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I lived in Sebring, FL from the time I was 9 until I was 18 and graduated HS. The education there was top notch. I was a sophomore in college by the time I graduated HS thanks to the education system. Florida has all-day Kindergarten, unlike the midwest where the majority is 1/2 day. What's the point in that? The teachers there cared about their students and definitely took a personal interest. I stayed many afternoons with Math teachers trying to understand college level courses. This was FREE tutoring. I still have contact with some of my teachers. I can honestly say that I knew 95% of my graduating class. The principal knew my name and my sister. Yes, he mixed us up constantly, but at least he had the right family. I don't know why people think the education in Florida is behind. I went to Florida public schools all my life and graduated from UF.
I wanted to thank you for your posts regarding port charlotte, deep creek areas. We are looking for a small town-have heard that port charlotte was a small town and was known for an elder population, but also that that is changing as well. More families are moving into the area. I would rather a small town right about now. Coming from New Jersey and live in what used to be a small town-and not a bad place to live. Not so true anymore, but I think it is like that all over. Any other comments about the area-schools etc. would be appreciated, and thank you again for your help!!!
Jill & Sean we are relocating to Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda area from New Jersey ourselves in 2008. Please tell us on this forum what it is like there.
We planned on visiting in the spring but decided to wait until fall so we don't have to go so long daydreaming about the beautiful sunshine there.
We go to Englewood beach and yact twice a year and go to Port Charlotte mall. It is nice area, I think you will like it, Englewood is small community about 20 mins from Port Charlotte, It has a small public beach too, We love to go there we stay in a condo timeshare there. But the island is only a couple miles in length. It is family friendly and not like busy crowded beached.
You can rent a furnished nice condo for 85.00 day and have the beach to yourself. Boca Grande is nice too, but busier.
Heading up beach road toward sarasota is lots of movie stars have places hidden there.
We also like to go to Casino in Immokklee near fort meyers.
We go to Englewood beach and yact twice a year and go to Port Charlotte mall. It is nice area, I think you will like it, Englewood is small community about 20 mins from Port Charlotte, It has a small public beach too, We love to go there we stay in a condo timeshare there. But the island is only a couple miles in length. It is family friendly and not like busy crowded beached.
You can rent a furnished nice condo for 85.00 day and have the beach to yourself. Boca Grande is nice too, but busier.
Heading up beach road toward sarasota is lots of movie stars have places hidden there.
We also like to go to Casino in Immokklee near fort meyers.
Fss thanks for the info, my wife and I have been trying using satelite mapping to see which beach was closest to Port Charlotte. We think Port Charlotte is the town we want to live in. It seems to have everything we need as far as schools, low crime, access to hiways and job markets. We can't wait to come down and check the area out. We were going to come in the spring but decided not to torture ourselves by going there too early and have to live 1 more year here in Jersey. I already find myself daydreaming about Florida, if I actually see it 1st hand I don't think I can bear it here another year. We have not been to Florida in about 4yrs. (Orlando) but alll those memories are fresh in my head. I'll just have to use them and this forum to get me through 2007.
Again thanks for the info and any other info will be greatly appreciated.
I live in CT, but I would like to move to Florida. I've been to Ft. Lauderdale FL and liked it but its too expensive. I want to move to a condo, because I will be starting out, but find many condos in FL are 55 + communities. I looked up real estate in FL and found cheap but decent housing prices around Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, FL. I have many questions because when I move I would like to move into a condo, but are all the condo's in this area all age 55 + communities? I found some interesting condo's on Rampart Blvd. in Punta Gorda, FL, for fairly cheap prices compared to CT. Are these condo's (The Villa Manor, etc.) 55 + communites? I am in my 20's, so this is why I am asking. I would also like to know is Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte an easy job commute? Close to entertainment and colleges? When I move I would like to spend under $150,000 for my condo (if possible). Can I get this? If I can't, does anyone know any other areas in FL with good schools, colleges, good neighborhoods, easy job commute and fun and entertainment, etc. without age restrictions (on condos)? If so, Please tell me the name of the town/city.
