5 Communities in Venice
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Overview
Venice is an in-demand coastal town in Southwest Florida, offering a wide variety of beaches, outdoor spaces, and artistic opportunities. With a mostly warm, humid climate, it is a popular destination for retirees because of the abundance of community activities in a town with old-world charm.
Climate & Geography
Located on the western coast of Florida, Venice experiences hot and humid summers and mild winters that almost never reach freezing temperatures. Its tropical climate causes a wet season between June and October, where popcorn thunderstorms lead Venice to experience higher-than-average rainfall. The remaining months are part of the dry season, where residents can experience mostly sunny days and cloudless skies.
Venice is edged by the Gulf of Mexico to the west and swamplands to the east, making it mostly flat and slightly cooler than inland Florida.
Recreation, Culture, & Entertainment
Named one of the Top 10 Happiest Seaside Towns, Venice has no shortage of recreational activities and entertainment. Historic Downtown Venice boasts over 130 shops, boutiques, art galleries, cafes, and restaurants in architecture modeled after Northern Italy.
Residents also have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Several beaches, including Caspersen Beach, Venice Beach, Venice Fishing Pier, and Brohard Paw Park for dogs, are open the majority of the year. There are also several parks and nature preserves, including the Venice Area Audubon Rookery for bird lovers and nature photographers. As the Shark Tooth Capital of the World, Venice hosts one of the most popular festivals in Florida, the Shark Tooth Festival, to celebrate the abundance of fossilized shark teeth that can be found on the shores.
There are also several homes and hotels that have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and Venice is also home to the Ideal Classic Cars Museum & Showroom and the Venice Theater.
Cost of Living & Taxes
As a popular seaside destination, Venice’s cost of living is higher than the national average, mostly due to the cost of housing. Other indexes, like health, grocery, and transportation are all similar to the national average, trending just above it.
Florida is desirable for retirees as it does not tax income, pensions, Social Security, or other forms of retirement income. Venice has a combined sales tax rate of 7 percent. Though property taxes for Sarasota County are higher than the national average, the county does offer a homestead exemption for those who claim their Florida property as their primary residence, among other qualifications.
Health Care
The Sarasota Metropolitan Area generally ranks well on Gallup’s Well-Being Index, receiving high scores for the past few years and topping the index in 2015.
Venice has one hospital within its city limits, the Venice Regional Bayfront Hospital, which is ranked high-performing by U.S. News in both Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Heart Failure. Two more high-performing hospitals are just outside Venice, the Bayfront Health Port Charlotte and Fawcett Memorial Hospital. In metropolitan Sarasota, U.S. News ranks the Sarasota Memorial Hospital as the best hospital in Southern Florida and the 8th best hospital in the entire state.