The Ring Lights Are Moving In: Why So Many Young Creators Are Picking Sarasota

For about forty years the joke about Sarasota was that the average resident had a standing tee time and a strong opinion about the early-bird special. That joke is getting old. Which is funny, because the people moving here aren't.

Dave and Janie (@daveandjanie), the couple with more than a million TikTok followers, just announced they sold their New Jersey home and are relocating to Lakewood Ranch. They also announced, in the same breath, that they are now Tampa Bay football fans. That's the correct order of operations. House first, Bucs second, learn to pronounce "Myakka" third.

They say they'll document the whole move, which means a million people are about to watch somebody discover what August feels like here. Welcome, you two. Genuinely. Bring the camera to the Celery Fields at sunset and you'll never run out of content.

The young-people part is real

Here's the thing that surprised me. The ring lights aren't just following the retirees down I-75. People in their 20s and 30s are a big part of this.

• U-Haul's latest migration report (moves from July 2025 through June 2026) ranks the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro No. 5 in the whole country for net gains among millennial movers, the folks born 1981 to 1996. That's ahead of Boise, and only behind Dallas, Houston, Orlando and the San Francisco Bay Area. (U-Haul, Sarasota Magazine)
• Among millennials leaving the Tampa area, our metro was the No. 1 destination. So Tampa's thirtysomethings are driving an hour south and, I assume, finally finding parking.
• Census estimates show Manatee County's population ages 25 to 44 grew 24.7% from 2020 to 2025, well ahead of the county's overall growth of 16.6%. Sarasota County's 25-to-44 crowd grew 14.5%, versus 10% overall. (Sarasota Magazine, citing Census Bureau estimates)

To be fair to the shuffleboard community, Sarasota County still has the highest median age of any big county in America, 57.8. Nobody is replacing anybody. It's more like the party got bigger and somebody finally changed the music.

And Lakewood Ranch is where a lot of them land

Lakewood Ranch sold 2,085 new homes in 2025, the No. 2 total in the country among master-planned communities, behind only The Villages. It's also been the No. 1 multigenerational community for eight years running, meaning it's the top seller among places built for all ages, not just 55-plus. (RCLCO, Lakewood Ranch)

It's also got 140-plus miles of trails, which is the kind of thing you only hear about from people who moved here and started filming their walks.

Other creators who made the jump

Dave and Janie are in good company. A few folks who've told their audiences they moved here:

Katrin's Take (@katrinstake) left New York City for Sarasota, and her channel is basically the honest, friendly older sister of every "moving to Florida" search. Her personal story of why she picked Sarasota is a good watch if you're on the fence.

Lisa Concepcion of LoveQuest (@LoveQuestWithLisaConcepcion) moved from Miami Beach to Sarasota and made a whole video about what it's like starting over in a new city. Leaving Miami Beach for here is a power move. Same beaches, about a third of the honking.

The Travelled Soul (@TheTravelledSoul) vlogged their move to Sarasota, boxes and all. It's a nice reminder that every great Instagram sunset here started with somebody taping a box labeled "KITCHEN?? MAYBE".

And lifestyle blogger Laramie Otto of Lifestyle with Laramie moved home to Sarasota after a decade away, writing that she'd "never felt more at home than in SRQ." That one got me a little.

Why here?

Nobody's handing out a survey at the Publix on University Parkway, so I'll go with what the movers keep saying in their own videos: remote work let them choose, the beaches are the real thing, and you can live near trails, schools and a decent taco without a two-hour commute. Plus, the sunsets come free with the lease.

If you just got here, welcome. Go to Siesta at sunset on a weekday, get your Bucs gear, and know that the "Sarasota is just for retirees" crowd is getting outnumbered by the minute.

I'll be on my porch with coffee, waving at the moving trucks. — Sandy