Moving to Bradenton, FL. Your thoughts??

[cbo111]

Well the DW and I visited Bradenton, FL last month and have placed it as our top location to retire in the next 6 months. We like the large number of golf/recreational neighborhoods like Lakewood Ranch, University Park, Riverstrand at Heritage Harbor. We don't have a desire to be on the water. Anybody out there have any useful insights to living in the Bradenton/Sarasota area?
cbo

 

[heeyy_joe]

I live a bit north of there. Bradenton has a good reputation. Be prepared for some hefty fees registering your cars in Florida.

 

[Moemg]

I live on the border of Bradenton & Sarasota . I like Lakewood Ranch . It really has everything . The only problem is that since they opened the new mall traffic is horrendous on University & parts of Lakewood Ranch .I suggest you rent for awhile before buying .

 

[iac1003]

My friend and her husband own and run the #1 restaurant in Bradenton on Trip Advisor - Arts and Eats in the Village of the Arts. They ER'ed from NY 5 years ago and are in their retirement career.

Donna and I sang in professional and non-professional choruses when we were very young 20-somethings. Please eat there and tell her Irene in Austin says hi. I don't think you'll be disappointed.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Gatordoc50]

My daughter lives in Bradenton so we have spent a lot of time there visiting and house searching, etc. The people are very friendly and it has much to offer. I really like Venice Island. It is more laid back and less congested.

 

[Moemg]

My daughter lives in Bradenton so we have spent a lot of time there visiting and house searching, etc. The people are very friendly and it has much to offer. I really like Venice Island. It is more laid back and less congested.

I love Venice and I lived there for six years but it is also getting built up and the traffic there is getting crazy . All the builders are concentrating on venice so I hope they don't ruin the charm .

 

[target2019]

We stayed near this location for a few days. Very nice walking trails.

Winston Tract

This was in the off-season, and I've heard it is very congested other times.

 

[cbo111]

Thanks for the great information all. If anyone knows the name of a realtor who has an extensive knowledge of the Bradenton area, please let me know.
Cbo

 

[Moemg]

Caldwell Banker & Michael Saunders are the big realty firms .

 

[neihn]

I am interesting in Venice FL area too. Is there any house in the range of 250k, yet, in a nice neighborhood?

Thanks.

 

[Moemg]

I am interesting in Venice FL area too. Is there any house in the range of 250k, yet, in a nice neighborhood?

Thanks.

Yes , Check out the 34292 area on realtor.com. It is a nice area . Driving distance to the beach & downtown . Neal homes are also building a lot of new homes in that area .

 

[almost_there]

To the OP. I don't know what you are looking for in terms of housing but there are quite a few new developments in the area. Some of the newest are in East Bradenton/Lakewood Ranch. For instance, Dell Webb just broke ground on a new 55 and older community. It will have 1300 to 1500 housing units of various types. You can get some preliminary info on their web page. Good Luck.

 

[Revlefty]

Love Bradenton

Depends on how much you want to spend... look at something south of route 70 (53rd street) and east of 301. The farther east you go the more expensive the housing gets.

But you are also getting farther away from all the activities that make Bradenton a good city.