Sarasota Lifestyle

Sarasota's Lifestyle -There's More to Sarasota Than Its Beaches!

Florida's "Cultural Coast"

With its professional theaters, symphonies, ballet and opera, Sarasota County is known as Florida's "Cultural Coast." We're home to more than 30 art galleries, artist communities, the Ringling Museum of Art,and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The arts community here surpasses that found in counties five or six times the size of Sarasota.

Sarasota County's cultural attractions include:

Sarasota Arts Council
Circus Sarasota
Museum of Asian Art
Florida West Coast Symphony
Sarasota Ballet of Florida
Sarasota Opera
Asolo Center for Performing Arts
Florida Studio Theatre
Golden Apple Dinner Theatre
Sarasota Film Festival

For information on specific Sarasota events, visit www.sarasota.com for a detailed monthly calendar.  It's quite comprehensive and lists all events on a day-by-day basis.  Check out our blog.

Out and About
You'll be amazed at the diversity of natural beauty you'll discover canoeing or kayaking South Lido Park's watery trail through a tunnel of mangroves, or examining marine life on a bay cruise View bromeliads growing in the wild along the new Canopy Walk at Myakka River State Park, and picnic by a lazy creek at Oscar Scherer State Park. Make it a day to stretch yourself with windsurfing lessons, parasailing, or fishing for the big ones. There are plenty of great courts serving up tennis, and don't miss the opportunity for an autograph when Major League Baseball begins spring training.

Days on the Greens
Every Sarasota day is a golfer's dream with more than 30 courses sprinkled throughout the county, challenging all levels of play and budgets. Of the Top 20 Southwest regional golf courses voted by the readers of Florida Golf News, nine are in the Sarasota area; four local courses are in the top 100 places to play in the whole state. Always looking to improve your game? Top instructors can show you how to trim a slice and get to the green in two. So grab your clubs and make the most difficult decision of the day — which fairway to play.

Boating
With 17,000 pleasure boats -- sailboats to speedboats -- registered in Sarasota County, boaters discover an aquatic bliss on area waterways.  Public boat ramps are located all through the county, often serving as the launching spot for boat parades and sailboarding.  The annual Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Festival attracts thousands of speedboat racing enthusiasts to the area each July.

Whether you prefer to be your own Master and Commander or would rather let someone else do the sailing, your maritime choices in the Sarasota area are legion.  From dolphin runs and scientific eco-cruises to deep-sea fishing and just plain sightseeing, Sarasota has it.  Just don't forget your sun block.

Fishing Sarasota
Sarasota is home to some of the best fishing -- game or otherwise -- in the state of Florida.  Snook, redfish, kingfish, trout, amberjack, mahi-mahi, and grouper can be found lurking in the backcountry mangroves.  Past the sandbars, big-game tarpons cruise the deep waters of the ocean.  Anglers can find a bounty of fish whether they drop their lines from a dock, boat, bridge, jetty, beach, or public pier.  Snook, Florida's official game fish, is the most sought-after catch in the state.

Even More to Explore
Kids of all ages love getting up close and personal with sea critters at Mote Aquarium or the flocks of shrimp-pink flamingos and entertaining reptile and bird shows at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.  Be "wowed" by the interactive science exhibits at G.WIZ.  Relive local history at Historic Spanish Point with its 4,000-year-old ancient Indian settlement. Or lose yourself in the world-class Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a wonderland of tropical plants and over 6,000 orchids.

Tennis Facilities
In the Sarasota vicinity are literally hundreds of tennis facilities, racquet clubs and tennis resorts.  The area is home to IMG Academies, the world's largest sports center and the proving ground of Andre Agassi, the Williams sisters and 2004 Wimbledon Champion and 2006 Women's Champion US Open Maria Sharapova.

One of Sarasota County's greatest assets is its education system, from public schools top-ranked in the state to nationally recognized institutions of higher learning.  There are also unique opportunities for adults who have decided they have more to learn.

Sarasota's public school system was the only district in Florida to receive a Gold Medal from Expansion Management in 2000.  The county is also among Florida's best when it comes to standardized test scores, earning it a spot on Money Magazine's top 100 list.  And Sarasota County tops the state in the number of Five Star Schools, which are recognized for their community involvement.

Sarasota County Public Schools
Manatee County Public Schools
Charlotte County Public Schools
Manatee Community College
Ringling School of Art
Sarasota County Technical Institute
Out of Door Academy
New Gate School
Cardinal Mooney High School
Sarasota Christian School
St. Stephens Episcopal School
Bradenton Academy
St. Joseph Catholic School
Bradenton Christian School

Great reason to buy Sarasota real estate:  Sarasota Weather

Average Annual Rainfall
57.11 inches, mostly during the summer afternoon.