what's North Port, FL like?

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by CarrieNMikeLee

No hospitals?? That is scary...where is the closest ER? God knows you never want to be in a spot to need one...but, if you do need one it's nice to have it close.

You stumbled onto a year old thread. There are 2 Hospitals underway nearby. One is in Venice at the Jacaranda Circle, and the other is a bit further away off Laurel Road and I-75.

Sarasota Memorial plans to build a hospital in North Port w/in 10 years, but I'm betting another company will beat them to it. There are plans for an Urgent Care center in North Port if its not already there.

Here's a story about all of this:

https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/2...and-north-port

[pennyq16]

Hey all! I am researching again- we moved to the Tampa area (Valrico) in December and are currently renting. We do not like where we are and want to be in a less busy place close to the beaches. We don't mind rural at all, actually prefer it and are now venturing out north and south of Tampa.
We're looking at North Port, Venice, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. We're 40 with young kids (3 and 8), my husband is a full time student at USF and I work from home.
Our budget is 300K maybe a little more, we're looking for great schools, 4 bdr, pool, nice yard and would love to have a downtown if possible.
What are your recommendations? We'll be traveling over the next weeks to all the places mentioned, but I would love to hear feedback.
(We're also looking at Land o'Lakes, New port Richey, Crystal River and at a few places on the west coast, Ormond Beach, Port Saint Lucie)

Thank you!

[LynnSp]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

Exactly.
However, common sense does not always prevail.

I warned my SIL about this and in her "I am never wrong and know what Im doing and smarter than you" wisdom a developer bought the surrounding lots that had stood vacant without a nibble ever and is in the process of building 4 homes.
SIL's home was just completed 5 months ago.
In this case...karma.

Lurking here.... but I do want to say that Karma *is* a b*tch, but she is still our friend.

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by pennyq16

Hey all! I am researching again- we moved to the Tampa area (Valrico) in December and are currently renting. We do not like where we are and want to be in a less busy place close to the beaches. We don't mind rural at all, actually prefer it and are now venturing out north and south of Tampa.
We're looking at North Port, Venice, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. We're 40 with young kids (3 and 8), my husband is a full time student at USF and I work from home.
Our budget is 300K maybe a little more, we're looking for great schools, 4 bdr, pool, nice yard and would love to have a downtown if possible.
What are your recommendations? We'll be traveling over the next weeks to all the places mentioned, but I would love to hear feedback.
(We're also looking at Land o'Lakes, New port Richey, Crystal River and at a few places on the west coast, Ormond Beach, Port Saint Lucie)

Thank you!

Out of NP, Venice, PC and PG, Venice is your best bet. The other 3 towns are not close to the beaches, and Venice has a little walkable true downtown area that is very nice. You can be at any number of beaches in 10 min not matter where you live in Venice.

[Sunshine Rules]

If you are considering the New Port Richey area, keep in mind that sinkholes are a possibility. Hernando, Pasco and Hillsborough counties account for 66% of all sinkhole claims in Florida. Approximately 1/4 of all sinkholes are in Hernando County alone, and the Spring Hill area ranks #1 in the nation for sinkholes. So if buying there, you will want to pay close attention to foundation settlement issues.

If you really want a city with a downtown, North Port might not be for you. North Port has many small to mid size shopping centers, but no actual downtown area. North Port is not what most people would consider a traditional city. The actual city limits of North Port cover over 100 square miles of land, but a large portion of it is not developed. In fact, North Port has an entire forest located within it's city limits.

North Port was originally laid out in the 1950's by a company called General Development Corporation. They laid out grids of roads within the huge land area of their city of North Port, then started selling lots to winter visitors. Things didn't go as planned and the company eventually abandoned North Port. So outside of the more established subdivisions you will find miles and miles of roads with few homes and many vacant lots. Many of the individual, vacant lots are vacant because of the cost of running electricity to those lots is expensive. Developers have bought up a lot of the less expensive plots of land and several are building new construction.

More of the development is north and west, where there is more access to utilities (much of North Port is on septic systems and well water). The north end of North Port is experiencing a building boom thanks to the West Villages development. The majority of the West Villages is located along US 41 and River Road at the edges of unincorporated Sarasota County and the city limits of North Port.

It's definitely a good idea to visit the area, several times if possible, before you reach any decisions about where to move next. And if possible, rent for awhile before buying, so that you do not commit to a home purchase that looks good on paper but turns out to be a wrong move in the long run.

[beach43ofus]

North Port (take out West Villages) is the least touristy areas I know in SW Florida. I just read an article today in a local newspaper that a new hotel was being built there, and its just the 2nd hotel in North Port. Its also younger than surrounding areas due to affordability.

It doesn't give off much of a sense of being a city though, more just a large area of land. Mostly younger, still-working, year round, middle class families.

[50missoncrush]

City of North Port is now putting all your tax dollars into the "Villages" and turning every other area of North Port into the latest version of Highway 41. Low income housing going in at Price and Toledo Blade. More auto parts, carwashes, filing stations, smoke shops, massage parlors and 7-11 stores as fast as they can approve them and to get one more dollar of tax revenue. Quality of life and long term planning are not in City of North Port's vocabulary or mental capacity. Unresponsive to local citizens concern. City purposely fails to uphold their own city ordinances and you are the enemy if you ask them to. Selling and moving out as soon as possible.

[vacoder]

Not a big fan of North Port. I would look at Venice, Englewood or Punta Gorda over NP. And some parts of Port Charlotte.
NP is just so much random sprawl. It could be the next Lehigh Acres.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by 50missoncrush

City of North Port is now putting all your tax dollars into the "Villages" and turning every other area of North Port into the latest version of Highway 41. Low income housing going in at Price and Toledo Blade. More auto parts, carwashes, filing stations, smoke shops, massage parlors and 7-11 stores as fast as they can approve them and to get one more dollar of tax revenue. Quality of life and long term planning are not in City of North Port's vocabulary or mental capacity. Unresponsive to local citizens concern. City purposely fails to uphold their own city ordinances and you are the enemy if you ask them to. Selling and moving out as soon as possible.

Yeah, but its cheaper than dirt, and the largest city by population, and square miles, in this forum's area. It also has a brand new Spring training facility, and access to I-75.