Just an hour south of Tampa, Florida, you’ll find Sarasota- a small town on the Gulf of Mexico with the amenities of a big city.

“Siesta Key in Sarasota was recently voted as the No. 1 beach in the United States by Dr. Beach,” says Candy Swick, boker/owner of Candy Swick & Company in Sarasota. “The beaches in Sarasota have the powdery-white sand and warm, glassy waters that everyone looks for.”

But having the No.1 beach doesn’t mean Sarasota is a sleepy town. “The only thing Sarasota doesn’t have is snow!” Candy jokes. The city offers Olympic sports training; every water sport you could imagine; fine dining and shopping at St. Armand’s Circle; major cultural influences; like the Sarasota  Opera House, the Sarasota Ballet, and the Ringling Museum of Art; and exceptional education at all academic levels, including New College, which was recently ranked No. 2 Best Value Public Collage in America by the Princeton Review and USA Today.

What Candy believes makes Sarasota a unique gem is its residents. “You won’t find the paparazzi here and everyone has that Midwest-friendliness to them,” she says. “The residents are amazingly diverse and accomplished.”