Looking for the best town on the Gulf

Help me out locals- my girlfriend and I (early 30%26#39;s) are considering an extended vacation or possibly even moving to the Gulf Coast area. Don%26#39;t know much about it but we heard Ft myers, St. Pete, Siesta Key and Destin are all nice. We live in Seattle now... enough said? Where should we look? Any young, vibrant beach towns/ neighborhoods, with upscale shopping, intelligent and diverse residents, culture, etc? We like the benefits of our city life, but a good margarita on a sunny beach would be fantastic! Please help... we need to dry out!

Looking for the best town on the Gulf

we live in sarasota, and have been here for 15 yrs (we moved when we were in our mid thirties). We are professionals, and have our social community. first off, no, there are no young towns in florida. i say that tongue in cheek, but also not. when we go anywhere else, we are always struck by the number of young people...elsewhere. that being said, i think sarasota is growing, and growing with younger people. it is a fairly ';hip';, intelligent place, definitley with upscale shopping, and beautiful beaches (siesta key, and other keys), and some culture. i am from new york, and a bit spoiled as far as culture goes, but we do have an opera house, several local theatres (again, not like NY), a concert hall, with real performers, etc. we like our slower, warmer, gentler lifestyle, but we also miss ';the real world';. it is also more politically conservative here than in the northeast. hope this helps--ask more questions if you have them.....

Looking for the best town on the Gulf

Lemstar gave a nice summary of some of the features offered in Sarasota. Sounds as if that area might be a prime option for the lifestyle you are seeking.

Thanks for the info Lemstar- We are somewhat afraid of the Florida I remember from childhood- Going from NY to see the grandparents in their little gated community with nothing to do other than walk to a pastel colored strip mall. We are afraid of dollar stores, far right wing Republicans (sorry if that offends), non-gay friendly people, etc. We like to be able to walk to our local Starbucks, wine bar (or margarita bar depending on the mood!), art gallery etc. We can afford maybe a %26lt;400K house. Any particular niighborhood (close to the beach I hope) that might fit the bill? Anywhere that you think might be up and coming for these things? Thanks again.

I would say that if money isn%26#39;t an option, you may want to live in Seaside. That%26#39;s really the best, although it is a little further North than the Sota areas.

If you can%26#39;t think of what Seaside looks like, go rent the movie ';The Truman Show';. That%26#39;s Seaside. It%26#39;s a really small, quaint town. But ex-pen-sive. Like tourists who don%26#39;t know what a WalMart is go there (a children%26#39;s Teeshirt....$40)

My roommate in Pensacola used to work there for the summer months and she liked to talk about the ';Seaside Bubble'; or ';Truman Bubble'; because it%26#39;s like sunny all the time there, even if a storm is raging across the panhandle. Although they%26#39;re not supposed to do it, many summer visitors will walk the streets and shop with their glass of wine or such.

There%26#39;s a couple of great restaurants and bars, and a great bookstore (real eclectic).

Seaside would be between Destin and Panama City. Destin has gorgeous beaches, dolphins swimming around the shore and blah blah blah.

Downside? It gets colder there than here (in Sarasota). And there is a riptide some days, although it is worse near Pensacola and Ft. Walton than Seaside.

Sarasota and Ft Meyers around here is BOOMING. house prices are still increasing faster than I can shake a stick at. Age is still older though. This place is perfect for the snobirds. I lived in Tampa and that has a younger feel (probably because it is more of a city). Lot%26#39;s of young hip things to do there.

Ft. Meyers is sprouting new houses and movie theaters every day, but there is a lot of driving you%26#39;ll still have to do to get to other places. Older crowd.

I%26#39;m new here but most everything seems to be pretty much here in Sarasota so you wouldn%26#39;t have to drive as much as Ft. Meyers. It has a small town feel, but there is a bit of a sprawl.

Siesta Key has a similar quaint feel as Seaside, just a lot more traffic nearby. The beaches are really the same white sugary beaches (Siesta vs Seaside) except that Siesta seems to have more shell pieces. There is a vibrant artsy feel around here, I%26#39;ll say that.

