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North Port without question. They have a well thought out growth plan and plenty of undeveloped land to accomplish it. It’s still small enough to attract families looking to move to Florida but has the zoning and land already available for major commercial development.
What jobs does North Port have?
I’ve always struggled to see what Cape Coral to North Port really has to offer in terms of employment.
I’ve always struggled to see what Cape Coral to North Port really has to offer in terms of employment.
North Port is mostly middle class jobs...Teachers, Healthcare workers, tradesmen, small biz owners. I can't think of 1 large employer, or even a mid-sized employer in North Port. Residents drive to other places nearby to work, work from home, or work in the gig economy.
Some drive to Sarasota, or Fort Myers to work. There's an Amazon hub, a window manufacturer, & 2 hospitals w/in a short drive from North Port. Most work in a small biz environment, or own a small biz.
Nearly everyone I hire to do work around my home drives up to Venice (where I live) from North Port...HVAC tech, landscape contractor, pressure washing company, handyman, electrician, you name it.
Most restaurant workers, retail workers also live there. Its a younger working class community that has low cost of living. Wellen Park is a massive master planned community of affluent retirees (for the most part) that is also part of North Port right now, but they are trying to split away from the City...lawsuits ongoing.
If Wellen Park is successful in splitting away from North Port, it will set North Port back 10 years in its evolution.
North Port has more population than the City of Sarasota, or Bradenton, & at the current growth trends of all 3, North Port will overtake BOTH Sarasota & Bradenton combined, w/in the next 5 yrs.
North Port is mostly middle class jobs...Teachers, Healthcare workers, tradesmen, small biz owners. I can't think of 1 large employer, or even a mid-sized employer in North Port. Residents drive to other places nearby to work, work from home, or work in the gig economy.
Some drive to Sarasota, or Fort Myers to work. There's an Amazon hub, a window manufacturer, & 2 hospitals w/in a short drive from North Port. Most work in a small biz environment, or own a small biz.
Nearly everyone I hire to do work around my home drives up to Venice (where I live) from North Port...HVAC tech, landscape contractor, pressure washing company, handyman, electrician, you name it.
Most restaurant workers, retail workers also live there. Its a younger working class community that has low cost of living. Wellen Park is a massive master planned community of affluent retirees (for the most part) that is also part of North Port right now, but they are trying to split away from the City...lawsuits ongoing.
If Wellen Park is successful in splitting away from North Port, it will set North Port back 10 years in its evolution.
North Port has more population than the City of Sarasota, or Bradenton, & at the current growth trends of all 3, North Port will overtake BOTH Sarasota & Bradenton combined, w/in the next 5 yrs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by double6's
none..absolutely none..other than a few service workers and teachers..none..
Thank you, this is basically what I thought. Normally these suburban type of communities couldn’t exist without some sort of urban center. I think it’s working in SW Florida purely due to retirees. Contrast this area to Lakeland, which actually has some real business, and I’ve got to think places like Lakeland have a brighter future.
Last edited by FL_Expert; 04-28-2024 at 06:49 PM..
Thank you, this is basically what I thought. Normally these suburban type of communities couldn’t exist without some sort if urban center. I think it’s working in SW Florida purely due to retirees. Contrast this area to Lakeland, which actually has some real business, and I’ve got to think places like Lakeland have a brighter future.
Lakeland is a ground transportation hub due to its location between Orlando and Tampa Bay. Tons of regional warehouses there, but due to automation, those massive warehouses don't employ lots of people.
Even forklift drivers are being automated out of jobs.
I'll stick w/ North Port over the next 20 years due to its jobs that are not easily outsourced or automated.
Small businesses that cater to the masses of homeowners and consumers are a safer future than Fortune 500 warehouses that are becoming robot'ville.
One must look ahead into the future to see what is coming.
If I could vote for both I would say PSL and Ocala, each for the positive and negative reasons that others noted.
