[ScubaDuba98]

I am going to keep four cities on the list, but I may want to take off one or two of these ones because some people I ask on other sites say these don't have the type of downtown I am looking for. St. Petersburg for example, is apparently a great city just doesn't have a great downtown area for shopping and eating lots of good food. So far my list is: Punta Gorda, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Longboat Key. Are these nice cities and can you describe them for me (pros and cons). I don't mind Florida temperature at all, I know a lot of people complain about that, and I don't care about weather really, I know there will some sort of "disaster" everywhere you go. The reason I chose Punta Gorda is because they are really cleaning up after the hurricane, in fact they are planning to build an aquarium in the downtown area, which apparently is going to wrack in some cash and a lot more tourists, making the city much better to live and work. They said it will benefit the town greatly because with the economy already getting gradually better and them building an aquarium... it's great for the town. They already have sketches of the aquarium done, I think it's just a matter of getting the money to build the aquarium. Anyway is this a good list, why or why not?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by ScubaDuba98

I am going to keep four cities on the list, but I may want to take off one or two of these ones because some people I ask on other sites say these don't have the type of downtown I am looking for. St. Petersburg for example, is apparently a great city just doesn't have a great downtown area for shopping and eating lots of good food. So far my list is: Punta Gorda, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Longboat Key. Are these nice cities and can you describe them for me (pros and cons). I don't mind Florida temperature at all, I know a lot of people complain about that, and I don't care about weather really, I know there will some sort of "disaster" everywhere you go. The reason I chose Punta Gorda is because they are really cleaning up after the hurricane, in fact they are planning to build an aquarium in the downtown area, which apparently is going to wrack in some cash and a lot more tourists, making the city much better to live and work. They said it will benefit the town greatly because with the economy already getting gradually better and them building an aquarium... it's great for the town. They already have sketches of the aquarium done, I think it's just a matter of getting the money to build the aquarium. Anyway is this a good list, why or why not?

False.

[tonyff67]

Well if a nice downtown is a concern, you can cross Long boat key and Punta Gorda off that list. They don't have downtowns.

[StreetSmarts]

Sarasota.

[things and stuff]

I disagree with Kyle. I think St. Pete has a decent downtown with some good food options. It's also the most bike friendly town in the region IMO.

[beachmouse]

You said you wanted a younger area. Charlotte County/Punta Gorda is by far the oldest metro area in the country with a median age of 54.3 years.