Venice, FL Awards & Accolades

The City of Venice commonly receives accolades and awards each year for its historical downtown, its high degree of safety, its popularity as a top Florida retirement destination as well as its top-rated healthcare services. See recent mentions below.

• 2024

  Wellen Park Named the #5 Top-Selling Master-Planned Community in Florida for 2023 (full year) – RCL & Co.

• 2023

  Wellen Park Ranks as the #5 Top-Selling Master-Planned Community in Florida for 2023 (mid year) – RCL & Co.
  Venice Named a “Best Beach Town for Retirement” in the U.S. – Southern Living

Top 10 Reasons to Relocate to Venice

1. Wellen Park is the 5^th Best Selling Florida Community

   For the full calendar year of 2023, Wellen Park officially ranked as the 5th best-selling master planned community in all of Florida (and #9 in the nation) by RCL & Co, a well-respected and independent real estate consulting firm. Located in south Sarasota County, along River Rd and US 41, the 11,000-acre Wellen Park community offers residents a high-quality of life with a centralized town center, shopping and dining options, medical facilities, a new Cool Today ballpark, and miles of recreation trails, area parks and more. Learn about Wellen Park.

   

   Venice offers its large retiree population many reasonably priced real estate choices. Whether your preference is a brand new home in a master-planned community with a clubhouse, swimming pool and tennis courts, an existing home or hi-rise condo close to the Intracoastal waterway or within walking distance to Venice Island, there are many options to look at. At the start of April 2024, the average Venice home price is now $450,467 which represents a 2.4% year-over-year descrease. To find out exact housing costs and the best Venice neighborhoods to live in, contact Laura Reynolds, our Venice relocation expert listed on this page.

2. Venice is a Top-Rated Florida Retirement Community

   When choosing a Florida retirement community to call home, Venice has been and continues to be one of the most desired in the entire sunshine state. With an average age of 68.7 years for its year-round citizens, Venice has recently been named as a “Top 10” Best City to Retire in Florida by Southern Living Magazine (2023) as well as a “Top 10” Best Place to Retire by SmartAsset (2022).

3. Venice is a Very Safe Town

   When moving to Venice for your retirement years, you’ll feel very safe as the city has very low crime rates as compared to other, much larger Florida cities. In recent years, Venice was named as the #1 “Safest City in America to Retire” in by Security Choice as well as the 13th “Safest City in Florida” by SafeWise.

4. Venice Has Gorgeous Gulf Beaches

   The Venice area is known for its beautiful Gulf beaches, some lined with sharks teeth. The area beaches of Venice include Venice Beach, Caspersen Beach, Nokomis Beach as well as the North Jetty Beach. Venice Beach and Caspersen Beaches are located south of the Venice Jetty while Nokomis Beach and North Jetty Beaches are located on the south end of Casey Key (just north of the Venice Jetty).
   Venice Beach – Interactive View

5. Venice Offers Quality Healthcare

   Having access to quality medical and healthcare services when moving to a new area is very important. Venice’s area hospitals include Sarasota Memorial – Venice (located at I-75 & Laurel Rd) as well as Venice Regional Bayfront Health (north end of Venice Island). There are also many excellent local medical groups in the area including Gulf Coast Medical Group and Venice Health Park which (located near Jacaranda Blvd in south Venice).

6. Venice is a Year-Round Playground

   Venice is the perfect city for outdoor enthusiasts with its average year-round temperature of 73 degrees and 252 sunny days each year. If you’re a golfer, there are many great courses including Calusa Lakes and Waterford. If you like exploring nature, ride or walk the popular Legacy Trail. And finally, if you enjoy being near the water, try fishing at the Venice Pier or go for a relaxing stroll at the Venice Jetty.
   View Venice Jetty

7. Venice Has a Strong Employment Market

   The job and employment market within Venice has been very strong post Covid with an unemployment rate in the low 3% range in 2024%, which is below the national average. Top sectors of employment in the Venice area include hospitality and tourism, healthcare, education, skilled trades, retail and professional services. The largest employers in Sarasota county include the local School Board, Sarasota Memorial Health Care (SMHC), Publix Supermarkets, PGT Industries as well as Sarasota County Government.

8. Venice Offers Great Local Cuisine & Dining Options

   Venice has endless options when it comes to dining choices and talking advantage of happy hour! If you enjoy waterfront dining, check out the popular Sharkys on the Pier or Dockside Waterfront Grill at Marker 4. If you feel like heading downtown for an evening, swing by the new Daquari Deck, T J Carney’s Grille & Pub, The Soda Fountain, T J Carney’s Grille & Pub, Abby’s on Miami or the 3 Little Pigs BBQ. Many of these establishments offer open-air seating in their outdoor sections.

9. Venice Has Endless Events to Check-Out!

   Venice offers its residents an active scene of events, downtown festivals and theatrical performances to enjoy year-round. There are also many popular annual events that take place each year including the Venice Art Classic, The Venice Craft Festival, The Venice Art Festival, Christmas Walk and many, many more!

10. Venice Has an Active Performing Arts Scene
    Retirees living in Venice enjoy an active performing arts and theatrical scene. The Venice Theatre, which is one of the largest community theatres in the entire US, has an active schedule of performances including cabarets, comedies, full-scale musicals, dramas and cutting-edge contemporary productions.