When people choose Florida as a vacation destination, the reason is almost always traceable to the state’s warm, year-round, sunny climate; its award-winning beaches and unparalleled recreational opportunities. These, of course, are important vacation amenities that can be found just about anywhere in coastal Florida.

However if you’re planning to live full time, own a vacation home or otherwise spend a considerable amount of time in Florida, you should insist on much more in the way of top-notch lifestyle, recreational and cultural amenities. That’s why Sarasota so often rises to the top of everyone’s short list of places to live—and live well—in the Sunshine State.

Sarasota is widely regarded as Florida’s cultural capital; and with good reason. The city’s downtown arts and cultural corridor is home to numerous live theater companies and art galleries, the internationally acclaimed Sarasota Opera, the Sarasota Orchestra (formerly the Florida West Coast Symphony), the Sarasota Ballet and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Complex. The Florida State University Cultural Arts Campus—located just minutes north of downtown—includes Florida’s official state museum, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, along with the Historic Asolo Theater, the Mertz Theater and the Cook Theater. This fall, the center will host the first Ringling International Arts Festival, a celebration of live theater, music and dance being mounted in collaboration with New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Center. (Yes, that Baryshnikov!)

In Sarasota it’s quite literally possible to play a challenging round of golf on one of America’s top-rated courses in the morning, laze on America’s best beach in the afternoon; then don tuxedo or gown to attend a glittering premier that same evening. Dr. Stephen Leatherman, better known to avid beachgoers as “Dr. Beach,” just named Sarasota’s Siesta Key Beach as the best beach in the continental U.S. (To find a better one in these United States, you’d have to wing your way to a remote corner of the Hawaiian Islands)

For the outdoor enthusiast, world-class golf and tennis are just the tip of the region’s recreational iceberg. In nearby Bradenton, the world-renowned IMG/Bollittieri Academies is where the world’s most gifted young athletes come to transform themselves into the superstars of their games; but hopefuls of all ages are invited to participate in various programs that enable anyone to train like a pro.

Just east of Sarasota, Myakka River State Park—one of Florida’s oldest and definitely it’s largest—offers hiking, camping and miles of kayaking along the Myakka River, one of only two rivers in Florida to be afforded the status of “Wild and Scenic,” a designation that provides for its preservation and management. Needless-to-say, with Sarasota blessed with water stretching in all directions, there’s plenty of activities to engage every type of boater, fisherman and water enthusiast. Like to lawn bowl, play Polo or race your powerboat? Sarasota has you covered.

For those whose most strenuous pastime is shopping, Sarasota offers plenty of opportunities to sharpen your retail prowess. As well, the restaurant and nightlife scene is as well-developed and diversified as you would expect of a much larger metropolis.

Therein lies the heart and soul of Sarasota. It’s a small-scale progressive city that hasn’t lost touch with its small town roots. Its friendly and sassy, sophisticated and laid-back; a study in contrasts, a plethora of different lifestyles. Each day Sarasota evolves into something better than it was the day before. Indeed, the story of Sarasota is one that changes almost as fast as it can be written. This is the story so far.