Is Sarasota Really the #1 Best Place to Live in Florida?

so let me guess your Florida dream it includes beaches Sunshine boating golfing and all kinds of outdoor activities it also has access to world class shopping dining entertainment and Resort style Living Well what if I told you there was one particular place in Florida that offered all of that and more in fact it's ranked the number one place to live in Florida and the fifth best in the United States in today's video we're exploring beautiful sunny Sarasota Florida to find out why it's more than just a typical Beach town and why you might want to call this place home if we're meeting here for the first time my name is wan alala I'm a licensed realtor with the true living group and we are on a mission to help you learn everything that there is to know about living in Sarasota Florida and if you'd like help moving into the area all of our contact information is down below feel free to reach out at any time now let's check out beautiful Sarasota and why so many people are choosing this city now let's be real Sarasota is blessed with some incredibly beautiful beaches that consistently rank amongst the best in the entire country there's Beach Crescent Beach Turtle Beach Longboat Key Beach but the one that takes the crown for the beautiful quartz crystal sand is none other than Siesta Key Beach now one of the things that fascinates me about cesty Beach is how cool the sand is to the touch even on a hot hot summer day talking about 95° you can step out in that sand and I don't know if you've visited a whole lot of beaches in the country but a lot of the times you step out on Sand and it's hot it burns your feet well that doesn't happen here cuz this incredible quartz sand it is so cool to the touch it's fascinating but one of the things to be aware of is the beach to your car is going to be a little bit of a hike the beach is actually really deep if you're going to bring a lot of gear you know you're talking about bringing chairs and an umbrella and some water and things like that maybe even a cooler you might want to bring one of those little carts you can rent them when you get here or purchase one but it'll make your life a lot less complicated but this is a great place to come sunbathe hang out people watch you can go find sand dollars down there there's all kinds of incredible Wildlife the beaches are crystal clear just a great place to hang out there's no doubt once you arrive here why this beach is ranked one of the best in the United States another thing that Sarasota is known for is its Rich culture and diversity according to niche.com Sarasota gets an a rating in diversity but let's talk about the art the culture the history that's really what makes this place so special Sarasota is a Haven for art enthusiasts the Ringling Museum showcases art and yes that's the Ringling Brothers if that's what you were thinking absolutely who that is and they showcase art that is super impressive spanning centuries we're talking about European masterpieces to modern-day masterpieces there's festivals Galleries and even art classes Performing Arts in a constant stream of live performances heck you can even catch the drum circle down on the beach you've got the Sarasota Opera the Sarasota ballet you can go explore the Sarasota History Museum and throughout the entire year there's a full calendar of activities and events that make living in Sarasota an absolute dream if if you look beyond the beaches there are still a ton of incredible activities that you can take advantage of in Sarasota I mean it's a playground for outdoor enthusiasts you can kayak through the mangroves to see a glimpse of Sarasota's hidden ecosystem it's full of a variety of birds fish manatees and even the occasional dolphin or you can paddle board through the bay in the waterways there's an abundance of really cool state parks here too many to mention now you get some really cool state parks like makaka State Park you can hike the trails go canoeing or even see an allig out sunbathing closer to the city you got Marie Shelby's botanical gardens this is an awesome spot as well Sarasota also has a really good biking infrastructure like Legacy Trail if you want to go out and take a Scenic ride and if you're into fishing Sarasota Bay is probably calling your name you got all kinds of incredible fish out there from snook red fish Tarpon and even sharks the beauty of Sarasota is literally endless you've got to experience this for yourself because it is anything but boring and now we're getting into one of my favorite Parts about loving where you live and that is living in a Foodies Paradise Sarasota has a lot to offer one of my favorite places to go eat is in St Armen circle now you don't have to just choose one spot when you go to St Armen Circle there are a lot of dining opportunities but I'm going to give you three of my personal favorites you can go eat at the Columbia Restaurant which is absolutely lights out now that is a sad light of the Columbia Restaurant that is in ebore city in Tampa so keep that in mind if you want the original you can go there they've got flamco dancers the whole thing is unbelievable but you are are not going to be disappointed at the food here so go check this out the second one on my list is the clan bar if you're into Seafood this is an excellent restaurant you've got everything from oysters to the local Catch of the Day go check this place out make sure you walk in with a empty stomach cuz they are going to serve you right and the third restaurant on this list which actually is one of the coolest ones I've ever been to is Shore it's on the second story there's a little small boutique under there where they had clothing really really nice shop to go into but when you go upstairs this restaurant offers incredible meals you have everything from American Cuisine to of course world class Seafood but one of the most unique features about this restaurant is it actually has a convertible roof so make sure that you get reservations for the evening right at Sunset because this place is mind-blowing you're sitting in there and as long as