Charlotte County among best to retire
Port Charlotte, Florida, one of the 10 best places in the nation to retire !
U.S.News & World Report
Have dreams of retiring with an ice-cold beverage in hand, while fishing off the waterfront of your own backyard – all without breaking the bank?
Look no further than Port Charlotte. U.S.News & World Report this week named Port Charlotte one of the 10 best places in the nation to retire for its affordable housing and proximity to the water. Still licking the wounds of Florida’s housing bust, Port Charlotte has some of the best bargain busters for retirees looking to settle down in the Sunshine State, the magazine said.
No other town in Florida made the annual list, which also featured Pittsburgh, PA., Ithaca, N.Y, and Lincoln, Neb.
“Most people realize you get the same weather as Longboat Key or Sanibel, but it’s a lot less expensive,” area Realtor Bob Gray said. “Once they get here, they see how nice it is and the prices are a good reason for them to settle.”
The one-paragraph feature highlights Port Charlotte’s median hame sales price which hit a “shockingly low” $59,950 in 2010, according to the report.
Many of those homes sit along canals and waterways that lead to the Charlotte Harbor preserve – one of the state’s largest estuaries with nearly 42,000 acres over 70 miles of shoreline. U.S. News & World Report said the lack of state income tax is the icing on the cake.
Port Charlotte has been the reciepient of similar recognition from several news outlets over the past few years. It was featured as the top retirement town in the March 2010 edition of Where to Retire magazineand listed as listed as one of the most popular retirement destinations months later by Portfolio.com.
Cnn Noney also named Port Charlotte the best place to retire in 2009.
It’s advertising we could never pay for as a community,” said Julie Mathis, executive director of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce. “When they talk about affordable housing, boating and miles of shoreline, I think someone will see that and pick up the phone to get more info.”
