Sarasota vs. Bradenton vs. Lakewood ranch (Orlando, Winter Garden: neighborhoods, buy, new construction)

[theurbanfiles]

I know the area somewhat well.

Lakewood Ranch is fine on some things (schools, safety, decent standard of living, etc.), but all of it was formed in the last ten years pretty much. Nothing unique within the area itself and hardly a mom/pop to be found anywhere, for that you'd have to venture out at least 20 minutes. Other than that it's not bad.

Bradenton is a mixed bag. It certainly has it's high crime areas but it also has some areas that are pretty nice. I would say for those who like genuine history, it is the best spot, with Gamble Plantation, Manatee Village, the Historic Downtown and DeSoto National Memorial all within the city limits. Also allows for boating and kayaking opportunities with Manatee River having many launching points/docks. Another perk of this one is that it is the closest to the rest of Tampa Bay (eg, can be at Ybor City or Fort DeSoto State Park in 45 minutes, or DT St. Pete in 30 minutes (Rays/Dali/Waterfront/Mazzaro's/Pinellas Trail etc.)

Sarasota is probably the one that would be most expensive, but also probably has the closest beach access, as well as the best food scene, and best high culture (museums/arts/etc.). It might have the state's best overall cultural institution, The Ringling. It also has the region's high end shopping destinations for both antique/big box purposes (St. Armands Circle and UTC). However, be careful in Sarasota as well, as most stuff North of DT along 41, ESPECIALLY Newtown, should proceed with caution.

[John2064]

Definitely avoid Newtown. Not a good place for man or beast.

[photoman_6]

Originally Posted by beninfl

What did your searching of identical threads already here tell you?

searching identical threads? nah- too easy

[Jini1]

tzais01, so glad to see your post! We are building in Esplanade and hoping LWR is as good as it seemed during our recent visit. Also hoping it is retiree-friendly, easy to meet people, and upscale. Info online about Bradenton is not as positive...

[tzais01]

Originally Posted by Jini1

tzais01, so glad to see your post! We are building in Esplanade and hoping LWR is as good as it seemed during our recent visit. Also hoping it is retiree-friendly, easy to meet people, and upscale. Info online about Bradenton is not as positive...

That's great! We are so happy here. It's an extremely active and friendly neighborhood. Although it's getting very large, it's so easy with all the planned and unplanned activities to meet people and make new friends. The majority of people are newly retired with plenty of time on our hands, so are very involved in the lifestyle and social activities. My husband and I tell people we've been more social the past year living here than we were our entire working lives.

Feel free to private message me with any questions, or if you just want to meet.

To the person who said no Mom and Pop's in LWR - not true. You could eat out every day/meal of the week for quite a long time and never hit a "chain restaurant". So unlike Orlando where we moved from where you don't see ANY. If you haven't been around here in a while, come back and see for yourself.

[macrodome2]

Originally Posted by tzais01

To the person who said no Mom and Pop's in LWR - not true. You could eat out every day/meal of the week for quite a long time and never hit a "chain restaurant". So unlike Orlando where we moved from where you don't see ANY. If you haven't been around here in a while, come back and see for yourself.

There's and Italian restaurant in the Publix shopping center on the corner of 64 and Lakewood Ranch Blvd that has the best meat lasagna. We rented a house in Heritage Harbor and kept going back to that place.

[bbronston]

Originally Posted by macrodome2

There's and Italian restaurant in the Publix shopping center on the corner of 64 and Lakewood Ranch Blvd that has the best meat lasagna. We rented a house in Heritage Harbor and kept going back to that place.

If you are talking about Ferraros or something close to that, they closed. We thought it was one of the better Italian places, too.

[macrodome2]

Originally Posted by bbronston

If you are talking about Ferraros or something close to that, they closed. We thought it was one of the better Italian places, too.

Oh darn. We were there a couple of years ago but the food was so good and there always seemed to be a lot of people in there. Sorry to hear that.

[dpbarr2000]

Lakewood Ranch is perfect if you like cookie cutter homes and HOA and lots of traffic.

[tzais01]

Originally Posted by dpbarr2000

Lakewood Ranch is perfect if you like cookie cutter homes and HOA and lots of traffic.

I have no idea what traffic this one keeps referring to. There are never specific examples.