Help! Can't decide where to live in Florida - Need Info on Port Charlotte Area (Sarasota: for sale)

[sensualrose]

My family and I will be relocating to Florida (hopefully soon). We are currently living in Indiana and wish to be somewhere warmer. I have done alot of research and still have not decided where to live. We are very interested in Port Charlotte (my ex-sister in law lives there and loves it). I would like more information on that area and the towns surrounding Punta Gorda. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Wanda

[121804]

We are actively researching Punta Gorda & Port Charlotte.

We are currently renting in Punta Gorda Isles (an area w/ very high end homes & a few gizzilion condos). Punta Gorda Isles is a "community" w/in Punta Gorda. It is very, very much retirement oriented. It is small & sorta quaint. I feel safe here but seeing that I have a young child, it is too much of an older crowd. The homes in Punta Gorda Isles are very pricey but that is b/c about 99% have boat docks.

There is a historic area of Punta Gorda that has just wonderful historic homes & very pleasant. Obviously, the homes are not priced for average folk. But, if you got about a $1-$2 mil, then the historic area is great.

Another area is Harbor Heights...a little older in terms of the homes & not as nice as Punta Gorda Isles or some other places.

There are two nice communities in PG--Burnt Store Meadows & Deep Creek. Homes in Burnt Store Meadows average about $300k for 2000sq ft under ac & every darn home there has a pool. Burnt Store Meadows is a small community & you are going to get a little more land than some other areas.

Deep Creek is a much bigger development w/ a much wider range of people & cost of homes. It is right next to Port Charlotte--literally. Personally, we like Deep Creek b/c we can afford it & it has some nice streets that are reasonably priced. Super WalMart is a 5 min drive as is the I-75. Lots of choices & you can get a new home there for around $200-$210k

Port Charlotte is a little harder to figure out. It has some really nice areas & then just some areas that look beyond rough & past their time. We have found a good little area off of Peachtree Lane & Kings Highway. Port Charlotte reminds me more of the average American suburb. It has its good part & its bad parts. All the restaurants & major stores are in PC. The mall is a lot to be desired, but you can go to Sarasota or Fort Myers if you need to; only about 45 mins to FT Myers from PC or Punta Gorda.

Punta Gorda & PC are nice but I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest renting & taking your time to buy. There are so many places to rent around here.

While homes in the Deep Creek area of Punta Gorda are selling at $175k-$200k, there are SO many available at around the $210-$250 range. I would love to see where these home prices go in about a year.

If you are looking into buying a condo, THIS IS THE PLACE!

If you are looking for a family-oriented community, Deep Creek, Burnt Store Meadows or specific areas of Port Charlotte. PC has one elementary school (Kingsway, I believe) that is suppose to be good.

I am originally from NE Ohio & it is taking some time to adjust, but gotta do it.

[sensualrose]

Alot of great information......Thanks

[birdiemom]

We are originally from Ohio also, North Port has allot of families also. I've heard, but don't know, that the schools are better. All 3 areas: Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, and North Port are very nice.
There are so many houses for sale down here, its unbelievable.
We have had our house on the market for 3 months now with no bites, so finding a house in these areas will be easy.

Good Luck

[FLsunshine]

It's a nice area. We just moved from there. I never realized how different it was from other cities in FL as far as offerings for young families. We always had things to do but now that we have moved we have found ten times the amount of things offered towards children.

There are several very nice family neighborhoods in the Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte area. A lot of the rest are older neighborhoods. PGI is in Punta Gorda and pricey. I never cared for the attitude there. Deep Creek is about half families/half retirees. It's reasonably priced. I just finished pricing homes there as compared to our home sale and most nice homes are still $250,000 and up. Bare bones Adams style homes are less but they leave plenty to be desired.

The Peachland/Kings Hwy area is nice. There are nice little neighborhoods west of 41 if you look real hard. Charlotte Harbour is nice but I don't care for Harbour Heights right beyond it.

Downtown Punta Gorda has charm but the surroundings areas have some troubles. So, basically you have to find the pockets of nicer neighborhoods. I know a lot of people who live west of 41 and like it.

Pt. Charlotte real estate is less expensive than surrounding cities like Fort Myers and Sarasota. It's also a very easy commute. You're not more than a few minutes from 75 in any part of town. The shopping is ok but it wasn't long ago that PC was a sleepy little fishing town. Many wish it still was :-)
More and more shops are appearing all of the time.

you won't hear many complaints from me about SW Florida as we absolutely loved it there!

[Poolman]

If I lived in Charlotte County I would definitely want a home with a pool. The summer is very hot and a pool is something you will truly want for 7 months out of the year. There are new and old areas of Port Charlotte. I do believe the older areas have more character some times with the landscaping and the ways the homes are built. A lot of the older homes withstood Charlie.

[PCannie]

I would suggest subscribing to the sun-herald for a month see for yourself....
Topics to look for..homeowners ins,,taxes,job market and pay scale,police beat. It gives you a pretty good idea of what is going on here.

[SuzieQFL]

We are in the Peachland/Harbor Blvd./Veterans area, and there is a nice mix of retirees and young families. We have lived there for several years and have been really happy there. Literally 5-10 minutes from everything. We've
always felt really safe there too. We rarely lock our doors except when we're on vacation.

Hope you find your dream house and area. I don't think you'll be sorry. You
have to put up with some hurricane watches, but the constant sunshine and
beautiful scenery and weather more than make up for it. Hurricane Donna was in 1960. Hurricane Charley was in 2004 - so if we go another 40 years without a hit, it will be great!

[Challen01]

I agree with FLSunshine. I have lived in the area off and on for fifteen years. Personally, I don't recommend living there with children. Not much to do. People think they can go to the Harbor for a swim, but it is very murky with trash all over the place. The place has gone downhill since the early 90's. Punta Gorda has a smaller home town feel, but most residents have lived there for generations, and it may be hard to break into their crowd.

Certain parts are beautiful and it's wonderful to go boating through the canals to see all the PGI homes. However, I think it looks like one big strip mall. I would recommend it over North Port. I can always get a feel for residents by visiting restaurants and talking to people/staff. The affordable housing down there is ridiculous - every other house is for rent or sale, so you'll definately be able to get a bargain. But the newspaper has stated that the number of renters has risen dramatically, which leads to an increase in crime, drugs, etc. That is why we have left. Plus the insurance and property taxes are going through the roof. I would suggest renting first. Good luck to you!

[ElyaBella]

Me and My bf Are researching and planning on moving to Florida. We too can not figure out where the best area would be for us. I am a Professional make up artist and he is a Carpenter planning on starting his own business we are 23 years old and we would like some information on What would be best for us. Any other Young adults out there that can give us a good idea! We want somewhere quiet but still within distance of city. I am reading as much as I can about this move and its even harder since we are Canadian so theres def more steps to take...ANY ADVICE! We plan to in the next year or two

THANKS
CHEERS