Earlier this year, Gulf Gate earned the title of Sarasota’s friendliest neighborhood, topping a Nextdoor ranking that measured everything from neighborly interactions to community pride.
It’s easy to see why—its funky commercial strip, filled with mom-and-pop owned restaurants, bars and independent retailers, blossoms from within a neighborhood of 1950s and ’60s homes that, thanks to the absence of restrictive HOAs, burst with colorful murals, whimsical yard art and other personal flourishes that give the area a bohemian feel. Spend an hour wandering the highly walkable district and the distinction needs little explanation.
It’s exactly the kind of place Becky Drescher always wanted to put down roots…