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Old 06-23-2015, 03:52 PM
 
9 posts, read 11,690 times
Reputation: 14

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Hi everyone! I currently live in New Hampshire, and am looking to relocate to southwest Florida. I love the temperature ranges you guys get year round, love the homes I've been finding in my real estate searches online. I need help picking a town. I am 36, married with 4 kids, 12, 11, 10, and 6. A good school system, and low crime are a must. I dont need to be on waterfront. I'd like to get a friendly small town feel, with conveniences nearby. I dont need nightlife, or clubs/bars. A place with good economics would be a plus too, as I am a small business owner and will be starting up fresh down there, an economically depressed area with high unemployment and many below the poverty line makes that difficult. I'm planning a visit in a month or so, but would love help narrowing my search! Thanks in advance!
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Old 06-23-2015, 06:07 PM
 
Location: Anthem, AZ
2,118 posts, read 3,788,381 times
Reputation: 666
Would direct you to start searching existing posts on this forum using the key words
North Port

I've been here 8 hears, in Port Charlotte, next to North Port. Sounds like NP fits exactly what you're looking for. When you come visit, plan a day for the kids at the beach in Englewood, about 30 minutes from NP.

Happy reading and happy hunting!
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Old 06-23-2015, 06:13 PM
 
Location: Rotonda Florida
1,393 posts, read 1,560,658 times
Reputation: 665
You've really got to go see for yourself. Different people like different areas. We thought we wanted to be in certain areas until we spend some time there and changed our minds. We thought we didn't want in an HOA. Again, after visiting and driving around - totally changed our minds.

Go, drive around, get a clue on the layout of Sarasota, Venice, North Port, Englewood, Rotonda, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda... etc. and go from there.

There ain't no one size fits all to your search. It's really an individual thing. We are landing in Rotonda towards Gaspirilla but you may love somewhere else.

Good luck in your quest but no matter what you decide; TRUST ME, start cleaning out stuff NOW.

Edit: Queue the "Moving to Florida Interview"

Last edited by 03bluecoupe; 06-23-2015 at 06:32 PM..
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Old 06-23-2015, 06:30 PM
 
Location: CT
3,440 posts, read 2,538,414 times
Reputation: 4639
I guess a few questions come to mind, have you ever visited anywhere in southwest FL? What kind of business are you planning to start? New Hampshire to Florida, how does the rest of the family feel about this move?
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Old 06-23-2015, 06:59 PM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,469,089 times
Reputation: 3457
Want to start a business? What kind? Retail, service? Who will be your clients?

Sarasota, Fort Myers would be a higher probability simply due to the strong business environments. Tat being said, be sure to check out all the licensing requirements.

Just do your research.
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Old 06-23-2015, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Palm Island and North Port
7,511 posts, read 22,967,547 times
Reputation: 2880
Quote:
Originally Posted by chirodoc1 View Post
Hi everyone! I currently live in New Hampshire, and am looking to relocate to southwest Florida. I love the temperature ranges you guys get year round, love the homes I've been finding in my real estate searches online. I need help picking a town. I am 36, married with 4 kids, 12, 11, 10, and 6. A good school system, and low crime are a must. I dont need to be on waterfront. I'd like to get a friendly small town feel, with conveniences nearby. I dont need nightlife, or clubs/bars. A place with good economics would be a plus too, as I am a small business owner and will be starting up fresh down there, an economically depressed area with high unemployment and many below the poverty line makes that difficult. I'm planning a visit in a month or so, but would love help narrowing my search! Thanks in advance!
Everyone who has posted have posed great questions. I also think it would help to know what the business is as Restrain mentioned. Each town various greatly in median age range and vibe. The average age in North Port is 38 While the average age in nearby Venice is 68. I own a home in North Port and have had experience with both Cranberry Elementaty and Toledo Blade Elementary. Both are rated well by the state. I'm answering on my phone so I can't paste any links for reference but if you look at some of my blogs I've written I've talked extensively about the schools in the Charlotte and Sarasota area. Being a native to the area I have attended many of the schools both public and private as have my three children.

