For Clas, the move to Sarasota wasn’t a happy one, stemming from political trouble in Venezuela. But the vivacious 26-year-old, a mainstay at Hotel Indigo, has come to love the city, especially because her family lives here, too. “When you’re with your family, you’re happy no matter where you are,” she explains. And she also appreciates Sarasota’s beaches. “Siesta is my favorite,” she says. And Siesta Key is where she met her new husband, Emilio—the two were married on April 21, 2007.

Warsaw, Poland
Roksana (Roxy) Szlamberger
Retail associate

“I came here to try something else,” Szlamberger, 23, says of her move from Poland. “I wanted an adventure.” Her adventure has lasted three years and led to a job at downtown’s Beau Monde clothing store, which she’s “very into”—hoping that someday the experience will provide a good jumping-off point for her own clothing line. She’s also into biking, kayaking and time with her boyfriend, and although she believes Sarasota needs more young people, she enjoys meeting the city’s many international residents. “It’s a great town,” she says.

Genoa, Italy
Antonella Meyer-Wolden
Ballroom dancer, martial artist

“Sarasota is a great ‘big-small’ town,” declares Meyer-Wolden, who moved here from Munich so that her teenage children could attend Bradenton’s IMG Academies. “I spend six months here and six in Europe, and I love what the city has to offer.” A “tennis fanatic” who counts legendary coach Nick Bollettieri as a close friend, the ultra-athletic Meyer-Wolden, 50, also practices tae kwon do at Lee’s Traditional Tae Kwon Do in Sarasota and last year won the first annual Pro-Am ballroom dancing world championships in Buenos Aires.