Sarasota - Such conflicting perspectives! (Bradenton, North Port: to rent, high crime, new home)

[markdalton]

I actually thought the Sarasota area was quite nice (not bad like in my original post...needed to be worded differently), but it felt too much like a retirement area to me. Just isn't my type of place. I just didn't get MarkV's assertion that the area is redneck. When I think of redneck, I envision a southern rural farming area or blue collar town, which Sarasota is not.

[markdalton]

Sometimes I wonder if they are counting the unincorporated areas and lumping it in with city figure. Maybe that's why Sarasota's ratio is so high. For example, when I saw the sexual offender ratio for my city, they counted the people who were not in the city limits, although they shared the same zipcode. When the unincorporated areas were counted in with the city population, the ratio got worse.

Of course, it would be great if there were no sexual offenders, but the ratios my be a little misleading.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by markdalton

Sometimes I wonder if they are counting the unincorporated areas and lumping it in with city figure. For example, when I saw the sexual offender ratio for my city, they counted the people who were not in the city limits, although they shared the same zipcode. When the unincorporated areas were counted in with the city population, the ratio got worse.

Of course, it would be great if there were no sexual offenders, but the ratios my be a little misleading.

I'm sure they are, but generally speaking, you can come up with your own ratio when you factor in unincorporated areas yourself.

[Sarasota_Blues]

Again, that's where I fear that Sarasota is getting an unjust bad rap. Sure, the city of Sarasota has a population of 52k, but "Sarasota" really encompasses a much larger area than what is officially the "city limits". Those of you who know Sarasota, can you believe that Beneva Road is not considered "Sarasota", but is really considered quite central in Sarasota. Places like Bee Ridge Rd are not considered "Sarasota" by city standards.

In reality, I would conservatively consider the "Sarasota" population to be closer to 250,000 instead of the puny 52,000 that are on the "city" roles. That would bring "Sarasota" far more into line with most any other community that you could compare it to.

Again, I gotta believe the beachside lifestyle contributes to these type of offenses. Considering that people can walk around wearing thongs in public, has to have something to do with peoples attitudes. Remember when North Lido Beach was "swimsuits (tops mostly) optional"?

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by Sarasota_Blues

Again, that's where I fear that Sarasota is getting an unjust bad rap. Sure, the city of Sarasota has a population of 52k, but "Sarasota" really encompasses a much larger area than what is officially the "city limits". Those of you who know Sarasota, can you believe that Beneva Road is not considered "Sarasota", but is really considered quite central in Sarasota. Places like Bee Ridge Rd are not considered "Sarasota" by city standards.

In reality, I would conservatively consider the "Sarasota" population to be closer to 250,000 instead of the puny 52,000 that are on the "city" roles. That would bring "Sarasota" far more into line with most any other community that you could compare it to.

Again, I gotta believe the beachside lifestyle contributes to these type of offenses. Considering that people can walk around wearing thongs in public, has to have something to do with peoples attitudes. Remember when North Lido Beach was "swimsuits (tops mostly) optional"?

I'd like to think you're right, but I'm not so sure. I put in the address of a house we were looking at west of the trail. According to the family watchdog site there were 201 registered offenders nearby. If you take a look though them, these are nasty people committing heinous crimes. Compare that to my address in NJ where there is 1 registered sex offender. Again, I'm not saying this is just in Sarasota but unfortunately I think Sarasota has its fair share of em.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by UKOK

I'd like to think you're right, but I'm not so sure. I put in the address of a house we were looking at west of the trail. According to the family watchdog site there were 201 registered offenders nearby. If you take a look though them, these are nasty people committing heinous crimes. Compare that to my address in NJ where there is 1 registered sex offender. Again, I'm not saying this is just in Sarasota but unfortunately I think Sarasota has its fair share of em.

Sarasota DEFINITELY has more. I typed in my old address in Sarasota and there were TWICE as many as my new house in Lakeland (comparable type neighborhood near downtown.) And I had plenty of bad experiences to bear it out. I had THREE indecent exposure incidents while in Sarasota - one in Whitfield near my first house when I was riding my bike and two while walking near downtown in my Laurel Park neighborhood. And that doesn't even include the peeping tom problem I had there either!

[compelled to reply]

I have 0 sex offenders within 1 mile,YAY! The one that was within a mile moved away. An "average" figure would probably be about 30 offenders within 5 miles. Zero is optimal, under 30 is a realistic goal anywhere in the U.S. NJ really doesn't have many sex offenders though...

