Luxury real estate begins with the land and the home. You will want at least one acre for privacy. Also enough area for a 5,000+ square foot home and a pool, tennis court, and sumptuous landscaping. (Note that you can select a condo building that offers large apartment units, 4,000 square feet plus, but that’s another discussion.)
You also must decide whether you want your home on the water and, if so, what kind of water – pond, lake, river, Gulf, ocean. Water frontage adds to the price. Yet true luxury should have some sort of water, even if man made. (The birds and fish and dolphins that visit you daily make it truly worthwhile.)
If you do not choose a home on water, then you must decide whether you want to live in the woods or on a golf course or in a lush tropical setting.
The next consideration of luxury real estate must take into account amenities. Discovering a new area yet having to wait for restaurants, stores and other conveniences may not fit the luxury definition.
So where can you get all this: enough land for privacy; a choice of water or luxurious inland settings; convenience of shopping, medical facilities and cultural attractions; and everything else you expect, want and deserve?
Sarasota and Manatee Counties on the Gulf coast offer all of this. Myriad real estate opportunities will insure you get the exact site you want, whether you build or buy an existing property. Already created infrastructure insure your level of convenience. And the cultural attractions – theater, museums, orchestra, ballet, opera, galleries and more – insure you the atmosphere and environment you want.
The people in Sarasota and Manatee Counties are sophisticated, wealthy and knowledgeable. You will see a combination of quiet and ostentatious wealth. You choose with whom you want to associate.
Other areas of Florida, particularly the East Coast, have become very crowded, with people and traffic. All of the streets are straight and most of the beauty is man made. The West Coast offers canopy covered streets, lush tropical settings and even empty beaches.
Sarasota and Manatee, your next luxury home.