[naraj]

Actually, what I really wanted to ask was: What is the best place (for me) to live in Florida?

I've been silently browsing this forum for the last month or so, ever since I discovered it, and assuming I'm able to a find a job there in advance, I've decided to move to Florida next year. My dream has always been to live in the Caribbean, but right now, that's not financially possible, so I'll have to settle for Florida (no offense to my future fellow Floridians). My employer has an office in the Miami area, so if all else fails, I can always transfer there.

Anyway, after researching it as much as I could, two weeks ago, I took a road trip to Florida from my home in NC, to see how well what I've been reading matched up with reality. I've briefly been in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale before, but I've got my eye on SW Florida as my future home, so before telling you what I saw on trip, here's a little bit about what I'm looking for:

I hate cold weather, and don't really understand how anyone could like it, so I'd prefer to live somewhere where it never gets cold. IMO, anything below 60F feels a little bit uncomfortable to me, so the warmer the winter, the better.

I love soft white sand, tranquil turquoise water, tropical vegetation and coconut trees, as well as a place that doesn't look like Siberia (leafless trees and gray skies) 6 months of the year. I also like to live around people from many different countries, and I speak Spanish, so Southeast or Southwest Florida seems my best bet, but...

I hate traffic, litter, and I prefer not to live around a bunch of New Yorkers, because I try to be nice, but in my experience, a high percentage of New Yorkers do not. My best friend lives in NY, and talking to him furthers my belief in that every day. I love my angel of a wife, and I want her and myself to live in a place where I don't have to deal with rude, disrespectful low-lifes and criminals on a daily basis, so Southeast Florida has been hopefully crossed off my list. I also don't want to live around a bunch of drunks, snobs, homosexuals or racist rednecks, but I don't think I have much hope in all three of those regards. I know a couple of people from NY that have lived in Ft. Lauderdale, and they say that people and traffic-wise, it's like Newark with palm trees. I know they were exaggerating to make a point, but point taken.

I like to be able to find something to do, amusement parks, movie theaters, etc., but bars and night clubs are no longer a part of my lifestyle, so "nightlife" isn't that important to me.

Finally, I want to live somewhere where I have the realistic possibility of finding a well-paying job. Most of my previous job experience is in customer service, so that would be okay, but I'm up for a career change.

Okay, here's what I noted during my trip to SW Florida, but feel free to add anything you think is not accurate:

Most of the trees started to have their leaves and look noticeably more tropical from around the Tampa area down, so anything north of that would be unacceptable to me.

Sarasota was beautiful, and had white sand and coconut trees, so I was happy with it. Too much traffic, though, but nowhere is perfect. I saw a fair share of drug addicts and shady-looking people on the run-down north side of town, but it still looked way better and safer than the rough parts of my own city. The keys were very tropical in appearance, so I'll give them two thumbs up for that.

Siesta Key had perfect, soft sand, but while the water was semi-turquoise, way better than the northeast coast of Florida, it wasn't as turquoise or shallow as Miami Beach, and not even close to the Bahamas, from what I could tell. YouTube is misleading. Plus, there were so many perverted 80 year old skin cancer victims wearing Speedos and biker shorts on Siesta, I thought I'd lose my lunch, so I wouldn't exactly call it a great family beach, but I guess you've got a few of those pervs at most beaches, unfortunately.

Lido Key's beach's sand wasn't quite as white, but it was just as soft, and there were less people when I went there, so I liked it better than Siesta.

The sand was dark gray on Longboat Key, but it was very uncrowded, and way nicer in every other other respect, so I guess I would have to say Longboat Key was the nicest place I saw while in Sarasota.

Nokomis Beach was not as pretty as Sarasota's beaches. The water looked the same, fairly nice, but the sand was coarser, a little browner, and there were plenty of broken sea shells to hurt your feet everywhere.

Venice looked nice, but I just drove through, and I imagine the beach there is the same, if not worse than Nokomis, but I could be wrong.

Too much traffic in Estero and Bonita Springs, pretty, but too many wide, crowded roads, and shopping centers that appear to be going up all over the place. At least the shopping centers I saw were very pretty.

I stopped by Bonita Beach for a few minutes. It was okay, similar to Nokomis, I guess, but the water had so many brown leaves or something in it, that it made the water appear brown, dirty and kind of scary to go inside.

