Best Healthy Places to Retire: Punta Gorda, Florida
Four years after Hurricane Charley struck, this waterfront gem is now better than ever
This is no Florida beach town. Not to say that Punta Gorda divorces itself from the water. Mangrove thickets can't hide the expanse of Charlotte Harbor, whose warm and protected waters beckon to a retirement of boating, world-class game fishing, and other pursuits enhanced by salt air.
And not to say it's all about leisure activities. The Charlotte Harbor Paddlers is a fit-crazy group of mostly seniors who train three times a week to compete in frenetic, muscle-powered dashes in something called a dragon boat. The gray hairs sometimes draw teasing, including once from a buffed crew from nearby MacDill Air Force Base, says Jim Getz, 63, a team member along with his wife, Cathy, 58. "They weren't saying much after we beat them."
Aside from beaches, Punta Gorda has a lot that typically draws retirees to Florida. Warm winters, plenty of golf courses, and costs that are lower than those of many states up north. It also has a slower pace, perhaps to a fault, with little night life and not even a movie theater. But most residents like its small-town feel. The city has about 17,000 residents, though no one's exactly sure these days.
At least not after Hurricane Charley ripped through town four years ago. The Category 4 storm tore off roofs and felled buildings, knocking teeth from downtown's smile. But Charley also offered a chance to fix a hodgepodge look. "The storm did help clean things up a bit," says resident Murray Thorndycraft, 76. Many downed buildings were not in the traditional Florida style that planners are emphasizing in rebuilding.
Year-round. Suntanned Thorndycraft and his wife, Marilyn, 72, live outside the small, historic downtown. Their circa 1980 stucco ranch is in Punta Gorda Isles, a modern Florida development tucked around man-made waterways. The Thorndycrafts' open-air lanai looks across a pool to their 30-foot Sunray in the canal.
It's an active, water-oriented lifestyle that drew the couple here from Wisconsin. "Everything we did up there we can do down here, only now it's year-round," says Marilyn.
The post-storm remodeling also encouraged new businesses to try Punta Gorda, including one called the Yoga Sanctuary. That the studio is thriving doesn't surprise client Paula Gallant, 61, who says Florida's sunshine inherently promotes an active lifestyle. Most of her wardrobe revolves around working out, she says, confessing to owning some two dozen tennis outfits alone. She likes tennis, yes. "But you wear those clothes all the time."
The city is trying to further promote healthful living. A farmers' market is opening downtown, bike paths are planned, and a 2-mile bayside walk is nearing completion. Some call it a "promenade," which is perhaps forgivable poetic license. This is a city, after all, stuck with a Spanish name that doesn't flatter residents when translated: "fat point."
Reader Comments
Punta Gorda rebuilds
We came here by sailboat from Annapolis 20 years ago and quickly dubbed Punta Gorda "Chesapeake Bay South." Although Hurricane Charley put a great big dent in our lives, it brought the citizenry together in many totally unexpected ways. The small town atmosphere was enhanced as hundreds of people banded together under the aptly named Team Punta Gorda in a charette to outline our hopes and goals for a new town.
The rebuilding efforts have have progressed to the point that new commercial buildings, a new civic gathering place, a new marina and public park, plus new hotels, night spots and street plantings are changing and brightening the landscape for the better. There is lots more coming, and soon.
Charley slowed the onslaught of immigrants from Naples who were seeking to regain the Old-Florida-feel of their increasingly unaffordable and crowded waterfront community and the national decline in real estate values have combined to make our waterfront property strikingly affordable once again. That reason alone should prompt any boater who can afford to flee the frozen north to put Punta Gorda at the top of his list right now -- before we are rediscovered again. Towns on the water that have both historic character and a home for your boat behind your house -- with fast & easy acces to open water -- are few and far between. It is highly unlikely prices will ever be this low again.
Don't just think waterfront and boats, however. The number of interest groups to be found here, people banding together to enjoy their favorite activities, spans the entire gamut of a major city. If you are alive at all you will find welcoming clubs galore and meet new friends who share your interests. Public gatherings are frequent, with mini-block parties, farmers' markets, music in the parks, holiday festivities, and Third Thursday street walks in downtown all combining to give Punta Gordans a sense of community and a sense of belonging. Escape (in an hour)for a day or a night to the busyness and bright lights of Sarasota, Fort Myers or Naples and you are gonna love coming back home to Punta Gorda!
CAPT. RON CLARK - PUNTA GORDA
I'VE LIVED IN BEAUTIFUL PUNTA GORDA FOR 22 YEARS AFTER MOVING FROM COLUMBUS, OHIO (GO BUCKEYES) AND BOATING MOST OF MY LIFE ON THE GREAT LAKES. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS PARADISE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BOATER, WHICH IS MY SPECIALTY.
LET ME SHOW YOU PUNTA GORDA AND MY HOME MARINA, BURNT STORE MARINA. THIS IS THE LARGEST DEEP WATER DIRECT ACCESS SAILBOAT AND POWERBOAT MARINA ON THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA, COMPLETE WITH RESTAURANTS, SHOPPING, 27 HOLES OF GOLF AND A FANTASTIC YACHT CLUB ALL IN A SECURE GATED COMMUNITY! THE PRICES ARE RIGHT TOO. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY!
RON CLARK
BROKER/MANAGER
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES
BURNT STORE OFFICE
941-286-5797 CELL
CAPTRONCLARK@YAHOO.COM
Middle aged, single, and love it here
I am 42 and moved to Punta Gorda 10 years ago and love it here. There are things to do, we have a singles sailing club, multiple other sailing clubs, one of which I sailed to the Bahamas with, nice clubs down town and Ft. Myers and Sarasota are within an hour. You can still buy a nice home with sailboat dockage for around $300,000 if you look around, and it will go up. I think it is still the best deal out there. (OK, I do have a home on the market since I have three now, so take it with a grain of salt).
Randy
rfrog@hotmail.com
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