Lakewood Ranch Named the Nation’s Top-Selling Community

[beach43ofus]

I lived in Braden Woods 25-30years ago, which is now Lakewood Ranch. We had to get onto I-75 and go upto the exit on State Rd 64 to go to the grocery store. I don't even think we had a gas station on the East side of I-75 back then.

Our closest restaurant was Linger Lodge, and you can't get more old Florida than that.

Raleigh Yoder & his Dad built our all-brick Amish home, and to this day, I think its the best looking home in Braden Woods.

Residents in-the-know back then spoke of what was coming, but I was a skeptic. I was transferred out of state, & it took me many years to return.

Today, I'm the guy sitting along the Venice inlet smoking a cigar in my beach chair, watching the boats come & go.

Passer's by say "you look so content" & I reply "it took me 30 years to get to this spot at this time, so that might explain it, and they just give me the thumbs up.

[KMerendino]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

I lived in Braden Woods 25-30years ago, which is now Lakewood Ranch. We had to get onto I-75 and go upto the exit on State Rd 64 to go to the grocery store. I don't even think we had a gas station on the East side of I-75 back then.

Our closest restaurant was Linger Lodge, and you can't get more old Florida than that.

Raleigh Yoder & his Dad built our all-brick Amish home, and to this day, I think its the best looking home in Braden Woods.

Residents in-the-know back then spoke of what was coming, but I was a skeptic. I was transferred out of state, & it took me many years to return.

Today, I'm the guy sitting along the Venice inlet smoking a cigar in my beach chair, watching the boats come & go.

Passer's by say "you look so content" & I reply "it took me 30 years to get to this spot at this time, so that might explain it, and they just give me the thumbs up.

I remember this house being constructed ! Houses constructed in LWR subsequent to your house are pieces of crap by comparison...and still are.


Good for you. I built mine a bit latter near the Temple in SRQ, got transferred, and came back to buy two other houses in different areas of SRQ and MAN counties.


They don't build houses like yours.....or mine these days....no way


Enjoy that cigar, the chair, and the view ! you and I know how much better it was...that's gone

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by KMerendino

I remember this house being constructed ! Houses constructed in LWR subsequent to your house are pieces of crap by comparison...and still are.


Good for you. I built mine a bit latter near the Temple in SRQ, got transferred, and came back to buy two other houses in different areas of SRQ and MAN counties.


They don't build houses like yours.....or mine these days....no way


Enjoy that cigar, the chair, and the view ! you and I know how much better it was...that's gone

That all brick house will be there for a very long time. Being surrounded by an acre of pine forest and palmetto scrub was Nirvana. I had just enough grass to keep the critters off the house. Subsequent owners cleared nearly the entire lot and ruined it imho. Who would want to cut all that grass

Those were the good 'ole days. The only thing that broke the silence was an occasional citrus truck rumbling along state road 70 on its way to the Tropicana processing plant downtown Brandenton.

[KMerendino]

For those that actually think traffic is not that bad in LWR, I have no idea how to respond.


The existing surface roads and connectors, combined with planned expansions of secondary feeder streets from stupid subdivisions already afoot are ALREADY obsolete.


The 44th expansion, having not even traversed over I-75 is also already obsolete dumping over to CORTEZ !


Has anyone seen all of the pot hole repairs up and down LWR BLVD? the.... road is hammered along with crazy traffic.


Yeah, if you're used to drive in LA on the Five, or 285-connectors in ATL, or the cluster heading west to Clayton MO, or the Dan Ryan etc, or 280/459/RME in AL, well you might actually believe there is no traffic in LWR.


No, the traffic in LWR and heading east in the very near future will continue to be a monster.


I wouldn't live or buy a house now anywhere around 44th, Range, Uhlein, Upper Manatee, RYE, etc....ingress and egress will become montrous

[joshan]

I have NEVER sat in a traffic jam in LWR in over a year now, except in front of UTC. The front of any popular mall is crowded and to be expected.

I honestly am not sure what some people consider traffic. The speed limit on most of LWR blvd, since you are using that as your basis is 45 mph. But yet the average speed is about 70 mph. How do you do 25 mph over the limit on average in a traffic jam?

[Ravi Chaud]

I don't know about others' experience but the traffic in and around LWR, boulevard, side streets, University Pwy, Range, 64, 70,Lorraine, east Univ, Lena, Braden etc has DOUBLED in the past 12 months or late 2019 - easily.


If you're sitting in your house most of the day, you would not notice it, and think traffic is a breeze. Talk to Manatee County deputies, Sarasota County deputies, the firefighters/EMTS at the new facilities in Lakewood Ranch, look at all of the Publix parking lots, the super Walmart parking lots, the service stations etc.


Just outside the confines of LWR it gets murderous in traffic. For instance westbound University, US 301 SOUTH to DT SRQ, US 301 NORTH to almost Hillsborough County line,
southbound Tuttle/Univ, northbound Tuttle to Lockwood/63rd, Fruitville at Lorraine, Fruitville from I75 all the way to DT SRQ.


Who the hell wants this place to become Brandon @ 60, or US 19 @ 589 or I-5 in LA?


That's the problem with people moving here, they bring their own warped sense of "normalcy" (and everything else like expectations, politics etc) with them.


Same thing with outsiders paying 500k for a lousy house that's worth 300k..lol...and these people think that's "normal" when it's really stupid and detrimental to the area, not helpful.


It's like "Hey Hey....I can't find any NY-style" pizza here"....or " hey hey...I never sit in traffic jamz heah"

[joshan]

you had to make another account to answer? /boggle. the first one does not show banned yet.

[Ravi Chaud]

what the heck^ are you talking about/worried about?? wow