[msd1234]

hi

my family and i are relocating to Naples area later this year and was looking for help in finding a child friendly community. We have 2 under 5's and, while not wishing to offend the older generation, are looking for communities that would be suitable for young childeren to grow up in. Any help would be much appriciated!

[Chromedome]

lol child-friendly and naples or any area of southwest florida for that matter are two things that dont go together at all.

the most child friendly area is probably north-naples. on a good summer day you might see a couple of kids playng outside since theres a lot of schools around

[FLANATIVE1]

Naples has a lot of stuff for kids to do. Sun n Fun Lagoon is a small waterpark that you can go to. Carribean Gardens is a zoo in Nalpes. Its actually pretty nice for a city that small. They have lions, tigers, zebras, kangaroos, etc. Also, there is a lake in the middle with a bunch of islands. Monkeys live on the islands and you can take a guided boat ride around the islands. There is always the beach. Also, you can always go into Ft. Myers and Bonita Springs and find stuff for the kids to do.

As far as child friendly areas, Naples is pretty well mixed. I don't know if there is a specific area that is more child friendly than the rest. The farther west you go the nicer, but that is also where the older population lives. I would say North Naples would be your best bet.

[FLANATIVE1]

What is the name of that water park?

[NorthernIL815]

Ooops I meant Sun and Fun

[FLANATIVE1]

Thanx that is what I thought it was but I wasn't sure.

[lifesigns64]

I sold a home 2 years ago in North Naples. First, even though there were kids of mixed ages there, people in the association's don't like the kids using facilties either chaperoned, or if there old enough unchaperoned.

We had many problems, and we have very good children, and all the kids in the neighborhood were nice, but still complaints when they fished, played kickball, or even while they were chaperoned at pool.

The neighborhoods I know of with the most kids are Villages of Monterey, The Crossings, Emerald Lakes, and Autmn Woods had tons of kids in it, all ages. It depends on price,

My parents and cousins are here visiting, and they don't know about any water park, but there is one big one an hour away in Cape Coral, and a very small one for toddlers at King Richards. King Richards is an expensive, very expensive place with toddler water park, mini-golf, Race car track, indoor pinball games and such, and a few small rides for younger kids, little roller coaster, and also small bumber boats. King Richards is located in North Naples on Airport Road about 1/2 mile north of Pine Ridge Road.

We moved, one reason was because there was not much to do with kids except for King Richards and bowling.

The red tide in the past few years had come so often during the year, it affected one of my kids asthma as we lived just 2 miles from the beach.

That, with the insane taxes and insurance, we just felt it wasn't worth it.

That being said, we lived there 18 years and loved it the first 12, but it began to change.

Not sure if any other present or past resident agrees, but from my point of view there were two classes, Very Weallthy, and Poor Working Class.

The number of illegal residents that migrated there, caused an uproar in the community, and has caused some problems.

My parents, aunt and cousin are all selling there homes and condos because of this change.

5th Avenue, the Pier, and some other spots are beautiful, but very expensive.

Many of my friends, old neighbors and former co-workers have either moved, or are selling. I know this sounds dismal, but that it what we have experienced and what other's we know are experiencing.

There are many good restaurants to choose from, but I wouldn't excactly call it a kid place because of the attitude of the retirees in most communities, not all . . . but the majority.

[greenrt]

We just moved to southwest FL from the DC area. We LOVE it!! We live in Estero and were happy to find lots of things for our 4 year old to do. Estero Community Park is down the street with a playground and rec center. The water park they mentioned is great! Dinosaur Playground in Naples is an indoor playground which is ideal in this hot weather. We looked at alot of homes and neighborhoods. Delasol in Naples has tons of kids. Saturnia Lakes has loads of kids too. Bella Terra in Estero has lots of kids and houses are affordable. We were surprised to find a playmate for our 4 year old down the street in our neighborhood...Wildcat Run. We were told that it was all retirees here but that just wasn't true. We looked in Palmira in Bonita Springs (which is expensive) and found that they actually have playgroups in their Enrichment Center. The retirees love kids, it seems. They always stop us to tell us about their grandkids and ask if we can do playdates when they come to visit. We use all the amenities (golf, tennis, trails, club house) with our child haven't experienced complaints from the older folks. I hope you enjoy your move, and good luck!

[cicilyb]

what would be considered a reasonably priced neighborhood in Naples would be probably $350,000- most neighborhoods mentioned by another poster are $500,000 and up-not to include high insuranc prices, taxes, and many neighborhoods have very high homeowners association fee's with lots of rules. Just make sure you have $$$ if you are moving to the area. Good luck.

[florida1]

Originally Posted by greenrt

We just moved to southwest FL from the DC area. We LOVE it!! We live in Estero and were happy to find lots of things for our 4 year old to do. Estero Community Park is down the street with a playground and rec center. The water park they mentioned is great! Dinosaur Playground in Naples is an indoor playground which is ideal in this hot weather. We looked at alot of homes and neighborhoods. Delasol in Naples has tons of kids. Saturnia Lakes has loads of kids too. Bella Terra in Estero has lots of kids and houses are affordable. We were surprised to find a playmate for our 4 year old down the street in our neighborhood...Wildcat Run. We were told that it was all retirees here but that just wasn't true. We looked in Palmira in Bonita Springs (which is expensive) and found that they actually have playgroups in their Enrichment Center. The retirees love kids, it seems. They always stop us to tell us about their grandkids and ask if we can do playdates when they come to visit. We use all the amenities (golf, tennis, trails, club house) with our child haven't experienced complaints from the older folks. I hope you enjoy your move, and good luck!

That sounds more like what this area really is like. People on this forum act like the retirees are rude and hate kids. Glad to hear you're enjoying the area!