PUNTA GORDA SCHOOLS/DEEP CREEK ~moving from New Jersey (Tampa: real estate, foreclosures)

[mack9675]

Hello ~
I am looking to move to Punta Gorda or surrounding areas.MY main concern is I have two children ages 6 years old and 16 months old. What towns have the best schools??. I am very fimilar with the area i currently own a condo in Punta gorda (which is up for sale forever)and have been vacationing here since i was 8. I wanted to stay in Punta Gorda however my real estate agents said you can find alot of great houses in Deep Creek. However I keep reading on this site issues of no privacy, no fences,etc in Deep Creek. I was wondering what area of Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte have areas with small kids,the parents are happy with the school system and actives for children.I went to great schools.com and thier were comments posted about sports being more important than school work & learning in the high school (charlotte high). Also has anyone moved from New Jersey to This area?? Are you happy ??
Taxes in New Jersey are threw the roof and it is know making New jersey a unaffordable state to live in.Thanks for your comments

[121804]

We just left PGI a few months ago due to the fact of having young children. Not the place to raise kids. It is a retirement community, plain & simple. We had to move to SWFL due to circumstances & PGI was a temp stay at a condo with a NJ owner who was desperately trying to sell the one we rented plus others they had bought. Nice condo but just like every other. They were asking $399k. Cannot figure out why.

We did a TON of research & looking into Deep Creek. Looked at homes there for about 7-8 months. Just too much of a mixed up mess of new next to run down next to empty, etc. The dirt colored sterile Adams homes on every street just kill any sort of prettiness to the area. If you take a look through the Charlotte county MLS, you will get a great idea of what is out there. There are homes on there that have been on the market for 18+ months. A home we liked for $235k is now $179k.
Drawn to DC b/c it had more families than PGI & DC Elem is better than Sallie Jones.
But after going there several several times & driving around at all different times,we just knew it wasn't the place for us.
Keep in mind DC doesn't have sidewalks either & there is one small park.

The deed restrictions in DC are silly. Fences cannot be over 4'; there is little to no privavcy (the green belt thing is a joke) & the streets are very narrow or very busy. Overall, the area just looked run down to us & way, way too many empty homes for sale.

We spent some time considering the Peachtree Ave area of PC ( I believe that is called like District or Area #17 or something). There was a wonderful park & baseball field right in the neighborhood & a variety of ages. But, again, just not the place for us. Schools in PC are sub-par & the area the middle school is located just plain out scared me.

I know Good Shephard is suppose to be good but it is incredibly small with class sizes being like 6-8 in a class past 3rd grade.

I did a lot of research of things to do with small kids in PC when we lived there & it was very minimal in my opinion. I am sure there are off the beaten path things to do, though. There's a YMCA & the pools. I was looking for tumbling classes, art, music & language classes. There is an active MOMs group there, though & I am sure they know a ton of things.

Personally having young children, I'd never go back to that area. It is not meant for little kids & is a ghost town in the summer. There were more boarded up homes around us than occupied from April-Nov. And the retirees there have a lot to desire; very cranky & grumpy. Sorry, but just how I felt.

We tried to find areas that had a family feel to them that met our needs, but it just wasn't there. Our extended family was not there, either, so there was a lot lacking.

I just think that there are better areas in FL & especially further north for younger families.

I hope your condo sells sometime but my goodness, it is RIDICULOUS in PG how many condos are for sale. Have you seen Vivante? Pretty but don't know how needed it was with the other gizillion for sale. It's gonna take you awhile but hope eventually it goes your way.

best of luck. NJ may be expensive but I'd think long & hard before moving them to a retirement community/city.

[AnotherDayInParadise]

Would you consider North Port? There are over 12,000 school age children in North Port. The Tampa Bay Rays will be moving their spring training and a farm team to northern Charlotte County in 2009; the facility is just minutes away from North Port and would provide a great way to spend some spring & summer afternoons/evenings. The YMCA as well as various leagues provide organized sports for children as young as 2. A developer at the corner of Toledo Blade and Price Blvds. is in negotiations with a movie theatre and a bowling alley. North Port was also selected to have a charter school open in August 2008: Imagine Charter School at North Port. And, of course, you're still less than 30 minutes from many beautiful beaches.

[mack9675]

Where in North Port are nice developments or subdivisions? Thanks for your comments. Deep creek sounds scary!!!

[mack9675]

121804 Where did you end up? After leaving Punta Gorda?

[AnotherDayInParadise]

Originally Posted by mack9675

Where in North Port are nice developments or subdivisions? Thanks for your comments. Deep creek sounds scary!!!

On the Toledo Blade corridor there is the Woodlands, Lakeside Plantation, and Bobcat Trail. On the Sumter corridor there is Heron Creek and Sabal Trace. On US41 is Talon Bay and Island Walk... and there is yet another called Charleston Park. You should be able to google them all to find more information, but if you get stuck, feel free to DM me.

[SoFLGal]

I live in North Port and have three children. The Sarasota county school district is known for having great schools. If you are more concerned with academics than sports you might want to look into Pine View School. There are many very nice subdivisions in North Port, d3tsabo lives in Lakeside Plantation and seems to be pretty happy there.

[mack9675]

thank you, I looked on charlotte area mls and also found the following areas, huberland,Meroni paradise,gardenside,chamberlian, price end & floribanna? Thank you for your comments I just would like to get into a kid freindly neighborhood with good schools.After reading alot on Deep Creek in PC. IT made me think it was the getto or something.ALso do you think North Port is more affordable than Punta Gorda? Thier does not seem to be as many vacant houses as PG.Punta gorda comments in the mls seem to be more of "make an offer" where North Port did not seem that way.Thanks for your help.I will be coming down on memorial day wekend to start looking into North Port.

[SoFLGal]

Generally speaking, North Port homes are more affordable then Punta Gorda. The average age in North Port (40 years old) is much lower than Punta Gorda (63 years old). I would say that there are probably more foreclosures in North Port than in Punta Gorda.

[121804]

As you probably know, most of the desire of PG is due to its access to the gulf & so many homes having gulf access...hence the price difference. The practicality of no backyard but instead a canal with young children is zero to none.

PG is also more built up & developed. Deep Creek is more Port Charlotte than PG, anyway. It just has a PG zip code which is why it always mentions that it is in PG. It is ghetto in many areas, though.

That being said, I have very little knowledge of North Port other than it seems to be in a transition stage & not much there.

If you can, I would look throughout that area & further north. Charlotte County schools have much to be desired.

Remember, Charlotte County is has the highest number of 65+ yrs & older in the country...education & youth is not it's focus by any means. The people there are intent on keeing it this way, also. Think "let's turn off our lights on Halloween so the kids don't knock on our door" attitude. That's Charlotte County.