Are any Lakewood Ranch gated communities family friendly? (Sarasota, Naples: sales, real estate)

[justinb491]

Looking into Lakewood Ranch gated communities. My wife and I went through as many as we could over a long weekend a few weeks back and noticed very few kids out playing. Actually we did not notice many people out at all. A few here and there but oddly quiet. Anyone living in a gated community in LWR with some knowledge would be greatly appreciated. How are these gated communities about kids out playing and running around? Can they play in the pool and have fun with music playing at a normal level? We have 3 young children that love to play outside, love swimming and are not church mice. Reading the by laws I understand why they want strict, but are any of them really meant for families or mostly retired or older people without kids. Is a sports car frowned upon if its too loud? Are any beer neighbor communities? Again, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by justinb491

Looking into Lakewood Ranch gated communities. My wife and I went through as many as we could over a long weekend a few weeks back and noticed very few kids out playing. Actually we did not notice many people out at all. A few here and there but oddly quiet. Anyone living in a gated community in LWR with some knowledge would be greatly appreciated. How are these gated communities about kids out playing and running around? Can they play in the pool and have fun with music playing at a normal level? We have 3 young children that love to play outside, love swimming and are not church mice. Reading the by laws I understand why they want strict, but are any of them really meant for families or mostly retired or older people without kids. Is a sports car frowned upon if its too loud? Are any beer neighbor communities? Again, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure about the cars. My sub vision has a lot of older folks naturally. I drive a Camaro SS with the NPP exhaust and keep it switched off and it's pretty loud on a cold start and one of the neighbors said it startled them lol. Wait until I get performance exhaust on it.

[AaronDavidSchultz]

Originally Posted by justinb491

Looking into Lakewood Ranch gated communities. My wife and I went through as many as we could over a long weekend a few weeks back and noticed very few kids out playing. Actually we did not notice many people out at all. A few here and there but oddly quiet. Anyone living in a gated community in LWR with some knowledge would be greatly appreciated. How are these gated communities about kids out playing and running around? Can they play in the pool and have fun with music playing at a normal level? We have 3 young children that love to play outside, love swimming and are not church mice. Reading the by laws I understand why they want strict, but are any of them really meant for families or mostly retired or older people without kids. Is a sports car frowned upon if its too loud? Are any beer neighbor communities? Again, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Gated communities really don't have other than "oddly quiet" environments! they don't cater to ruckus activities in the first place, i.e. kids out in the streets running around, do that crap in your own home or yard and if you need a larger yard for kids, then go find that kind of community, they do exist for sure but by what you describe I would avoid LWR, and look at suburban family communities in Hillsborough county or great communities in other states such as SC and GA and AL, not Florida ...and don't forget Texas.

[Sunshine Rules]

The amenities offered by the various communities will suggest which ones are more oriented towards younger residents and which are not. Playgrounds, sports courts vs activities directors with more organized groups geared toward daytime events.

Keep in mind that all of the communities with amenities such as swimming pools will have rules that all residents are required to abide by, so be sure to ask and read any rules before considering a purchase in any particular LWR community.

Of course, some of the communities offer little in the way of amenities and are not gated, but you may find those more suited to your needs as you do your research.

Another suggestion might be to check out some of the newer subdivisions located just north of Lakewood Ranch's upper boundaries, in the Parrish area.

When exploring communities, you may have better luck getting answers to your questions from residents making use of the common amenities. Saturdays seem to be the best timing for that.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by justinb491

Looking into Lakewood Ranch gated communities. My wife and I went through as many as we could over a long weekend a few weeks back and noticed very few kids out playing. Actually we did not notice many people out at all. A few here and there but oddly quiet. Anyone living in a gated community in LWR with some knowledge would be greatly appreciated. How are these gated communities about kids out playing and running around? Can they play in the pool and have fun with music playing at a normal level? We have 3 young children that love to play outside, love swimming and are not church mice. Reading the by laws I understand why they want strict, but are any of them really meant for families or mostly retired or older people without kids. Is a sports car frowned upon if its too loud? Are any beer neighbor communities? Again, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I suggest you find a really good real estate broker.

Also, a warning that advice given by some posters on this forum is deliberately intended to dissuade posters from moving here. Best to take what you read with healthy skepticism.

[AaronDavidSchultz]

Agreed^...and that goes with the territory with anything on the Internet. It's fraught with opinion, but as long as it's treated appropriately, feedback/opinions are not ever gospel. Most readers hopefully aren't reliant on much found in any chat room, and should not be!


