Sarasota

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Great Outdoors    Good Sports    Hot Times in the City    Shop 'til You Drop    Nightlife    College Scene    Just for Seniors

For a comparatively small town, Sarasota has it all--culture, climate, class. The city's name probably derives from the Spanish sarao sota, which means "a place of dancing."

Many historians of popular and high culture suggest that what really launched Sarasota as a cultural mecca was John and Mable Ringling's love affair with the region. The Ringlings established a cultural cachet that continues to influence the community. They bequeathed a major museum and its collection--including enormous oil paintings by John Paul Rubens and another 600-plus artistic masterpieces, mostly European. As part of the generous gift, the couple included their own extraordinary mansion and an impressive collection of object d'arts and circus memorabilia. When the state took over, it added the exquisite Asolo Theatre and a circus museum to house the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey objects. From this nucleus the city and county built an arts infrastructure that has attracted artists and art lovers. It's said that Sarasota is home to nearly four times as many performing artists as any other part of the state.

Home Sweet Home

"It's really been a healthy real estate market in Sarasota, and it looks like it will continue to be," says the Sarasota Association of Realtors, which has 2,000 Realtor members. "Interest rates are holding steady. People can afford to buy homes." In Sarasota County, the median sales price for an existing single-family home is about $129,400, but the average price of all residential property is $161,000. In the $115,000-$165,000 range, buyers will find attractive three-bedroom/two-bath properties complete with two-car garages. Sarasota is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the median price for existing single-family homes is $129,400 in 1999, up 9 percent from 1998.

In the $130,000 to $165,000 range, houses might be 2,000 square feet, but sizes and prices vary, of course, depending upon locations and amenities. Homes in gated communities run $200,000 and up. Condominiums represent about 30 percent of residential sales. Many are two bedroom/two bath. Whether single-family or condominium, property on the water is valued by folks in the high-end bracket. "Waterfront is where the premium prices are," says the Sarasota Association of Realtors. For people moving to the area, access to water often takes on emotional importance. Some have always imagined a waterfront home in Florida. "If they have the money, they'll often pay the [higher] price [for a home on the water]."

Vital Stats

Sarasota County is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Population: 528,803
Median age: 51.2
New citizens: 4,760 annually
New job creation: 3.7 percent since (1999)
Unemployment rate: 1.9 percent August, 1999
Cost of living: 101.26 percent for Sarasota County (U.S. average=100 percent)
Per capita income: $35,062
Median household effective buying income: $34,448

Rain & Shine

Seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit for an annual average year-round temperature is close to perfection--and that's the average temperature in Sarasota. Humidity averages from 58 to 88 percent. Summer is the rainy season, so most of the county's annual rainfall of about 57 inches arrives during the warmest months and often in the late afternoon, when a cooling shower is most appreciated.

Job Market

With low unemployment and an active incentive program to attract and keep businesses, Sarasota County's economic outlook remains positive. Although most of its workers are employed, many work in service industries. For part of 1996, the Sarasota-Bradenton MSA ranked third--behind Las Vegas and Orlando--in percentage of non-farm workers in service jobs (41.33 percent). On the other hand, annual sales approaching $450 million and 8,000 jobs in Sarasota County are arts related.

A list of the county's top 10 employers illustrates the economic clout of the service industry; only Vinyl Tech Inc., a vinyl enclosure maker, is considered a manufacturer. Among major job providers are Sarasota County School Board (3,731); Publix Grocery (2,591); Sarasota County government (1,927); Venice Hospital Health Care (1,600); Doctors Hospital Health Care (1,100); Winn-Dixie Grocery (750); Vinyl Tech Inc.(from 675 to 750); Sarasota Herald Tribune (635); GTE of Florida Telecommunications (604); and Riscorp Insurance (415). Other manufacturing firms in the top 20 in addition to Vinyl Tech include Sun Hydraulics (400), Vico Technologies (260) and Klockner Packaging (160).

Class Notes

Extensive information about the schools in this area is online at the state's Department of Education (http://www.firn.edu/doe/doehome.htm). There you'll discover everything you'll need to know about Florida schools -- in general and in particular. All you need is the name of your county and the names of the schools students from your neighborhood attend.

Use links from the DOE home page for general information about entrance requirements, immunizations and so forth.

For the nitty-gritty details that really matter, click on the logo for the "Florida School Indicators Report."

