[MrTudo]

Anyone have information on life in these places? A board member as piqued my interest here and thus, I am looking for info. Actually plan on driving over later this week to check it out as it's only an hour and change away from Port Charlotte.

I received some real estate listings , mainly houses in the below 300K range, on canals and it sure does look interesting as heck. Don't necessarily want a motor boat but would like to know what those possibilities are. I owned a little house that was on a small lake in Ft Lauderdale of all places more than a dozen years ago in an area called Palm Aire Village on the west side of 31st ave. I enjoyed canoeing in my back yard then and it also is a peaceful lifestyle with ducks, Egrets etc. Wondering about the gators though in sebring/lake placid and the smaller lakes and ponds. Would probably not be interested in anything less than 20-30 acres or so. Motorboat lake yes but is that even possible for the money I mentioned?

Is the area fairly progressive as most of South Fla is? I'm really hoping to avoid an area where the majority are red neck types as we experienced in many parts of Western North Carolina. We are a racially mixed family ( I'm Caucasian and my Wife is from Vietnam ), and we had some difficult moments in NC ( to say the least ). No problem in South Fla.

Wondering if there are any Italian Deli's similar at least to Pic N Run on Peachland in Port Charlotte, or any Asian Markets anywhere in the area. We shop mostly at Publix but also have access to a Philippino market here and a new Thai grocer who is actually stocking anything we want just opened on Tamiami Trail. There's also a good butcher here in PC.

Are there similar things in the Sebring area or at least not too far away?

Any good gourmet type grocers like Fresh Market or any health food stores?

I checked my health care insurance and it appears that there's 6 different hospitals in roughly a 15 mile radius around Lake PLacid. I also wonder if there are any holistic care docs , chelation therapy, Chinese herbalists anywhere near? We travel to a Chinese Doc all the way over to Ft Lauderdale now. There's a number of them there. We have one in Port Charlotte but we've never visited and have been really happy with the care we've gotten in from the fellow in Lauderdale. Wonder about Central Fla ( Sebring is considered Central? )

Hows the water quality ?

It would appear by the government census that there's a higher rate of people living in poverty there. How is the crime factor? It seems to be around half an hour from Arcadia. We really don't like Arcadia ( with the exception of shopping for antiques and the like there). Is it much different than Arcadia?

Thanks for any input you all may have and if you can recommend a good realtor to help guide us I'd be much obliged as well.

[newteacher]

I don't live there, but my husband's grandmother lives in Lake Placid, and his grandpa lives in Sebring. We visit a lot. Sebring is the more progressive of the 2, for sure. It's a nice area, but we were just there last month and there are many for sale signs on houses all over. There is the beautiful lake right there, and people run and excercise next to it, and it does add to the town. There are movies and shopping and all of that. However, it is a small area with many retirees, I'm not sure how old you are, or if this is good for you. But, grandpa loves it there, I know that, and he is a "normal" person, he likes nice things and has no problem with the area. Also, I noticed that the area has been more built up since our last visit a few years ago, more homes.
As for Lake Placid, it is a very small town. If you like rural, this would be the better place, if you're looking for land and all that. Very peaceful, folks seem nice. Grandma loves it there! But, Grandpa would hate it, and vice versa. It is all a matter of personal taste. Personally, I like it. She shops at a grocery called "SweetBay," it's a nice store, large, competitive prices. Overall, though, depending on what you're used to, it may feel too isolated out there for you. Anyway, hope I've been a little helpful. I am moving to Ocala this summer myself from NJ, so I've been doing a lot of research on that area and folks on here have been so helpful! Good luck to you!

[gypsychic]

MrTudo - you are not going to get both "rural" and "progressive" in one place, either here or in NC. We are moving to Lakeland (Polk County) soon - this is a beautiful town which has polished up over the last couple decades and really supports the arts. There are some nice groceries, etc. here, but even this area does not have the Fresh Market type places. A smaller town just 15 or 20 mi east is Lake Wales - haven't been there in awhile, but this little town has become more artsy and upscale in recent years with beautiful lakes, and rural areas, you might look into that - it's a little further north than the towns you mentioned. The nice thing about Lakeland and Polk County is that it is the center of the state, and less than an hour to Tampa or Orlando when you need the big city amenities.

[jhlcomp]

We were also intrigued with Sebring, but after a couple of trips we decided to look elsewhere. I still feel there might be a pocket that I have yet to uncover.

I didn't come away with the feeling that it was progressive, no gourmet markets, laid back, a little seedy in areas - but since you live so close, take a drive over and have a look see.

[MrTudo]

We're going on thursday morning and we'll spend the day, It's only about an hour and 15 minutes from here.

Newteacher, we like Sweetbay here in Punta Gorda. They have a better produce area than publix. They also charge 2.50 cents per 4 pack of Perrier in bottles while all 3 publix stores on tamiami trail rips us off for $3.20

[CHASLS2]

I want out of westcoast Pasco county,i was thinking down south around Venus FL. Or maybe somewhere in Hendry county

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by CHASLS2

I want out of westcoast Pasco county,i was thinking down south around Venus FL. Or maybe somewhere in Hendry county

And that has what to do with Sebring-Lake Placid? ( inquiring minds would like to know )

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by MrTudo

We're going on thursday morning and we'll spend the day, It's only about an hour and 15 minutes from here.

Let us know what you think....

We were there recently because my DH and son wanted to do some hiking at the Avon Park Air Force Range. My sister owns a lot in Placid Lakes Country Club community which she has never seen, so we drove over to check it out for her and drove through Sebring as well.

I guess if you like small town life, it would be OK. The main word that comes to mind when I think of them is BORING. I'm sure the streets are rolled up at 5:00.

They didn't look progressive at all - some areas were very run down. Sebring had some lovely homes around the lake. The locals we talked to said jobs were almost nonexistent and the local economy was terrible. This was about 3 years ago.

[MrTudo]

Thanks Pianogal, what's DH stand for?

[macguy]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Let us know what you think....

We were there recently because my DH and son wanted to do some hiking at the Avon Park Air Force Range. My sister owns a lot in Placid Lakes Country Club community which she has never seen, so we drove over to check it out for her and drove through Sebring as well.

I guess if you like small town life, it would be OK. The main word that comes to mind when I think of them is BORING. I'm sure the streets are rolled up at 5:00.

They didn't look progressive at all - some areas were very run down. Sebring had some lovely homes around the lake. The locals we talked to said jobs were almost nonexistent and the local economy was terrible. This was about 3 years ago.

I have been there and really liked it, then the sun went down. The bugs were so bad we had to run for the car. I'm not a wimp but I could not take that for long.