A place like PSL, which is still relatively inexpensive and with lots of dated and relatively smaller homes seems prime for people to start taking over buying up homes relatively cheap, tearing them down and building huge new ones on top of each other. PSL is also close enough to commute to other areas at least on occasion.
Ocala still has some very pretty countryside but when those who live there start getting offers to sell the land from builders, the expansion will turn the rolling hills and horse country into the next Villages or 55+ community. Retirees will like it because it's not right on the coast so home insurance / flood and hurricane risk will be lower. When I was living in Naples and had to travel north, I would purposely drive through Ocala even though it was usually out of my way because it was so peaceful and beautiful, more "southern" like in landscape and people.
Lakeland is a ground transportation hub due to its location between Orlando and Tampa Bay. Tons of regional warehouses there, but due to automation, those massive warehouses don't employ lots of people.
Even forklift drivers are being automated out of jobs.
I'll stick w/ North Port over the next 20 years due to its jobs that are not easily outsourced or automated.
Small businesses that cater to the masses of homeowners and consumers are a safer future than Fortune 500 warehouses that are becoming robot'ville.
One must look ahead into the future to see what is coming.
I'm sorry, you really don't know much about Lakeland, do you. It is boom town for a reason. Lakeland has the largest Amazon air cargo hub and sorting facility for the Southeast for one thing. Of course you know we have Publix, Florida Southern College, Southeastern University, and last but not least award winning Florida Polytechnic for higher education, and Lakeland Regional Health and Watson Clinic, both which are constantly expanding. The economy is very strong here, and the population is a whole lot more than just retirees, like down in SW Florida.
Also, while Lakeland may not be coastal it is a beautiful city with lots of lakes and gentle rolling hills and plenty of beautiful landscape. There are 70 parks and rec centers here! Not to mention nature preserves. And it has a beautiful and vibrant downtown, unlike places like PSL or Cape Coral. And the location is great, being almost centered between Tampa and Orlando. One thing that makes me glad is that while this city is growing by leaps and bounds, many of the developers who are building here are choosing to build nice quality homes and complexes rather than the cheap boxes I see going up elsewhere. I think they recognize the value of the area.
Also want to mention that Lakeland hosts the annual Sun and Fun, which took place a couple weeks ago, and is the largest convention of any kind in Florida, and the second largest air show in the world; bringing in hundreds of thousands of people.
I worked in Lakeland decades ago, & saw it grow into a regional transportation hub. I used to be able to smell the Butter Krust Bread baking from my office, just off I-4. That is where a lot of the Publix store brand bread comes from. I worked in Lakeland off & on for 30 years. I spent a lot of time at the Havertys DC, when it was built.
I know Lakeland better than most, & I'm not knocking it, I just don't see it turning into a major city.
Lakeland has grown due to its strategic location along I-4. Trucks can reach nearly all of the rest of FLA from Lakeland (except the Panhandle), & return that same evening. It has direct access to 2 major metro's...Tampa Bay & Orlando. Land was cheap when Lakeland started building massive warehouses, but not so much now.
How many inland Florida cities became boomtowns? 1...Orlando, and that was due to Disney. The Villages has seen explosive growth, but its no major city, & no beach...grandkids love the beach.
Florida is about the beach/coast...Jacksonville, Miami, Ft. Lauderdate, West Palm, Tampa Bay, Ft. Myers all have beaches. The next major city in FLA will have a beach nearby, which is why I think it will be North Port. Proximity to I-75, & lots of affordable land still exists, & 15 mins to nice beaches. It has access to 3 airports...Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers, and Sarasota. I could even see it becoming a major port for cruise ships. Tampa's cruise port suffers due to the height restrictions under the Skyway Bridge, whereas North Port could provide clear access to the Gulf for the largest ships.