Not sure where you specifically are looking but I live in southern Florida currently - you mentioned Naples. I would recommend to you a couple of places that are small. The Ocala area and St. Augustine area are nice smaller areas. If you like beautiful beaches the panhandle is hard to beat. The only thing there is the storm magnet.
If you like to be near larger cities then check out the west coast from Fort Myers to Brandon. That area has some still affordable places and also some small towns.
If beaches are not important then check out Polk county - WinterHaven, Lake Wales - nice small communities.
I live in CT, but I would like to move to Florida. I've been to Ft. Lauderdale FL and liked it but its too expensive. I want to move to a condo, because I will be starting out, but find many condos in FL are 55 + communities. I looked up real estate in FL and found cheap but decent housing prices around Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, FL. I have many questions because when I move I would like to move into a condo, but are all the condo's in this area all age 55 + communities? I found some interesting condo's on Rampart Blvd. in Punta Gorda, FL, for fairly cheap prices compared to CT. Are these condo's (The Villa Manor, etc.) 55 + communites? I am in my 20's, so this is why I am asking. I would also like to know is Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte an easy job commute? Close to entertainment and colleges? When I move I would like to spend under $150,000 for my condo (if possible). Can I get this? If I can't, does anyone know any other areas in FL with good schools, colleges, good neighborhoods, easy job commute and fun and entertainment, etc. without age restrictions (on condos)? If so, Please tell me the name of the town/city.
Josh, I am not sure if there is anything in your price point but I know of an area that fits the bill for you as far as criteria is concerned - Estero, FL - some new condos are close to your figure but perhaps in Ft. Myers. The new University is there and many new shops, theaters, etc.
Considering a move to New Port Richey/Hudson/Spring Hill area. How's the job market? Is it possible to make a decent living there without commuting to Tampa?
Spring Hill
There are very few good jobs in Spring Hill. There are very few jobs altogether. Unless you're looking for landscaping or retail. The jobs that are here are probably lower paying than anywhere else. Its just a hustling suburbia with nothing special. A small crowded town that almost completely shuts down at night. There are some old town Florida people and places here. I think the local transplants like myself embrace it. There are farms just out of the way and many typical oldtime Florida landscapes and people. The outskirts are like Ocala, but warmer and more tropical.
JD Floyd is a good elementary school if you have kids. The High School and Middle School arent nearly as good. Though they just built a Challenger school with much higher requirements. There is a waiting list and your kids have to excel at something to get into it. There is a small beach(Hernando Beach), some piers with fishing and boat ramps, wildlife areas, clear rivers and a small waterparrk called Weeki Wachee that has water slides and Mermaid shows. There are also glass bottom boat tours you can take on the rivers or rent boats to go out in the gulf or canoe in the rivers.
The better jobs are definitely in Tampa. This place has a serious job shortage. Home prices are rising rapidly. Not to SoCal standards, but its in the making. Especially with home owners insurance rates and vehicle insurance rates. You can find small two bdr homes for 120k. 3bdr and up are 150k and up. The ones under 200k seem to be older, with lousy floorplans, no swimming pools or very small ones. They can be very small for that price on tiny lots with carports or very small garages. The area with those houses seems more dried up and bleak overall. Not that attractive. But if you have money there are plenty of gated communities.
There are only a handful of specialty resteraunts here. Though new stuff is coming in all the time. There is no mall. There is an outlet mall but its more like a Flea Market inside. The stores are actually old people trying to peddle horrible merchandise for twice its regular asking price. There are two Walmarts and a Target, and lots of smaller places. There are two bowling lanes and two movie theaters. There is a neat park nearby just across the Pasco county line(five minutes away) called Crews Lake Park(what a neat park, if you visit do yourself a favor and go see it).
Like I said there isnt much to do. The weather can be an issue anytime of the year as well. Tornaods, hurricanes, lighting(very underrated natural force), humidity, and searing summer heat. Bugs galore. Different types of ants, wasps, bees, scorpions(dont see them often though), lovebugs. If your yard isnt protected ants will have mounds all over it. The ants here are very agressive and think you're a food source. Some like the bull ants inflict more pain than a wasp or bee will. I have only seen one cottonmouth, one rattlesnake, one coral snake since I have lived here. Though black snakes an gopher snakes are common sights.
