Punta Gorda - Why housing is so cheap there? (Miami: real estate, showing)

[TootsieWootsie]

Is housing so cheap compared in Punta Gorda, because Punta Gorda seems to have a bullseye on it when hurricanes come thru? Just wondering as the location is wonderful.
How destroyed as Punta Gordon gotten with these last hurricanes that came thru? And is it too scarey to live there now?

[mich2fla]

My wife's grandparents live in Punta Gorda. They have been there for over 25 years and only one hurricane came through during that time back in 2004. Another hurricane hit the SW part of FL back in 1960. The gulf side is usually the safer side compared with Atlantic side, but hurricanes can hit anywhere and anytime during the season. With hurricanes, you will have advanced warnings on where it's going and when it might hit land.

We were there last October and they have rebuilt nicely since 2004.

It's one of the few areas I would move to in a heartbeat if job is not a factor.

[tallrick]

Housing is not that cheap there compared to local incomes. SInce there are few high-paying jobs and no "miami factor" the values will be lower than many other areas. However, no housing in Florida is "cheap" anymore. The hurricane risk is less than Miami, for example, but the heat and humidity is worse in the opinion of many people.

[SoFLGal]

Most of the damage from Charley was done to the downtown area that sits right on Charlotte Harbor. It came in through the harbor and made it's way though Port Charlotte. My sister-in-law lives in the Historic downtown district and her home wasn't touched. It's been there since 1926. A friend has a home a few houses down and it got pretty badly beaten. Anywhere in Florida is susceptible to hurricanes.

Punta Gorda has a lot of retirees and it also has areas that have very good access to the harbor. Many of the homeowners are boaters because of this, especially in Burnt Store Marina, etc.

[121804]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

Is housing so cheap compared in Punta Gorda, because Punta Gorda seems to have a bullseye on it when hurricanes come thru? Just wondering as the location is wonderful.
How destroyed as Punta Gordon gotten with these last hurricanes that came thru? And is it too scarey to live there now?

Hi.
We lived there & just moved this past Oct.

Housing is cheap there b/c there is too much of it & not enough demand. It is VERY heavily populated with retirees & snowbirds. Only so many of that demographic is going to buy in PG. There is no industry or professional occucaptions, other than medical, to support the city.

If you love to boat & are retiring, PG is really nice with some great deals.

Deep Creek is something to stay away from; far away from. It's sketchy with that weird FL thing of $500k homes next to run down shacks. The deed restrictions in Deep Creek are ridiculous.

Burnt Store Meadows, Burnt Store Isles, & PG Isle are very nice & on the harbor side. There are some amazing new condo developments that have been built & are sitting empty.

The city did a really good job revitalizing itself after Charley & a lot of new stuff has gone up. There are still areas that are showing signs of it, but not as prevalent.

Wonderful location to retire & the civic assocation is booming with trips, card games, tennis & golf weekly for the retiree/snowbird population. Awful place if you have children for there are little to no resources for younger families minus a park & subpar schools.

The harbor side is a ghost town during summer. The library is very,very small but has a decent selection & there is a fairly large dog park. Fisherman's Village is nice.

It is the perfect distance to Fort Myers or Sarasota. We lived there b/c my husband worked in FM but we didn't want to live there. It was about a 40 min drive. Sarasota about 60 mins.

[jay2007]

Punta Gorda was used as a biological warfare test site about 20 years ago, millions of disease infected mosquitos were dumped on the area, and teams of biowarfare engineers from DOD and hired doctors counted how many people got diseases from the mite and disease infected mosquitos.
Similar to the syphiliss muskeegee prisonerss testing,where prisoners were deliberatly infected with syphilis for testing, there was public outcry when knowledge of this testing on punta gorda came out. Supposedly the testing stopped and the area was cleaned up, many people aware of those tests avoid punta gorda, it was like a love canal or chernobyl for a long time.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by jay2007

Punta Gorda was used as a biological warfare test site about 20 years ago, millions of disease infected mosquitos were dumped on the area, and teams of biowarfare engineers from DOD and hired doctors counted how many people got diseases from the mite and disease infected mosquitos.
Similar to the syphiliss muskeegee prisonerss testing,where prisoners were deliberatly infected with syphilis for testing, there was public outcry when knowledge of this testing on punta gorda came out. Supposedly the testing stopped and the area was cleaned up, many people aware of those tests avoid punta gorda, it was like a love canal or chernobyl for a long time.

Interesting, can you provide a link in reference to your post.

Thank you.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by jay2007

Punta Gorda was used as a biological warfare test site about 20 years ago, millions of disease infected mosquitos were dumped on the area, and teams of biowarfare engineers from DOD and hired doctors counted how many people got diseases from the mite and disease infected mosquitos.
Similar to the syphiliss muskeegee prisonerss testing,where prisoners were deliberatly infected with syphilis for testing, there was public outcry when knowledge of this testing on punta gorda came out. Supposedly the testing stopped and the area was cleaned up, many people aware of those tests avoid punta gorda, it was like a love canal or chernobyl for a long time.

Huh? Never heard that before

[tallrick]

I always thought it was that joke about its name. Everyone should know what punta gorda means. never, ever say gorda to any woman in Miami!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Huh? Never heard that before

Yes, it really is true. In fact, all of Florida is, indeed, a toxic waste dump. In the early 1970s, the EPA started using Florida as a release site for all of the toxins in bodies of water throughout the country. Of course, they may have "cleaned" the Hudson River or other bodies of water, but where did the toxins go? There is an underground pipeline that pumps nutritious, chemical laced water into our aquifer that can cause animals to have specific genetic mutations that have never been seen before. This is why Florida has flying roaches. Later on, Florida was extensively advertised by "real estate groups" such as General Development. Although this company failed, much of Florida's land development today is, indeed, a conspiracy by the government and a case study on how humans are effected by the various toxins that have been cleaned from America's waters. This is is the real truth, something that has never been exposed before, and over the next 10 to 15 years, we as Floridians may experience mutations never seen in the human race.

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