Do you think Port Charlotte is a good place to live?

[Roadrunner69]

Well Haydensmom you won't be close to the ocean at all in Port Charlotte I think you mean the Gulf of Mexico sorry but it's a common mistake LOL. As far as raising a child in Charlotte county I haven't seen anything up there that would be entertaining for kids. I have lived in Fort Myers for over 30 years raised 3 children and think it's a better place then Pt. Charlotte for kids. There are alot of Fort Myers bashers on here but if you stay away from the bad areas it really isn't a bad place. As I have stressed to other people coming down you must secure employment before moving here. Also have enough money to keep you rolling so you don't start out with a big hill to climb and you can see the positives rather than a big negative of trying just to survive between pay checks. Good luck with your dream and do your homework PLEASE make an informed descision.

[121804]

About to say the same thing. No oceanviews in Port Charlotte. It's the Gulf of Mexico.
Not the place to raise a family.
Look further south or north of the area though looking further north you will run into areas more suited for families.
If you want the Atlantic Ocean, you need to be looking on the east coast of FL.

[SuzieQFL]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner69

Well Haydensmom you won't be close to the ocean at all in Port Charlotte I think you mean the Gulf of Mexico sorry but it's a common mistake LOL. As far as raising a child in Charlotte county I haven't seen anything up there that would be entertaining for kids. I have lived in Fort Myers for over 30 years raised 3 children and think it's a better place then Pt. Charlotte for kids. There are alot of Fort Myers bashers on here but if you stay away from the bad areas it really isn't a bad place. As I have stressed to other people coming down you must secure employment before moving here. Also have enough money to keep you rolling so you don't start out with a big hill to climb and you can see the positives rather than a big negative of trying just to survive between pay checks. Good luck with your dream and do your homework PLEASE make an informed descision.

I love it when people who don't live here, are the first to tell you all about it. (NOT!) As far as raising a child in Charlotte County, or North Port (which would be my choice even though I live in P.C. and have for 33 years) there are lots of things to do that are entertaining for kids. It's a typical town.....there are tons of school activities: soccer, little league baseball & T-ball, girls' fast pitch baseball, a beautiful new gymnastics/dance academy...there's lots more, but I would say anything you have in your town, we have here and maybe more. We also have a large baseball stadium, where the Texas Rangers used to have their summer home - it's now going to be the summer home of the Rays. Englewood beach is fantastic, and not far away. I have 3 grandchildren, and they are busy all of the time.

[jeff3166]

Some (close to all, actually) of these posts that say Port Charlotte is "not the place to raise a family" are just outright hilarious to me.

Port Charlotte is NOT a bad place to raise a family. New York City (population: 8,008,278) is not a bad place to raise a family. Andover, Kansas (population: 6,698) is not a bad place to raise a family. Portland, Oregon (population: 529,121) is not a bad place to raise a family.

This is America, folks. This is not some third-world country that is dotted with cities, villages, and regions that, based on which one you're born or live in, predetermine a family's fate. Very successful and good Americans have been raised in and come from cities/towns towns of all sorts. Menaces to American society have been raised in and come from cities/towns of all sorts.

Whether it's either of the three cities mentioned above, or Port Charlotte, where you live and raise a family is what YOU make of it. Above all else, the parenting provided in a family, not the location of the family, is what is most important and will 99% of the time determine the fate of the children within that family.

[121804]

Originally Posted by jeff3166

Port Charlotte is NOT a bad place to raise a family.

Nope, just tacky & rundown. Port Charlotte Middle School is in such a stellar part of the city.

Nope, not a bad place. Not a "bad" place at all.

Just that there are better. Much better. As a parent, you owe it to your kids to provide them with the best environment.

Sorry, IMO, PC is not the place to raise a young family.

There are very specific pockets of PC that haven't looked like they got lost in 1970.