[trescher]

OK, I just moved to Sarasota, and I like Sarasota AND North Port. I visited my son and his wife in North Port for a week in May, and it was very quiet, mostly new, and reminded me of the new suburbs in Virginia in their early years. It has a large Ukranian population, and several Ukranian delis and groceries. It also has a great Italian bakery and several organic food stores within 5 or 6 miles. My son and his wife love their church, their pastor has a degree from Princeton and leads thought-provoking discussions.
As for Sarasota, I live in a funky one-bedroom built in the 1920s and my neighborhood has some delapidated property as well as some million dollar estates. I love the beautiful old trees and all the lush greenery. There are a lot of students in the area, and all the people I've met are friendly and eager to help or offer advice. So far, I like it.

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by Sarasota_Blues

JohnVosilla,...Thank you very much!!! I was beginning to think I was the only person who still appreciates Sarasota. In the 26 years that I've been here, I have seen many changes, mostly for the better. It's still a tremendous place to live. It reminds me of growing up in Ft. lauderdale in the 60's and 70's. Ft. Lauderdale was still a smaller bustling city that was growing.

On the other hand, I am somewhat fortunate, in that I have a decent paying job (by Sarasota standards), and I purchased my home in 1988. Thus, I have a huge amount of equity in my home, that I am considering taking somewhere else and downsizing. When I say "downsizing", that means that I could move to cities such as Raleigh/Cary, N.C, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, and buy a house TWICE the size of my current home in Sarasota, pay cash for it, and STILL be able to bank $100,000+.

I am just an average working shlub, who has been able to save some money over the years, while watching the appreciation in my home and neighborhood skyrocket. I recently discovered this website when it became apparent that I could downsize outside of Florida, which would be a huge upgrade from what I already have. Despite the fact that I would probably be leaving Sarasota and Florida altogether, there are other places where I could be equally as happy, and be that much better off financially. Just so everyone knows, I'm 47, and have had a few decades of financial responsibility to get my life in order. That is why I consider myself somewhat fortunate today. I'm not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm far better off than almost anybody I know and associate with. (sorry, I hope I'm not bragging).

Last year I checked out North Carolina, and was quite impressed with many areas. Cary, just outside Raleigh was a very quaint, sleepy little town, but so close to Raleigh, it was very convenient. Charlotte was a seemingly larger city than Raleigh, and the real estate there was even more reasonable than Raleigh. I just love Atlanta too, but the traffic is horrendous, and I would choose to be in the 'burbs if I decided to relocate there.

So, even though I talk up Sarasota quite a bit, the thought of "downsizing/upgrading" to another state weighs heavily on my mind, and is something I will probably consider within the next year or so. I'm traveling to Texas next week to get a better feel for the Houston and Dallas areas. If I ever leave Sarasota, sure, I will miss it,...but the chance to improve financially and professionally are too much to pass up right now.

Good luck on your Texas trip. I've been there several times. I really liked the Katy/Cypress area which is NW Houston outside the second beltway as well as 'The Woodlands' a spectacular heavily treed planned community 30 miles north of town with about the nicest town center in the nation. You can get a very nice huge two story home under $140k in most exhurbs of Houston plus there are tons of professional jobs. Few people are aware that Houston is second after NYC for the number of Fortune 500 companies. They apparently keep the pay scale low there like in Florida. Houston MSA also built 130k new homes in the past year so opportunities there too..

As a different choice from the largest cities you must check out Austin too if you have some time. One of my favorite cities.. nice downtown, state capital, high tech, very educated work force but not huge like a Houston or Atlanta.. I think after Vegas it was the fastest growing along with Raleigh since 1990.

With the crash in prices you might be able to cash out all that equity and live it easy in North Port which is now or certainly soon to be cheaper than Raleigh and perhaps even Charlotte. Tons of options.. best of luck..

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by trescher

OK, I just moved to Sarasota, and I like Sarasota AND North Port. I visited my son and his wife in North Port for a week in May, and it was very quiet, mostly new, and reminded me of the new suburbs in Virginia in their early years. It has a large Ukranian population, and several Ukranian delis and groceries. It also has a great Italian bakery and several organic food stores within 5 or 6 miles. My son and his wife love their church, their pastor has a degree from Princeton and leads thought-provoking discussions.
As for Sarasota, I live in a funky one-bedroom built in the 1920s and my neighborhood has some delapidated property as well as some million dollar estates. I love the beautiful old trees and all the lush greenery. There are a lot of students in the area, and all the people I've met are friendly and eager to help or offer advice. So far, I like it.

I've noticed a lot of folks with Eastern Eurpopean names buying homes in Nort Port. Many seem to be from the Chicago area.

As I love Italian food the choices in Sarasota seem endless if and when I eventually move there..