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"The Hottest Coastal Towns
"Lots of Northerners head to Florida for the temperate climate. But transplants to Sarasota, located on the Gulf Coast some 60 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 Mable Ringling Museum of Art, famed for its Old Masters; the highly respected Sarasota Opera, Florida West Coast Symphony, and Sarasota Ballet of Florida; several 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, a 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."
Copyright Coastal Living, 2007
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