same $100k income, fresh start from Tampa

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Sarasota, FL cityscape

if you left tampa

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

$125

pricier each month than Tampa

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

6% more expensive than Tampa(vs $1,996/mo)

02state income tax

0%

vs 0% in Tampa

03after rent

$6,212/mo

$125 less than Tampa

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

04a house here

$423k

13% more expensive than Tampa

vs $374k in Tampa

05metro size

262k

vs 3.3M in Tampa

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

249

pleasant days a year, in sarasota.

Tampa barely cracks 243 pleasant ones.

But the calendar thins out: Tampa stays 16.0× busier.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

59/100

5% lower than Tampa

vs 62/100 in Tampa

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

·walk score®

96/100

4% higher than Tampa

vs 92/100 in Tampa

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

6

91% fewer than Tampa

vs 68 nonstops in Tampa

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as sarasota:

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