Getting Around

Interstate Highway 75 runs north and south through western Sarasota County. U.S. Highway 41, a.k.a. the Tamiami Trail, almost parallels I-75; it's even farther west, close to the coastline and heavily traveled. The local mass transit system sports an impressive time-conscious acronym. It's called the Sarasota County Auto Transit (SCAT) and runs from the international airport on the north to the Englewood area on the south. Monday through Saturday, the Sarasota Trolley transports travelers around downtown Sarasota. Siesta Key and Venice also provide trolley service for the very reasonable fee of $1 per day. Railroad freight service is available via CSX and Seminole Gulf. Greyhound also services the area.

The Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, just north of Sarasota's city limits, serves approximately 1.7 million passengers with more than 50 daily flights provided by eight major carriers and seven commuter lines. Tampa International Airport is also comparatively convenient. Offering a 5,000 foot asphalt-surface runway, Venice Municipal Airport welcomes many private pilots to its south-county location. Twenty miles away from Sarasota in the other direction, the Port of Manatee offers deep-water berths; 52 miles away and also to the north, even more deep-water berths are part of the Port of Tampa facilities.

Great Outdoors

Sarasota's beaches and keys are exquisite. Locals and visitors admire its 35 miles of coastline. Newcomers discover that Longboat Key's public beaches are notoriously hard to find, but 13 access points do exist--if you know where to find them. Off Longboat Key, visit Beer Can Island (a.k.a. Greer Island Park), whose misleading name might cause you to miss its many beauties. It's wild, wonderful and inaccessible by automobile. And don't miss Lido Key, Siesta Key and Casey Key. Siesta Key won top honors among 30 beaches--including some in the Bahamas--in the 1987 Great International White Sand Challenge. Not too far away is a place Sarasotans consider their own secret hideaway, beautiful Boca Grande, with its two lighthouses, lush tropical plants and uncluttered beaches.

For the natural beauty of interior Florida, visit Myakka State Park, east of Sarasota on Route 72. Cabbage palms, laurels, live oaks and longleaf pines adorn this home to opossum, armadillo and wild pigs. Myakka rates as Florida's largest state park. Camping and canoeing are available. Tram tours and airboat rides are alternatives for those who want to go beyond nature trails. Another place to get up close to natural wonders is the Lake Manatee State Recreation Area on Route 64 east of I-75 in neighboring Manatee County. It's a 556-acre setting surrounding a lake almost five times as large. Also worth seeing: the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and Pelican Man's Sanctuary, both in Sarasota.

Good Sports

Since the 19th century, when Scottish settlers built a two-hole course here, Sarasota County has proven a golfer's delight; it sports 65 public and private courses and offers appropriate challenges for golfers of every skill level. It's estimated that 50 percent of the population of Sarasota and Manatee counties actually plays golf. While this sounds like an extraordinarily high number, when one considers the many well-heeled retirees who make Sarasota and Bradenton their home, it may not be too far off. Tennis is popular, too. One of the state's three main polo facilities is here; there's even a disc golf course. Water sports of every variety--parasailing, sailing and boating, fishing, snorkeling, diving, canoeing and kayaking--lead the list but don't exhaust water-centered activities.

Although a minor league baseball team, the Sarasota Red Sox, plays here from April through August, for most professional sports, spectators may wish to make the easy commute to Tampa or St. Petersburg. The Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and the Florida Sharks of the U.S. Basketball League are convenient. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League provide football action. Many big-league teams train in the area, but for a Major League team of its own, the area awaits 1998 when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays throw out their first pitch in St. Petersburg.

Hot Times in the City

A 90-member musical group, the Sarasota-Manatee Community Orchestra, plays concerts at the Van Wetzel auditorium; this is also where the 100-member Sarasota Pops perform four annual concerts. Opera season, sponsored by the Sarasota Opera Association, ushers in four operas renowned for high quality. Other musical organizations of note include the Jazz Club of Sarasota, the Key Chorale, La Musica, the New Gloria Musicae Singers and the Sarasota Concert Band. Film and dance are encouraged and supported enthusiastically. Theatrical productions are plentiful. The Asolo Theatre Company, Florida Studio Theatre, Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, Theatre Works Inc. and Players of Sarasota are all busy on the boards. Numerous art galleries, centers and schools take their cue from the first-rate John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. If you come to Sarasota, be sure to see its collection and the nearby Ca' d'Zan (House of John) Ringling mansion.

The events calendar is crowded year-round in Sarasota. Winter brings the Greek Festival, the Italian Feast & Carnival, the Sarasota Festival of the Arts and the justly famous Medieval Fair, Sarasota's biggest annual bash. Spring inaugurates the county fair, the International Chamber Music Festival and the Sarasota Jazz Festival. Summer arrives with the Sarasota Music Festival, Fourth of July fireworks, a series of Concerts in the Park and a Festival of New Plays, three weekends devoted to original drama by Florida writers. Autumn offers A Taste of Sarasota, the St. Armands Art Festival, the Annual Blues Fest and the Sarasota French Film Festival.

