Need help figuring out good middle grounds (Tampa, Sarasota: transfer, living)

[kellyh1120]

Originally Posted by BeirksDentley

Only good options that aren't ridiculous (lol, it's all bad) might be Palmetto, Parrish or Ellenton.


You're the one with less driving demand/hassles, so deal with it....he even drives for a living, and that is compounded by having to DRIVE to go Drive. You should be the one to be a bit more "hassled" given you don't have to do it each and every day.

I know, as I said I just wanted to hear feedback from others to see what the smartest option would be since I'm not currently in the area. Hopefully when we come down in a few months we'll be able to figure it all out.

Thanks!

[BeirksDentley]

Buy a good physical map and literally use it in tandem with Google Earth and other good closeups on the web, well before you get here - use mapquest to determine driving times, etc and examine other drive time data, but don't rely on it totally...


This area is changing by the week/month - construction, traffic load, crime, delays etc.


IN a few months, the data, the opinions, the real deal best advice will be obsolete. Frankly I wouldn't move.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by BeirksDentley

Buy a good physical map and literally use it in tandem with Google Earth and other good closeups on the web, well before you get here - use mapquest to determine driving times, etc and examine other drive time data, but don't rely on it totally...


This area is changing by the week/month - construction, traffic load, crime, delays etc.


IN a few months, the data, the opinions, the real deal best advice will be obsolete. Frankly I wouldn't move.

For those reading this thread please note that the above poster, using multiple names, consistently tells people not to come to Sarasota or sell and leave for a panoply of reasons - crime, traffic, construction, delays, too many NYers, too many Californians, high prices and more. Also note that he/she has not moved.

Watch what they do, not what they say.

[beach43ofus]

Start your search off exit 93A along I-75 near Parrish, but at least 1 mile from I-75 to avoid the traffic noise, preferably 2 miles away from the interstate.

He'll be in East Lake in 30 minutes, & the traffic along that stretch isn't normally bad...he'll avg 70+ mph for his trip.

I used to make the drive from Lakewood Ranch to East Lake & it took 50 minutes each way, & it got old fast. Too far.

The real estate market is booming in that area & moving Southward, and transportation jobs are too. There's a Sysco Foods DC right there, & that area will become a huge transportation hub in the future due to its access to St. Pete/Clearwater, Tampa, & all points South.

There's a new Costco nearby, and an outlet Mall. Its ~1hr to a nice beach though, but you sound too busy to be going to the beach much anyways. UTC mall area is ~20 mins South, & its a huge retail/restaurant area.

Home prices are below the midpoint there too...plenty of new homes, and more coming all the time.

I'm pretty sure that is where you'll wind up.

Avoid the next exit to the South...it's dangerous and backs up traffic onto I-75 at times, and messes up traffic in the entire area on weekends due to Outlet Mall traffic. that exit will need to be re-built soon, & you dont want to be near that area when its under construction for 2 years. You want any other exit except that one.

[Jensen440]

Originally Posted by kellyh1120

I know, as I said I just wanted to hear feedback from others to see what the smartest option would be since I'm not currently in the area. Hopefully when we come down in a few months we'll be able to figure it all out.

Thanks!

The feedback is quite varied. Some paint an overly glossy picture, some paint a more realistic picture. Make your own decisions about moving and buying anything in any city. The internet is not the place for accurate information, especially chat rooms! The 'smartest option' as you put it won't be found here! heck the smartest option might be no option and/or do nothing, particularly looking in the future of a few months. Be careful, be realistic, don't drink anyone's kool aid. The place is getting waaay over-crowed and no honest person who has lived here for more than a very few years, will tell you that. It is far more miserable now than it was a mere 2 yrs ago. No one knows your tolerance for pain.


I can't imagine driving back and forth to Tampa from anywhere in Manatee county each and every day, or driving down the interstate from Manatee to Port Charlotte during Sept to April even 3 days a week.


