Moving to Port Charlotte area, HELP! (Sarasota, Bradenton: rentals, insurance, condos)

[d3tsabo]

We will be moving to the Port Charlotte area in the next couple months and am hoping to get some great advice here. It will be my wife and three very young children so we are looking for an area that is family friendly, decent schools and somewhere we can rent first while we decide on a future home. Looking to rent anywhere from $1-1,500, preferably four bedroom single family home, any suggestions on where to start looking? I would like to stay within 20 minutes or so of the Port Charlotte area. Thank you in advance!!!!

[MrTudo]

Port Charlotte is a better deal than Lee Cnty to the south and sarasota to the north. We were hit really hard with hurricane Charley but have recovered quite a bit .

Check the government census.gov stats for pertinent information regarding median wages, average housing costs etc.


There are 3 major hospitals in the area and it would appear that Port Charlotte is destined to be the medical center of this area. That's obviously a good thing.

[121804]

Originally Posted by d3tsabo

We will be moving to the Port Charlotte area in the next couple months and am hoping to get some great advice here. It will be my wife and three very young children so we are looking for an area that is family friendly, decent schools and somewhere we can rent first while we decide on a future home. Looking to rent anywhere from $1-1,500, preferably four bedroom single family home, any suggestions on where to start looking? I would like to stay within 20 minutes or so of the Port Charlotte area. Thank you in advance!!!!

We are a young family in Punta Gorda who are on their way out in 8 days. It's been an experience. Lived & learned. Hope that you have a good job lined up or at least contacts to get you a good job. We came here due to circumstances & gave it our best shot, but it's just not a place we want to raise a family. Just our opinion. There are definitely families that do just fine here.

Besides Port Charlotte, you have North Port to the north & Punta Gorda to the south; all within a few miles of one another.

Rent: So cheap. Such excessive building in the past few years that there is not even close to enough demand & owners need the cash.
You are going to find that renting a condo is cheaper than renting a house b/c the homeowners are going to want you to pick up the tab on property taxes & insurance. But as the market stalls even more in SWFL, I am sure homeowners will take whatever cash comes their way.

Family friendly: While this area of FL is primarily retirees, your best bet would probably be Port Charlotte for it has more of a mix. North Port is very questionable due to some stalled housing & building. A lot of the homes for rent in North Port are on septic & well. Punta Gorda is very geared towards retirees & does not have the choice in home rentals.. It has been quite an adjustment for us for there is not much geared here towards families. Between Punta Gorda & Port Charlotte, there is a YMCA, a mall, a library and a few parks. That's about it. We came from an area very geared towards families with playgroups, Mommy & Me groups, Kidz Zones, Gymboree, Kindermusik, l many parks & trails. None of that is here (I spent about 3 months looking & hoping when we moved), so, guess it will depend where you are moving from.

Schools: Be prepared to do extra work with your children to get them up to standard. Unfortunately, not the best schools in Charlotte County. Not the worst but definitely lacking in test scores & resources. I believe that Deep Creek Elementary & Kings (forgot the rest of the name) elementary school are the better two elementary schools in the area. There is one montessori school & one parochial school.

Crime: Again, just depends on what you are use to. This isn't south central LA, but it has its share of crime for not being that big. Most of it is drug related. Look on WatchDog.com. That is an eye opener for Charlotte County. But, the sickos are everywhere.

I'd try to avoid North Port. Be careful where you look in Port Charlotte. Stay away from the area that is considered the "New York" section (only named that due to its street names). There are some nicer areas off of Peachtree Lane in Port Charlotte.

You may need to expand your home search to condos. It may be tricky to find a 4 bdrm at that price. You'll find a 3 bedroom, but 4 may be trickier. But, then again, there are a ton of 3 bdrms w/ dens if you would be ok converting the den to a bedrm. May have to have a door installed though b/c a lot of the dens don't have them in the newer homes.

Best of luck. VERY smart idea to rent!

[paradiddle]

Ditto on that New York section of PC - ruff hood......

There must be kids everywhere in South Sarasota County and Charlotte county. I have volunteered at Lemon Bay High School Band in Englewood next to PC. Met some very bright kids that are active in there school - gave me a good feeling about the area. PC High seems good and Charlotte high in PG newly rebuilt after Charley.... Venice high is supposed to be pretty good also.

PC and So Venice are in between the job centers (if you can call it that). You will need to travel to South to Ft. Myers or North to Sarasota/Bradenton to have a better shot at a good job....

Check Venice Gondolier, Ft Myers New Press and Sarasota Herald on line for rentals and jobs. I see craigslist in area also lists rentals.... lots of them.....