And after awhile, the whole "what you make of it" line gets as old as "the housing market in SWFL is going to rebound...just give it time". But sometimes you actually don't have to try SO hard to make it. No matter how hard you try, the circle doesn't fit in the square. After awhile, if you are trying so hard to like something, there is a problem.

Nope, not bad. But there are better.

[jeff3166]

Originally Posted by 121804

Nope, just tacky & rundown. Port Charlotte Middle School is in such a stellar part of the city.

Nope, not a bad place. Not a "bad" place at all.

Just that there are better. Much better. As a parent, you owe it to your kids to provide them with the best environment.

Sorry, IMO, PC is not the place to raise a young family.

There are very specific pockets of PC that haven't looked like they got lost in 1970.

And after awhile, the whole "what you make of it" line gets as old as "the housing market in SWFL is going to rebound...just give it time". But sometimes you actually don't have to try SO hard to make it. No matter how hard you try, the circle doesn't fit in the square. After awhile, if you are trying so hard to like something, there is a problem.

Nope, not bad. But there are better.

Of course there is better, but there are worse, also. To say that it is 'bad' is just not an accurate statement, in my opinion. There are good areas and bad areas in about any city or town, Port Charlotte included. Who says anyone has to live near Port Charlotte Middle School? There's plenty of other areas to live in, nice areas, too.

[sederdahlma]

Hello my name is maria sederdahl, my husband and me want to move to florida to have the chance to land in a better paid job, and also because we were sick and tired to live in laughlin , nevada , which is a very slow town with nothing to do. Since you have been living in Florida for a long time, which city would you recomend me to move in, i would like a placewhere i can a find a good college, i want to get a business degree, is there any city in florida with high school education, and is there a place for an ambitious young couple?, thank you for your response.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by sederdahlma

Hello my name is maria sederdahl, my husband and me want to move to florida to have the chance to land in a better paid job

When I first moved to Florida, I had to take a huge pay cut. You will hear that from just about everyone. That was in 1994 and it's not much better now. When talking to neighbors, they're just happy to have jobs (although many of them don't) and consider $9 an hour to be great pay. If you are coming here to find work, I suggest you secure a job before making a commitment to move.

[SoFLGal]

There is Edison college and Manatee Community college (south campus). Then up in Sarasota there's New College. I would agree that you need to secure a job before moving here. Port Charlotte doesn't have a lot of night life. You could always travel to Sarasota or Ft Myers for more "things to do". Why are you bored in Nevada?

Originally Posted by sederdahlma

Hello my name is maria sederdahl, my husband and me want to move to florida to have the chance to land in a better paid job, and also because we were sick and tired to live in laughlin , nevada , which is a very slow town with nothing to do. Since you have been living in Florida for a long time, which city would you recomend me to move in, i would like a placewhere i can a find a good college, i want to get a business degree, is there any city in florida with high school education, and is there a place for an ambitious young couple?, thank you for your response.

[gemini1980]

I personally don't like it here. I'm in my late twenties and work for the county, and while I don't care for Florida (too hot, bad drivers), Port Charlotte is difficult to live in because there is no culture, there is nothing to do (unless you enjoy fishing, boating, and general leisure activities), and the lack of leadership in the county is astounding. It's ideal for those looking to buy cheap and work and live a social life in Sarasota or Lee county, but there's no real appeal to living in Port Charlotte. The general consensus of the Charlotte county schools is that they are lacking in resources, and my mom moved us to Venice when I was a kid so that I could go to a Sarasota county school. VHS had new books and unlimited resources for their drama, athletic, and television production departments.

Back to the topic at hand, jobs are scarce all over the country (and the world), but in PC it's brutal. You cannot get a job anywhere, even in the mall part time during the holidays. I ended up finding a part time job in Lee county to help make ends meet. County positions are being eliminated and people are being laid off. If the local government can't make ends meet, things look bleak for most everything else.

I don't know anyone who enjoys living here, and that includes people of all ages and backgrounds (friends and coworkers in the county). I don't want to sound negative but that's my two cents.