Neal has brought in the new Grand Palm community, Divosita has brought in IslandWalk and Lennar has Stoneybrook at Venice. All communities I suggest you research. Again, there have been many posts on this board as well as the Sarasota board talking about these communities and several others. You can check my blogs and search the board for more info.

As Messing About pointed out, the search feature on this website will pull up tons of info on the area. You could literally spend weeks reading up on schools, communities, etc. I usually target several areas that seem like a good fit based on the criteria of my clients. Then I select communities and then watch those communities for the best deals. This is similar to what BlueCoupe suggested, which is a good idea.

Based on your criteria I suggest you begin your search in the Venice/Osprey/Nokomis area.
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Old 06-24-2015, 02:29 AM
 
Location: Punta Gorda
2,610 posts, read 2,838,686 times
Reputation: 768
I'm going to guess chiropractor by your forum name.
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:01 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
3,979 posts, read 10,578,145 times
Reputation: 1940
North Port is the closest area to your median age and there are children around, but you will find families in most of the communities around here. Most of North Port is non-deed restricted. You will find newer homes in this area compared to other areas. If you are looking to live in a deed restricted community with rules and regulations and an HOA fee, then there are a few to choose from. Most importantly would be your price range, style of living, and home search criteria that you are looking for. When you visit, take a look at the different cities to see what is a best fit for you and your family as well as your business. But I think with a little research ahead of time you can narrow down some choices because it can get overwhelming trying to see everything.

I have lived in both North Port and Port Charlotte and I have taught in both school districts.

Here are some local links:

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations and what occupations require a license - DBPR: Home Page

Economic Development
Sarasota County Economic Development - Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, Florida
Charlotte County Economic Development - Charlotte County Economic Development
City of North Port Economic Development - City of North Port, FL : Economic Development

Schools
Charlotte County Public Schools - http://yourcharlotteschools.net/
Sarasota County Public Schools - Sarasota County Schools - Home

City and County Offices
Charlotte County - http://www.charlottecountyfl.gov
Sarasota County - https://www.scgov.net/
City of Punta Gorda - City of Punta Gorda Florida
City of North Port - City of North Port, FL : Home
City of Venice - Welcome to the official Website of City of Venice, FL

Chamber of Commerce
Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce - Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce | Business & Lifestyle in Charlotte County Florida
Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce - Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce: Home Page
North Port Chamber of Commerce - http://www.northportareachamber.com/
Venice Chamber of Commerce - Venice Area Chamber of Commerce > Home
Englewood Chamber of Commerce - http://englewoodchamber.com/

Hospitals
Bayfront Health - Bayfront Health Port Charlotte - Punta Gorda
Fawcett Memorial Hospital - Home | Fawcett Memorial Hospital | Port Charlotte, FL
Englewood Community Hospital - Home | Englewood Community Hospital | Englewood, FL
Venice Regional Medical Center - Venice Regional Bayfront Health
Sarasota Memorial Hospital - SMH.COM
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota - Doctors Hospital of Sarasota | Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:30 AM
 
9 posts, read 11,690 times
Reputation: 14
Great replies, Thank you to all! The research seems overwhelming, so I thank you all for the pushes in the right direction, will save me tons of time. I am a chiropractor, if that helps any of you point me in the right direction. I don't really have a target age population for my practice, as I work with all ages, from infant to 101. I want an area that has good employment though, as businesses like mine tend to not do so well in areas that have high unemployment, underemployment or no health insurance.
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:41 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,469,089 times
Reputation: 3457
Learn to LOVE Medicare. When we lived in Texas, physicians, etc accepting Medicare were somewhat limited due to a reluctance to accept the fees. Here in Port Charlotte, Medicare is the norm. Doctors have learned how to use the system, do the best with it.

Again, look at your competition, probable customers. Highly athletic individuals, the larger cities. Dealing with older folks, locate in North Port and serve Venice, NP, PC.

Take a vacation, come down and do your research. Now, if you haven't followed the migration patterns, the snowbirds start arriving the end of October, go home end of April, first of May. That is the BUSY time. Doctors down here routinely fluxuate staffing levels, vacations, etc around this period. Not so much in the big cities, but the Venice/NP/PC strip, oh, yeah.
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