Punta Gorda vs Venice vs Fort Meyers vs Another Consideration? (Cape Coral: new home, best schools)

[Dmaherg]

Greeting all,

My family and I are working to relocate to the area by end of the year. Everyone is telling us that Punta Gorda is the place to be. I will be working in Port Charlotte. We are a younger family with a 10yr boy and 7yr girl. Safety, academics, and sports are priorities for our children. My wife has a little concern of Punta Gorda due to all the press of being a great “retirement” place.

I am seeking feedback on her concern and if there are some other nearby cities (within 45 minutes to Port Charlotte) which we should consider? I’ve read some old forums, and some people mention Venice or Fort Meyers. I have no idea. Fire away.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

[Harbor Hopper]

Englewood and North Port are great for younger families. Lots of them here! Florida as a whole is considered a "retirement place" but to the surprise of many, yes, there are LOTS of families here too! You'll get the best bang for the buck in North Port/West Villages or East Englewood, and there is an abundance of families (myself included with a 10yr old).

[vacoder]

PG is a great town but yes it is predominantly retirees and snow birds. I will say that they do things to promote youth engagement.

[mr&mrssunshine]

I would not want to raise a child in Fort Myers
In Venice they might find someone 60 years older :-)


I think the NP/Englewood idea is a good one

[kyle19125]

The best schools will be in Fort Myers or Cape Coral but the commute would be a killer. North Port is your best option when factoring the remaining criteria.

[Dmaherg]

Fantastic feedback, thank you to all who participated and any forthcoming responses. I'm a bit surprised at the lack of PG support. There seems to be a large agreement on North Port and Englewood. Thank you for giving us another option to consider!


Glad to learn the commute from Fort Myers and Cape Coral would be too extensive because we were learning towards that direction, and I need to be very involved with business and ability to commute fairly easily. I've been working in the Houston, TX area for the last several years resulting in a a belly full of traffic .

[Dmaherg]

We like new developed areas (new stores, new homes, etc.). Where would be good areas within North Port to search for homes? Thanks again for all the help. It is so helpful being able to plan better using everyone's local experience.

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by Dmaherg

We like new developed areas (new stores, new homes, etc.). Where would be good areas within North Port to search for homes? Thanks again for all the help. It is so helpful being able to plan better using everyone's local experience.

For newer communities, I'd go with the West Villages, between North Port & Venice. Not sure what your budget is, but communities popular with families include Stoneybrook, Grand Palm (they even have a waterslide at the pool), Gran Paradiso, Islandwalk and Sarasota National.

[Dmaherg]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

For newer communities, I'd go with the West Villages, between North Port & Venice. Not sure what your budget is, but communities popular with families include Stoneybrook, Grand Palm (they even have a waterslide at the pool), Gran Paradiso, Islandwalk and Sarasota National.

Thank you for your guidance!!

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by Dmaherg

Fantastic feedback, thank you to all who participated and any forthcoming responses. I'm a bit surprised at the lack of PG support. There seems to be a large agreement on North Port and Englewood. Thank you for giving us another option to consider!


Glad to learn the commute from Fort Myers and Cape Coral would be too extensive because we were learning towards that direction, and I need to be very involved with business and ability to commute fairly easily. I've been working in the Houston, TX area for the last several years resulting in a a belly full of traffic .

I live in Punta Gorda and have been here now for three years. I’m almost 65 going on 18 if you know what I mean, and I find the vibe here to be very much “senior oriented”. I can’t put my finger on it except to say that when I’m out and about the vast majority of people I see (year round) are senior citizens. For the record, we didn’t know this when we moved here. Not complaining just stating facts. PG is a nice, safe community where the pace is pretty slow.