Relocating to Bradenton\Sarasota 2021 (Tampa, University: sales, real estate, HOA fees)

[hmoran2]

Hello Everyone,

Just looking for some information regarding the Bradenton & Sarasota areas in Florida.
My girlfriend and I (both 29 years old) are looking to relocate to Florida within the next 2 years hopefully and were looking into Tampa and the Bradenton/Sarasota areas. We will be having our first child next month so schools are a concern going forward. Sarasota looks very nice but does seem like it can be more expensive. Our budget to buy a home would be 250k to 350k. Doesn't have to be new construction. preferable with a pool. I work from home in Healthcare IT and would keep my job with a small paycut due to the cost of living so work is not a concern for me but more for my girlfriend.

what i wanted to know is the following:

- any areas with larger lots where homes arent so close together for that price range?

- how are the schools in brandenton/sarasota area . any recommendations?

-is this area known to be just for a 55 plus community ( have seen this in other forums) or are many young professionals living here now?

- how is the job market in this area? my girlfriend is a front end supervisor for an imaging center here in NY with plenty of experience

- what can i expect to pay in flood insurance and homeowners insurance?

- areas with no HOA fees or not as high

-close proximity to stores and shopping preferable

i did come across some nice neighborhoods online like rye wilderness, country creek and mill creek, panther rdige, univeristy park country club, river club, rosedale, eagle trace etc in bradenton.

any info would be great. thank you!

[CVPFord]

Skip Sarasota and parts manatee, it's becoming overcrowded by the month !


Use the search tool on this forum about all the questions about relo - the good, the bad, and the ugly

[hmoran2]

Originally Posted by cvpford

skip sarasota and parts manatee, it's becoming overcrowded by the month !


Use the search tool on this forum about all the questions about relo - the good, the bad, and the ugly

ty!

[CVPFord]

My goal is not to discourage your possible move, but nobody is going to share with you the fact that we here in Florida CAN NOT sustain the invasion in population viz resources, infrastructure, amenities and mobility


AT 29 yrs old, I would not recommend it. You shall be surprised at what the increase (recent) in transplanted population is doing to basic things like water systems, and malfunctioning older sewer systems in Sarasota and Manatee Counties.


Housing is being built on top of each other putting untold strain on sewer systems. We're having problems with runoff, flooding and utility systems. Talk to Florida Power or TECO in Tampa.


Transit and road problems - traffic pattern control problems as well.


Yes, it's still a pretty nice place, but it is dramatically become worse - too dense for instance - no sense of community as well.


Think THREE times before making the commitment to move to Florida, especially on the coasts. There is less strain on the infrastructure in parts of northern Florida, southern coastal GA, some spots of coastal AL, and MS. Avoid all of south LA.

[562026]

Originally Posted by hmoran2

Hello Everyone,

Just looking for some information regarding the Bradenton & Sarasota areas in Florida.
My girlfriend and I (both 29 years old) are looking to relocate to Florida within the next 2 years hopefully and were looking into Tampa and the Bradenton/Sarasota areas. We will be having our first child next month so schools are a concern going forward. Sarasota looks very nice but does seem like it can be more expensive. Our budget to buy a home would be 250k to 350k. Doesn't have to be new construction. preferable with a pool. I work from home in Healthcare IT and would keep my job with a small paycut due to the cost of living so work is not a concern for me but more for my girlfriend.

what i wanted to know is the following:

- any areas with larger lots where homes arent so close together for that price range?

- how are the schools in brandenton/sarasota area . any recommendations?

-is this area known to be just for a 55 plus community ( have seen this in other forums) or are many young professionals living here now?

- how is the job market in this area? my girlfriend is a front end supervisor for an imaging center here in NY with plenty of experience

- what can i expect to pay in flood insurance and homeowners insurance?

- areas with no HOA fees or not as high

-close proximity to stores and shopping preferable

i did come across some nice neighborhoods online like rye wilderness, country creek and mill creek, panther rdige, univeristy park country club, river club, rosedale, eagle trace etc in bradenton.

any info would be great. thank you!

Don't listen to CVPFord. If you read his posts in other Sarasota relocation threads (and those of his alter-ego, gitondowntheroad), you'll see that he hates NYers. I'm sending you a PM !

[Sunshine Rules]

i did come across some nice neighborhoods online like rye wilderness, country creek and mill creek, panther rdige, univeristy park country club, river club, rosedale, eagle trace etc in bradenton.

Those are all nice neighborhoods and I hate to break the news to you, but homes in those communities are going to be over your price range for the most part. And some of those HOAs have 30 or more pages of rules & regulations residents must abide by. Newer construction communities such as Eagle Trace are going to have very narrow lots, 45 - 60 foot wide lots are common. Rule of thumb for new construction -- the larger the lots, the larger the price.

School districts in Sarasota county are more consistently higher rated than Manatee county schools, but both offer well rated school districts. The school boards of both counties offer excellent web sites with all the rankings, ratings and school web pages available for comparison purposes.

The good news is that since you are willing to consider older homes, you do have lots of other options that will fall into your price range. Many of these options will either offer no HOAs or deed restrictions or come with HOAs with limited deed restrictions.

