Port Charlotte / Punta Gorda

seadaddler · Apr 7, 2010

Great Place

I live and sail in Port Charlotte/Charlotte Harbor is very under used compared to when I sailed up East end Long Island never ever very crowded with boats at all.
I am retired and living in a 55 and over community,it never gets croweded like Ft Myers or tampa,we don't have super nice beaches in Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda but have Charlotte Harbor with great places to sail to,it is only about 22 ft in the deepest section but i sail my 5' daft H-36 all the time and never hit bottom.
Plenty of houses or condo's on canals in Port Charlotte and punta Gorda,Burnt Store marina is where I keep my boat also fisherman's village Marina also,I think it is a great location for sailing to other great locations,Boca grand inlet is a great excess to the gulf.
Oh good Hospitals and doctor's also,my wife and I are very happy with doctors here,lots of retired people live here to keep the doctors busy,low crime and taxes and good shopping and restaurants all close by in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda,great place to retire.
Come on down and vacation first and check it out.
Nick

sailaway78 · Apr 7, 2010

Port Charlotte

While I am not familiar with the housing and medical facilities in this area, I can attest to the good sailing and location. Have been in the area several times, and really like the area. Lots of good anchorages, good sailing, easy gulf access. You could certainly do worse.

AlwaysFORSAIL · Apr 8, 2010

Florida is good

My wife and I retired to fort Myers in 1998. Bought a boat and a condo on water. Got tired of the condo Nazis and bought a house in Fort Myers Beach on a canal. Sold the house in 2005 and moved aboard.

We have sailed from Houston, the Keys, as far north as Charleston, the Bahamas and are currently in Stuart, FL for the Hurricane season then we will sail back over tto the West Coast (Florida).

The West Coast is much easier sailing than the East Coast. SE winds and protection from the land makes for calmer seas. More and easier ports/anchorages and less people. More people than in 1998 but less than the East Coast. If you need a land base then Ft Myers to Port Charlotte prices are favorable compared to the rest of Florida.

We have found the doctor situation to be OK but spotty. The large transient population sometimes causes the service industry to be a little aloof and maybe a little less thorough. Check everything and trust no one is good advice. That said, we would certainly recommend South and SW Florida to anyone.

If you need specific marina or other info please feel free to email me at jcvillines@gmail.com

Sailm8 · Apr 8, 2010

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/apr/04/after-charley/

My wife and I moved here 10 years ago and never regret a minute. The boat is in a canal in the back yard and we can get underway at a moments notice. The housing is back to affordable after going crazy several years ago. The community of Punta Gorda is going through a spurt of revitalization. We are planning a new sailing center to replace 2 older buildings on the waterfront. Two mooring fields are planned with one approved and one yet to be permitted. We have two brand new marinas, one allows live aboards. The town is working toward becoming a sailors destination. We have initiated a free bike lending program at the marinas. Charlotte Harbor racing is very competitive hosting several prestigious regattas each year. Punta Gorda is the best of small town America. Safe streets, plenty of small mom and pop business, superior hospitals and health care yet only a drive across the bridge to the malls and big box stores. We are an affluent community but generally a classless group. Everyone is a transplant and egger to make friends with newcomers, and snowbirds.

The sailing is outstanding although in skinny water. If I had one wish I would like more small deserted coves to anchor overnight in. From Boca Grande pass you are a about 130 miles from Key West. Tis part of SW Florida is a great jumping off point.

oldiesrocker2001 · Apr 8, 2010

While I can't attest to the lifestyle/living accomodations in the area, it was a trip to punta gorda that convinced the admiral to start seriously listening to me about retirement in that area. We rafted up to a friend's boat in his canal . The water in the Peace river leading to the harbor can get skinny, though.
Not to hijack this thread though, Living on a canal what is the minimum elevation from the canal needed to prevent storm surges from turning the house into a pool(of course with a hurricane, all bets are off, I guess)? Flood insurance must be a bear too, though..
I've been thinking of condo with marina priveleges, but also don't like to be told how to landscape my house/keep my boat etc..

Sailm8 · Apr 10, 2010

We live in a condo for the last 10 years and love it. We downsized all of our crap from up north and have now filled the condo with new crap. Hurricane Charley came directly over our unit. We were built to Miami Dade standards at the time and survived with minimal damage. The area around us was devastated many homes total write offs. We are 10 feet above MWL which was code at the time. We had no surge at all. Some say this was a freak some say it was our barrier islands no one really knows for sure. Some of the newer condos have garages on the 1st floor and units begin on the second so this might be a newer code change.

The move from a 5 bedroom home in the Midwest to 1600 sq ft was very satisfying. Much the same you would do if you were moving aboard a boat. They (the condo assoc) can keep the lawn and plant whatever they want. I want no part of it.

No one tells us how to keep your boat other than how far it can stick out into the canal, no dock boxes, and only one boat per slip. I pay 35.00/year for electric and can sell the slip with my unit or without the unit. I can't rent it out or sell it to anyone who is not an owner of a unit. Common sense prevails.

Bill1565 · Apr 10, 2010

I live in one of the original homes in Punta Gorda Isles. CA 1970. My floor is 7 1/2 feet above a land based civil engineer version of sea level. Newer code is 10.5 or 11 feet.

Tidal range here is about 2 feet, but it's not the same 2 feet all the time. Winters it can be -2 to 0, summers 0 to +2. Also Charlotte harbor runs North and South. A good strong winter north wind can convert -2 to -4. We have had water over the seawall in no name events with strong south winds. Seawalls are about 5 ' above sea level. No hurricane surge in the 12 years we have been here.

There is another thread going now about running aground. Plan on it it Charlotte Harbor!

seadaddler · Apr 10, 2010

Perfect

Charlotte Harbor would be perfect for your 22 sailboat and plenty of sailing in it without going into the gulf,lots of nice little places to sail to in harbor,you could probably find a nice condo to rent with a slip if you wanted to look see on vacation or for winter,lots of snowbirds come down in Jan,Feb,March.
Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda is got to be one of the best places to live and the sailing is super and now with the prices down is a great time to buy.
If you are going to just come here for winters a condo is ideal or a 55+ community so you just do a turn key operation,I live in such a community so look up Kings Gate,Port Charlotte they have rent to buy or buy and the prices are cheaper than when we bought in 2004.
Nick

Port Charlotte / Punta Gorda

dennis23685

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seadaddler

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sailaway78

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AlwaysFORSAIL

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Sailm8

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oldiesrocker2001

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Sailm8

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Bill1565

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seadaddler

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dennis23685

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