My Mostly Mortgage Blog

  25 Best Places to Retire - Port Charlotte, Fla. (1) - Money Magazine   

Port Charlotte is tops for sailors.

Population: 48,000

% over 50: 44%

Typical 3-bedroom home: $170,000

Housing prices down: 63%

State income tax: None

Lots of places in Florida have been battered by the housing bust. But this laid-back Gulf Coast town, just across Charlotte Harbor from pricier Punta Gorda, arguably best hits the sweet spot of great prices and great amenities.

Homes here cost less than half what they did in late 2005, and about 40% of them sit on canals and waterways leading to the harbor - which has 270 square miles of cruising waters and 219 miles of protected shoreline.

But H₂0 is far from the only reason to move here. The area boasts top-notch medical facilities. The town's Cultural Center houses a 500-seat theater and offers year-round classes in everything from Japanese embroidery to belly dancing. And there's great bird watching in 42,000-acre Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, which has hundreds of avian species and is crisscrossed with hiking trails and kayaking blueways. The lack of a Florida tax on income -- including interest and dividend income -- only sweetens the deal. --S.M.

 

The beaches of Sanibel have been ranked among the 20 best beaches in America by Men's Journal magazine. Men's Journal ranked beaches by their location and best uses of what they have to offer. For example, the beaches are separated by region - Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, California and Hawaii - and then categorized as best sports beach, secluded beach, family beach and such. Sanibel is featured as the best family beach that the Gulf Coast, and in fact all of Florida, has to offer. The only other Florida beach to be listed is Key West, but more for its party atmosphere. According to the magazine, Sanibel was chosen because, "The water here is warm, calm and shallow, making it ideal for the kids; the beach is perfect for sandcastles and is loaded with shells, especially when low tide exposes its offshore sandbars." Bridgit Stone-Budd, of the Sanibel Island & Captiva Island Chamber of Commerce, said the organization was not aware of being mentioned in the magazine. She added it is good to be mentioned in a positive light. "We are delighted to have been recognized by Men's Journal for our beautiful beaches," Stone-Budd said. "Our visitors tell us time and time again we have a paradise here on Sanibel and Captiva." like, but it's different and we're rolling with it." The July 2009 issue of Men's Journal featuresLance Armstrong on the cover.