I remember Halloween as a kid in New England and planning where my friends and I could go to collect the most candy.

Turtle Rock in Palmer Ranch of Sarasota, FL is a very popular family neighborhood offering 610 single family homes and 148 maintenance free homes. Within this community, Turtle Rock has two gated and guarded entrances. One on the north side off of Palmer Ranch Parkway and the other is from the south side off of Central Sarasota Parkway. This family community is located in the Palmer Ranch area of Sarasota. The community amenities include 2 hard surface tennis courts and a basketball court both having night lighting, a recreational facility for family parties, and a swimming pool. There is also a walking nature trail and there are 17 lakes and ponds which can be used for canoeing by any of the Turtle Rock residents.

To view the current homes that are available click to view all Turtle Rock Homes for Sale.

This is a fantastic neighborhood for raising your family, about an 8 minute drive to the world famous Siesta Key Beach, 5 minutes to the local YMCA and it borders the Legacy Bike Trail that runs from Sarasota to Venice. And of Course lots of candy on Halloween night!

Posted by:Sara Leicht

First in a Series of “Answers to Your Prayers”

It’s mid-November in Frederick County, Maryland. It’s your birthday, and here you are riding in the death seat with your son in his 4-wheel drive monster on the way to work on Connecticut Avenue in DC. He forgot your birthday, sure, but that’s OK, for it was the first “early for the season” snow and it was bound to be a killer of a commuting day, so forget the birthday stuff already. You’d been sick enough of taking the train from Brunswick….the Metro from Gaithersburg….the bus from Mt. Airy….and even driving your own little Honda station wagon, that you agreed weeks ago to accept your well-meaning son’s offer to share the commute. How much worse could it be? So you close your eyes (this helps when your bumper is kissing the tailpipe in front of you) and blessedly doze off……to a reverie of when Junior was a kid pedaling his souped-up Schwinn down the bike path, under the banyans, on his way home from school for an afternoon of fishing in Coconut Grove, Florida.

And the rest is history.

Fourteen years later, all that now seems like a different type of dream, one you left behind, with nary a regret. Your first drive into a little enclave in Osprey, just south of Sarasota, totally lost, where the incredibly lush vegetation—so much like “the Grove” and equally close to saltwater—provided the real clue—you knew you’d found your spot. It didn’t matter that you were not to actually live in that setting for another two years—you knew you’d be back. It took you a long time to find where to plant your roots. But they’re there to stay.

Posted by:Carolyn Kenney

Learn what we - the locals - of Sarasota love about our city by the bay.

This week in Sarasota gives you an insider’s view of the best places to dine, shop, live and play.

Stay up to date with weekly happening in and around Sarasota. New to the area? Go to the insiders guide for nifty videos of attractions and neighborhoods - it is the perfect introduction to Sarasota.

Posted by:Maureen & Pat Doherty

One of the best uses of tax payer money so far in Sarasota is the creation of Rothenbach Park which is a 450 acre park and conservation land. On its lands are shaded playgrounds and pavilions, walking and biking trails of various lengths, and lots of wildlife and natural beauty. Almost in tandem with a renewed sense of vigor on this long vacant plot of land, there has been a resurgence in real estate sales in this area. Neighborhoods like Laurel Lakes, Laurel Meadows, and the Enclave offer unmatched value-$300,000 can get an expansive newer home in a peaceful and quiet community. Even the once almost dead real estate market in Laurel Oak Estates is now alive and kicking with plenty of activity. If you want to see some examples of where you can live the Sarasota lifestyle and get a great value, feel free to contact me, DrewRussell@MichaelSaunders.com.

Posted by:Drew Russell