Osprey-The Oaks (Tamiami, Sarasota, Country Club: condominiums, credit, homes)

[Denniswr]

We are considering relocating from Long Island N.Y. with our 10 year old daughter. Can anyone give me information about Osprey and the community called The Oaks, or any nice communities.
Thanks

[FLBob]

Osprey has a number of very nice communities, the Oaks is just the premier golf community in the area.

The biggest development in Osprey is the exclusive luxury Golf and Country Club Community of The Oaks. The Oaks boasts two championship golf courses , 12 tennis courts,3 dining rooms, Olympic pool and cabana. Housing options include condominiums with water views, estate homes including waterfront estate homes, maintenance free homes and town homes.

Located along Blackburn bay and the intra-costal waterway some of the west of the trail communities provide navigable water access. Southbay is a community with a yacht basin, here you can find homes that will provide views of the intra-coastal and affordable dockage in the community marina.

Rivendell is a community developed just north of Oscar Scherer State park. Developed on over 400 acres with an abundance of preserve open space with ponds and lakes. Rivendell housing options include the Cottages of Rivendell where you'll find 84 maintenance free cottages. Styled to give the feel of an olde New England neighborhood. There is also the Woodlands at Rivendell where more Florida traditional architectural overlooks ponds, lakes, and preserve.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Denniswr

We are considering relocating from Long Island N.Y. with our 10 year old daughter. Can anyone give me information about Osprey and the community called The Oaks, or any nice communities.
Thanks

If you have a 10 year old child then you need to check out Rivendell in Osprey as well. Many of the families that have children that go to nearby Pine View School, live in Rivendell. A few other areas within close proximity to The Oaks are Palmer Ranch, Sorrento, Rivendell, Willow Bend and South Bay Yacht Club.

If you can tell us more about what you're looking for we can probably give you more direction. Why are you moving to Florida? Will you be seeking employment or are you retired? What kind of things to you like to do-golfing, boating, beaches? Will this be a full time or part time residence? What kind of community are you looking for? Were you looking for a condo or a home?

Here's something I wrote about The Oaks:

The Oaks
The Oaks is situated in the beautiful town of Osprey just moments from downtown Sarasota with all its activities, and amenities. At the Oaks you will feel miles away from the cares of the day, without sacrificing the convenience of shopping, restaurants and services. The Oaks sits on 1000 acres straddling the Tamiami Trail and it has three distinctive neighborhoods – The Preserve, the Oaks Bayside and the Oaks Clubside.
This golf and country club community has something for everyone in the family. Two 18-hole golf courses designed by Willard C. Byrd and built in 1980 – the Heron and the Eagle - challenge even the best golfer. The 41,000 square foot Georgian style clubhouse has a pro shop, a junior-Olympic swimming pool, a regulation croquet court, twelve Har-Tru tennis courts, four of which are lighted for play after dark. The Oaks has completed an $11,000,000 clubhouse expansion, a redesign of the Eagle golf course, and state-of-the-art reconstruction of the tennis courts. The club also sponsors special events and social gatherings like dinner dances, banquets and private parties. You can lounge in the shade of the community oaks or stroll down the beautifully maintained streets and visit with friends at the clubhouse or near the pool.
The Oaks residents choose from homes that front the golf course, spectacular waterfront estates and maintenance-free condominiums. With 353 home sites and 20 condominium homes, there is something for everyone at the Oaks. Oaks Clubside has the condominiums you want, and thirty-six holes of golf. Oaks Bayside and Oaks Preserve are just west of US 41 in Osprey, right next to the Intracoastal Waterway. The Oaks communities are deed restricted with a mandatory homeowner association, streetlights, tree-lined, winding boulevards, and beautifully landscaped, manicured grounds with native Florida plants and trees.
This fabulous luxury community is truly a Florida paradise!