Boosterism and cheerleading about any city/town/development is commonly the stock in trade of real estate sales agents, builders and developers who also print their opinions, obviously for their own purpose whereby they may accrue benefits to themselves.


I also would be skeptical, I would add, of overly glossy pictures that are painted about any city or town (or State, lol), whether it's Paris, Austin, Nashville, Asheville, Sarasota or Naples.


Caveat Emptor, 24/7/365

[Mdfl]

Many areas of Sarasota County are not child friendly. You have to realize when you move to an area where most of the people are over 70 they find that children get on their nerves. I think the real estate people try to downplay this part of life in SW Florida. I had only one child, a daughter, but would constantly get calls about her throwing a ball outside or playing music on the lanai,etc. I had to always restrict her to just one friend over so they wouldn't make too much noise. I had a pool party for her on her birthday every year and would always have a visit from the police about a complaint. Every parent I knew would have similar stories. I think this is one of the reasons most of our children leave the area as soon as they graduate.I also think it's one of the reasons there is such a heavy drug presence in the county.Try to raise your children in an area where they feel part of the community.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by Mdfl

Many areas of Sarasota County are not child friendly. You have to realize when you move to an area where most of the people are over 70 they find that children get on their nerves. I think the real estate people try to downplay this part of life in SW Florida. I had only one child, a daughter, but would constantly get calls about her throwing a ball outside or playing music on the lanai,etc. I had to always restrict her to just one friend over so they wouldn't make too much noise. I had a pool party for her on her birthday every year and would always have a visit from the police about a complaint. Every parent I knew would have similar stories. I think this is one of the reasons most of our children leave the area as soon as they graduate.I also think it's one of the reasons there is such a heavy drug presence in the county.Try to raise your children in an area where they feel part of the community.

This is the Internet, so take what you read with a huge grain of salt.

If you believe this poster, the police came "every year" to break up a children's pool party. No doubt the 5 year-olds where cuffed, finger printed and booked immediately! Of course, that was important to do, because these children would later become drug dealers to take advantage of the "heavy drug presence in the county."

No doubt the reason Sarasota has the best schools in Florida, and is building three more right now, is because it is simply "not child friendly." No doubt the schools are really detention facilities. Maybe that is why LWR is the most popular multi-generational community in the US?

What I have learnt is that whenever you see the name "AaronDavidSchultz" as a poster, you will see another username with very few posts agreeing with him/her. In this case, this is Mdfl's post #10.

Most people over 70 do not find children get on their nerves. People over 70 are generally called grandma and grandpa, and love kids.

[joshan]

Originally Posted by Trying941

This is the Internet, so take what you read with a huge grain of salt.

If you believe this poster, the police came "every year" to break up a children's pool party. No doubt the 5 year-olds where cuffed, finger printed and booked immediately! Of course, that was important to do, because these children would later become drug dealers to take advantage of the "heavy drug presence in the county."

No doubt the reason Sarasota has the best schools in Florida, and is building three more right now, is because it is simply "not child friendly." No doubt the schools are really detention facilities. Maybe that is why LWR is the most popular multi-generational community in the US?

What I have learnt is that whenever you see the name "AaronDavidSchultz" as a poster, you will see another username with very few posts agreeing with him/her. In this case, this is Mdfl's post #10.

Most people over 70 do not find children get on their nerves. People over 70 are generally called grandma and grandpa, and love kids.

Thanks for bringing the common sense... You really have to question someone who dedicates their entire life to negativity. Maybe someday they will learn how much better life can be when you celebrate it and fill your mind with positive thoughts.

Really strikes me as odd, how many negative posts there are about living here (I know it is only a few people). If people really felt that way they would just move.... its really not that difficult, especially if you are miserable and hate everything about an area.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by justinb491

Looking into Lakewood Ranch gated communities. My wife and I went through as many as we could over a long weekend a few weeks back and noticed very few kids out playing. Actually we did not notice many people out at all. A few here and there but oddly quiet. Anyone living in a gated community in LWR with some knowledge would be greatly appreciated. How are these gated communities about kids out playing and running around? Can they play in the pool and have fun with music playing at a normal level? We have 3 young children that love to play outside, love swimming and are not church mice. Reading the by laws I understand why they want strict, but are any of them really meant for families or mostly retired or older people without kids. Is a sports car frowned upon if its too loud? Are any beer neighbor communities? Again, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

This is pretty accurate: https://www.niche.com/places-to-live...ota-county-fl/