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Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor - have visited Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor, but not Safety Harbor. Maybe not what we're looking for, no one has recommended any of them based on my criteria.
I currently live in this area, and Safety Harbor and Dunedin fit just about all of your criteria. Safety Harbor in particular for the age of the general population (steers older.)
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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Lakewood Ranch, Palmer Ranch - need to visit and compare them. Never been to either one. Not sure I could find a home style I like. LWR seems way too popular and booming for me.
Both Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch are planned communities and while styles have changed over the past 2 decades, you'll find that most neighborhoods within these communities are pretty cookie cutter in style. For some people that's a positive, probably not for you from your previous comments.
Lakewood Ranch is expanding exponentially, mainly east (Manatee county) and south (into Sarasota county) at this time. LWR is always one of the top 3 best planned communities in the nation, so yes, very popular and constantly growing. What most people notice about Lakewood Ranch is that the streets are all landscaped and that landscape is well maintained, there are lots of sidewalks and walking trails, several decent sized community parks, lots of amenities located within LWR. Unless you get into the million dollar range, the lots tend to be narrow, with 45 - 55 foot wide lots common. Most of the communities come with loads of community amenities such as clubhouses with pools & fitness centers, pickle ball courts, etc. LWR is very socially active in that the master community has quite the activities & events calendar running all year long for residents to mix and mingle.
Palmer Ranch is somewhat different. Also maintained, but much less in the way of intricate landscaping. The older home communities have wider and larger lots, so homes are spaced further apart. Those communities tend to have community pools and perhaps a small clubhouse (meeting room & perhaps small kitchen) but few other amenities. The newer communities start at about mid Palmer Ranch on the eastern side, along I-75 and run south all the way to Nokomis (north Venice area). Lots in these newer communities are similar to Lakewood Ranch in width and size, similar amenities, etc. In fact, some of the main builders in Lakewood Ranch also build in Palmer Ranch, so it's the same models, floor plans, etc. Palmer Ranch itself is vastly different from Lakewood Ranch in that there's very little in the way of commercial building located within the Ranch -- no shopping centers, recreation centers, churches, office parks, etc. Palmer Ranch doesn't offer a lot in the way of nature trails except for the Legacy Trail, which runs now from Venice north all the way into the downtown Sarasota area.
Venice, Punta Gorda - Have been to both, never actually went to "downtown" Venice Island though. No one has really recommended either of them based on my criteria. Nearby, Englewood and Rotonda West are sleeper choices ... not really what we're looking for but have stayed many times and this area has a place in our hearts.
Can't answer for Punta Gorda, although considering the hurricane damage there I would not suggest putting that one on a list any time soon as a number of homes and businesses were severely damaged. Charlotte county was especially hard hit by our last hurricane.
Venice Island is a fantastic community that meets a lot of your criteria. The homes are not cookie cutter, no large master planned neighborhoods. Some of the neighborhoods have their own deeded beach accesses, others are a short distance from public beach access locations. The downside is that most of it is not deed restricted so goes by city set standards and not everyone keeps their properties (especially some of the rentals) in pristine condition. You are very close to downtown Venice from anywhere on Venice Island and the historic downtown is host to a lot of restaurants and events all year round but mainly in the winter months. Prices are the issue there, they have gone up substantially over the past 3 years, although leveling off now. You also need to keep in mind that some (but not all) of the island is located within a flood zone, all of it within a wind zone for insurance purposes.
One thing worth mentioning when searching for homes in FL -- keep in mind that not all properties located on water are in flood zones and that homes with no obvious water features nearby may still be located within a designated flood zone. Always check the flood zone map on properties you are considering for flood zone status.
Dunedin and Safety Harbor aren’t a bad fit, but you’ll still run into the occasional house that’s not being maintained. They’re nice cities though with a lot of character, I’d live in either. In fact, I keep an eye on the neighborhoods west of Bayshore in Dunedin/Palm Harbor in case the right waterfront home comes on the market.
Dunedin and Safety Harbor aren’t a bad fit, but you’ll still run into the occasional house that’s not being maintained. They’re nice cities though with a lot of character, I’d live in either. In fact, I keep an eye on the neighborhoods west of Bayshore in Dunedin/Palm Harbor in case the right waterfront home comes on the market.
Venice Island is pretty good, but over budget.
Yes, and Safety Harbor is pretty small, nothing like the "urban vibe" the OP originally wanted. I also do not consider it that "upscale." I agree I do like the area, though, it's charming.
Venice Island is also very small, I can't imagine that some of these smaller communities will fill the OP's needs based on her posts.
Lastly, I don't know why Tallahassee or Gainesville is even being considered since OP did not want to be around all the university students. For older demographics (the OP wants) I still say Sarasota is best fit; of course Venice is as well since it is even older.
Yes, and Safety Harbor is pretty small, nothing like the "urban vibe" the OP originally wanted. I also do not consider it that "upscale." I agree I do like the area, though, it's charming.
Venice Island is also very small, I can't imagine that some of these smaller communities will fill the OP's needs based on her posts.
Lastly, I don't know why Tallahassee or Gainesville is even being considered since OP did not want to be around all the university students. For older demographics (the OP wants) I still say Sarasota is best fit; of course Venice is as well since it is even older.
Safety Harbor itself is small, yes, but the overall area is quite big. Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, kind of all mesh into each other.
Come to think of it, Oldsmar might be worth a glance. Nearby East Lake would throw you into the more "upscale" vibes, but you're sacrificing the mature landscapes and non-Florida cookie-cutter homes for the most part, save for a select few areas.
