Moving to Sarasota Questions...

Jeff, Yes it is possible though your commute would be around an hour or more depending on traffic and your location points in both cities. Sarasota is amazing, though a bit pricey. Look into St Petersburg, Clearwater, Madeira Beach, Apollo Beach. Find a reputable real estate (if you need on I can recommend on) and have them provide city/neighborhood demographics and statistics for you. My best advice as a realtor is to drive through the areas that interest you, especially at nights and on weekends when people are home. Stop and talk to neighbors, find out about schools whether you have children or not the most desirable areas have good schools and their values stay stronger than areas that don't.

If I can help in any other way let me know. Good Luck!

Hi, thanks for the reply. We do plan on driving through and asking questions etc. One area you mention also interested us. Apollo beach, because of its proximity to Tampa. My wife and I will both work. We were thinking of an area like Palmetto because we would have access to Tampa, St. Pete, and Sarasota.
Is Palmetto a nice place to raise a family? Or is Apollo Beach better? We noticed the homes are less expensive in Apollo. Is this because it is a less desireable neighborhood? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Also, if you are a real estate agent, what areas do you specialize in? We were going to contact an R/E person to begin the process.

Regards,
Jeff

Jeff in Medford, New Jersey said: Hi, thanks for the reply. We do plan on driving through and asking questions etc. One area you mention also interested us. Apollo beach, because of its proximity to Tampa. My wife and I will both work. We were thinking of an area like Palmetto because we would have access to Tampa, St. Pete, and Sarasota.
Is Palmetto a nice place to raise a family? Or is Apollo Beach better? We noticed the homes are less expensive in Apollo. Is this because it is a less desireable neighborhood? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Also, if you are a real estate agent, what areas do you specialize in? We were going to contact an R/E person to begin the process.

Regards,
Jeff

Hi Jeff, Sarasota is a nice area, but if you need to commute to Tampa, you can try Clear Water and other cities/town north of Tampa. Otherwise, Sarasota is quite expensive.

If you need a mortgage, I can help you with that as well. I work for Chase Home Lending!

Thanks!

www.city-data.com/city/Marco-Island-Florida.html Marco Island Demographics.

I would stay in Sarasota... it's one of the most beautiful places to ilve and it's expremely laid back. There's so much to do with Sarasota being one expremely artsy and of course the beaches.

Just live in Lakewood ranch or somewhere close to the interstate. Traffic is up and down but it's worth it.

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Hey Jeff... I would also check out the area called Terra Cia...its close to the skyway bridge/interstate. Sarasota is actually reasonable these days...of course that depends what reasonable is...anyhow also in re: to Apollo Beach area. My sister lived there...many new houses...not many dining/shopping areas etc, but all with 1/2 drive. It was a rural area a few years back but with the boom down here it grew. I believe it will continue to, but I personally don't think it has a lot to offer at the moment. I do agree with the others and would recc living to close to I75 if you choose a house in Sarasota, and don't mind the 1-1 1/2 hr drive. Check out other areas in Tampa. There are some nice ones, but not all seem like the place I would want to raise my family. Check out Brandon/Valrico as well

I have never been to Florida. I think I want to live in Sarasota. Are there plenty of jobs skilled and unskilled? Is there much crime there? I like quiet places ect. I do like to have good places also to have fun like bars and things , but not to crazy. Would Sarasota be a good place for me ? Im 42young like to have a good time ect I like to work out ect. Im from ohio. Thank's Steve

Hi Steve
I moved to Tampa from Jersey over a year ago. I purchased a townhome in a gated community north of Tampa. My home has already lost 15% in its value. The traffic where I am is so horrible that I have dreaded the prospect of having a 9-5 job thank goodness I have not had to get one just yet. I did start looking for a job recently and there are NO jobs in my field of x-ray technology. The local colleges are pumping out graduates and filling positions even before they are ever publicized. Had I known what I know now; I would have done a LOT more research before relocating here. All of the people I go to meet up groups with are unemployed looking for work! That is both skilled and unskilled. Tampa's unemployment rate is up near 11%!

Yes it is nice here but the summer weather is killer hot and the humidity also. Cooling bills run around 200 a month for my townhome.

Do your own research Steve. You are a perfect target (as was I) to be ripped off by someone who could really care less about what happens to you after you close on a home.

What I suggest that you do is RENT for the first year! Rents here are so inexpensive because nothing is selling!

