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Reprinted from April Issue of Coastal Living Magazine
So You Want to Live on the Coast
Text by William Scheller
with Susan Haynes, Kay Scheller, Kristen Shelton, and Kimberly
Turnbull
Sarasota, Florida
Lots of Northerners head to Florida for the temperate climate.
But transplants to Sarasota, located on the Gulf Coast some 600
miles south of Tampa/St. Petersburg, take advantage of the cultural
climate, as well. It's unlikely that any other city this
size--especially among destination cities for cold-weather
refugees--boasts as sophisticated an arts environment.
The city is home to the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, famed
for its Old Masters; the highly respected Sarasota Opera, Florida
West Coast Symphony, and Sarasota Ballet of Florida; several other
theater and choral organizations; and annual festivals dedicated to
cinema and blues.
Although many Sarasotans choose to live on the mainland, the barrier
islands strung between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico prove equally
alluring. St. Armands Key has a self-contained shopping
district; Siesta Key claims the whitest-sand beaches in the world.
All of them, including exclusive residential Longboat Key, are
connected by causeways to each other and to the mainland.
And with so much west-facing shoreland, the nightly sunset-watching
ritual remains popular. Whether residents wander to the
beaches or just to the edge of the deck on their boat, few can
resist trying to catch the flash of green many claim to see just
before the sun slips below the horizon.
What the locals know
Dick Pfaff, Sarasota kayak instructor, likes to paddle the mangrove
tunnels of busy Lido Key, across the bay from downtown. "The
water is calm, shallow, and warm," says Dick, "and as you paddle,
you can observe shorebirds, ospreys, and bald eagles. Heading
back toward open water, you'll often see a pod of dolphins glide by
as they feed with the incoming tide."
Population: 54,000
Median Home Price: $320,000
Read entire Article:
Coastal Living
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