Yet Another Site Ranks Sarasota as the
Top Place to Retire
Posted January 07, 2011
The national business news website, Portfolio.com, just named the Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice Florida area the single
most desirable community in the United States for retirement. This recognition follows others which came previously including when CNBC recently
declared Sarasota to be the Best Place to Retire.
This honor is welcome news for the area which is just now recovering from the "Great
Housing Collapse" and the deep economic recession. The Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice real estate market have been banking on
a rebound in the number of retirees moving into the area to help its economy recover. And statistics show that that is exactly what is happening.
The Sarasota & Manatee County area ranks first because of its striking performances in several categories:
- Nearly 27 percent of its residents are 65 or older, the fourth-highest concentration of seniors in any market. That’s more than double the national average of 12.9 percent.
- Bradenton-Sarasota has a median age of 48.1. A median is a midpoint, with half of all residents being older and half being younger. The national median age is 36.8 years.
- Fully 95 percent of the seniors in Bradenton-Sarasota moved to Florida from another state. Only 53 percent of the elderly residents of a typical U.S. market were born out of state.
The Portfolio.com rankings were based on an analysis of data from the American Community
Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September. The communities analyzed by Portfolio.com included the top 157 metropolitan
areas with populations of at least 40,000 residents who could be classified as
seniors. Sarasota - Bradenton came out on top.
The Sarasota and Manatee County market was the largest market ranked among the top 10 and it had the highest concentration of seniors among its residents.
Senior citizens in Sarasota and Manatee County represent 26.8% of the population of approximately 688,0000 residents, more than double the national
average of 12.9%.
Many current Sarasota and Manatee County senior residents of our area began as "snowbirds," or Winter-month visitors. And like them, many of our current snowbird visitors consider
buying a home or condo here. Some "snowbirds" also seriously consider taking the additional step of becoming residents of the state of Florida.
These folks often wish they had a comprehensive source of information to help them make good decisions about either buying a home or condo here in Florida or becoming Florida residents.
We have found two currently available paperback books that may be very helpful to those considering purchasing real estate in Florida and/or becoming Florida residents.
- "The Canadian Snowbird Guide" by Douglas Gray
- "The Official Snowbird's Guide to Becoming a Florida Resident" by Dean Hanewinckel, Attorney
Either of these paperbacks can be purchased from Amazon.com so we have included below direct links to the Amazon.com pages on which they are advertised.
For those of you with an E-Reader device such as an IPad or Kindle, it is noteworthy that these two paperbacks are also available to be downloaded to your E-Reader.
These two books are also available from other Internet sites such as buy.com and books.Google.com and from from many local bookstores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble. We encourage you to consider taking at look at these books either before you come to Florida this year, or, if you are already here in Florida, at one of our local bookstores.
There is a simple explanation for the popularity of the Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area. In addition to a warm, sunny
climate, beautiful beaches, and literally dozens of golf courses suitable for every level of play, there is so much else going on in Sarasota
to keep older people engaged, active and healthy that a local organization touts the area as a "Silicon Valley for the Aging."
What does this mean to you if you are one of the many looking for a warmer, friendly and inviting place to spend your retirement years, the Sarasota - Bradenton area
should be on your list of places to see before making a choice. Before you come to town, call ahead and plan to visit a professional Sarasota real estate agent like Bob Henley.
Bob would be happy to show you around Sarasota, Bradenton, Osprey and Venice Florida showing you attractively priced homes and condominiums that fit your needs and desires perfectly.
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