Possibly Punta Gorda? (Port Charlotte: how much, house, to buy)

[MartyGras]

Originally Posted by h.d.mitchell

I apologize for being a little too blunt. I have apparently offended some users and that was absolutely not my intention.
With that said, I have read through other posts and to answer your comments...
I work in Punta Gorda, so YES, I have been there. Five days a week, I may add.
I moved here for work. I was hired two weeks before my start date in a highly competitive field. That two weeks was spent getting down here, looking for a house, and moving. What research I DID do was on Punta Gorda, which is a very different place from its close neighbor Port Charlotte. I did NOT know that the two cities were very dependent on each other. I should have been more clear about PG--it is not run down, PC is. PG is beautiful. Unfortunately you cannot live in PG without going to PC for everything.
I do not have a night life by choice, so recommending bars is not what I wanted.
The reason I posted this is because we moved here after reading great things about the state and the area, and almost no negative things. Since we've moved here, we only read bad things about the entire state. I just wish I had talked to somebody with a less than ideal experience before we came here. I hope this helps somebody.

Too often people make a big move without investigating for themselves. That appears to have been your mistake.

Florida is a huge state were you can find everything from cowboys to big cities, he'll it even snows in the northern part of the state every 10 years or so.

I'd be interested to know what your expectations were before you moved?

Also wondering if you ever visited here before you moved?

Gary

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by h.d.mitchell

Punta Gorda is very different from Port Charlotte. There isn't much in Punta Gorda. There's a very small historic district. If you like the 80s and like slightly run-down buildings, this area is perfect for you. .......

Port Charlotte is a big city. ......

There's a lot of crime here. Breaking and entering, assault, theft. ...... And we live in one of the "nicer" streets. There was also a shooting about 250 feet from our house.

As far as amenities go...if you love McDonalds and chain restaurants, you're in luck. They're everywhere. If you want local, you'll pay $50 for a meal for two. ......

.......

Wow. Reading hdm's post (in entirety, not just what I quoted above) made me wonder where the heck he is talking about. It's certainly not the PC/PG that I know!

[h.d.mitchell]

I didn't have expectations of any kind, really. I knew it was close to the gulf, and that PG had a population of roughly 17,000. I looked at pictures, crime rates, etc. and like I mentioned above, I researched Punta Gorda, not Port Charlotte. It wasn't until we were here, physically looking for a house, that we crossed the bridge to PC. Yes, I made mistakes. It was a big jump to make in two weeks. I was nervous and stressed. One week here didn't show me what was really here, but I didn't have the time, nor the means to stay longer before deciding. I would absolutely recommend visiting several times before moving. I didn't have that luxury because, like so many, I had to go where the work was.
I posted this to help a fellow mover. I did not think I was going to be torn apart by people who take anything written about Florida personally. By the way you sound, I had to read back to what I read to be sure that I didn't mention you specifically, and that YOU had ruined my experience here.
To be honest, if I were the original poster, I'd be reading your responses and your reactions to see what the people of Florida are really like. The answer is, apparently, not friendly and overly defensive. A product of the environment is my guess.
Once again, this was not a personal attack. You have made it seem that way. I was only trying to inform somebody based on a new person's perspective. I didn't think the title of this thread was "moving to Punta Gorda? List only good things!"
On second thought, I'm starting to wonder if any of you have traveled anywhere outside of the area? (I can jump to conclusions, too, you know!)

[welshlady64]

The great thing about the forum is to get everyone's opinion good or bad . Personally I appreciate everyone's opinion . Don't feel to bad h d Mitchell I gave my opinion and advice on here once regarding hiring a nanny ( I've been a nanny for 30 yrs ) but was torn apart on here and told my opinion wasn't valid lol (even though the very people that tore me apart had never been a nanny ) so don't take it personal .....
MikMal it sounds like you love Florida and I'm hoping I feel the same as I'm relocating there next week and if I feel like you Mitchell I'll try NC next lol .

[billymac852]

You may want to look at Ft Myers and Cape Coral, about 20 min. south of PG, if you dont mind a mobile home lots of MH parks with cheaper rent, one right outside of PG. Anywhere you go down there is close to water. Also Port Charlotte just north is much bigger than PG, and lots more to choose from.

[h.d.mitchell]

Thank you! I really had no idea that I'd come under fire like this! People are psychoanalyzing me and saying that I'm just a negative Nelly and I'm unhappy with my life, which is not the case. It did make me laugh a little.

[MartyGras]

Originally Posted by welshlady64

The great thing about the forum is to get everyone's opinion good or bad . Personally I appreciate everyone's opinion . Don't feel to bad h d Mitchell I gave my opinion and advice on here once regarding hiring a nanny ( I've been a nanny for 30 yrs ) but was torn apart on here and told my opinion wasn't valid lol (even though the very people that tore me apart had never been a nanny ) so don't take it personal .....
MikMal it sounds like you love Florida and I'm hoping I feel the same as I'm relocating there next week and if I feel like you Mitchell I'll try NC next lol .

I don't think anyone on here had any issue with an opinion.

However I believe DH was being challenged because of what I believe was an inaccurate description of Punta Gorda coming from someone who has admitted that they hate it here.

I'm guessing that if you chosen to rent in a different neighborhood that would have shaped your opinion differently.

This PG/PC forum is in many ways very different than most other forums in that the posters are the most helpful and positive people on city data.

They will always answer questions fully and honestly.

Gary

[h.d.mitchell]

I'm just calling it like I see it. My opinion was invalidated simply because it's not like Gary's. The very problem with a forum like this is that people who do not feel engaged in the community and people who don't like it here are not searching for places to talk about their experiences. I only made it here because I was looking into other areas to move and stumbled across this forum.

I don't understand where people are coming from when they say "it's a small, quaint town." I've talked to many people who say this and other things like "it's a small town and everybody knows everybody!" There's nothing small and quaint about a population of 50,000+. Do they know what small and quaint is? Sure, PG is nice, but (just like this forum!) it's connected to PC at the hip.

I was very misled when I did my research, and I'm hoping that I will help people to see that this is not a paradise unless you can live on the gulf (or canal, at least) with a boat and access to the water. Otherwise, life is just life--it's just a lot hotter with different trees. I think a lot of people come here thinking they'll fix their problems with sunshine and palm trees, and the truth is that if you aren't happy with life, you won't be happy with life anywhere. A change of scenery will wear off in two weeks. I'm a happy person, I just don't like Florida. It's just an opinion. Just like the north, it's not for everybody.

[MartyGras]

Please point out what I was wrong about.

Gary

[h.d.mitchell]

I didn't realize that there was only one opinion of the area allowed here.