Florida Real Estate & Lifestyle Blog

    The best fall festivals on Florida’s Gulf Coast combine warm-weather autumn traditions with seafood, live music, pumpkins, art, waterfront settings and community celebrations. For fall 2026, standout events stretch from Clearwater and St. Petersburg south through Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Sa

    If you are looking for the best all-around family park in Sarasota, Payne Park is a strong place to start. The downtown Sarasota park combines a colorful circus-themed playground, a small splash area, climbing features, slides, swings, music makers, picnic space, walking and cycling paths, a ska

    The best pumpkin patches near Sarasota in 2026 range from full-scale farm festivals to quick in-town pumpkin stops. Fruitville Grove is our strongest all-around choice because it is in Sarasota and combines a large pumpkin selection with hayrides, animals, live entertainment, children's activiti

    The best pumpkin patches near Bradenton in 2026 range from large farm festivals to simple community pumpkin lots and one especially unusual train ride. Hunsader Farms is our strongest all-around choice because it combines pumpkins with hayrides, a corn maze, animals, live entertainment and a ful

    The best pumpkin patches in the Tampa Bay area for fall 2026 range from full-day farm festivals to convenient city pumpkin lots. Raprager Farms in Odessa is our strongest all-around choice for families who want pumpkins, hayrides, animals, active play and extensive festival entertainment. Keel F

    The best Halloween events in Sarasota for 2026 range from immersive nighttime light displays and waterfront trick-or-treating to live Halloween theater, pumpkin festivals and community celebrations. Lights at Spooky Point is our strongest all-around seasonal pick because it runs nearly every nig

    Some of the best golf courses in Dunedin, Florida and the surrounding Pinellas County area include historic Dunedin Golf Club, public Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club, semi-private Clearwater Country Club and the championship courses at Innisbrook Resort in nearby Palm Harbor. Dunedin Golf Club is th

    Palmer Ranch is a large master-planned area in south Sarasota, Florida, containing numerous separate residential communities rather than one uniform neighborhood. Buyers can find established single-family neighborhoods, villas, newer resort-style developments, golf-oriented communities and condo

    Whisper Bend is an established single-family home community in Bradenton, Florida, near Linger Lodge Road, the Braden River and Jiggs Landing. Also associated with the Water Oak subdivision name, the neighborhood was developed primarily in the early 2000s and includes one-story and two-story hom

    Hawk Island is a small guard-gated waterfront enclave in Bradenton, Florida, positioned on a peninsula along the Manatee River. The community is defined by substantial custom estate homes, generous homesites, river and protected-water views, private boating facilities and a low-density residenti

    Village Green of Bradenton is an established West Bradenton community offering detached single-family homes and villa-style condominiums within a few miles of Anna Maria Island. Development began in the 1970s, and decades of growth have given the neighborhood mature landscaping, established stre

    Perico Island condos occupy one of the most distinctive coastal locations in Bradenton, Florida, positioned along Manatee Avenue West between the mainland and Anna Maria Island. Buyers can compare established residences in Perico Bay Club with newer resort-oriented condominiums at Harbour Isle,

    Golf near Osprey, Florida ranges from private championship play at The Oaks Club in Osprey to public and semi-private courses in nearby Sarasota and Nokomis. The Oaks Club is the principal golf facility within Osprey itself, with two 18-hole courses. Golfers who do not belong to a private club c

    October 2026 is a particularly active month in Venice, Florida, with Sun Fiesta returning to Centennial Park October 16 through 18, weekly farmers markets, downtown concerts, live theater, Halloween activities and the Downtown Venice Art Festival beginning October 31. Beach days, shark-tooth hun

    Some of the most useful golf communities to compare near Longboat Key include Longboat Key Club and Bay Isles on the island itself, Palm Aire and University Park north of central Sarasota, TPC Prestancia on Palmer Ranch and, for buyers willing to look farther inland, Laurel Oak and Lakewood Ranc

    October 2026 brings festivals, beach activities, live entertainment and Halloween celebrations to Anna Maria Island, Florida. Major dates include the Anna Maria Elementary Dolphin Dash on October 10, the 25th Annual BayFest on Pine Avenue on October 17, Trail of Treats and Island Trunk or Treat

    October 2026 brings markets, theater, arts festivals, cycling, fall celebrations and Halloween events to Dunedin, Florida. Highlights include Dunedin Showcase Theater's Death By Golf October 2 through 4, the Downtown Market every Saturday, the Downtown Dunedin Art & Craft Festival October 10 and

    Sarabay Coves is an established waterfront condominium community at 1714 69th Avenue W in Bradenton, Florida, where canals connect residents to nearby Sarasota Bay. Built primarily in the early 1970s, the community combines one-bedroom and two-bedroom condos with boat docks, a waterfront pool, c

    Tidewater Preserve condos offer gated waterfront living along the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida, with access to a private marina, community pools, fitness facilities, tennis, walking trails and other resort-style recreation. The condominium choices include multi-story residences along Tide

    Sarasota enters October 2026 with stronger buyer activity and less available inventory than a year ago, but single-family homes and condominiums are still behaving differently. The latest complete official data covers August 2026, when Sarasota County recorded 646 single-family sales at a $470,0