Osprey's residential landscape is built around water, golf, and low-density living. Established waterfront neighborhoods such as Sorrento Shores offer direct boating access on Little Sarasota Bay, while Osprey Harbor Village provides Mediterranean-style condominium living near the water. The Oaks community includes estate and golf-course homes around championship courses, and communities like Rivendell add preserve-backed single-family options. Nearby Casey Key is known for larger Gulf-front and bayfront estates. The overall housing stock skews toward established, mid-to-upscale single-family homes and condominiums rather than dense new tract development, giving Osprey a settled, residential character.

Several distinct communities define Osprey. The Oaks is a golf and country-club community with sub-neighborhoods such as Oaks Bayside and Oaks Clubside set around championship courses and Little Sarasota Bay. Sorrento Shores is a well-established waterfront neighborhood near Blackburn Point Road with bay access and boat docks. Osprey Harbor Village offers Mediterranean-style condominiums overlooking the bay, and Rivendell is a popular community with scenic preserve surroundings. Across the water, Casey Key and Nokomis provide barrier-island living with Gulf beaches, extending Osprey's reach to the shoreline even though the community itself sits on the mainland side of the bay.

Life in Osprey revolves around the water and the outdoors. Residents boat and paddle on Little Sarasota Bay, play golf at The Oaks, and spend mornings at Historic Spanish Point or hiking the trails of Oscar Scherer State Park. The community skews toward established households and retirees drawn to its quiet, low-density character, yet it remains within minutes of downtown Sarasota's arts, dining, and healthcare and the beaches and shops of Venice and Nokomis. Osprey's own commercial scene is modest—marinas, a handful of restaurants, and neighborhood services—so much of daily shopping and entertainment happens in the neighboring cities, keeping the community itself calm and residential.

Osprey is served by Sarasota County Schools, the public district that covers the entire county with neighborhood elementary, middle, and high schools in the surrounding area. Families also have access to a range of private and charter schools in Sarasota and Venice. The community's school-age population is relatively small, reflecting its mix of established households and retirees, but the broader Sarasota County system provides well-regarded educational options for families who choose to live in Osprey.

Osprey lies along the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), the primary north-south corridor connecting Sarasota to Venice, which places both cities within a short drive. Interstate 75 runs inland just to the east, offering faster regional travel to Tampa, Bradenton, and Fort Myers. Blackburn Point Road and the Blackburn Point Bridge link the community toward Casey Key and the Gulf beaches. Because Osprey is primarily residential, most residents rely on cars for commuting, shopping, and beach access, a typical pattern for the Sarasota County coast.

Osprey's two signature attractions are Oscar Scherer State Park and Historic Spanish Point. Oscar Scherer, set between Sarasota and Venice, preserves habitat for the threatened Florida scrub-jay, offers hiking and biking trails and Lake Osprey for fishing, and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Historic Spanish Point, on a peninsula in Little Sarasota Bay, is a botanical, archaeological, and historic site operated by Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Boating and paddlecraft on the bay, golf at The Oaks, and the Gulf beaches of Casey Key and Nokomis round out a recreation-rich setting that is central to Osprey's identity.