Sarasota: Sun, sand, and shore

Sarasota may be the ultimate beach town, with its sun-kissed location on the Gulf of Mexico, more than 200 sunny days a year and an average year-round temperature of 71°F. Yet there are plenty of other reasons why we named it the best small city. The county -- which includes Venice, Northport, Longboat and Siesta Keys -- has its own symphony, ballet and opera companies. The 1,800-seat Van Wezel Performing Arts Center lures productions like the Broadway road company of Chicago. The Ringling Museum of Art -- established by circus baron John Ringling, who settled in the area in the 1920s -- has an extensive collection of American and European art. Like sports? Just an hour away there's the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers and arena football's Storm.

Sarasota also offers a triple treat: The lifestyle is very affordable. The median home price is a mere $126,000. Says Tracey Seider, an agent with Re/Max Realty: "This is the kind of place where you can get an incredible, brand-new home for $200,000." The schools are outstanding, and the job market is brisk. Sarasota County's public school students in key grades outscored 95% of their peers in the state. And perhaps most of all, the city posted job growth of 5 percent in the past year, ranking it among the top 25 metro areas in the country. During the next decade, it's expected to see a 30.5 percent increase in jobs, putting it at No. 7 in the U.S. Many of those jobs are in the retail and service sectors -- Sarasota is a thriving tourist destination -- but they are also in other industries.

Accounting firm Arthur Andersen established a small presence when it acquired a 20-person tax software company there in 1984. Today it has 850 employees in four divisions, including its technology solutions unit. "For people who want to work and live in a small community, it offers plenty of advantages," says James Shedivy, Andersen managing partner. "You can go home to have lunch with your kids."