To give you a start, here are some neighborhoods you might wish to look into, all of these are in the immediate Sarasota area:
Lake Sarasota
Tamaron
Colonial Oaks
Forrest Lakes
South Gate
Brentwood / Sarasota Springs / Ridgewood
Gulf Gate
Gulf Gate Woods


In south Manatee county, you may actually find something in a few of the older Lakewood Ranch communities, but please keep in mind the lot sizes are going to be narrow:
Summerfield
Greenbrook Walk

Some 1980's - 1990's options with lot widths in the 75 - 85 ft range can be found in the south Manatee / University Parkway area such as:
Regal Oaks
Lionshead
Creekwood
Sabal Harbour
Fairfax
Barrington Ridge
Silverlake
All of the above do have HOAs and deed restrictions.


For new or newer construction in Manatee county, try the Parrish area.

[CVPFord]

Originally Posted by hmoran2

ty!

Friend, please understand this: I'm not "lobbying" for your support or agreement, that's silly indeed. I don't need to embellish or lie to you. I don't care if you're from NY, or any other state!



I'm sharing with you the truth about the very negative effects of the population invasion that is occurring here in FL.


Who knows more? a native and resident of Florida, or just another angry pissed-off wannabe transplant living 1000 miles away in another STATE who hasn't EVER lived in Florida and doesn't now?


The negative impact of the new invasion to Florida is substantial, and cannot be sustained. No informed, fair-minded, intelligent person can deny what's happening to the infrastructure.


Residents of other states such as Illinois, NY, and CA have run their own economies in the ground with bad public policies, bad attitudes, high taxes, and bad leadership, now some of these same morons want to move to Florida. People are free to move anywhere in the US, but they should be informed about the environment.


Painting a glossy, rosy picture in order to support the hell-bent desires of wrong-headed, complete outsiders to move to "Sunny Florida" is a disservice to everyone. All that glitters is NOT gold. These same wrong-headed outsiders have already ruined their own states and cities, thus have absolutely no credibility, why? THEY DON'T LIVE HERE. If I want to move to California, I'm not going to argue with a native Californian as to what's happening in their own city or region. That would be the height of arrogance and stupidity. But that's what stupid, uniformed people do all the time. I deal with the facts on the ground, good and bad.


As possible newcomer, don't wear blinders and don't drink the kool-aid.

[hmoran2]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

i did come across some nice neighborhoods online like rye wilderness, country creek and mill creek, panther rdige, univeristy park country club, river club, rosedale, eagle trace etc in bradenton.

Those are all nice neighborhoods and I hate to break the news to you, but homes in those communities are going to be over your price range for the most part. And some of those HOAs have 30 or more pages of rules & regulations residents must abide by. Newer construction communities such as Eagle Trace are going to have very narrow lots, 45 - 60 foot wide lots are common. Rule of thumb for new construction -- the larger the lots, the larger the price.

School districts in Sarasota county are more consistently higher rated than Manatee county schools, but both offer well rated school districts. The school boards of both counties offer excellent web sites with all the rankings, ratings and school web pages available for comparison purposes.

The good news is that since you are willing to consider older homes, you do have lots of other options that will fall into your price range. Many of these options will either offer no HOAs or deed restrictions or come with HOAs with limited deed restrictions.

To give you a start, here are some neighborhoods you might wish to look into, all of these are in the immediate Sarasota area:
Lake Sarasota
Tamaron
Colonial Oaks
Forrest Lakes
South Gate
Brentwood / Sarasota Springs / Ridgewood
Gulf Gate
Gulf Gate Woods


In south Manatee county, you may actually find something in a few of the older Lakewood Ranch communities, but please keep in mind the lot sizes are going to be narrow:
Summerfield
Greenbrook Walk

Some 1980's - 1990's options with lot widths in the 75 - 85 ft range can be found in the south Manatee / University Parkway area such as:
Regal Oaks
Lionshead
Creekwood
Sabal Harbour
Fairfax
Barrington Ridge
Silverlake
All of the above do have HOAs and deed restrictions.


For new or newer construction in Manatee county, try the Parrish area.

Thank you. i will check those areas out! i appreciate the positive feedback and sincerity!

[CVPFord]

Originally Posted by hmoran2

Thank you. i will check those areas out! i appreciate the positive feedback and sincerity!

All feedback can't be positive, hence my statements to you, et al. Accurate feedback is far more important than spoon feeding you pie in the sky pablum, right?


Real estate info is certainly helpful, but keep foremost in mind that ALL any real estate sales person wants to do is SELL you a house, right? LOL That's what they do, which is fine.


No sales person is likely to ever tell you "don't move" - that's crazy on its face. They will encourage you, not dissuade you from buying a house LOL right? They are not very likely to highlight changes in a community that may be negative, that's makes most of them duplicitous at the minimum. They aren't your buddies or your friends or your family. Many of course are very helpful and do a reasonable job, and give good feedback, others don't. I never thought much of local sales people hanging out on forums like this and others, instead of building solid relationships and obtaining referrals within the community itself.
Whatever I guess.


Sincerity? that's rich indeed. Truth supersedes and trumps "positive feedback" I would like to believe. I'm not selling anything! but ya know some people (maybe not you) need to be told "You can't Handle the Truth !! "

[cjairo191]

I would suggest to skip Bradenton/Sarasota area. The average age in that area is "old people". Younger families can be found in Hillsborough and you will be closer to a real airport and conveniences. Look at Fishhawk in East Hillsborough which has good schools.