Moving soon! Please, help me find the right area. (Sarasota: apartment complexes, rentals)

[goingtoflorida-]

I am 25 years old and have accepted a job in Punta Gorda. I visited the area for the interview, but I did not have enough time look at neighborhoods or apartments. What are some good neighborhoods or apartment complexes? I am not opposed to living outside the Punta Gorda/Charlotte County as long as it is not too far (over a 30 minutes drive to work). Also, what do you all like about the area and what do you hate. Thank you for your responses![/SIZE][/font]

[TamRE]

Congratulations on your new job. Punta Gorda is located in Charlotte County. North Port is a little to the north in Sarasota County and is a younger community, median age 38.7. There are not a lot of apartment complexes in Punta Gorda. Another option would be to rent a condo or single family home. We get a lot of snow birds in the area in the winter time so the traffic gets a little heavier, but nothing like the larger cities. Winters are wonderful here. The summers are in the 90's daily and 70's at night. There is plenty to do around the area if you get involved. I would suggest joining a gym or some sort of club or volunteer. That is the best way to meet people. There is always something going on at the parks in Punta Gorda. Lots of events around to attend. The closest mall is Port Charlotte Town Center Mall. There are a lot of restaurants and shopping strip malls around too. The Chamber of Commerce can give you some brochures. They have one in Punta Gorda http://puntagordachamber.com/ and one in Port Charlotte http://www.charlottecountychamber.org/. Good luck to you.

Apartment Complexes
Lakes of Tuscana - http://www.aspensquare.com/florida/port-charlotte/lakes-of-tuscana/
Murdock Circle Apartment Homes - http://www.mymurdockcircle.com/
Toledo Club Apartments - http://toledoclubapts.com/

Condos
Most of the condos are seasonal rentals, but here are a few annual rentals.
1358 Rock Dove Ct #3, Punta Gorda, will rent annual for $800/mo without utilities.
900 E Marion Ave #1409, Punta Gorda (Peace Harbor Condo) Annual $1,300 mo.
3919 San Rocco Dr #34B, Punta Gorda (Fairways at Burnt Store) Annual $1,000 mo.
23465 Harborview Rd #1024, Punta Gorda (Rolls Landing) Annual $700 mo.
3627 Bal Harbor Blvd #112, Punta Gorda (Bermuda View) $800 mo.
1333 Mediterranean Dr #A101, Punta Gorda (Driftwood) $600/mo.
1345 Mediterranean Dr #A205, Punta Gorda (Driftwood) $800/mo.
25050 Sandhill Blvd #B3, Punta Gorda (Pines at Deep Creek) $650/mo.
25225 Rampart Blvd #302, Punta Gorda (Lakeshore of Charlotte County) $675/mo.
2000 Bal Harbor Blvd #311, Punta Gorda (Clipper Cove at Bal Harbor) $900/mo.

Single Family Homes/Other Rentals
I would suggest contacting a rental agency in the area. They can show you rental properties and help you find something that will meet your needs and price range.
Rent Me Florida – www.rentmeflorida.com
LeeAnn Burch - 941-474.2882 ext. 210
Port Charlotte Rental Specialist

Here is some information on Punta Gorda.
Punta Gorda - One of the Best Places to Live in FL

Money Magazine has named Punta Gorda as one of the best places to live in America several years in a row. Why? The city has been transformed since hurricane Charley in 2004. It has a charming and historic waterfront with restaurants and shops. Boating and fishing are also major attractions. The habor leads out into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It has clean air, 129 square miles of sparkling water, sunshine, and a sub-tropical climate. The crime rate is low and it offers great values on waterfront properties.

The city is located on the shores of Charlotte Harbor in sunny Southwest Florida between Sarasota to the north and Ft. Myers to the south. It is a destination for visitors, residences, and businesses alike. Charlotte County has approximately 17,000 people, including young families, singles, and seniors. The city is convenient to airports such as Charlotte County, Southwest Florida International, and Naples Municipal Airport.

Punta Gorda is considered a waterfront paradise. You can find affordable living in single family homes, mobile homes, townhouses, and condos. There are always activities going on at Laishley Park, Gilchrest Park, and even Fishermen’s Village.

City of Punta Gorda - City of Punta Gorda Florida
City of North Port - www.cityofnorthport.com
Charlotte County - Official Government Website for Charlotte County FL Board of County Commissioners

[Big House]

Originally Posted by goingtoflorida-

I am 25 years old and have accepted a job in Punta Gorda. I visited the area for the interview, but I did not have enough time look at neighborhoods or apartments. What are some good neighborhoods or apartment complexes? I am not opposed to living outside the Punta Gorda/Charlotte County as long as it is not too far (over a 30 minutes drive to work). Also, what do you all like about the area and what do you hate. Thank you for your responses![/SIZE][/font]

Welcome to the board! I see TamRE already listed a lot of the places around here to rent. I'm not that familiar.

So, where are you going to work?

Good Luck! Hope to see you around!

[goingtoflorida-]

Thank you TamRE for all the information about the area and housing! Thanks Big House for welcoming me to town!