[Denniswr]

Thanks to both of you. My wife and I will be retired and are looking in the area of $700,000 to $1,100.000. We are comming down in November to look around at single family homes. Intrested number one in a good enviroment,schools for our daughter and then fishing, beaches and some golf.
Thanks

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Denniswr

Thanks to both of you. My wife and I will be retired and are looking in the area of $700,000 to $1,100.000. We are comming down in November to look around at single family homes. Intrested number one in a good enviroment,schools for our daughter and then fishing, beaches and some golf.
Thanks

You will find homes in that price range in The Oaks. If you are looking at a good school for your daughter you should check out Pine View School for the Gifted. I have a 5th grader and 10th grader that attend Pine View. Pine View School is a public school but you must "test in" to attend.


The following items are required by your Sarasota County districted school to determine your child's eligibility for the gifted program at Pine View School. Eligibility will be determined by your districted school upon receipt and approval of:

• Proof of residency in Sarasota County
• Evaluation reporting IQ and academic achievement test scores by licensed psychologist
• Gifted characteristics rating scales
• Report card grades spanning one year

Pine View is a special program designed to meet the unique needs of intellectually gifted students in grades two through twelve on a broad-based campus. Pine View is a public school so there is no charge for attending this school. The school is located on a 74 acre campus. Pine View's current campus sports more than a dozen buildings situated around a central lawn and connected by blue open-air porticos. Sarasota architect Carl Abbott patterned his design after Thomas Jefferson's "academical village" at the University of Virginia. Each building is color-coded, with yellow indicating mathematics, purple indicating science, blue indicating foreign language, orange indicating social studies, red indicating elementary, and green indicating English. Each main color-coded building contains eight classrooms.The curriculum is one full grade level ahead. For instance, if your child is in 2nd grade they will be doing 3rd grade work.


Above all, Pine View prepares students for higher education. All high school courses are honors-level, and many are advanced placement. Ninety percent of the class of 2000 earned scores of 3 or higher on advanced placement tests, and 96 percent went on to four-year colleges and universities. Many students graduate with significantly more than the required 26 credits; graduating with 33 credits is not unheard of. Pine View's curriculum emphasizes rigor, and students who have attended other public schools in the Sarasota area generally report that Pine View's classes require significantly more work than their counterparts at other schools.

We are extremely satisfied with the education our children are getting. As stated above you will need a psychologist to test your child. This may be done for free by the Sarasota County school district or you can hire a private psychologist to test your child. I choose to have my children tested privately and have a wonderful recommendation for a private psychologist.

Pine View was recently rated 6th in the Nation. There are several requirements for attending Pine View school. Here are a few other articles/websites on Pine View that you might find interesting:
Pine View Website
Duke University Letter
US News-Best High Schools
City-Data
Wikipedia
Newsweek
Public School Report
Truila Schools

Government recognition
Pine View is among the 35 of Florida's numerous public schools (1.2%) to earn a top grade of "A" on every administration of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) since the program began in 1999 Newsweek's Public Elite High Schools
Due to its average SAT score of 1335 for 2005, Pine View was listed among Newsweek magazine's 21 Public Elite American high schools.[5] Pine View is the only Public Elite school in Florida.[6]
US News and World Report
In 2007, Pine View was ranked 6th in the nation among the "Gold Medal Schools" by US News and World Report. This ranking is based on high AP test scores and overall college preparation.

[FLBob]

One of the great things about the local schools is that each one has a website. So it's very easy for you to do a bit of research.

The Oaks is located in the following school districts. I've included links to the school websites.

Gulf Gate Elementry
Sarasota Middle
Riverview high

Fishing is my favorite past time. The intra-coastal and Sarasota bay has great fishing. The water quality of Sarasota bay has been improving, the improvement is based on water clarity, growth of the grass beds, and rebound of the scallop population. So I expect great fishing to continue even as our population grows.
Tarpon season is beginning now and I'll be focused on fishing a bit south near Boca Grande pass. I was there last Monday didn't see any tarpon but I boated a lemon shark and a cobia.

You might want to look closely at South Bay, the yacht basin is right on Blackburn bay, and is a short ride to the pass at Venice inlet. In your price range you'd be able to find a bay front or basin front home.

Look at Mission Valley Golf and County Club, (http://www.missionvalleycc.com/index.htm - broken link) it's a very nice course that's designed for those that like to walk a course.

[Denniswr]

Thanks again to both of you. The information is extremily helpful and what I was looking for. Will contact you in the future when it becomes time to purchase!