Urban Retirement
Ahh....Where?
12 Cities in 12 Months - Living the Life of a Local
|
Why Sarasota ?
Well, I credited Addison with New Orleans but I have to say that Sarasota was Gus's idea. A little self-serving
easier for our daughter to visit us in our old age. It is one of the few cities that I visited before I started my
adventure and I was quite enamoured with the beach, the weather and the friendly mid-westerners. You
see...I75 comes straight down to Sarasota from Chicago where I95 comes straight down to Ft. Lauderdale
from New York. Get the picture? Anyway, I loved it in June and now in January. The Gulf is incredible!
Walkability & Biking (5)
Sarasota was fabulous for both biking and walking. You can easily bike to the beach (either Siesta or
Lido) from downtown. There are lots of safe side streets and only a few major ones. There's a back
way to everywhere. My only nemesis was that causeway over to Lido. It may look pretty for the
travel photos but...damn!...it's a long hike up and over! The BEST walking though is definitely the
BEACH! You have the choice of sugar soft sand at Siesta or lots of shells and other stuff at Turtle or
sharks' teeth at Venice. I don't think you could ever tire of that. On the boring stuff like groceries,
drugstores and other things you just gotta have....all are very close and I always rode my bike.
My Temporary Digs
My place in Sarasota was in the historic district of Laurel Park. Sarasota is a fairly small city and Laurel Park is
bedroom but had a couple of extra rooms (a study and a lanai) so having a sleeping space for guests was
easy. The patio was huge and peaceful. I fed the squirrels, drank my morning coffee and sorted all the shells
I collected there. There was also a cottage on the property and a fabulous couple moved in there for the
entire time I was there. We each had our private space but had plenty of shared meals.
Transportation (5)
I was amazed that flights from and to Sarasota were fairly reasonable (from the east coast). Addison's
flight to Portland ME was only $130. Of course it's only 1 1/2 hours to Tampa for those others that
don't come to Sarasota. The bus service in town was good, as validated by my friend, Ric, who used it
every day. None of it really mattered though because I rode my bike everywhere!
Weather, Culture, Food & Amenities (5)
OK, I was there in January when everyone else was having rain and blizzards but even June was totally
bearable. I know this is the type of weather I want to have. I also can't say enough about the culture
bearable. I know this is the type of weather I want to have. I also can't say enough about the culture
is theatre and music and it actually draws a lot of people to live here. I had some great food here but I
that the Ringlings brought to Sarasota. The art museum is the most fabulous I have ever seen. There
is theatre and music and it actually draws a lot of people to live here. I had some great food here but I
can't really say it compares to New Orleans. Happy hour was very cheap and good food with wine. All
in all...it's fabulous.
Real Estate (4)
Real estate is not quite as plentiful as New Orleans (I only get one Sarasota house on Zillow for every 5
New Orleans houses) but there are several areas that I would love to live in (Downtown, Southside
between downtown and Siesta Key, Indian Shores in the north and Siesta Key in the south). I even
found a great place in Old Gillespie Park that is an up and coming area but still a little sketchy. I do
Shores ($300K) and then Downtown or Siesta or Southside ($350-400K). I absolutely loved the jungley
terrain here. There are live oaks, banyan trees and lots of tropical foliage.
The People (4)
People in Sarasota were great. I made friends in the coffee shop, on the beach and in the bars. I had
a date or two. I met some great neighbors who are also looking for a house in Sarasota and I felt very
welcome. Most people here are transplants but that kind of puts us all in the same boat. It was easy
to strike up conversation in restaurants and there's not an overabundance of OLD people except in
the condos and at the theatre. There's a nice mix.