What's it really like? (Tampa, Sarasota: neighborhoods, live in, to move)

[sulvaterry]

Also, Ive lived in high crime areas ( the ghetto ) and Port Charlotte is not that.. Never has been.
You will have houses where marijuana, pills, and drugs are being sold out of.. It happens everywhere! It mostly sucks for the people that live around the house, in direct earshot. And, mostly because of the traffic it brings and people coming and going. I have heard that some drug dealers are aware of the HEAT dealing from a house brings and they end up doing delivery.

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by sulvaterry

Couple other points:
I think what happened here, is County Commissioners took note to keep public transportation out of Charlotte County. We have dial-A-ride but that takes a phone call to use. Another thing, is RENTS have gone up here tremendously and that keeps the riff-raff in Ft Myers... Charlotte County Utilities has the highest water and sewer rates in the state. Its not uncommon for a monthly water and sewer bill to be $150 a month here for 3 or 4 people in a house... So, you do the math....
Average rental in Port Charlotte $1200
Utilities will run a renter $300 ( Electric and water/sewer )
You kinda sorta have to be earning a little bit of money to live in Port Charlotte...
Riff Raff / low lifes cants afford $1500 a month... They flock to places where rents are cheap.
Port Charlotte is NOT cheap when it comes to rentals. You cant even find a rental here.
Charlotte Harbor is the 2nd largest Bay or Inlet in the state. This is a huge fishing area with free boat ramps and free parking dotted around the county here and there. This is an angler and boaters paradise for affordable access to the water.
I like Port Charlotte and I like the feel of the mostly conservative working people and the seniors that live here. I flip houses over the years and I once bought a flip home in an expensive area of Sarasota and moved in up there. Im glad I never sold my Port Charlotte house because I never saw any of my neighbors up there. Id see the car come and in and out of the garage always. Here in Port Charlotte ( especially the older neighborhoods ) people know each other and are friendly and helpful and knock on each others doors. Many walk dogs and say Hello.. IF anything else comes to mind, I'll post is..

god, I would literally hate if people were just knocking on my door. Like, please stay away from me. Thanks. I don't need to be molested by your presence at my doorstep.

[stank1964]

I can’t wait to see all the demand $300 - $800 a night rooms drive that are not even close to a real beach. This is the dumbest idea ever.

[DOOWOP2020]

Depends on what you like and what you can afford I guess. If you are originally from Ft Lauderdale why would you not go back to Ft Lauderdale?

I personally dislike it here, am eager to buy a house elsewhere but I have specific reasons which you may not agree with and so I keep them to myself but why would you move here if you are originally from ft lauderdale to begin with? Broward isn't the same no more? This I can understand as I love Ft Lauderdale and did the same but my mistake on the flip side is buying here instead of returning to the east coast.

I don't know what you age is but take a seriously deep look into doctors here if you are older ( I'm a senior ).

[Jodycarr100]

Port Charlotte is quiet with less traffic than FM or SRQ
Not much crime here and people are friendly.
I'm also in the older neighborhood and it's mixed bag of young and older. Majority white people on my street with 1 carribean Haitian family - hard working nice people. We like dining out at Donatos and Super Buffet

[DOOWOP2020]

Jodycarr100 you hae to mention buffet. Now I'm hungry! Anyone care to weigh in on what's the best Mexican restaurant around?

[Old Rocky]

Originally Posted by DOOWOP2020

Jodycarr100 you hae to mention buffet. Now I'm hungry! Anyone care to weigh in on what's the best Mexican restaurant around?

We don't eat out much but the last time we went out for Mexican was to Los Mariachis and both hubby and I really liked it. We've been to Lime Tequila a couple of times before that but we thought Los Mariachis was tastier. I had Shrimp Tacos at Lime Tequila and they were boring and pretty tasteless. I had to squeeze a bunch of lime on the shrimp and add some salsa to liven it up. At Los Mariachis, I didn't have to do that. Hubby had the fish tacos at Los Mariachis and said they were good too.

Everyone's taste is different so if a restaurant holds back on the spice to please most of their customers, it won't please those of us who don't mind a bit of heat and spice. I don't like my mouth being incinerated by Mexican food but I don't like it flat and bland either. Same for Thai food. It has to have heat or it's just not tasty for us.

It also can depend on what you order. Some restaurants do certain things really well, other things so-so. If you order something they do great, you'll rave about it but if someone goes to that restaurant and has what that restaurant does so-so, they'll think you're wrong. So I always approach these "which is the best X restaurant" with a bit of trepidation because we're all different and there are just too many variables.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by DOOWOP2020

Depends on what you like and what you can afford I guess. If you are originally from Ft Lauderdale why would you not go back to Ft Lauderdale?

I personally dislike it here, am eager to buy a house elsewhere but I have specific reasons which you may not agree with and so I keep them to myself but why would you move here if you are originally from ft lauderdale to begin with? Broward isn't the same no more? This I can understand as I love Ft Lauderdale and did the same but my mistake on the flip side is buying here instead of returning to the east coast.

I don't know what you age is but take a seriously deep look into doctors here if you are older ( I'm a senior ).

I live in Punta Gorda. Here in Charlotte County the regular doctors are okay, it's the specialist I'm not a big fan of. We don't have a lot of them so they get booked up fast and some of them seem younger and less experienced. Heck, I'm 38 and my Ears nose and Throat doctor is same as me. She's always in a hurry and rushed and doesn't spend the time with you. I know some who go up to Sarasota for better doctors.

A big factor I dislike about Southwest Florida in general is the age demographics. It's the oldest region of the state and being a single guy my age it sucks lol. Not a lot of decent single women around here. Most tats and overweight. I go on dating sites and look within a 50 mile radius of here and it's horrific.

[stank1964]

You used the term “nightlife” when asking about PC? What’s your idea of nightlife?

[Restrain]

Ok, so we have lived down here for 7 years (disclaimer -I am a licensed real estate broker, wife is an appraiser, and NO, we are not looking for work or to sell your lot). PC is booming. Wait time for a new home is a year right now. Housing prices are skyrocketing as are lot prices. People are moving into the area from the NE and Midwest in droves.

Now, the Sunseeker resort is back under construction with restaurants etc. Other new developments are popping up all across the county as well as on the Harbor. The big problem is the county government with its taxes and fees. Water rates are high, as are sewer rates. Electric is lower than many other areas. Traffic is horrible during ‘season’, but it is getting bad year-round with the influx of people.

Really, though, we enjoy PC/PG. You can join any of the Eagles, Elks, etc. Lots of churches for any faith.Lots of parks, and you are 30 minutes from the beaches. So, come down and spend a week. You won’t want to go back home.