[Messing About]

Welcome, neighbor! We live in PC but we love Punta Gorda.
When we first moved here in Dec. 07, we rented a 2b condo, fully furnished with stackable washer/dryer, all dishes, utensils, towels, everything and we paid $650 a month. Come to think of it...why did we move out of that? LOL. It was in a nice quiet complex called Bimini Bay Club in Port Charlotte, on Forest Nelson and Peachland. I'm sure, with the value of housing dropping since then, there are still plenty of deals out there like that.

There are also lots of housing deals to be found here. Stick with these message boards and you'll get lots of good advice from the realtors and residents on here. I also used google earth alot before I got here.

One other good resource is using the web site of the Florida Dept of Law Enforcement's sex offender search site. You can plug in prospective addresses and it will show you where known offenders live and tell you about their crime...even give you the latest photo of them. It will tell you if it's an offender or a known predator. You will find s/o's everywhere in the US so don't let a good housing deal pass you by just because there may be 3 people who committed offenses 10-20 years ago living within a 1 mile radius. But when I was considering the Atlantic Coast and looked at a little island community, I saw over 200 s/o's living just across the intercoastal in Riviera Beach. No good, since that's the area my wife would have been shopping. (Whew, good thing I found SWFL).

Anyway, here's the link to FDLE:
FDLE Florida Sexual Offenders and Predators - Neighborhood Search

There appears to be less than a dozen classified as Predators (multiple victims or particularly heinous offense). There appear to be only a couple dozen total offenders living in PC, with most living in the oldest areas, east of US41 (away from the water) and south of Midway Blvd and north of Olean.

Punta Gorda has even less. Not sure if you're a female or not, but if it were my 25 year old daughter (and I have one) I would have her do this research. But then, I'm a retired cop and most people don't think like me. LOL

On a good note...this place is paradise to me. I hope it becomes your new paradise.

[goingtoflorida-]

Thank you Messing About for the tip on researching sex offenders! I would have never thought of doing that, and thank your for providing a link.

[wpc691]

Big House - have seen many of your knowledgeable replies. We're looking for a house in the Isles, and wonder about the "out time" from the Bird Section. Is the small creek near the corner of Almar Dr navigable, or the one a little further toward the corner? If not, it looks like a long way out to the harbor. Any info appreciated.

[SoFLGal]

I'm sure Big House will wander in and answer your questions

The "bird section" was the last section to be developed so the homes in there are generally newer then some of the other areas. Although many of the homes in other sections have been nicely updated.
The way that people "rate" the canals are:

1. How quickly you can get out into the harbor. The longer it takes to get out into the harbor the less valuable the property is. Some if the homes in "the bird section" where all the streets are named for birds, take over 30-40 minutes to open water. You can cut through Alligator Creek though and shave off 15 or so minutes. It's hard to get in and out of there during low tides with bigger boats.

2.Another criteria is if there are any bridges along the way and what their height is. The taller the bridge the more valuable the property is. Also the fewer bridges to under the better.

3. And last but not least is the depth of the water. Most of the canals in PGI have pretty good depth to them.

Occasionally you see in a listing that something that says "sailboat water". This means there are probably no bridges and if there are they are tall enough for sailboats to go under and the water depth is good. Sailboats usually have deeper hulls and draw more water.

I would say if you are boaters to stay away from the bird section because it just takes too long to get out into open water. If you just want something pretty to look at that's one thing but not to use on a regular basis.

The Bass Point Inlet is a pretty good canal in PGI. I think that's the canal the BigHouse lives off of. He's about 5-10 minutes from open water.

[TamRE]

Originally Posted by wpc691

Big House - have seen many of your knowledgeable replies. We're looking for a house in the Isles, and wonder about the "out time" from the Bird Section. Is the small creek near the corner of Almar Dr navigable, or the one a little further toward the corner? If not, it looks like a long way out to the harbor. Any info appreciated.

Big House and a couple of others posted about the bird section of PGI on this CD thread if you want more information go to: //www.city-data.com/forum/saras...nta-gorda.html

Good luck on your home search. PGI is a very nice area. I know a couple that is trying to sell their home in the bird section. We are all members of the Corvettes of Charlotte County. I can ask them for specific details if you don't get your answers through this other thread.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by wpc691

Big House - have seen many of your knowledgeable replies. We're looking for a house in the Isles, and wonder about the "out time" from the Bird Section. Is the small creek near the corner of Almar Dr navigable, or the one a little further toward the corner? If not, it looks like a long way out to the harbor. Any info appreciated.

I am not familiar with it. Here is what I would do. . . . I would go to Google Earth, and type in the address. Then I would look at the neighborhood. They show people with boats and boat lifts. You can see if your neighbors have big boats. If they do then they can get out (maybe only on a high tide in the summer), but they can probably get out. The other property you mentioned is a sure bet - all year long.
If you come down, we can scout it out by water, and I can confirm water depths with my gps transducer. If you know the address, I may be able to get a friend of mine that lives off Alligator Creek, or another friend that lives in the bird section to tell me how big a boat it will hold. I know that there are big sail boats in both areas - but you have to watch out for bridges that you need to go under when you boat out. They aren't draw bridges. You can DM me the address - I can swing buy and offer more of an opinion.