BTW, the ocean temp was around 70 degrees and unpleasantly chilly at all of the beaches I visited, but hey, it's not the Caribbean, so what can you do?

Then I drove to Naples. What I saw of the city was even prettier than Sarasota. Wow, maybe those snobs are onto something. Beautiful landscaping. It was like Sarasota but smaller, very little traffic (that was a pleasant surprise), and without the rundown parts. Like little Beverly Hills crossed with the Caribbean or something, I guess. I didn't have time to run into many snobbish people, but there seemed to be plenty around 5th Avenue South when I drove through. I wouldn't go there again if I could help it. Watching some of the weirdos there doing the shag, or whatever kind of dancing it was, was hilarious, and horrifying, LOL. In the brief time I was there, I saw a rich-looking guy yelling at someone for allowing him to cross the street with his wife. Wow, imagine getting yelled at for letting giving a pedestrian the right-of-way. What a jerk. Hope that's not typical of the people in Naples.

Naples Beach was deserted, and slightly nicer than Nokomis, so it was pretty nice. Lots of coconut trees in Naples, a lot more than in Sarasota. I thought that was cool.

I didn't get to visit Marco Island, but I imagine it is very beautiful like Naples.

From what I saw, Naples and Longboat Key were the prettiest places I noticed on my trip. I hope I can move to one of the two next year, but we'll see.

Marathon in the Keys also crossed my mind, because of the pretty water and the warmer winter temps, but with the lack of good jobs, and the anything goes-type of people that I keep hearing about that live in the Keys, I guess I'll pass on that idea.

Sorry in advance to anybody I might have offended in my slightly politically incorrect thread, but hopefully it'll be informative to any of you that are considering a move to Florida

[rusty78]

After numerous trips to Florida...and realizing the east coast is not for me...I have been looking at the Sarasota area...my real estate agent sends me weekly...if not daily updates of properties for sale....that range in the price range I requested...you would be surprised how much you can buy for $200K...and the prices are still dropping...I will be visiting in the next few months to explore the different areas he has recommended...and if you like...since we seem to be looking for the same thing...I'll let you know how things go...

[gypsychic]

Based on what you say you like and/or don't like, I would say you are correct about Naples and Longboat Key. Longboat is the "snobbiest" and most conservative part of Sarasota, you definitely won't run into the "weirdos, rednecks" or whatever else you mentioned not liking. You will however run into people from the Northeast. Same thing with Naples snob factor runs higher here). And these areas are expensive, but you didn't say what your budget was, so maybe it's right in line for you.

We live in Sarasota, and personally there is no other place I would rather live. The keys here with their beaches are just beautiful, you can't beat the soft white sand and beautiful trees (both native and the planted coconuts) to give a tropical feel. Our downtown is vibrant and thriving with all sorts of nice and unique restaurants, shops and movie theaters.

And a sidenote: we live just north of the "rundown" part of the North Trail, and no matter what anyone says it is not that bad. In fact it's laughable compared to some of the areas of Tampa (where I was born) that I am used to. It has also become a priority of the city to get that area in shape, and it has come a long way in the past few years, I expect more and more to happen in this district since all three colleges, the Asolo, and the Ringling Museum are all up this way.

You might give Venice a closer look, it is much smaller with a cute downtown, so if you want less population, this little city might be for you.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

[FLBob]

I'm surprised by the fact that you were able to find Naples uncrowded with light traffic. I lived there until the congestion and traffic was more than I could bear. Then I move to Venice which is much like Naples was before it became known.

In your trip you did what many people do and miss Gasparilla Island and the quaint little city of Boca Grande, as well as the very nice beaches in Englewood on Manasota Key.

If you look at USDA growing zones you may notice that zone 10 is south of Punta Gorda. The tropical vegetation you like is really zone 10 minimum. Coconuts, Royal, Christmas, Alexanders, the list goes on. Very near to the coast these trees will survive in the southern portion of zone 9 they won't survive over time as much a a mile or two inland.

[RMD3819]

Naples-I too, am surprised about your comment about the lack of traffic. Do not judge all of Naples by 5th Avenue South. That is an ultra rich shopping area of a few blocks. While it is supposedly some sort of "centerpiece" representative of Naples, it is not. The vast majority of Naples is not like that area.

