautiful areas that fit that description ( AMI and surrounding areas, Boca Grande) but seem to be out of our price range. Venice seems nice and very interesting but from what I gather it is terribly busy in the winter months. I may be wrong, I am only reading up on this so far and that's why I am here to ask. We are looking to rent the first year and see how we like the area. We would like to spend no more than 1300,00 a month... Give or take a little! We only need a small place with 2 bedrooms, nothing fancy. Our price range for homes would be under $200,000. If starting out in Ft Myers and headed towards Sarasota, what areas would you suggest we visit? I am so excited!

Thank you in advance!

[coastal chic]

Englewood checks all your boxes. It's old Florida, quiet, has several beaches, and loads of nature trails and kayaking opportunities along with reasonably priced real estate.

[SoFLGal]

Well, I was born and raised in SW FL and have lived in nearly town from Punta Gorda up through the Bradenton/Anna Maria area, where I was born. I currently live off Boca Grande on Palm Island. That being said, I doubt you will get a home around $200k as close to the beaches as you'd like.

I did a really quick search to see what I could find. There are 1709 properties on the "islands" from Boca Grande up through Anna Maria-Boca Grande, Palm Island, Manasota Key, the Island of Venice, Casey Key, Bid Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria. There are 109 properties on the islands under $200K. 2 homes, both located on the southern part of the island I live on-Little Gasparilla Island, which is only accessible by boat. There are 19 mobile or manufactured homes and 74 condos. Most of these listings are older homes or condos and the flood insurance would likely be sky high.

So, my suggestion would be to possibly look in a little community in Nokomis called Baypoint Park. It's just off Albee Farm Rd. The homes are a mix of multi mullion dollar waterfront homes with smaller block or cracker style homes. I have been watching Baypoint for a while and I see the prices rising in this area and I think it really has potential. If you are patient you might be able to spot something there.

The traffic in Venice is not too bad, even in season. It's no where near what it is in Sarasota, especially coming to and from the beaches. My suggestion for that area would be in the South Venice area. This area is up and down. What I mean by that is a few streets might be really nice and then you might have a few streets that are average. You really need to scope it out and look at each specific home and the surrounding area. The cool thing about this area is that it has a ferry specifically for its residents. The HOA is voluntary and I believe it's something like $50/yr, which covers an annual pass on the ferry. That's a great deal, IMO. Here's a link to the community: South Venice Beach Ferry

If you go a little father south into Englewood you might find something close to the downtown area where you could walk around and bike to the beaches.

The next option would be to get a newer/nicer home in nearby north Port, which is about a 30 minute ride to Nokomis Beach. You could get a very nice, newer home with a pool in your price range.

Those are my ideas for now. I'll write more if I think of any other options.

[jean_ji]

The cool thing about this area is that it has a ferry specifically for its residents. The HOA is voluntary and I believe it's something like $50/yr, which covers an annual pass on the ferry. That's a great deal, IMO. Here's a link to the community: South Venice Beach Ferry

Here's info from your link, all fees are separate charges:

The Civic Association which is voluntary is $50 a year
The ferry pass is $95 a year now
The boat ramp and key with access to the Gulf is $80 a year

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by jean_ji

Here's info from your link, all fees are separate charges:

The Civic Association which is voluntary is $50 a year
The ferry pass is $95 a year now
The boat ramp and key with access to the Gulf is $80 a year

Ah, thank you! Guess they are now charging separately for the ferry. It used to be included in the $50 HOA.

[mr&mrssunshine]

I am starting a home for a developer very soon in Rotonda Meadows.............he has 90 lots to build out and is hoping to create a small community. its 10 minutes to Boca, 20 to Englewood.....

these will be smaller (1550 sq ft) homes aimed at the first time buyer/downsizer

price would fit your budget and its brand new..............

[jpdusa]

Englewood is awesome. And you could buy a house easily under $200K. I like East Englewood. Very quiet, peaceful. and only 5 miles to the Beach (there are actually 3 beaches in Englewood, and many more close by). Lots of restaurants and shopping. check it out...

[Gemini435]

Thank you all for the great info!! Sorry it took me a little while to get back here but we are on our way there tomorrow and we will be visiting all of the places you suggested. I'm really excited and feel like we have a plan now. I'm glad to hear about the traffic in Venice not being quite as bad as I thought, even if that's not where we land it seems like a beautiful little area. Here we come Florida, let the fun begin! I am sure I'll be back with questions after our visit, thank you all again!! SoFLGal, when we are ready to jump in you will be the gal for us

[dpbarr2000]

I recently moved from Sarasota to Englewood. Venice and Englewood are not as busy in season as Sarasota, but as with every place in FL we see increases in traffic during season.

I do like South Venice as an affordable option as another poster mentioned here. The South Venice Ferry is a nice and surprisingly affordable perk. A lot of people object to most homes in South Venice having a well and septic. At some point you will face mandatory connection to public sewer and this is not inexpensive.

Venice East, Venice Gardens, and the Nokomis areas are quiet, affordable, and close to three different beaches.

[Gemini435]

Thank you again for all the suggestions! We had a great time checking out all of the above areas and really enjoyed them all. When we were in Englewood we thought, this is it! We went back a second day, just driving around and another we spent on the beaches. It was really quite perfect, quiet and beautiful. Then we spent the day in Venice and another on Venice beach and liked it very much too Then... we hit Nokomis and that was it, we fell in love! The beach is beautiful, the area is so cute, easy access to the beach and Bay Point Park has some adorable houses. It's funny, we had been looking at a house online that absolutely fell in love with and low and behold, it was in Bay Point Park! We had no idea.... Unfortunately it is in a flood zone and we are not in the market for a home quite yet but if we were and it was not in a flood zone, it is perfect, just what we are looking for. So we will be back again soon to spend more time in the area and on the home front we are divesting of all the household "stuff" that we no longer want or need. It's a great start and we now have something to work towards!! Another funny aside is that I am a drum lover, having 2 beautiful djembes. I can't wait to join in the weekly drum circle on Nokomis beach Thank you all, your input was invaluable!! PS Mr&MrsSunshine, we did check out Rotonda too but it is not our cup of tea. Thank you for the suggestion!!