Relocating RN coming to Fawcett renting before we buy (Jacksonville: fit in, spring break)

[Rebecca67]

So we are finally taking the plunge! We are moving from cold and corrupt Illinois and I am starting my new RN position May 9 at Fawcett Memorial Hospital! We need to find a decent rental for my family (2 kids ages 8 & 9) and semi-retired husband. MANY questions...any and all help is greatly appreciated!!
-What is with the big hiring push, even recruiting me from out of state? They tell me they are just keeping up with their growth. Research tells me Fawcett is a good hospital and I'm hoping my work experience there will be great as well. Any insight?
-We need a 2-3 bed 2 bath house with a garage and a pool to rent short term. This is my choice over a condo for the short term (a few months) because we can use the garage for storage. When the listing says "annual" rental lease, just how firm is that? We used to be landlords and people broke their lease. We didn't go to court over it. Are they more sticklers there? There don't seem to be many sort term or "seasonal" rentals available. We plan to buy a foreclosure or "fixer upper" since my husband is a carpenter and we can do updates inexpensively. I don't want to rush into buying something, so we will pay sky high rent for a few months. Any ideas? I'm not crazy about North Port. I see that one can get more home for the money, but I don't care for the haphazard was it is laid out and the well/septic situation. Also there are really nice homes next to not so nice homes. My experience has been mostly in Sarasota during our yearly vacations. The drive from Venice to Fawcett Hospital is probably not that bad, especially since I'm going to be working three 12 hour shifts per week. I wanted to keep my commute under 30 mins each way, and was surprised when Monday I made it from Clark and I75 to Fawcett in 42 minutes. I've driven around Port Charlotte a bit and checked out some homes that seemed to be in nice neighborhoods. Any places to avoid? We like Venice/Osprey/Nokomis but not sure our budget can go that far. I'm not against Punta Gorda, we just haven't spent any time there yet. I'm hoping for some other 'families' to get to know. We will be down at Siesta Key for our annual Spring break vaca March 23 - April 2, and are hoping to find a rental during that time. Trulia and Zillow online are good starting places, but obviously there are Property Management companies locally that handle more inventory. I hope.
-Health care. My husband was diagnosed w Stage 4 Melanoma 2 years ago and is doing miraculously well, in "remission". Is the only decent cancer center Moffit in Tampa, or is there a good group of oncology docs locally? And can a person get in for an appointment in a timely fashion?
-Same for dentists and pediatricians. Anyone have a favorite under the Port Charlotte HCA umbrella that takes United Healthcare Ins?
-If we end up going with a condo are there any reasonably priced storage units around? I heard storage is at a premium, with no basements in homes. Has anyone used one of those moving "PODS" where you fill it and they drop it off when you are ready for it? I'm going to do a major purge before we move but most short term rentals seem to come furnished so I'm looking at storing most of my stuff for at least a few months.
-Schools- I'm not too worried about what district the rental is in, as we hope to be into a purchased home by then. Are there any great elementary schools I should know about? Kids will be grades 3rd and 4th in the Fall. I've seen the maps to figure out what school is assigned to a property.

Thanks in advance for any tips, pointers, advice or opinions. I look forward to your responses, and can use them all.
-Soon to be a Floridian RN! //pics3.city-data.com/forum/ima...lies/smile.gif

[imapalmnut64]

good luck with your search, my wife and I bought in bsv, as we are part timers yet, just a few short years until we retire, heading to florida today, what part of Illinois, we live south of Kankakee and grew up in the oak forest area,

[TamRE]

Check with all options for renting. Get your name on some of the property management/rental company lists so if something does come up they can contact you before it gets entered into the MLS.

Just be careful if you decide to go the POD route and keep it stored for a few months. The temperatures are in the low 90's for about 6 months down here. So some of your furniture or other belongings might not fare well in a POD or non-AC storage. You want to have some items in AC storage to protect from melting, mold, etc.

When we first moved here we were having a home built, so we had to rent for a couple of months. We were lucky enough to have a rental that was sparsely furnished and it had a two car garage. So we stored our belongings in the rental home. I marked my boxes items for inside and the others were put in the garage. That saved us having to pay for storage space.

I have a buyer that just moved here and got a job at Fawcett. I also know other people that work there. All of them like it.

As far as traveling distance from work. That is up to you. But the traffic does get backed up going I-75 and it is worse during the winter months. I don't think you will want to go as far as Osprey or Nokomis. Winter months can definitely add on to your travel time and especially if there is an accident.

There are some deed restricted neighborhoods in North Port, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda if you want to have a more uniform community to live in where the properties are maintained. Be sure to compare the costs of each type of neighborhood. Some have a monthly, quarterly or annual HOA fee. Others have a CDD fee on top of that. If you are getting a loan you also want to take into consideration if the home is in a required flood insurance zone.

[wpc691]

Congrats to your husband from a fellow cancer survivor. We moved here because Charlotte County is kind of off the beaten path compared to Sarasota or Naples, which are nutty in the winter. One "downside" though, is no medical resources even vaguely approaching Moffitt (rated #1 cancer center in FL, 18th nationally). Not that there aren't good docs here, there are, just fewer than you would expect, and little in the way of really advanced diagnostic or therapeutic resources. My wife has some uncommon medical issues - her GP is in Punta Gorda, but we drive to Sarasota, Fort Myers and occasionally Jacksonville for specialists. We don't consider it a huge inconvenience, and happily trade it for the relative quiet of Charlotte County. Good luck in your move.

[Rebecca67]

Originally Posted by imapalmnut64

good luck with your search, my wife and I bought in bsv, as we are part timers yet, just a few short years until we retire, heading to florida today, what part of Illinois, we live south of Kankakee and grew up in the oak forest area,

We are in Morris, have lived here for 16 years. Prior to that we grew up in New Lenox. I worked at St Mary's Hospital for a few years.

[Rebecca67]

How do I get my name on the property management lists? I am leaning towards a home so we can use the garage for storage, and a 3 bedroom so we can use the 3rd bedroom for the same.
Thanks!

[Messing About]

My wife was a patient at Fawcett for emergency hip replacement. We were very pleased with the care, service and cleanliness of the hospital. Nice staff. I was a 2 day patient at and my fishing buddy is an RN at Bayfront hospital in PG. Not bad but I think you made a better choice.

You simply must be get to know Punta Gorda. And I live in PC.

Welcome to the area. Hope you love it as much as we do. Oops, look at the time. Must go fishing.

[Restrain]

First, many major RE companies have property management divisions. Start with ERA, Coldwell-Banker, etc.

As to medical, I have to take regular treatments for my medical issues. We drive from PC to Tampa, takes little over an hour most days, to Tampa General. Honestly Tampa has the best medical for specialists. I have met people commuting from as far as Miami to Tampa General for treatments.

Te problem is that Florida still has the 'certificate of need' which impedes new hospital growth, redevelopment, modernization.

[the searchers]

This message board tends to punish posters for making recommendations on line. Certainly their option in trying to keep the board free of spam.

However you can leave a request for info over here at Home | Pc-pg-level-two and management there allows that type of posting.