The strike against Naples is your need for a well paying job. Those are few and far between here, even in good times.

Do you have school age kids?

What is your housing budget?

[TANaples]

If you are in Naples from April through October, off season, it is pretty much deserted. Naples exists for SEASON and its tourists and snowbirds.

An example. When my daughter was here last July, she wanted to have sushi for lunch. She went to one place and the sign said, "Will reopen in season (November)." Others, were only open for dinner, or just on the weekends.

The people who do live here year round tend to "hibernate" in the summer.

[LewLew]

I'll make this quick. What you are looking for in a beach really only exists in the Caribbean.
I'm surprised you thought Estero and Bonita had a lot of traffic. Tampa/Clearwater/Palm Harbor and Sarasota are much busier; as are Miami and Lauderdale. It's season right now, and many transients are here.

For what you are looking for, you should go to the Keys.

Marco Island may suit you too. Nice people, but you will not outrun the NY'ers no matter where in South FL you go (West or East). If you don't like rude people, don't go to Naples. There are nice people there, but not as many as there are obnoxious wealthy snow birds who feel entitlement to a place they call home 3 months out of the year. They'll let you know it too.

The water gets more clear the further south you go.

Oh, and Venice Beach is much nicer than Nokomis. Bluer water, great piers and lots of sand. I liked it there, but the town itself is very "retiree".
Good Luck.

[naraj]

Thanks for all the info and input, everybody.

rusty78, please let me know anything useful you find out, especially about the difference in neighborhoods in Sarasota. I plan on renting in the beginning, but I will more than likely end up in Sarasota in the end, so anything I can learn about the area would be great.

I didn't actually mean northern Sarasota was terrible, just not as nice as the rest of Sarasota. It seemed pretty safe compared to parts of my city, too, I just noticed some of the same drug addicts hanging around that I see all over the place in my city, and since I always hear people talking like Sarasota is the paradise of SW Florida, I was slightly surprised. I had three separate people knock on my hotel room door the first night I was there, looking for drugs, and it brought me back to reality that Sarasota must be far from crime-free. Still loved it, though, and I can't wait to go back.

I was surprised to find Naples so traffic-free, too. I couldn't believe it, especially after reading how the traffic is bad in winter. I promise you, though, it seemed like we had the town to ourselves. I loved it.

I guess you're right, I missed Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande and Englewood. I just added them to my list for next time. I checked the USDA growing zones, but they seem to shift every time they update them, so I'm not exactly sure what is accurate. So does that mean coconut trees, etc., will grow inland, south of Punta Gorda?

If Naples is so expensive, how do regular people live there? I'm sure there are a few. I guess they have to be very lucky. Sarasota is a little low on jobs, too, right? Does that mean anywhere smaller than Sarasota is pretty much hopeless as far as finding a decent job?

Sarasota did have more traffic than Bonita Springs and Estero, but I was surprised they had so much traffic, considering they didn't even seem like towns, more like large residential areas with no center that I saw. Too much traffic for a small suburb, IMO. They were nice, otherwise, though.

Okay, Venice is back on my list, but I get the impression it would be very hard to find a good job there. To live on Marco Island is to live in Naples, right, because you would have to go to Naples all the time, right? How is the beach on Marco Island? I've heard some people say the beach is beautiful, others say it has brown water and is man-made and ugly. Which is it, or does it vary by how rainy it has been?

Thanks again.

[rusty78]

naraj - no one can pick an area for to move to...for what they think is great maybe the worse place for you...and vise versa...what you need to do is exactly what you said...rent first and then take some time going to the different areas you are interested in...you also have to have a dollar figure that you are looking to spend on a home...that will eliminate some area right off the bat...just be honest with yourself when looking and don't make yourself house poor...

I will let you know what I find out when I visit...hopefully you will do the same...by the way...when do you plan on going down????

[seeriously]

I don't know when you visited Naples that you found it uncrowded but we drove across the state last year to check it out during prime tourist season and I felt like there was a sea of people coming at me wherever I went. Hoards and hoards of people.

With this attitude... "I also don't want to live around a bunch of drunks, snobs, homosexuals or racist rednecks"... add to this that you don't want to live around New Yorkers... Good luck to you anywhere in the southeastern US!