Beautiful. Picturesque. Serene. Paradise. There are many words that come to mind when thinking of Longboat Key.
But last week, travel website RoadSnacks added a new word to the list: boring, when it ranked Longboat Key as the fifth dullest city in Florida. The list cited the fact that 87% of residents are older than 65, and only 300 residents are younger than 35, which it says is “just about as snoozefest as it can possibly get, even for Florida.”
The study measured the 214 cities in Florida with populations of more than 5,000. It measured the percentage of population over both 35 and 65 years old, percentage of married households and households with children, average age and population density.
We asked Longboaters just how boring they think Longboat Key is. The consensus: Viva la Longboat.
- “It’s absolutely not boring, but if that will keep people from moving here, then yes, let’s say we are the most boring place in Florida. Wink wink. Longboat Key is a retirement community, and people who retire usually have all of their social things in place, and so we don’t look at Longboat Key for entertainment. We look here for peace and quiet and luxury.” — Phyllis Black
- “My immediate response is find out what that person is drinking and stop it. Longboat Key has so many different activities, and its proximity to Sarasota enables you to expand your horizons literally 20 hours every night of the week.” — Murray and Alice Blueglass
- “We have sailing readily available at our doors. We have a beach across the street. The town is dog-friendly. We just love the neighborhood feel. Like any other community, if you want to get involved, you can.” — Janice Cook
- “They are clearly not dialed into our community if they think that because I can find something to do every day of the week and every night. We love boating, and our beaches are fantastic. We always have fun events going on, whether its with the Kiwanis Club, Garden Club or Longboat Key Club.” — Assistant to the Town Manager Susan Phillips
- “It’s not boring at all. Look at the events calendar in the Observer. There’s something for everybody. There are fashion shows and meetings. There are seminars at the Education Center and at the Arts Center. There are yoga and fitness classes, tennis, golf, card games. I could go on and on.” — Irina LaRose
- “I just find that amusing they call us boring. I’ve been more active and involved than I’ve ever been since I moved to Longboat Key... There’s tennis, there’s the beach, there’s boating. There’s always something going on here.” — Madelyn Spoll
- "Apparently a lot of people think it’s exciting because there are a lot of people who live here who are pretty important. If you want excitement, you can go to Las Vegas. I prefer Longboat Key. “ — Barbara Gurchiek
- “I would be glad to invite them to one of our Town Commission meetings, and I think they would have to determine we’re far from boring.” — Mayor Jack Duncan
- “Tranquil, stunning, breathtaking, soothing, paradise — these are words I would use to describe us. Not boring. I, of course, love to photograph. I play tennis every day. I walk on the beach, read on the beach and eat at all our great restaurants. There are some incredible people who live here. I’m never bored. Never.” — Mary Lou Johnson
- “If you think that watching beautiful sunsets with an abundance of bird watching, nice canoe or kayak trails through the mangroves and beautiful, crystalline water and beaches is boring, then we’re not for you. If you want to do rock climbing, that won’t be here.” — Public Works Director Juan Florensa
- “I will concede that it closes down pretty early most nights, but I'm OK with that. I'm so busy during the day that I'm ready to be in bed most nights. There are so many opportunities to be active —walking, biking, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, tennis and now two gyms for rainy days. The social schedule is extensive and exhaustive. Some days I'm running so fast a bowl of cereal over the sink is all I have time for because I don't want to miss anything, which is a shame because the food is so good on Longboat.” — Jennifer Stiles
- “Those who determined the list obviously had Longboat confused with Naples.” — Commissioner Phill and Fanny Younger
- “It’s from people who don’t know what goes on here. It’s not spring break, but we’re not a spring break crowd. For me, it’s about socializing with neighbors and playing golf.” — Ken Simpson
- “You can go to a beautiful beach and relax by the Gulf, enjoy the incredible bird life, tortoises, mangroves and nature in all her glory at Durante Park, Sister Key or any of a hundred other places along the Key in a kayak or on a trail. You can sit among the oak trees while having lunch at Mar Vista looking out over Sarasota Bay. You can go flats fishing in some of the best redfish and snook on Earth and catch a monster tarpon in Longboat Pass. Spend the morning playing tennis, golfing, sailing or just chuckling at the clueless folks who voted all that and more as boring.” — Town Manager Dave Bullock
