To be honest, it was actually very easy to come up with 101 Reasons to Love Sanford Florida. I even went a bit over my initial goal of listing 101 reasons (hence the 101+). And had I continued, there would be a good 50 more reasons, I am sure 😉

Well, now it’s up to you! Add YOUR top reason(s) why you love Sanford and are proud to live here by commenting below!

Top Reasons to Love Sanford FL

101+ Reasons to love Sanford (in absolutely no particular order! I may revisit the list in the future and organize it by categories…)

  1. We have an international airport
  2. Farmers Market on Magnolia Square (every Saturday!)
  3. Plenty of Art Galleries – Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, Gallery on First, and more!
  4. Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe– Voted one of the best German restaurants in the entire US!!! What would Sanford be without “Das Boot” 😉 And of course Theo Hollerbach, one of the most influential people of Sanford! He has done so much for our city!
  5. Magnolia Square Market – a true German Deli – now how cool is that? Tons of people travel many miles just to get to this wonderful German supermarket, and we have it right here!
  6. Flea World – America’s Largest Flea Market
  7. The Sanford Fair
  8. All Souls Fall Festival
  9. Seminole Towne Center Mall – we have our own mall! No long drives on I-4, it’s just around the corner!
  10. We have “our own lake” – Lake Monroe – this lake makes the perfect scenery for lots of events and romantic walks. It makes historic Sanford even more beautiful and special!
  11. The all new boat slips at the Sanford Marina
  12. The beautiful Victorian homes of the historic residential district
  13. Riverwalk (and all those romantic bench swings) and the upcoming extension of the Riverwalk
  14. Central Florida’s Largest Splash Pad (right next to Ft. Mellon Park)
  15. The Central Florida Zoo with tons of events and kids activities throughout the year
  16. Not one but two birth centers: Heart 2 Heart Birth Center AND Tree of Life Birth Center
  17. The Central Florida Regional Hospital
  18. Easy Access to I-4, 417 and in the future 429
  19. The Sunrail will go through Sanford starting Spring 2014
  20. Alive After Five – Sanford’s popular street party every second Thursday of the month
  21. Bike Fest – one of Sanford’s biggest annual events (even though it was replaced in 2013 by Celebrate Sanford)
  22. Historic Downtown with lots of historic buildings like the Meisch building and the N.P. Yowell and Garner Woodruff Buildings (you know, the really red brick building!)
  23. Truly Unique Bars like Little Fish – Huge Pond, Buster’s Bistro, The Imperial at Washburn Imports, The Blues Alley, etc. Sanford attracts truly individual and creative personalities!
  24. Romantic restaurants like La Sirena Gorda Cabana (with its own garden), The Breezeway, and Marco Dino’s
  25. Home of the Sanford River Rats (who play baseball at the Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium)
  26. Larry A. Dale Aquatic Center – which can accommodate any aquatic competition in the world, including international water polo and synchronized swimming!
  27. Sanford Museums, including the Sanford High School Grammar Student Museum with its School Clock Tower or the Sanford Museum
  28. Sanford Library – not just awesome because of storytime
  29. City Parks, like Centennial Park and 18th Street Park
  30. Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center
  31. Princess Theater
  32. Sanford Art Walk – every fourth Friday of the month
  33. Maya Bookstore
  34. Celery Soup
  35. Central Florida Soap Box Derby
  36. Star Spangled Sanford on 4th of July
  37. Martin Luther King, Jr Parade and Rally
  38. Love Your Shorts Film Festival
  39. UA Seminole Movie Theater
  40. The art wall on First Street!
  41. Aldi (one fo the first in Central Florida and 2 stores total here!)
  42. Super Target – who doesn’t love shopping at Target? So glad we have our own Super Target and the plaza offers so many more stores, including Ross, Marshall’s and Old Navy
  43. Sanford Historic Trust Holiday Tour of Homes and those awesome Holi-Spheres
  44. Sanfordability: Sanford is affordable (not only real estate)!!
  45.  St Johns Rivership Co take a cruise on beautiful St Johns River and Lake Monroe
  46. Only 40 minutes to the closest beach (New Smyrna Beach or Daytona Beach)
  47. Old town charm (barber shop, old fashioned grocery store, etc.)
  48. Seminole State College
  49. Sanford has its own Planetarium thanks to Seminole State College
  50. St. Johns River with bars like Dockside Bar & Grill (formerly Captain’s Cove recently bought and now named Docktails Bar & Grill) with its pool and outdoor entertainment & dining patio
  51. Lakefront bars and dining at Nemo’s and The Port
  52. Zora Neale Hurston wrote her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine in Sanford in the 1930s
