All the information you need to know about Bradenton, Florida and Manatee County.
Year-round sunshine, surf, and leisure sports lure visitors to Bradenton, a friendly tropical 
spot south of Tampa Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Hernando DeSoto discovered the area in 1539, an event commemorated each spring with the monthlong Florida Heritage Festival. Stroll along the waterfront downtown, take up canoeing, fish for grouper and mahi mahi, play golf or just relax and watch the sun dip into the sea. Kids of all ages will enjoy visiting Snooty, the South Florida Museum’s star manatee.
The area that would become Bradenton was first explored in 1539 by Hernando De Soto, who began his search for the legendary El Dorado at Shaw’s Point. The city took the name of Dr. Joseph Braden, whose nearby fortlike house was a refuge for early settlers during Seminole Indian attacks. The current city of Bradenton was formed in 1943, when the Florida legislature merged the cities of Manatee (incorporated in 1888) and Bradentown (incorporated in 1903).
Bradenton is located on US 41 between Tampa and Sarasota. The area is surrounded by 
waterways, both fresh and saltwater. Along the Gulf of Mexico and into Tampa Bay are over 20 miles of Florida beaches – many which are shaded by Australian pines. Bordered on the north by the Manatee River, Bradenton is located on the mainland and is separated from the outer barrier islands of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key by the Intracoastal Waterway. Anna Maria Bayfront Park located on the north end of Anna Maria island is a park overlooking Tampa Bay. The business district and community of Bradenton Beach on the southern end of Anna Maria island is oriented toward vacationers who come to enjoy the surrounding beaches. Longboat Key, the next barrier island south, is popular with shell hunters along its beaches.
The Eastern side of Bradenton is growing at a rapid rate. Initially starting as the popular subdivision Lakewood Ranch, it is now becoming a heavily populated part of town. Most of the communities are newer than in West Bradenton.
Colleges near Bradenton include The University of South Florida-Manatee Sarasota 
Campus, State College of Florida (formerly Manatee Community College), New College of Florida, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Gordon University [2] and Manatee Technical Institute. Some of the middle schools are Martha B. King Middle School, W. D. Sugg Middle School, Louise R. Johnson Middle School, Braden River Middle School, Sara Scott Harllee Middle School, Electa Lee Middle School, St. Joseph’s Catholic School, and Carlos E. Haile Middle School. High schools include Manatee School for the Arts, Southeast High School, Bayshore High School, Palmetto High School (Florida), Manatee High School, Braden River High School, Lakewood Ranch High School, Community Christian School,[10] Bradenton Christian School, the oldest private Christian school in the county, the Out of Door Academy, and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School.[11] The University of South Florida also maintains a Sarasota-Manatee branch which serves college students in the area. New College of Florida, the state’s honors college, is located on the border between Bradenton and Sarasota. International Theological Seminary is headquartered in Bradenton. The world-renowned tennis academy, run by Nick Bollettieri, bears a Bradenton address. The academy is managed by IMG and is also the home of the David Leadbetter junior golf academy. IMG also runs the IMG Soccer Academy for the United States Soccer Federation’s (USSF) full-time residency program for the US Under 17 Men’s National Team. The Bradenton facilities graduates include U.S. international soccer stars, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Freddy Adu.
Bradenton and Manatee County Real Estate listings and brokers. Manatee County Florida Real Estate.
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No place in the nation is more attractive to retirees than Bradenton-Sarasota, according to a popular business news site.
Portfolio.com today named Bradenton-Sarasota the most popular retirement destination in the United States. The national news site for executives of small- to mid-size businesses looked at six indicators among 157 cities to determine where seniors 65 and older love to rest and relax.
The rankings are based on senior population, median age, seniors born out of state, incoming seniors, difference in out-of-state births and difference in incoming rates.
In Bradenton-Sarasota, seniors make up 26.81 percent of the combined cities’ population of 688,126. Senior citizens represent 12.9 percent of the nationwide population.
“In addition to warm cities, we’ve also seen that seniors are attracted to communities that have a significant population of retirees,” said J. Jennings Moss, editor of Portfolio.com. “This demonstrates that seniors will go to places that already have a comfortable infrastructure in place.”
Mary Lou Moure, 82, lived in Sarasota long before she retired from her career as a school principal. A quarter-century ago, she and her husband moved to Garden Lakes in Bradenton and never imagined living anywhere else.
“I’ve lived here 25 years and I love it,” Moore said. “I’m very happy. There’s so much to do. So many art and music events. You could be out every night enjoying some sort of program between the Manatee Players, the Sarasota Players, the Sarasota Orchestra.”
Business professionals throughout Manatee County say Portfolio.com’s notable list could go a long way in driving both retirees and tourists to the area.
“I think this study is right on,” said Alan Anderson, president of the Home Builders Association of Manatee Sarasota. “Especially with the downturn in the economy, the retiree’s money is not going as far as it used to.
“Retirees today are looking at smaller houses, but they still want the lifestyle, the neighborhoods for their retirement life and the amenities,” Anderson said. “That’s what we’re here to do.”
The Great Recession actually resulted in a population decline in Florida as the state lost 56,736 residents between April 2008 to April 2009, according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research. From April 2009 to April 2010, the state gained 22,873