the weather is not too hot they start pulling back that roof and you're dining under the stars and what an incredible experience you're not going to be disappointed if you go check out store and you can find everything here guys there's Pizza there's Thai food if you want it they have it there's incredible sweet shops as well for those of you who have that killer sweet tooth that you just never get it satisfied incredible incredible dining experiences and I only talked about St Arman Circle we're talking about an entire city you can go downtown everywhere there's so much great dining here in Sarasota it will not disappoint and speaking of downtown this is one of the reasons why Sarasota's consistently ranked one of the best places in America to live if you stroll down Main Street you're going to find find friendly people shops restaurants boutiques historic and modern architecture that's where the Sarasota Art Museum and the ballet that we spoke about earlier is located it's extremely walkable you can just park your car get out and walking again you can go eat your way drink your way Shop Your Way all up and down Main Street it's awesome and if you decide to live downtown in a condo you've got all the modern amenities right there at your fingertips You' got grocery stores and Banks everything you need is right there your fingertips so this is an incredible place to call home and obviously Florida is known for being the sunshine state and Sarasota has an abundance of it as well with over 255 days of sun on average every single year it's incredible our mild winners we average tempts in the 60s in the summer it can get hot y'all we are kind of turning into that phase right now where we're hitting the '90s already in July August September those are by far the hottest months you know we're talking mid90s in terms of temperatures you know heat indexes will definitely push 100 I'm sharing it keeping it real with you guys because a lot of people choose to purchase a second home or a vacation home in Sarasota or they vacation away in the Summers if they're able to and they'll go places like you know up north to Michigan or to the Carolinas and experience a little bit more inclement weather if you will I'm sorry a little bit more uh mild weather in terms of a summer because it can get really hot so I just want to share that with you because one of the things that people say is Florida's a blast furnace and what you will find is you do start to acclimatize I never shared this earlier but we moved from Detroit Michigan a little over 5 and A2 years ago and the first year we are here my air conditioner was set at 70° every year since then this is our sixth summer now the temperature in the house has creeped up 1° and the reason that happens is because when it's 90 or 95° outside and you come into a 70° home there is a huge swing in temperature there and actually feels really cold I was making fun of my wife Kate we were in downtown Tampa it was 90 GRE it was a little bit overcast and Kate had like this crocheted overshirt kind of thing on and I was just poking fun at her I was like it is literally happened you are now a Floridian officially right you're wearing a a knitted sweater if you will outdoors in the middle of the summer it just blew my mind but this is kind of normal when you live in Florida you do start to get used to those things just keep that in mind but the sunshine is abundant you will love it here if you are a sun worshipper you are not going to be disappointed the city of Sarasota is not just another Beach Town another reason why it's the best place to live is because of its incredible high quality of living it thrives on exceptional Services amenities that continue to attract people to the area it's got top rated public and private schools which continue to rank at the top of the entire State of Florida in terms of healthcare you've got Sarasota Memorial Hospital which is nationally recognized for its patient care Sarasota is also a city that prioritizes safety creating a secure environment for its residents you've also got worldclass golf great libraries and community centers it has high quality infrastructure maintain roads which is super important to most of us and even a decent public transportation system if you throw in the fact that Florida doesn't have a state income tax or an estate tax it makes Sarasota financially attractive and a place where you can keep more of that hard-earned money in your pocket now what you're probably wondering is Juan what does it cost to live in Sarasota now when it comes to buying a home in Sarasota this is definitely not going to be an inexpensive place to pick up a property over the last 3 days the average single family home that sold was a three-bedroom three bath and it was 2177 ft and in order to make that purchase you had to have $868,000 now to be honest that was probably an off-market deal or a family member transferring one property to another because at the top end of this list it cost $9.5 million in the last 30 days to pick up a home on the highend if condo living is more your speed you could pick one of those up they average ated two bedrooms two bath 1470 ft and on average cost 64662 at the time of this recording now the price range over the last 30 days was as low as $135,000 again probably one of those scenarios we just talked about to as high as $1.5 Million Man Sarah you can spend as much as you want when it comes to living in this beautiful area that's for sure so as you can see calling Sarasota home and living in one of the best places in the United States is not going to be inexpensive however it is going to be an incredible experience if you are interested in potentially moving to the area all of my contact information is listed down below there's even a link to my calendar we make videos that are all thanks to Tampa Bay if you want to learn more about the area maybe Sarasota's not right for you maybe you're thinking Tampa maybe you're thinking St Peete clear water whatever it is just know when it comes to that time we've got your back and until next time and as always go out and live that Tampa life [Music]