Sarasota, Florida Reviews

Becoming your basic over crowded tourist trap - 3/24/2023
Sarasota is my home from birth but those of us who have lived here long enough to have seen the devolution of what was once an easy to navigate, clean, low crime beach town are devastated by the almost instantaneous change since the pandemic to what is becoming a rundown tourist trap. Easy not to see the negatives while on vacation or living the transient lifestyle of a remote worker who can just insert yourself into any town you want at will. So many “move” here and yet they don’t even bother registering their cars. School carlines are full of out of state plates of parents who have enrolled their kids in our schools yet have no intention of calling Sarasota “home” - that’s reserved for whatever state they can’t stand enough they leave it most of the year. It’s disheartening to see the decline of a once nice town. Read More

Comparing Sarasota, our new home w/San Clemente CA - 9/5/2022
Starting to love Sarasota: Wife and I moved to Osprey- a small suburb between Sarasota and Venice. We're about 13 miles to downtown Sarasota, so not "city dwellers". But, as we have moved here just 3 years ago, (right before Covid), from San Clemente CA, I thought that a comparison would be every helpful to many.

Both towns are of similar size (57K for Sarasota 67K for San Clemente. Sarasota is less than an hour to Tampa/St Pete. San Clemente, an hour and change to most of LA or San Diego.

Cost of living - folks that think Sarasota is expensive have no idea. True, seems like lots of NorthEast money is buying multi-million dollar condos overlooking the bay, but home prices - even after a 50%+ increase in the last 3 years (including the recent slight drops), are still bargains compared to San Clemente.

Taxes - well nothing need to be said there.

We had to make a typical CA resident's choice for all but the top 5% as we reached Read More

Great place to visit but didn't like living here. - 2/11/2022
As always, anyone considering moving to anyplace new, including Sarasota, needs to come down and spend a month or two before actually moving here. The city is overrun with wealthy snobbish retirees, the cost of living is very high, and the heat and heavy humidity linger year round. It is like living in a sweaty armpit for most of the year. The beaches are beautiful but access to them is horrible because you can never find a parking spot. Insects, rodents, and reptiles are your year-round roommates. Unless you can afford to live in an uber-wealthy neighborhood and/or send the kids to a private school, the school aren't all that great. Traffic and crowds everywhere. As I said, try it out first before moving down Read More

antisocial - 7/5/2021
I lived in Sarasota for three years and I hated it. It's the most antisocial community I've ever lived in. Very unfriendly. I could cite multiple examples. Most people are transplants from the Northeast north of Virginia, or a military retiree. I'm 65 and a retired Read More

You can't go home again..... - 5/8/2021
You can't go home again. Left SRQ after high school and moved back 20 years later but it was already ruined by developers, crime, climate change and crummy politics. Luckily for me I inherited my family home with great views of the not polluted Sarasota Bay/Gulf. Home and car insurance is high. There a great funky underbelly but also a lot of snobby country club types who are as shallow as the water table. Traffic is horrible - almost all year round now. World class beaches - but bumper to bumper to get there. Like to drink - a great place. Look elsewhere - it's a big world. Read More

Living in Sarasota - 10/14/2020
I've lived in Sarasota for 8 years. The snowbird population is continuously rising which is contributing to horrible traffic, unaffordable housing and over crowded beaches and restaurants. The winter months weather is awesome but due to red tide pollution the beaches are not recommended unless you risk the chance of becoming ill. The quaint atmosphere of Sarasota is quickly fading due to rapid growth. Public housing expansion and homelessness are always on the political menu which is encouraging more crime. The median house price has been stated to be around $240,000. I strongly disagree. After house shopping off and on for numerous years the average price for a house in a low to medium neighborhood was closer to $350,000 and above. The house we are renting is almost 50 years old, less than 1500 square ft and was over $400,000 when the owner bought it. We have chosen to buy out of Sarasota. But I can see where people who can afford to live in the concrete high rise downtown in Read More

Sarasota an illusion. - 9/17/2020
Lived here 20 years. Gulf of Mexico is destroyed and polluted by cities dumping thousands of gallons of waste water into it. Crime swept under the rug. Huge drug problem. Homelessness galore. Astronomical housing prices. Horrible traffic. The museum is wonderful and the water is beautiful to look at. But it’s all a facade. Read More

Sarasota is Paradise! - 8/21/2019
Sarasota is paradise! We live in downtown Sarasota and walk almost everywhere. Within a 20 minute walking distance we access numerous delicious restaurants, 10 live performance theaters (Florida Studio Theater has 5 separate venues) and two movie theaters. Many of the restaurants have live music. The parks on Sarasota Bay provide beautiful opportunities to relax, exercise, walk the dog, paint, and more. Sarasota's commitment to the arts results in a year round schedule of festivals with artists from around the world expanding our horizons. I strongly recommend Sarasota for active Read More

Why We Liked, But Left, Sunny Sarasota - 1/4/2019
With white sandy beaches, a sunny climate and more cultural appeal than many other Floridian cities, Sarasota is a popular retirement destination- and with good reason. Haing lived there for a number of years, here are our lessons learned. While we ultimately chose to leave the sunshine state (and are very happy with our choice!) there are definitely some tempting draws.

First, the positives. With what has been voted the number one beach in America, Siesta Key’s white quartz sand and tropical blue waters offer year round family entertainment- free of charge... if you can get a parking place. The health care is great, downtown continues to undergo redevelopment and outlying communities offer easy proximity to golf courses, shopping (some of the malls offer concierge parking) and entertainment. The ballet, opera and West Coast Black Theatre Troupe are just a few of the cultural amenities on offer.

About 20 minutes drive from downtown, Lakewood Ranch has a Read More

Pathetic place! - 11/29/2018
In a word? Creepy! It’s really rundown, a downright scary place. I just can’t see the draw to this place! Jobs are non existent. Auto insurance is doubled from where I moved from. Costs are sky high and fir the life of me I can’t understand why? This place boasts a cultural arts scene, everything looks to me like it’s been dipped in water and left out to rust. “Country Clubs” have paper signs in front selling at 30% discount? The mall is ok at best, the beach has white sand, yes but junkies galore here, it’s scary to go to Publix. It’s depressing, zero restaurants worth the bother to dine. Dirty, filthy town that I find it hard to believe anyone would want to live in. Can’t imagine where someone could lived yo find this a paradise. Can’t wait to leave here! Read More