I kayak; run; bike and love the nightlife as well. Ybor city has great nightlife; its about 30 minutes from my home. If you drink down here; you had best not drive. Police are constantly setting up roadblocks and stop patrons when they are leaving establishments. I think the lack of state tax here has made cops hypervigilant; I actually met someone who got a dui with only .06 because the cop felt "she was driving poorly enough" and the judge upheld it!
I seriously wish I had done a bit more research before I moved.

Yes there are lovely areas here and Sarasota is one of them.

That suck's I didint think it would be bad job market. My field is Lawenfocement/ crininal justice, that's what I have a BA in right now, but I really dont know what I want to do with that just yet. Im 43 44 in May. Dam! no xray tech jobs? I thought about going into that field, but did not. So dam I guess that's out for now . I just hate this stupid town I live Ironton, I just want somewhere better with a view. Sarasota probablly be hot as well, and not mutch work iether right? I thought I could just get a job, skilled, unskilled. I do have some skills , Im not totally skilless. Yes if I do come there, I will defanetlly rent, Ill have no choice. I guess the economy sucks every where. Thanks for the advice. Steve

My husband and I are looking to move to Sarasota and opening an agency, if the unemployment rate is high what % of that are those who are talented and looking for a job?

Susan in Buffalo, New York said: My husband and I are looking to move to Sarasota and opening an agency, if the unemployment rate is high what % of that are those who are talented and looking for a job?

I just know that there are lots of temp agencies here and even more job recruiters. They also have job fairs fairly often. The problem is that there are too many qualified applicants for the jobs due to the high volume of people here in comparison to the FACT that there are not enough high paying jobs to go around. If you don't mind living off of your retirement be like everyone else and give it a try. Sorry to be blunt but that is the truth! Also, the locals do not like newcomers for obvious reasons! We are the reasons that all of this is happening.

I think Sarasota would be a hell of alot better than Ironton, Ohio. I havenot been there but I still think life would be better there.

Well I would be a newcommer, and the locals can kiss my ass. If it is bad everywhere in america. I say go for it.. If it dont work out , it dont work out.

this message is for Steve from Athens Ohio, florida is a very expensive place to live, especially Sarasota average price of homes in a good community run 400 to 500 hundred thousand, yes sarasota is expensive. A good place to check out is bradenton a lot cheaper than Sarasota, now if you have a combined income of 130,000 no problem. jobs are very hard to find good jobs in florida. If you work in the health care field or another profession where you can charge a good amount for your service like a chiropractor or a dentist fine you will make fabulous money. See i lived in sarasota 8 years ago with some friends and i almost lost my ass living down there and other people are right its very hot in the summer in july and august and even sometimes in june where the temperaure is as hot as the humidity. But thats ok if you work in a office theres ac, then you have ac in your car then ac in your home. So you can survive. Cost of food is a tad higher in Florida because they have to ship it in so it costs more. But think first before you go to florida i moved back to ohio and do not regret it at all i will take the changing seasons over hot all the time anytime. I like to see the seasons change and freeze up here in ohio cause GO BUCKS AND THE BEST DAMN BAND IN THE LAND LIVES HER GO BUCKS stay here and keep on being a buckeye fan you can always visit florida/

susan in buffalo, if you chaeck on the bradentoherald newspaper you will see where the unemployment rate is out of sight in some counties of florida, i believe Sarasota and other counties surroniding it are ar 12.5 to the highest being 13.0 its very high

Jeff Goldstein in Medford, New Jersey said: Hi, we are moving to Florida soon and had some questions about Sarasota and the surrounding areas.

Is it possible to live in Sarasota and commute to Tampa for work? If not, are there great communities you can suggest that have access to a beach and Tampa?

Thank you.
Jeff

It is possible to commute from Sarasota to Tampa but it's quite a serious undertaking. Trip would be at least 1 hour each way and put at least 140 miles on your car every day. Both the I-75 and I-275 are very busy and there will most likely be tolls involved, at least another $2 per day. On the positive side, Sarasota is probably the most pleasant and culturally attractive city, with a vast number of restaurants, lots of art galleries, its own ballet and opera companies, a number of festivals throughout the year, very low crime rates and a great educational system for kids.

We moved here from Redondo Beach, California and we picked Sarasota for all those reasons. I need to drive to Tampa once or twice a week, but I would not want to do this every day, I have to say. If you have a Tampa-based job, I'd suggest you look at young, growing communities slightly inland but still convenient to both Tampa and the beaches, like Riverside, Brandon, Land-o-Lakes, New Port Richey and so on. Although in the current housing market you might be able to buy in one of the beach cities west of Tampa at an affordable price. Suggest you might want to visit www.tampasuperstars.com to check out their extensive Tampa area home availability listings and perhaps talk to one of their realtors.