You mentioned liking Haile Plantation and that part of Gainesville. The thing about Gainesville is the college student areas can easily be avoided. Most of the professionals live in the northwest and southwest communities and don't go to UF unless they work there or want to watch a game or need medical care. You won't find many students in Tioga. Oakmont and the other upscale neighborhoods west of Haile. Many large homes $500k+ which is expensive for this area but cheap compared to other parts of Florida.
A wild card is High Springs if you like nature and being near Florida's springs to go tubing and kayaking. It has a very cute downtown area and lots of new housing and developments.. This is definitely outside the student zone and more a rural small town area but with the convenience of being 30 minutes to all the big box shopping, restaurants, and major medical Gainesville has to offer.
Here are places we're considering and main concern(s) for each:
Tallahassee - Midtown to northeast - need to research about crime/safety particularly for midtown area. Real estate inventory seems very low for both rentals and purchase. Only places we've been in Tallahassee are Whole Foods and airport.
Avondale Jacksonville - it may be too young and hip for me, real estate inventory low, need to research more about crime/safety. Never been to Jacksonville.
St. Augustine - just starting to look into this location, I actually don't mind tourist presence but maybe tourism level of St. Augustine would be too much? Have never visited.
Haile Plantation Gainesville - This one is in our top 3 for sure. Only concerns are it is somewhat near a large college and we already lived an hour south of Gainesville so it would feel a little anticlimactic to end up in the same part of the state that we left. But even though it's similar to our previous location, I think the big difference would be level of convenience/access to grocery and restaurants. We stayed right outside Haile for a month and walked around Haile almost daily during that time.
Winter Park, Oviedo, Mt Dora - maybe too many college-age people. Have been to Winter Park, never been to Oviedo or Mt. Dora.
Melbourne Beach, Vero Beach, Sebastian - We stayed in Melbourne Beach for a month, there is a specific neighborhood we like there, the overall area is maybe not quite what we're looking for? We stayed in Sebastian for a month, no downtown. Learning more about Vero Beach, looking for the right neighborhood, wondering if I'd like downtown, have been cautioned there are bad parts of town and then others have said Vero Beach is "very much about the 1%" so I don't know what to make of Vero. Have visited but not spent any real time exploring, never saw downtown.
Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor - have visited Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor, but not Safety Harbor. Maybe not what we're looking for, no one has recommended any of them based on my criteria.
Westchase, Wesley Chapel, Hyde Park Tampa - for the entire Tampa / central west FL area I'm concerned about sink holes. Have been to Wesley Chapel, never been to Westchase or Hyde Park. Hyde Park probably way too young and hip for me.
Downtown Sarasota - Have been to the beach on Siesta Key many times but never downtown. Somewhat unrealistic for our budget, but we could get a condo. Very concerned about homeless in this area based on news reports, warnings from city-data forum members, and youtube videos showing homeless men jumping on cars, peeing everywhere. Also worried about the crowd I'd encounter in downtown Sarasota, I'm looking for understated upscale, the level of wealth and affluence here might be too much for me.
Lakewood Ranch, Palmer Ranch - need to visit and compare them. Never been to either one. Not sure I could find a home style I like. LWR seems way too popular and booming for me.
Venice, Punta Gorda - Have been to both, never actually went to "downtown" Venice Island though. No one has really recommended either of them based on my criteria. Nearby, Englewood and Rotonda West are sleeper choices ... not really what we're looking for but have stayed many times and this area has a place in our hearts.
Jupiter, Delray, Boca Raton - Probably over budget but these have been recommended. Never been to any of them so no idea if they fit what we're looking for.
Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood around Young Circle - have to admit I am very curious about these. Have done many vacations to Fort Lauderdale as a kid with my family but also one trip with husband. Hollywood I've only passed through, never spent any real time exploring. These are the types of popular areas I could actually go for because they are long-term popular. I will take this opportunity to mention there is one type of "hip" I can get into - areas where the hip comes from the gay community, not the young straight community. Husband is resistant to southeast FL, thinks it is too overpopulated, too expensive, and not a good fit for us. Also I have never really lived in a large city so maybe I'd be overwhelmed.
Coral Gables - very expensive but some condos in our price range. I can not imagine living in the Miami area. I just think of it as the plastic surgery capital of FL and again the level of wealth would most likely be way too much for me.
Plan is to gather as many viable options as possible, narrow down to a top 3, monitor the rental market in those locations, grab a rental when the right one pops up, take some time to explore, then buy in a year or two, once we're sure we like a place.
Yes I've started researching DeLand based on your recommendation kyle, thank you! The reason it doesn't appear in that long list of places I posted is because you and I were typing posts at the same time, so I only saw your DeLand suggestion after I hit submit post.
I realized there's one part of my bullet point wishlist that could be confusing / misinterpreted. I said we don't want a "typical FL home style built between 1990s-present." Just to clarify what I mean - I tend to be more drawn to the architectural exteriors and "bones" of homes built before the early 90s. Which is obviously problematic since they were not built to modern codes. I may start another thread at some point asking specifically about this issue (owning an older property in FL), but my ideal scenario would probably be to find a home built more recently that has a design aesthetic I like.
I'm drawn to clean, more linear, a little bit sleek, not a lot of ornate detail or visual "clutter." That clean, flat, sharp design aesthetic is the unifying quality across several different architectural styles I enjoy - for example modern, classic / timeless, even Mediterranean or Spanish as long as it's a visually clean, spare, restrained interpretation of those styles. I seem to really like 80s houses - I think maybe they'd be categorized as 80s contemporary. I could post examples of properties that catch my eye but the variety might confuse people.
Another thing I want to mention is that in a more urban setting without a lot of landscaping, trees, etc., the surrounding buildings can substitute for those elements to create an atmosphere that feels established, firmly mature, finished.
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