Wanna move our business to Sarasota Florida area (Orlando, Bradenton: fit in, for sale)

[IceCrystal]

My husband and I are ready to move our business to Florida. We have been looking heavily at the Sarasota area. Our concerns are mostly if the econimy there will support our business.

We currently live in Utah, near Salt Lake City, and for over 15 years, we have had a lot of success here.

Our business is Perfect Posture and Function. We balance muscles of the body to line-up joints, naturally. The side effects are no more discomfort, your organs work better, you look better and thinner and you play all sports much better...especially golf! So, we feel strongly that this business will boom in Florida.

We think it would be smart to rent first and then buy once we know all about the area.

It would be amazing if we could hear from people already living in this area about their thoughts and any help for us to choose wisely where to live, where to open the business, where to buy, etc.

I have lived in Orlando areas and Fort Pierce before. Never Sarasota, so this is new. My husband has never lived much outside of Utah. He worries about the rainy season? Alligators and sink holes!!! Haha! So basically, all that you describe will help us!

Thank you all so much!

[bbronston]

I'm sure others will jump in here but I'm not really clear on what it is you are asking. Yes, it is definitely better to rent first since your husband may hate Florida. Yes, we have a rainy season and it is much more humid here than in Utah. Alligators and sink holes really aren't much of a concern. You didn't mention if what you do requires a license but you can find information at:
DBPR: Home Page
Florida Board of Medicine » Licensing and Registration - Healthcare Practitioner Licensing and Regulation
There are other info websites but I'm not sure if you are massage therapists, DCs, or whatever in the eyes of the state. You will want to research all of that before heading here.

[photoman_6]

if you can align yourself or be able to get referrals from a physicians practice or some such business, I envision having a hard time to put across the benefits of your services

[vacoder]

Well it is on the same latitude as Fort Pierce so I would suspect it is quite similar in weather. Not a lot of difference weatherwise between the coasts.

[Sunshine Rules]

Sarasota's economy is based mainly on retirees and tourism. There is some manufacturing in the area, mainly in Manatee county to the north. So most of the jobs here are going to be service related, health care, tourism and construction (mainly new homes). Wage scales tend to be lower here than what you'd find elsewhere, unless you are in a specialized field that commands competitive wages. How and even if your current business would fit in this area would probably be best answered by people in the local medical fields. Bob makes a good suggestion, check with the state regarding licensing, you may be required to carry state licensing.

As to the weather, from June until late September it is hot and humid. We often get afternoon thunderstorms that help "cool" things off a bit, but night time heat indexes in the 90's are common, especially July - mid September. People coming here from lower humidity states should visit for at least a week or two in August to experience the summer weather before deciding to live here full time. March through May, October & November are generally warm, somewhat humid and sunny. December - February we generally have dry, sunny weather, some days near 80 but much of it 70's for highs. We do get cold snaps coming through that drop daytime highs into the 60's and lows into the 40's. Once in a great while we have a January where the temps don't break out of the 60's for much of the month. My first winter in Sarasota I actually saw snowflakes falling one night in January. Two days later it was back in the low 70's.


You didn't mention what price range you are willing to pay for a rental. The inventory of rentals in our area is rather low at the moment, you will see the inventory of shorter term rentals go up after April, when the winter seasonal renters head back north. There is no one go to place to find rentals, whether annual or seasonal, in our area. There are quite a few rental web sites on the Internet, be very careful of Craigslist ads, lots of scams. Not a lot of local real estate agents deal in rentals, the ones that do generally place their listings on the public version of the local MLS at Florida Homes for Sale direct from MLS


There are a number of previous threads on this forum covering general information about the Sarasota area you may find interesting reading.



Here are a few sites for general info as well.

You may have already seen some of these sites. There are a lot of great web sites that give great info on the area, including:

official visitors site: Visit Sarasota County | The Official Website for Visit Sarasota County on Florida's Gulf Coast

city of Sarasota for visitors: Things To Do in the City of Sarasota

Welcome Guide maps:
Sarasota & Bradenton Welcome Guide-Map

St. Armands Circle: St Armands Circle Homepage

Sarasota's bayfront parks: Sarasota Bayfront Park affords one of the most spectacular views in the area.

Siesta Key: About Siesta Key | Siesta Key Visitor Information | Siesta Key Tourist Attractions

Sarasota county parks and beaches: https://www.scgov.net/Beaches/Pages/default.aspx

downtown Sarasota: Downtown Sarasota Florida Sarasota - Main Street Sarasota Hotels Vacations and Accommodations

Gulf Gate area shops, restaurants: GULF GATE SARASOTA | STORES | RESTAURANTS | VILLAGE | GULF GATE | SARASOTA

Oscar Scherer state park (in Osprey): https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Oscar-Scherer