Port Charlotte, **** Gorda, North Port, Englewood areas (Tampa, Orlando: rentals, insurance)

[RJP3526]

Can I get some feedback from some folks who live (lived) in any of these areas recently as far as what parts are pleasant & nice to live in, what areas in each of these towns to watch out for or stay away from ? I spent the last 25 years up in the greater Tampa Bay area & its suburbs (Brandon, Valrico, New Port Richey, Hudson & Spring Hill) - with the very low prices and massive amount of Bank-owned/REOs down in the Charlotte county area, I was looking for a good buy on a retirement home (not a big home, just a small nice house) that is fairly close to boat ramps, beach, water, river, gulf - I keep hearing there are many sections to beware of - recently someone said that East of US41 in Port Charltotte for example has alot of bad sections, some street there called Easy St that locals refer to as "Sleezy Street" !! Stuff like that is what I of course want to be made aware of. Where to avoid. I had started looking down towards Ft Meyers but even realtors started telling me to avoid that area it was so bad right now (like Lehigh acres) and thousands of abandoned homes, vandalism, crime etc. I would greatly appreciate any tips and suggestions on areas to look in these towns mentioned in my thread title. Thank you.

[SoFLGal]

Hi There. A few things come to mind when reading your post. If you could give a little more detail on exactly what you are looking for I could probably get you going in the right direction. What kind of things do you like to do? Golfing, beaches, tennis? What's your price range? I'm assuming schools are not a concern since this will be a retirement home.

Port Charlotte is at least 40 minutes from the beach but it has many boat ramps through out the city. It's going to depend on your price range and what interests you as to what area I would suggest looking in. Most areas that are west of US 41 require flood insurance and the waterways east of US 41 have no boat access but you can fish in them and go up and down them in a kayak.

The area you are referring to-Easy St, etc is located close to the Port Charlotte hospital. Many of the homes were built in the 1950's and 60's and I have a few rentals in that area.

North Port has many newer homes at very low prices. I live in North Port and think it's a great town. NP is about 35 minutes from the beaches and 95% of NP is not in a flood zone. If you wanted a more populated area you would stay between Toledo Blade Blvd and Sumter Blvd. South Biscayne Blvd is the original part of NP with the 1950's style homes. If you want to be in an area that is less populated you would look east of Toledo Blade Blvd or east of I-75. Some of the area east of 75 floods so you'd have to watch out for that. The main flood zone in North Port runs right along the Myakkahatchee River.

This is probably the best website for doing your searches: www.MyFLoridaHomesMLS.com It's the public side to the MLS system and the most up-to-date.

You might want to post this in the Sarasota-Bradenton thread. It's possible you'll get more responses.

Good luck with your search

[quinc52]

Hi all. I just wanted to get some more advice from you all. My partner and I have just put a contract on a house in North Port. on Ulman Ave. We had a contract on another house but it fell through because of some dishonesty on the part of the owner. But we ended up with a nicer house for a little more that is just beautiful My question is is that a nice area and what are the restrictions as far as the number of dogs you can own? We had looked all over Fla from Tampa down to Venice for an affordable home with some land for the babies. I might add we are buying this house without haveing seen it in person. Our realtor is helping and has shown us many many pics of the place and looks beautiful. Of course we will have all the inspections done before we sign the final papers. I have been reading the posts on here and am really excited to be coming down there. Thanks for any input you all can provied.

[TamRE]

Quinc52,
Ulman Ave in North Port is north of I-75 and is in the North Port Estates area. To get there you would have to go Sumter Blvd to Ulman. Sumter has a Publix grocery store and a few other stores near Price Blvd. If you go down to 41 and Sumter and closer to Salford there are a lot of new stores going in. North Port has a Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, restaurants, medical facilities and more. It will take you about 30 minutes to get to Venice Beach and about 20 minutes to get to the mall in Port Charlotte. You are going to find a variety of properties in this neighborhood. You can use Google maps to view the neighborhood and see the aerial view.