Good luck! Ed

I moved from NJ 2 years ago. I have scoped out a lot of areas and I have to say for living near a beach and commuting to Tampa, St Pete would be your best option. The North Part is very charming with a lot of older homes. The trop is there (Tampa Bay Rays play there) and the town has lots of nightlife, shops and museums. Pass-A-Grille Beach is 15 minutes away off the 275 and you can drive north on gulf blvd to the other beaches. You can also drive an extra 15 minutes to Fort Desoto where you can kayak, boat, swim and camp. I am trying to sell my townhouse in New Tampa (which is 35 minutes North of Tampa) to move closer to St Pete beaches becaues the commute to Tampa from North St Pete is only 1/2 hour. Good luck!
Jen

I am from Florida, have always lived in Fl, and went went to college here. I moved to the Sarasota area in 2009. Jobs here are very scarce..too many applicants, not enough jobs. The companies hiring in the area take advantage of the "bad economy" by paying low wages and NEVER giving raises. The average job (unless you have training in the med. field - which I don't so I can't comment on their wage) is $8-$10 an hour. If you're lucky enough to land the "high" wage of $10 do not anticipate receiving a raise (even after 2+ years). They figure they hired you at the top of their pay scale and they don't even want to give a 40 hr work week. The education system (which is my degreed field) is hard to get a break in -- again too many applicants, & too many cut backs in education.

Sarasota has many retires who can afford to live in the area from money they made working up North. Florida, in general, is an awful place to make a living in. Sarasota has a lot of wealthy people who made their money in other states. I have found the area to be very unwelcoming (unless you have money). You can be assured that the person cutting you off in traffic & flipping you the bird is driving a BMW or Mercedes. As far as renting, Sarasota is very over priced. The taxes on homeowners is very high. Ponzi schemes have also put the real estate market in the whole & affected jobs related to real estate and construction. The beaches may be beautiful, but if you have an opportunity to make a better living somewhere else..TAKE IT!!.. a vacation to sarasota is much more relaxing than struggling to make a living here. (It's not paradise when you can't pay your mortgage and put a tank of gas in your car!)

Wow I am sorry to hear about your experiences, this is the 2nd time around I have lived in Florida. The first time around I interned for Disney in their college program, it was fun exploring Florida with next to nothing pay after paying rent at Disney aparments.

What I notice is that there are opportunities if you are willing to show up for work day after day. Florida is a beautiful place to live and enjoy your social/private life. Sarasota/Tampa area is a short drive apart but the opportunities in towns surrounding the areas for example auburndale, bartow. Check out www.enjoycareers.com. Good luck!

Really want to move out from Rapid. I really don't like it here especially born on a coastal area myself. I don't like being land locked. I from Cali but that's not and option since Cali is like a doomed state right now. I been looking at Sarasota myself. I do plan saving a lot to move and Sarasota so far sounds the best. When it comes to Rapid i'm sure their just about any place better.

I am relocating to Sarasota/Venice and wondering if anyone has knowledge or experience finding a job as an x-ray tech in these areas?

moving to Sarasota in Westlake, Ohio said: I am relocating to Sarasota/Venice and wondering if anyone has knowledge or experience finding a job as an x-ray tech in these areas?

I wouldn't know myself. But i did read somewhere that Venice average age is 69 y/o. I don't know if that a plus a disadvantage in your field. I'm i transportation. I figure i can something in that field myself.

Hi,

Our family needs some information and opinions. We are thinking of making the move to the sarasota area in the next year. We currently live in northern wisconsin where there is no traffic, lots of snow, 3 months of summer, and also no amenities. Both me and my wife are speech pathologists and our 3 children are 7 and under. What are the job prospects, decent housing and neighborhoods for 300,000 or less, insurance for housing, daycare, and other costs that I may not have in wisconsin. We just need some ideas adn opinions before ddeciding on this big move.

thanks
chris

I'm a single Mom 35, which a son who is Deaf with cochlear Implants mainstreamed in public school with hearing peers. I'm looking to move either Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and would like suggestions of apartments, schools, and places to work. I'm currently in IT/Telecom Sales. Could you please help. My email is msladovich@hotmai.lcom

anyone with kids in sarasota school system? we are relocating from baltimore. trust me...sarasota can't be worse than here. where should we rent year one...we want to be in a good school district.
thx!!