If jobs is your main concern then this is not the right place to move unless you plan on doing landscaping or working in retail. A lot of the older folks take the retail jobs too. Groceries are very high here too for some reason that I dont understand. I have met lots of folks who would rather live somewhere else or go back home. There are lots of spoiled kids, and borderline senile old folks.
Typically you will get a couple weeks of cold weather a year in February where the nighttime lows may drop to freezing or just below. It will kill many types of tropical plants if they arent covered up with something, excluding hardier sub-tropical plants. tarpon Springs is nearby New Port Richey and they have a beach. Those areas are not nearly as nice on the surface as Spring Hill. Yet it is very boring here. There are no clubs, just bars. Tampa has the nightlife. Not that I plan on going clubbing or whatever you want to call it.
All in all jobs are very scarce. If you dont have money already or a good job you probably wont be happy here. Prices are only going up also. Traffic is growing as fast as they can build new roads. Just an ordinary suburbia. Except you're close to Florida's best beauty. Clear rivers, green rivers, blue rivers, white sand, alligators, black bear, manatee, armadillos, snakes, bugs. Huge ancient oaks with moss and vines all over them, and some neat dinosaur looking landscapes in places. Thye squirrels here are also much bolder than the ones I was use to. Not necesarily a nuiscance, just busy bodies that love to mess with cats and dogs and birds. They will come right next to you and bark. They're constantly up to stuff. The different birds fight a lot too.
Brooksville is nearby, and they may have a broader range of jobs than Spring Hill. Its more country and has many older homes and worse off areas. Including a few really bad areas that perpuate crime because of the very poverished conditions. You can also find trailers not far outside town in the wooded areas that are much cheaper. But trailers and unstable air dont mix.
Ive lived here off and on since I was six. Been all over Florida except the Keys. Dont hate it, but dont like it that much either. Then again, its a personal opinion. Sometimes the weather makes me think its worth it, other times the weather makes me think its terrible. People can be very shallow and callous here. They just want the sunshine, the hottest cars, and the most flambouyant homes. Many arent concerned about anything else. Some are consumed by the image. I tried to be unbias so people would not just discount it as negativity.
I guess my favorite thing overall is the white sand. It never fails to impress. That and the aprks like Crews Lake. I dont think places exist like those anywhere else on planet Earth. There are many diving areas around here in the rivers and lakes with white sand and clear-green to clear-blue water. At times you can feel marroned on some carribean island if you use your imgaination(not hard you will see lots of variety in Florida). Other times you will feel like you're in the deep old south. Other times you will feel like you're in a booming hot spot, the place to be. Other times you will feel like you're an explorer. Other times you may feel like you're in some ancient dinosaur world. Most times you will just appreciate the sunshine. In my opinion the nature coast and the panhandle are the best parts of Florida. But the panhandle gets the hurricanes and cold weather. Its also not very tropical.
I hope it helps.
Last edited by the_pines; 02-21-2007 at 09:58 PM..
We are looking in the Port Charlotte area, Deep Creek. It appears to be a nice area-gulf side. I have gone to Florida four times this past year and would like to be near the coast. Have only been on the East, so next month will be our first trip to the west coast. Any comments on this area or surrounding I would appreciate it.
If you think the traffic is bad on the east coast.. ..just wait and see, it's worse, hotter, and buggier that the east coast. But the sunsets at Englewood beach are gorgeous!
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The teachers there cared about their students and definitely took a personal interest. I stayed many afternoons with Math teachers trying to understand college level courses. This was FREE tutoring. I still have contact with some of my teachers. I can honestly say that I knew 95% of my graduating class. The principal knew my name and my sister. Yes, he mixed us up constantly, but at least he had the right family. I don't know why people think the education in Florida is behind. 
I went to Florida public schools all my life and graduated from UF.
..just wait and see, it's worse, hotter, and buggier that the east coast. But the sunsets at Englewood beach are gorgeous! 