In North Port Estates you can have as many dogs as you want. It is not a deed restricted area.

Here is some general information about North Port Estates.

North Port Estates – acreage home sites for horses and farm animals
If you have dreamed of living in Southwest Florida and want to still feel like you are living in the country, then North Port Estates may be for you. North Port Estates is located north of I-75 in North Port in southern Sarasota County. It offers a variety of price ranges for single family homes.

There are sprawling farm homes to modern elaborate estates. Most of the lots are zoned agricultural and qualify for a USDA loan. Many of the properties have long driveways and some are gated, which provides for privacy and seclusion. Some of the properties have ponds.

If you want to raise farm animals, you can select a home that has an outbuilding. Some of the animals that owners have within North Port Estates are horses, goats, emus, dogs, and chickens. It is considered a horse-lovers paradise. If you don’t want animals, but just need room for your boat, RV or other toys, you can find the space here.

While driving around the area you will see dense woods of oak and pine. In addition, you probably will encounter some of the wildlife such as deer, turkey, bobcats, birds, alligators, and more.

The nice thing about the area is it’s convenience to local amenities. It takes about 10 minutes to get to shopping, golf, restaurants, grocery and gas stations. Venice Beach is close by and there is easy access to I-75 which will take you to Ft. Myers to the south and Sarasota to the north.

[Big House]

If you are in the North Port Estates area, you will like it if you like living in a more rural area - however you aren't far from I-75 so getting to shopping, beaches, and other more urban things is not too far away. As TamRe said there are nice newer homes, nice estate homes, and more ranch-ette type places that have out buildings for equipment and animals if you choose. You'll have more privacy there.

Welcome to the board! Stay in touch, and let us know how you make out.

Port Charlotte is an older community, very similar to North Port (North Port used to be called North Port Charlotte, but it was shortened). North Port is a newer part of Port Charlotte and it continues to grow and improve. Both are about 1/2 hour to the beaches, and you have a number of different beaches to choose from - each are different some sandy, some shelley, and some have lots of sharks teeth, and different sand types.

Englewood is a nice SWFL town that is close to the beach. I prefer not living in a beach town myself (traffic can be horrible on many days - just coming and going can be a constant unrelenting fight), but when you want to go - its often not an issue and worth the effort.

Punta Gorda is a unique SWFL town that has maintained its history. They don't let the franchises move in and take over. They keep it quaint, and it has many superior restaurants and shops. Mote Marine which was originally in Punta Gorda (and moved out after the Hurricane) is moving back to Punta Gorda - while maintaining much of its operations in its current location (not far from St. Armands Circle in Sarasota). PGI (Punta Gorda Isles) is a very upscale area to live in, and essentially has two ways in both going over short bridges. It is a canal community (a boaters paradise), and has a lot of activities going on all the time through the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association. Punta Gorda has a lot of festivals going on all the time, and had the Florida International Air Show, and has a lot of nice shops too.

-hope that helped.

[Capt George]

I'm on McGrath Circle, just west of Midway, what is this section referred to as??

[Big House]

Originally Posted by Capt George

I'm on McGrath Circle, just west of Midway, what is this section referred to as??

I'm not sure, but I bet TamRE will be along shortly to tell ya.
I'm going to be tied up for about a week and a half - then I'll get you and MA out for a day of fishing. I owe him an outing - Haven't forgotten MA - this has been a very busy spring for me - I'll complain later. LOL

[TamRE]

Originally Posted by Capt George

I'm on McGrath Circle, just west of Midway, what is this section referred to as??

West of midway is Port Charlotte Sec 37, East of Midway is Port Charlotte Sec 92.

[mssgubler]

What is "section 15" in Port Charlotte?

[Restrain]

Good morning. Port Charlotte has a lot of 'Sections'', basically the various subdivisions of Port Charlotte as it was platted. Section 15 is in the Orlando Blvd and Peachland area, nice area of PC. You can actually search Realtor.com by Section.