Port Charlotte near Punta Gorda #1 Retirement Place 2009

[tommy-105]

Hi Big House, Thank you.
I know you bought a house here. Congratulations on you're choice of locations. I still don't think you're actually living here yet.

Anyway, "Landmom" asked some specific questions about Port Charlotte. She wants to know what to see and do while visiting. Apparently she is a boater. I don't live in Port Charlotte. I'm not a boater and I have trouble finding good things to say about the town. I would have expected jvelte or the Cools to take this opportunity to point out some of the attractions Port Charlotte has to offer.

So far all we have is Nav-A-Gator, Slip Knot and Harpoon Harry's. (which I can't help but notice are all drinking establishments and aren't even in Port Charlotte.) Is there anything else to do in Port Charlotte? I doubt that Landmom will be bringing a boat with her when she visits. Would it be worth while to rent one to check out the area?

[jvelte]

Originally Posted by tommy-105

Anyway, "Landmom" asked some specific questions about Port Charlotte. She wants to know what to see and do while visiting. Apparently she is a boater. I don't live in Port Charlotte. I'm not a boater and I have trouble finding good things to say about the town. I would have expected jvelte or the Cools to take this opportunity to point out some of the attractions Port Charlotte has to offer

Boating from the back yard and the accessibility to the ICW and Gulf was the attraction for us. We pretty much live on our boat in the summer on Lake Michigan. Yeah, we're pretty big on boating. It is our lifestyle, not a hobby. Some people go camping for a week. We "camp" on the boat. Besides boating, PC has easy access to tons of shopping, close proximity to beaches and other gulf coast towns, lots of parks, golf courses, country clubs, bars/restaurants, an activity complex on the harbor, and of course Punta Gorda just across the bridge offers great leisure activities as well. It's great having two towns so close, yet seperated by a mile of water .
In response to a previous post, nobody ever implied that everyone has to or will like PC. I honestly could care less if you do or don't. But outsiders deserve to know the truth about an area, not just about a flea market and ferris wheel off of 41.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by tommy-105

I checked out the Nav-A-Gator when I was in the area one afternoon, after a local paper did a write up about it. I didn’t even bother getting out of my truck, and never felt compelled to go back during business hours. A little too “old Florida” for me, I guess. The Nav-A-Gator web site gives directions from Land, Air, or water:
Nav-A-Gator, Inc.


The turn off Kings Highway is easy to drive right by. Here’s the billboard, right before SW Peace River St.
Google Maps

They're at the end of the road next to the boat ramp:
Google Maps

Like BigMunch says, Port Charlotte (and Punta Gorda) aren't fancy. If you're looking for a beach front resort, you're not going to find it here.

I'm kinda partial to the River City Grille myself. But we bring friends to the Slip Knot on Thursday night. The Pirate Bar in the back is really well done, and they usually have good bands and a nice dance floor.

I also like Dean's for Mexican Food, and I like the roof top bar at the Wyvern for drinks and watching the sunset. After that we usually head over to River City and the Tavern for a couple more drinks and appetizers or dinner, then we will meaner down to Jacks which is an outside bar and restaurant. Sometimes we will go into bin 82, and get a nice glass of wine or a small tapas plate. I like the italian food at Portofino's which has a nice raised deck bar. The food there is really good. There are really plenty of things to do, you can of course go to harpoon harry's which is a nice outside deck/dock bar. The Best Western has a nice little dockside bar and grille too. If you like cuban Upscale cuisine try LuLu's in the Wyvern Hotel - it is unique and well prepared. Then there is also the Perfect Caper, which is very good and will help you lighten your wallet.

There are plenty of others - but those are my more usual spots, unless you like a nice light lunch - then I like to hit Pies and Plates (in the shopping center near Publix.

Nav-a-Gators - That is a perfectly described on their website as a fishing camp type bar/grille/restaurant. No need for a sport jacket there! ;-) It is not a place for people that don't let thier hair down. I took a guided kayak tour from there. It's a pretty cool setting! Then not to be confused there is another place in PC called Gators (it is a nice little sports bar that has a lot of bikers - incase you are a free spirit.