Time will tell who is right. God willing, we'll have to come back to this thread 10 & 20 years from now to see who saw the future the clearest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsychic
I'm sorry, you really don't know much about Lakeland, do you. It is boom town for a reason. Lakeland has the largest Amazon air cargo hub and sorting facility for the Southeast for one thing. Of course you know we have Publix, Florida Southern College, Southeastern University, and last but not least award winning Florida Polytechnic for higher education, and Lakeland Regional Health and Watson Clinic, both which are constantly expanding. The economy is very strong here, and the population is a whole lot more than just retirees, like down in SW Florida.
Also, while Lakeland may not be coastal it is a beautiful city with lots of lakes and gentle rolling hills and plenty of beautiful landscape. There are 70 parks and rec centers here! Not to mention nature preserves. And it has a beautiful and vibrant downtown, unlike places like PSL or Cape Coral. And the location is great, being almost centered between Tampa and Orlando. One thing that makes me glad is that while this city is growing by leaps and bounds, many of the developers who are building here are choosing to build nice quality homes and complexes rather than the cheap boxes I see going up elsewhere. I think they recognize the value of the area.
Also want to mention that Lakeland hosts the annual Sun and Fun, which took place a couple weeks ago, and is the largest convention of any kind in Florida, and the second largest air show in the world; bringing in hundreds of thousands of people.
I worked in Lakeland decades ago, & saw it grow into a regional transportation hub. I used to be able to smell the Butter Krust Bread baking from my office, just off I-4. That is where a lot of the Publix store brand bread comes from. I worked in Lakeland off & on for 30 years. I spent a lot of time at the Havertys DC, when it was built.
I know Lakeland better than most, & I'm not knocking it, I just don't see it turning into a major city.
Lakeland has grown due to its strategic location along I-4. Trucks can reach nearly all of the rest of FLA from Lakeland (except the Panhandle), & return that same evening. It has direct access to 2 major metro's...Tampa Bay & Orlando. Land was cheap when Lakeland started building massive warehouses, but not so much now.
How many inland Florida cities became boomtowns? 1...Orlando, and that was due to Disney. The Villages has seen explosive growth, but its no major city, & no beach...grandkids love the beach.
Florida is about the beach/coast...Jacksonville, Miami, Ft. Lauderdate, West Palm, Tampa Bay, Ft. Myers all have beaches. The next major city in FLA will have a beach nearby, which is why I think it will be North Port. Proximity to I-75, & lots of affordable land still exists, & 15 mins to nice beaches. It has access to 3 airports...Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers, and Sarasota. I could even see it becoming a major port for cruise ships. Tampa's cruise port suffers due to the height restrictions under the Skyway Bridge, whereas North Port could provide clear access to the Gulf for the largest ships.
Time will tell who is right. God willing, we'll have to come back to this thread 10 & 20 years from now to see who saw the future the clearest.
All you have to do is google and you will see that Lakeland IS a boomtown, on top of almost nearly every list for fastest growing city in the country. You can't base anything on the Lakeland that "was" decades ago when you lived here. It has changed incredibly since I last lived here in 2007 and growing by the day. This includes the Winter Haven metro. None of the other places you mentioned has the potential for major growth like this area does.
As far as the beach goes - I hate to break it to you but not everyone cares about the beach. No one who lives here does, including me. I lived in Sarasota for decades and almost never went to the beach. Most people who work aren't going to the beach. And not every retiree cares either. For many, all the lakes here are enough, especially for fishermen and boaters. And for that matter, from here I can be at either coast in 1.5 to less than 2 hours if I really need a "beach day."
But honestly, the whole state is growing by leaps and bounds (sad to say). Probably all the areas mentioned here will be booming in the next decade. Makes me sad. My home state has changed soooo much. I'm not really happy about Lakeland being a "boom town." I just hope they manage the development in the right way, which so far they have. One last reason why it's so popular is that it has a lot of amenities for a small city, and at least for now, a decent bang for the buck on real estate. Here you get your money's worth when you purchase a home (although prices have risen substantially the last few years.
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