[cc871]

i have been considering a move from nj to florida. from what i know so far i would like to be central to south west. at first i was thinking of tampa. i went down to visit for a week. i actually liked the area but the traffic was out of control. i'm not sure if it was the area i was staying in but it was some of the worst traffic i have seen. that would drive me crazy if i had to deal with that everyday. does tampa have a problem with their roads or is it just overcrowed?

i was also considering fort myers, sarasota, or maybe someplace in that area. i was going to say naples also but from what i understand that is a very expensive place to live. i would like somplace that has some of that big city feel but is not too overcrowed. or has terrible traffic like tampa. can anyone give me a feel as to what these areas are like? thanks

[Racelady88]

I moved from south Sarasota County in December. North Port, to be precise. It is booming down there, but still has a small quiet town feel to it. You are just a short car ride from Sarasota. The beaches in south county are awesome (there is even a dog beach in Venice, one town to the north), and you are close to all of the culture and night life that is Sarasota.

Traffic in Tampa is always bad. It is getting to be bad everywhere in Florida. The highway construction has not kept up with the housing boom.

Ft. Myers is terribly over priced. It seems like the farther south you go the more expensive things get.

[MrTudo]

Port Charlotte is "the deal" in the area

[cc871]

between sarasota and fort myers which would you say is closer to tampa as far as having that big city feel? or atleast moving in that direction.

[sunshine girl]

Sarasota would be closer to the big city feel you are looking for. Ft. Myers is beginning to take back the downtown area, but it is a bit rundown compared to Sarasota. Almost everything you need is in both Sarasota and Tampa, but much less traffic problems. Many different housing choices here too. Everything from multi million to regular folks. Beaches much better here also. Ft. Myers too swampy, can only get to a few beaches there and have to drive through very touristy strip to get to them. Sarasota has a more laid back aura than Tampa, but has all one needs here. And Tampa is only 45 minutes away and Orlando 2-3 hours away(depends who's driving). Love it here!!! And our downtown is spectacular. Check us out.

[beachykeen]

Jumping in here - I could have started the same thread=) we currently live in Pa. for the past 16mths. Before that we lived in Cape Coral for 10 years.
Our house just sold and now we are moving back to Fla around 3rd week of Aug.
We also have been looking anywhere from Sarasota county to Hernando county.
We don't want to move to Lee county - it was getting too crowded, housing went out of control, etc.
My dh's work is based in sarasota but he can work anywhere from Naples to Tampa.
We were looking up in hernando county because it is close to Tampa. You get alot more house for your money and to us it's not as flat and barren as the Cape felt.
Although now DH is thinking we should move to North Port area. Will be close enough to things we know - but still be able to explore new areas. The housing costs seem to be right in the middle. Not as high as Lee county and farther south.

I too am wandering though what there is to do in the sarasota county area. We have 4 children - 8,10 and 2 13yo's.
And one shopaholic mom=) I know about the mall in P.C - what about Sarasota? How far is that away from North Port?

Thanks!

[bamboosmom]

PM me if you want some info!

[sunshine girl]

To answer your question, the bigger mall in Sarasota is in the south part, but I'm sure it is about 30 minutes from North Port. There is a smaller, more upscale mall just south of downtown Sarasota also. There is much more shopping opportunities in Sarasota than the immediately surrounding towns. Our downtown area is tremendous. As far as what your kids have available to do, that is endless. Just depends on their interests.North port is cheaper housing prices, but less services, and one needs to drive some distance everytime you need/want something not found at Wal mart.

[beachykeen]

Sounds good to me. Right now I live in rural Pa. I have to drive 25 mins jsut to get to a wal-mart=)
Thanks for the info!

[cc871]

whats the drive like from sarasota into tampa?