Do You Need a Good Reason to Relocate to Paradise?

Ann pointed me to an article in this month's SRQ magazine which led me to do a little digging. In July of this year Bizjournal wrote an article about the best places in the United States to grow a small business. To quote the July 8th article written by G Scott Thomas:

"If you're seeking the ideal place to grow a small business, Florida is the state for you. Four of America's five best markets for small businesses are in Florida, led by No. 1 Orlando, according to a new Bizjournals study."

And number two on that list was Sarasota! That puts us ahead of places like Las Vegas, Raleigh, San Diego and many more - here's the complete list:

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/99.html

This is a full year after Inc Magazine placed Sarasota as number twenty in it's annual list of Boomtowns, and once again the company Sarasota was in was pretty spectacular.

http://www.inc.com/bestcities/best.html?size=0&year=2006

Anyway, of course local Realtors are going to be "high" on the area they live and work and we're no different but I point these out not only for people who might consider coming here but also for the folks already here who tend to get bombarded with "doom and gloom" and who rightly are concerned for the values of their property in the area. Demographics are with us and when third parties look at the area what they see is a business friendly climate that's also a VERY PEOPLE FRIENDLY climate as well.

Have a look at the growth figures in the first table above - and yes things have leveled off growth -wise over the last 18 months but quite honestly we've needed the "breather" to get things like additional capacity in schools etc in place.

In spite of the articles about the "half backs" moving half way back home etc the area continues to grow and continues to be a very attractive place to relocate during any stage in one's life!