After growing up and spending their entire lives in Frederick, Maryland, Pete and Betsy Pakenas decided that 2025 would be the year they would pick up and move down to Florida. After their two children graduated from college and moved away, Pete—who started Pakenas Consulting LLC during COVID—-was already working remotely, and Betsy—a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley—had a growing client base in Florida. They had been visiting Fort Lauderdale every winter, and realized in 2024 that they could move down to the state full-time. Sarasota’s size and location for Betsy’s work made it the perfect place for the couple to settle down.
What has been your favorite thing about moving to Sarasota? betsy
Sarasota is such a welcoming community. If you're looking for community, you're looking for ways to get involved, engagement, fellowship, community involvement and volunteerism, any or all of the above, it's a very easy place to find those things. I don't think every place necessarily is like that. Frederick and Sarasota are also roughly the same size in terms of the city and in the surrounding counties, so that made it all so comfortable. I think that gave us comfort when moving here.
What surprised you the most about Sarasota once you moved here? betsy I travel frequently for work, and so I knew moving here, that wouldn't be diminishing. But I'm disappointed how much I need to be gone because I want to be here. The amount of disappointment I feel when I need to leave, versus my excitement coming back, that's been surprising pete I'm a big sports fan, and I was surprised by how easy it was for me to find my groups with similar interests, not just in the sports themselves, but in the teams as well.
Share a brief description of a recent day in the life. pete Payne Park for tennis, The Fountain Kitchen & Wine Bar to watch a Chelsea soccer game and Tamiami Tap for trivia.
What are you currently reading or looking forward to reading? pete Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. betsy The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
What would you do with 2 more hours in the day?
betsy I’d pick tennis back up, kayak and go to afternoon yoga class.
Your favorite music artists. pete Son Volt and The Turnpike Troubadours.
If you could have dinner with one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be? pete Winston Churchill.
If you could undo one invention in the world, what would it be?betsy Cell phones.
Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button in your life? betsy A pause button.
Favorite family tradition? betsy Visiting the Outer Banks every summer.
What is your favorite local spot and why? pete The Fountain Kitchen & Wine Bar, to go watch soccer games. It's cozy, it's not a very big place. Everybody knows one another, yeah, that's one of my go-tos. betsy Owen’s Fish Camp, we love going to sit out back listening to an acoustic guitar player. The atmosphere of that place is great.
What is one thing at the top of your bucket list? betsy We’re hoping to visit Anna Maria Island and also go to a comedy show soon
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? pete Time travel.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? betsy Surprising my boyfriend (now husband) in Massachusetts from Maryland (wound up on the Canada border accidentally, before GPS, another story! pete Surprising girlfriend (now wife) driving from Massachusetts to Virginia overnight.
If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? pete Cryptocurrency.