Florida is not living the Beach Life every day. Don't believe it.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by Jensen440

The feedback is quite varied. Some paint an overly glossy picture, some paint a more realistic picture. Make your own decisions about moving and buying anything in any city. The internet is not the place for accurate information, especially chat rooms! The 'smartest option' as you put it won't be found here! heck the smartest option might be no option and/or do nothing, particularly looking in the future of a few months. Be careful, be realistic, don't drink anyone's kool aid. The place is getting waaay over-crowed and no honest person who has lived here for more than a very few years, will tell you that. It is far more miserable now than it was a mere 2 yrs ago. No one knows your tolerance for pain.


I can't imagine driving back and forth to Tampa from anywhere in Manatee county each and every day, or driving down the interstate from Manatee to Port Charlotte during Sept to April even 3 days a week.


Florida is not living the Beach Life every day. Don't believe it.

For those reading this thread please note that the above poster, using multiple names, this time the second name in this thread, consistently tells people not to come to Sarasota or sell and leave for a panoply of reasons - crime, traffic, construction, delays, too many NYers, too many Californians, high prices and more. Also note that he/she has not moved.

Watch what they do, not what they say

[kellyh1120]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Start your search off exit 93A along I-75 near Parrish, but at least 1 mile from I-75 to avoid the traffic noise, preferably 2 miles away from the interstate.

He'll be in East Lake in 30 minutes, & the traffic along that stretch isn't normally bad...he'll avg 70+ mph for his trip.

I used to make the drive from Lakewood Ranch to East Lake & it took 50 minutes each way, & it got old fast. Too far.

The real estate market is booming in that area & moving Southward, and transportation jobs are too. There's a Sysco Foods DC right there, & that area will become a huge transportation hub in the future due to its access to St. Pete/Clearwater, Tampa, & all points South.

There's a new Costco nearby, and an outlet Mall. Its ~1hr to a nice beach though, but you sound too busy to be going to the beach much anyways. UTC mall area is ~20 mins South, & its a huge retail/restaurant area.

Home prices are below the midpoint there too...plenty of new homes, and more coming all the time.

I'm pretty sure that is where you'll wind up.

Avoid the next exit to the South...it's dangerous and backs up traffic onto I-75 at times, and messes up traffic in the entire area on weekends due to Outlet Mall traffic. that exit will need to be re-built soon, & you dont want to be near that area when its under construction for 2 years. You want any other exit except that one.

Thanks so much, this is really helpful information. I appreciate it!

[Jensen440]

Originally Posted by kellyh1120

Thanks so much, this is really helpful information. I appreciate it!

Good luck to you both.


Just don't be encouraged by any hype - just deal with practical truths, never believe cheerleaders and glad-handers.


Do your own intelligent research far away from biased posters on the net. It's rarely accurate.

[Yukenbo]

I have not been living in Sarasota full-time since COVID and I only bought in 2015, so I'm not all that qualified to answer, but I did alot of searching from Stickney Point down to Port Charlotte. Even that distance is pretty far! I think beach43ofus sounds very reasonable. As is the other person that said commuting on I-75 is painful.

When I first got married, my wife worked in a regional city and I worked in a large city. We moved in together into a place dead in the center of the two. It was workable but my wife had a 1-one, 80-minute commute and I had a 60-minute. We did that for two years without children and it was workable. Longer term? I'd think about getting set up well in FL and then seeing if one of you could make a job location change. It gets tiring and then you have kids (or not).

It's great you were both able to land a job though. Good luck! : )

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by Trying941

For those reading this thread please note that the above poster, using multiple names, this time the second name in this thread, consistently tells people not to come to Sarasota or sell and leave for a panoply of reasons - crime, traffic, construction, delays, too many NYers, too many Californians, high prices and more. Also note that he/she has not moved.

Watch what they do, not what they say

You can always tell by the triple spacing between paragraphs, or at least that's the way it appears on my computer screen. No one else has triple spacing.