  53. Mayfair Country Club Golf
  54. Tree lined streets of historic Sanford
  55. You can still see deer and bears close to the preserves (e.g. Astor Farms, Buchingham Estates, Wekiva Estates etc.)
  56. Cross Seminole Bike Trail starts in Sanford
  57. The Sanford Marina and Marina Island
  58. Sanford was the setting for the movie My Girl (1991) and some more
  59. Alive After Five Oktoberfest – one of the biggest Oktoberfest events in Central Florida and always lots of FUN!
  60. Many of the national food chains are here (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Hooters, Cracker Barrel, Outback, IHOP, Longhorn Steakhouse etc.)
  61. H&M opened in the mall (first store in Central Florida along with Florida Mall)
  62. Zip Lining at the Zoo
  63. Colonial Town Park (even though its technically a county address it is virtually in Sanford/Lake Mary)
  64. Sanford Downtown FREE Wi-Fi: The City of Sanford is providing wireless access as a public service, free of charge. Wi-Fi availability extends along First Street roughly from 17-92 to Fort Mellon Park, and within a few blocks of First Street to the south and to the waterfront on the north.
  65. Beertoberfest, Pints’n Paws, Pirates of the Saint Juan’s Festival and the all new Sofa’s & Suds beer festival and more unique events
  66. Sanford Lighting of the Christmas Tree and Christmas Parade
  67. Sanford has its own illuminated bike parade
  68. Illuminated boat parade at the Sanford Marina
  69. St Nikolaus in Sanford
  70. The crazy awesome holiday lights at the nursery on Upsala Road
  71. Trick or Treating in downtown Sanford on Halloween
  72. The fun seasonal changing straw figure on Park and First (e.g. the Mistle Toad, the Pilgrim Teddy or the Christmas Bear)
  73. The 5K Turkey Run every Thanksgiving
  74. St Johns River of Art Fest every May
  75. Nifty Trifty and other thrift fun stores in downtown Sanford
  76. Sanford’s Antique Stores and cool mid century furniture store Junk2Funk
  77. The Sanford Pub Crawl (monthly)
  78. Sanford Food Truck Bazaar (every first Saturday of the month)
  79. Sitting on Magnolia Square and just enjoying our quiet little town. And look at that clock tower!
  80. PaintNite events at Hollerbach’s Willow Tree
  81. Fort Mellon Park – one of the best playgrounds and parks in Seminole County (with beautiful Lake Monroe as a backdrop)
  82. Taste of Sanford – a great culinary experience, organized by the Sanford Chamber of Commerce
  83. The Sanford Chamber of Commerce – Connections Breakfast, and lots of networking events to help your business!
  84. Sanford Veteran’s Memorial Park – with great views of Lake Monroe
  85. Bounce U – lots of fun for the kids
  86. Historic Sanford Welcome Center – they bring us lots of great events like Alive After Five and the Art Walk
  87. Sanford’s People – friendly and helpful, I have yet to run into someone who doesn’t fit those characteristics (sure, there are always exceptions, but I’m talking in general here!)
  88. Jackie Robinson lived here
  89. Seminole State Forest in Sanford
  90. Paw Park Place and Paw Park of Historic Sanford – DOG FANCY magazine readers recently voted Paw Park #2 out of the 10 best dog parks in the United States!
  91. Pet Rescue by Judy and the fact that Sanford is a dog friendly town
  92. Initiatives like “Hand in Hand in Sanford” or the “Live, Work, Play” signs which prove what a great community Sanford has!
  93. The Sanford Shuffle, every third Friday and first Sunday of the month. Join the retro fun! Vintage attire is encouraged!
  94. The Sanford Project, a documentary about Sanford
  95. The Golden Age Games, the nation’s oldest senior games are held every November in Sanford. 2014 marks the 40th anniversary of these games!
  96. The Sanford Senior Center with tons of activities for senior citizens.
  97. Sanford Citizens Academy and how the city strives to be as transparent as it can be, involving its citizens as much as it can
  98. Sanford Home Brew where you can brew your own beer and the Seminole Brew Club that meets every 1st Thursday at Buster’s Bistro
  99. Voted on the List of Most Exciting Small Towns in America 2013
  100. You can drive your golf cart downtown and in the historic residential district
  101. LimoCycle – A bar on wheels! Pedaling through historic Sanford while enjoying drinks. Starting service 2/1/2014
  102. Beautiful scenery that have inspired awesome photographers like Reg Garner and John Pierce who capture Sanford in its best light.
  103. Paint the Trail in Sanford (right next to the Sanford Welcome Center)
  104. The electric car charging stations in downtown Sanford

Since I have forgotten about a dozen (minimum) things I love about Sanford now it’s up to you, Sanford residents: Why do you love Sanford? Post your reasons here and I will add them to the list! Come on, I know we can make it all the way to 200 😉

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