Seaside you would have to drive to either Destin or Panama City for like big nights out. There is nothing around Seaside...well a lot of pine forests that are making way for condos, but you know what I%26#39;m saying. And Sarasota has a much more mixing of cultures than Seaside (major downside to Seaside actually). Probably why all of the festivities and vibrant art around here are better.

Fla is really conservative most areas. Much to the constant amazement of the rest of the country for some reason. So much so that many counties allow Democrats to vote in the Republican primaries when there%26#39;s no opposition. I have a friend up in Seattle going to school and she and her husband can%26#39;t wait to get back to conservative Florida.

Remember, it is really hot in Florida. Things will die/spoil in your car if left there for like 5 minutes in the summer. I%26#39;m exaggerating, but not by much.

Tampa seems younger than here, but no beaches. Tampa is about an hour drive from Sarasota.

St. Pete is older, but trying to revitalize their downtown to the younger crowd.

Some observations.

morph--

be afraid, very afraid. it is the florida you remember (right wing, pastel, early bird dinners), BUT we live here and like it anyway. i would be lying to say i didnt miss the ';real world';. i do. but i choose to remain here, and cultivated my group of friends. as far as gay friendly, there are lots of gay people here, as it is an artsy community, which also makes it somewhat cool. as far as which neighborhood, what a loaded question. no kids? or no plans for kids? do you want a condo? a house? a yard? do you have pets? if you want to live right on the water, or even a few blocks away, i dont think $400,000 would get you much. but you could get a house for that much a mile or two or three away, or maybe four. beware: there are lots of gated pastel communities with deed restrictions. we live east of the interstate now, with over an acre, no gate although the neighborhood people are talking about one (i dont want it), some deed restricitons although not overwhelming ones. all of your fears will be realized, i am afraid to say, but so will your dreams too. you have to weigh it out, but to be honest, your fears are real. then again, we are very left, from new york, and enjoy the climate, slower pace, cheaper cost of living, etc. ask more questions if you like....

oh, and i dont think seaside fits your bill. and we do have several starbucks here, although not on every block. tampa/st pete are options for you as well, with more of the city feel, but sarasota has many of the benefits of a city (cultural, etc), but also has a small town feel.

ask more.....

Wow, Lemstar you are being extremely helpful. Strongbad, thanks for the advice as well.

I guess the description of my needs was rather vague Lemstar and I was afraid you might confirm my fears as well. No kids, no plans for any, love dogs, artsy towns, the beach. A house with a pool and yard by the beach would be ideal but probably not affordable. Gay brother in the family who we would want to feel comfortable coming to visit. We are certainly not big partiers anymore, but we do apprciate being socially and physically active. Whether it%26#39;s meeting friends for a wine tasting or meeting the guys for our Sunday softball game, we appreciate having the options. I guess it%26#39;s all a trade off. We love the city of Seattle, but the weather is atrocious for 9 months of the year, the traffic is awful, and we are priced out of our housing market. As much as Florida seems like a possible remedy for things, we are really concerned about how vastly out of our element both culturally and socially we would feel there.

Better idea now?

dont get me wrong. i think sarasota might fit your bill. as far as the gay thing, that would be fine here. i have more gay friends here than i did in NY. why not come here for an extended visit? i definitely think you would want to rent before buying anyway, as there are many different areas in sarasota, with different personalities. no, you would not be buying a house by the beach with a yard in sarasota for $400,000. maybe in a different area, but i think you want the cultural/artsy faction sarasota offers. there is plenty to do, especially in the great outdoors. the air is clean, the weather is great (it gets cold, ie in the 40s in the winter), lots of cool wildlife. people have smaller yards here as the landscaping/mowing is yearround, the grass isnt soft-roll-around-on-it grass. people focus more on their lanais and pools than their yards. but like i said, we have over an acre, fenced in, with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a bearded dragon.

have you ever been to sarasota? come visit. check it out.

so, again, ask more questions if you have them.

Lemstar: What do you know about St. Petersburg? Is the real estate there more reasonable? Do you know who buys those old bungalows? Culturally, is there much going on there or do people rely more on Tampa? Thanks.

i dont know about st. pete. i do know some friends just bought a small cute house in a neighborhood that they feel will afford them the benefits of being able to walk ';into the city';, or walk a block to get to stores. but i do not really know anything about st. pete. sorry.