Kids like visiting Snooty the Manatee at nearby Bradenton's South Florida Museum, learning more about sea creatures at the Mote Marine Science Aquarium in Sarasota and experimenting with static electricity or touching live snakes at the very hands-on Gulf Coast World of Science in Sarasota. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa is a drive, but will delight youngsters. Also available are commercial fun machines such as Pirates Cove in Bradenton (go-carting, arcade games, batting cages) or Dream Machine and Discovery Zone here in Sarasota. You'll discover Pelican Pete's Playland a few miles south in Englewood.

Shop 'til You Drop

Sarasota Square Mall's 90 stores include specialty shops and anchors Dilliard's, JCPenney, Burdines and Sears. It's easy to find on Tamiami Trail. On another section of the famous highway, sits the recently expanded South Gate Mall, featuring Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard's, Burdines and many other retail establishments. The area boasts two outlet malls: the Sarasota Outlet Center and the Gulf Coast Factory Shops.

Famous all over Florida, St. Armands Circle consists of 150 boutiques, galleries and specialty stores of various types. Locals favor downtown's Palm Avenue, where many upscale designers have located, for interior decor shopping. Venice offers interesting shops in its quaint downtown section; Siesta Key and Longboat Key provide eclectic--and often exclusive--shopping options.

Nightlife

Cha-Cha Coconuts plays progressive rock and reggae at its club near St. Armands Circle. If your idea of the perfect nightspot includes New York ambience and jazz notes, try the Downunder Bar on the Quay's first floor. For hot, high-energy tunes in a laser light, video and sound environment, the young crowd gathers at In Extremis. Downtown's Gator Club features top-40, too, but also jazz and blues on occasion. Its decor reminds many of Rick's Club of Casablanca fame. For an entertainment/dining duo, select Paradise Cafe.

Safe bets for that special dinner include Charley's Crab Restaurant or Cafe l'Europe on St. Armands, the Colony Restaurant in Longboat Key's posh Colony Beach and Tennis Resort or Hemingway's, Michael's On East and Carmichael's in town. Sarasota is home to several other memorable eateries, including the Alley Cat Cafe, The Bijou Cafe, David Michael's and Chez Sylvie. Michael's on East won a 1997 Golden Spoon (Top 20) from Florida Trend. And Michael's Seafood Grille on Sarasota Quay made the magazine's 1997 list of 20 best new restaurants.

On Longboat Key, '90s music or tunes emanating from the piano bar greet patrons of the Buccaneer Inn; so does a pirate character in costume. Contemporary entertainment and sunset views highlight offerings at the Hilton Longboat Key Beach Resort. Don't miss the Haye Loft at the Euphemia Haye Restaurant; it's a good place to hear a keyboard/singer combo or a jazz trio in a cozy upstairs lounge. If you don't mind paying fine-dining prices, stay for dinner. Resort casual attire is appropriate and desserts divine, but meals are pricey, so bring your plastic.

College Scene

More than 8,000 students matriculate at Manatee Community College, part of the public, two-year, coed junior college system. Many more people of all ages enroll for enrichment classes and activities. The Bradenton campus is located nearby in south Manatee County; the Venice campus is in Sarasota County.

The University of South Florida's highly rated honors college--New College--is in Sarasota. Eckerd College, a private, liberal arts school based in St. Petersburg maintains a Sarasota presence through its Program for Experienced Learners (PEL). Small at 300 students, the University of Sarasota specializes in graduate programs in education and business administration. At the Ringling School of Art and Design, creative visual artists study at the established and widely recognized studio-based school. The Stetson University College of Law is in neighboring St. Petersburg; the University of Tampa and Tampa College are also within commuting distance.

Just for Seniors

Sarasota seniors are active; they're busy playing bridge or shuffleboard, golf or tennis, making things or helping others. But for those who need a little help, a range of services providing for health screening, transportation, legal assistance, congregate meals, home-delivered meals and homemakers is at hand--as is an Alzheimer's Respite program that offers short breaks for stressed-out caregivers of those with the progressive mental disease.

Located in Fort Myers, the Area Agency on Aging's Planning and Service Area 8 coordinates a network of such services for those 60 or older living within its seven-county segment, which includes Sarasota County. Many services are free; others are available on a sliding scale based upon the recipient's ability to pay. Call the Senior Friendship Center at 941/955-2122 for information on services and activities available. An information and referral specialist familiar with all the senior services and programs in the county will guide you to the agency or senior center that meets your needs--whether social, physical or mental.