The thing I like about the area, is that you can relax, wear shorts, flip flops and if you want to get dressed up take off the Tee Shirt, and put on a collared golf/tennis/polo shirt and your ready to go anywhere. Life is good!

Oh, and I live there (in PGI) most of the time. I just come up to be with my daughters and for family holidays. I like to fish, kayak, swim, bike, play golf and tennis - and refresh with a nice cold beer and hang with my friends, and meet people.

[tommy-105]

Big House, I have to admit that it seems that you have had more time to enjoy what Punta Gorda has to offer than I have. We go to Deans once and a while, but we haven't checked out any of the other places you mentioned. I've always heard good things about River City Grille. Just looks kind of pricey. I don't drink, so the bars you mentioned wouldn't interest me anyway.

You put a real good list together of thinks to do in Punta Gorda, but the original question was about Port Charlotte. So far, it seems like the best thing PC has going for it, is it's cheaper real-estate and it's proximity to Punta Gorda. I feel fortunate to have the buffer of a river between the two towns. I really don't like what I see over there.

[Floridachic]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

It's definitely NOT on the Best Places to Live list.

A couple of things:

First of all, check out all the real estate agents that came out of the woodwork to post in the comments. There's a flood of them, right now. I also see Vegasboy in there, talking about his investment property.

The list also puts Miami at number 13 for Best Places to Retire. Ewww.

They have TN as having state income tax when we don't. We also don't tax pensions. Whoops. Shameless plug, I know.

TN State Income Tax:
The individual income tax is imposed only on individuals and other entities receiving interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock.
Enacted in 1929, this tax was originally called the Hall income tax for the senator who sponsored the legislation. The law can be found in Tennessee Code Annotated in Title 67, Chapter 2.
Exemptions:
Persons over 65 with total income less than $16,200 for a single filer or $27,000 for a joint filer are exempt.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Floridachic

TN State Income Tax:
The individual income tax is imposed only on individuals and other entities receiving interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock.
Enacted in 1929, this tax was originally called the Hall income tax for the senator who sponsored the legislation. The law can be found in Tennessee Code Annotated in Title 67, Chapter 2.
Exemptions:
Persons over 65 with total income less than $16,200 for a single filer or $27,000 for a joint filer are exempt.

Here's the state and local tax burdens ranked. As you can see Florida is ranked 47 and Tennessee is ranked 44. Pretty close. However, I think I get a better bang for my buck.

http://www.retirementliving.com/tax_burden_2008.pdf

Oh, and by the way, my income is not taxed by the state. Neither would be my mother's pension.

[mrcoolmrcool28]

Originally Posted by tommy-105

Big House, I have to admit that it seems that you have had more time to enjoy what Punta Gorda has to offer than I have. We go to Deans once and a while, but we haven't checked out any of the other places you mentioned. I've always heard good things about River City Grille. Just looks kind of pricey. I don't drink, so the bars you mentioned wouldn't interest me anyway.

You put a real good list together of thinks to do in Punta Gorda, but the original question was about Port Charlotte. So far, it seems like the best thing PC has going for it, is it's cheaper real-estate and it's proximity to Punta Gorda. I feel fortunate to have the buffer of a river between the two towns. I really don't like what I see over there.

A river??? Um...that huge body of water between Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda is called Charlotte Harbor. It's only the 2nd largest harbor in Florida other than Tampa Bay.
Nav-A-Gators, Tailgators, and a couple other cool places I forgot about, Cracker Joe's and the Shell Rock Cafe, are all in Port Charlotte. The Slipknot and Harpoon Harry's are in Punta Gorda. But as the two towns are within walking distance of each other, what's the harm of pointing them out to someone visiting?? I also could have added Bert's in Matlacha, or the Burnt Store Marina, but the conversation was about PC. You really need to be able to travel within both ends of the spectrum in Florida, in one day we had lunch at the upscale Burnt Store Marina, and then did cocktails later in the afternoon at Bert's! You need to be not afraid to get out of your vehicle and enjoy PC, PG, Burnt Store, Pine Island and everything between for all they have to offer!