on $100k a year, leaving Orlando

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Sarasota, FL cityscape

if you left orlando

Sarasota

fl · metro 262k

photo: Jeffrey Eisen / pexels

a dispatch from

sarasota

FL

27.34°N

82.54°W

Sarasota is the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus (the museum is wild, and yes, there's a vintage clown college history), and Siesta Key's beach is regularly named the best in America for its pure quartz sand. The cultural scene is heavy for a Florida city of its size (theater, opera, art museum). Gulf sunsets here are the brochure shot. The food scene has caught up to the city's wealth and the retirees' time.

metro262k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$184

more each month than Orlando ran you

Almost a wash on cost. The case for Sarasota is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the sarasota entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,121/mo

9% more expensive than Orlando(vs $1,937/mo)

02state income tax

0%

vs 0% in Orlando

03after rent

$6,212/mo

$184 less than Orlando

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$423k

5% more expensive than Orlando

vs $402k in Orlando

05metro size

262k

vs 2.8M in Orlando

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

249

pleasant days a year, in sarasota.

Orlando barely cracks 216 pleasant ones.

Lighter on events: Orlando packs 52.0× more into a month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

59/100

5% lower than Orlando

vs 62/100 in Orlando

Closest outdoor draw: Myakka River State Park, 15.9 mi.

·walk score®

96/100

1% lower than Orlando

vs 97/100 in Orlando

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

6

96% fewer than Orlando

vs 146 nonstops in Orlando

04 · see also

neighbors of sarasota on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

myrtle beach

more flight options

turn the page

see also

wilmington

$71/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

pensacola

$369/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare sarasota with:

Myrtle BeachWilmingtonPensacola