Is Sarasota the Place for the Rich and Famous?

With a population of over 600,000, Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties form Florida's seventh-largest market and third-fastest-growing market. This area has grown four times faster than the national average in the past five years, making it one of the most prosperous regions in the state.

Sarasota

is a popular destination for tourists and relocations alike, thanks to its stunning beaches, vibrant cultural heritage, abundance of attractions and activities, and world-class amenities. Gillespie Park, named after Sarasota's first mayor, is one of the city's fastest-growing residential areas.

During the recession of the 1970s, many businesses in downtown Sarasota closed down. However, luxury condos currently under development in downtown Sarasota may attract even more millionaires to Sarasota. Billion-dollar planes fly out of Sarasota Airport to take their privileged passengers to dinner in Palm Beach or to New York for a Broadway show. Sarasota offers a wealth of cultural offerings that you can experience.

Route 41 enters Sarasota from the south and then heads west on Bayfront Drive before returning north, parallel to the coast. Like other parts of Florida, Sarasota experiences hot, humid summers with average temperatures ranging from the mid-70s to the 90s. Business journalist Rich Rescigno, who visited Sarasota 35 years ago and now lives here, is a former managing editor of Barron's. Every March, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota hosts a week-long festival featuring four major concerts with national and international jazzy musicians, 13 regional bands performing different musical genres on four simultaneous stages, jazzy high school bands and film and theater performances.

One of the most attractive aspects of working in Sarasota is that you don't have to pay state income taxes as Florida is one of the few states that doesn't have income taxes. Located just north of downtown Sarasota, it offers an interesting mix of housing options including renovated bungalows from the 1920s, ranch-style homes from the 1950s, apartment buildings and a small number of newly built homes. One of Sarasota's paradoxes is that while wealth abounds here, so does necessity; 12.4 percent of county residents earn so little that their income is below the federal poverty line.