Sarasota, Florida —

Florida leans hard into sun, sand and surf. But Sarasota has way more more going for it than just its beautiful beaches

Sarasota County is branded as the Sunshine State’s “Cultural Coast.”

It was those cultural credentials that proved irresistible to Tammy Hauser, a 62-year-old self-described “arts person.”

Hauser was sitting at a French bakery in Sarasota enjoying a croissant when she called her daughter, back home in Minneapolis, to let her know she was moving to the Gulf Coast city.