You can also track crime by looking at arrests on line - Lee county, Charlotte County and Sarasota conty sherrifs have data on-line.....

[2peaches2oranges]

Check craigslist (Sarasota/Bradenton) and (Ft. Myers) and search Rotonda. There are a couple of 4 BR 2 BA 2 CG no pool homes here, they are new construction, probably no pool for about $1000 a month, one with a pool would be a bit more. All of the Rotonda schools (Vineland, Ainger and Lemon Bay) are A schools and with a school redistricting starting next year, you can only attend Vineland if you are inside the Rotonda circle.
I live in Rotonda and worked in Port Charlotte last year. It took 17 minutes for me to get to Veterans & Atwater every morning from Rotonda.

Also, South Gulf Cove has new construction 4 BR homes built by Mercedes Homes and many of them are for rent because they are not selling. If you do come into Sarasota county, then look into the gated communities in North Port, maybe Heron Creek, Bobcat Trail, etc... they have a better set up for families with community pools, sidewalks, etc.

Good luck and welcome!

[d3tsabo]

Thank you for all the great and detailed information. The job thing isn't a problem, that is already taken care of. We had a relative mention Englewood as a nice place for a family, boring but nice. With three young children we aren't really looking at the night scene but would be like to be able to get the kids into sports and things. Living in a family oriented neighborhood is the most important thing for us, we would like to be somewhere where the kids could have playmates close by.
As far as crime, we have lived near New York City and currently live in Baltimore where I think we are setting a record for murders per capita this year. Drugs are everywhere here which is one reason I would like to get the family in a quiet neighborhood. Prices on 4 bedrooms seemed reasonable on line, but of course you never know until you see them up close. Please keep sending ideas on where to look, it is greatly appreciated. The more specific you can get the better. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!

[121804]

Originally Posted by d3tsabo

Thank you for all the great and detailed information. The job thing isn't a problem, that is already taken care of. We had a relative mention Englewood as a nice place for a family, boring but nice. With three young children we aren't really looking at the night scene but would be like to be able to get the kids into sports and things. Living in a family oriented neighborhood is the most important thing for us, we would like to be somewhere where the kids could have playmates close by.
As far as crime, we have lived near New York City and currently live in Baltimore where I think we are setting a record for murders per capita this year. Drugs are everywhere here which is one reason I would like to get the family in a quiet neighborhood. Prices on 4 bedrooms seemed reasonable on line, but of course you never know until you see them up close. Please keep sending ideas on where to look, it is greatly appreciated. The more specific you can get the better. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!

Highly recommend staying north (but not North Port) of Port Charlotte. While you may end up with more of a commute, the communities up there are more geared towards your needs.

I wish I could give you specifics of things further north...but I can only tell you that staying out of Port Charlotte & Punta Gorda will be a good decision for a FAMILY.

[d3tsabo]

I have seen this in a few different post, how is the traffic down there? After living in Baltimore/ DC area the past few years I'm thinking it can't be to bad. I would like to keep the commute to no more than 20-25 minutes, is that reasonable or am I going to have to go further to find a good area?

[121804]

Originally Posted by d3tsabo

I have seen this in a few different post, how is the traffic down there? After living in Baltimore/ DC area the past few years I'm thinking it can't be to bad. I would like to keep the commute to no more than 20-25 minutes, is that reasonable or am I going to have to go further to find a good area?

Traffic is not that bad down here off season. When the snowbirds are here, whole different story. They gotta make tee time @ 7am & early bird specials by 4pm. They figure they need to make a right hand turn when they are over in the left lane & forget there is such a thing as a turn signal.

Other than that, traffic is status quo. The worst strip is I-75 b/w Fort Myers & Naples. If you don't have to travel that route, you won't have any problems with traffic here.

This place has nothing on DC traffic. I was stationed near Richmond, VA for awhile & drove up to DC many times.

But, for nice family oriented areas, you are going to have a commute if you are working directly in Port Charlotte. It may be worth it. Actually, it will be worth it

You could live in Port Charlotte but more will warn you against this than for this location. There are better places about 45 mins north. I believe Englewood is about 30 mins from Port Charlotte.

[d3tsabo]

It seems there have been no major issues addressed in regards to Englewood and Rotunda area, just wondering how the drive across the bridge would be come rush hour time. I've had bad experiences in the past sitting on bridges for over an hour waiting to get across. Anyone familiar with this drive? I've also heard good and bad about North Port, any suggestions, if any, on good parts of this area? Seems like the idea location. Thanks again for all the help, saves a lot of wasted time looking at homes. Nothing worse than finally finding the perfect place only to realize it's in the wrong area!